Whistler in black and white

Clive Aslet says a video artwork that aims to critique Rex Whistler’s controversial mural in Tate Britain lacks context and nuance and sets out to present the artist — who was an aesthete, not a blackshirt — in the worst possible light

IN 1944, THE PAINTER REX WHISTLER WAS LEADING A tank crew through Normandy, when he was blown up by a mortar shell. The tank features in Viva Voce, a 22-minute artwork in Tate Britain, made by the black British artist Keith Piper as a critique of the murals with which Whistler covered the walls of the refreshment room when he was a mere 21 years old. Strangely, though, the piece does not reveal that the artist — to his admirers, the epitome of blighted promise — was killed. Instead, it mocks him for wanting to be a hero. Did Whistler have a hero complex, in the manner of Nelson or General Custer, both of whom had sought glory at all costs since they were boys? It seems unlikely, but that…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2024

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