 The RA’s 2011 Summer Show is coming up June 7 until August 15. Ho, Hum. I don’t know whether to look forward to this event or not. Last year’s show didn’t create any ‘eureka moments’ for me, sighs the Countess du Ruel. Still miracles do happen.
The summer show has been held annually since 1768. It is curated by practicing artists and architects, all of whom are academicians. Any artist can submit a work. Over 12,000 works are submitted every year, and 1,200 are selected. 200,000 visitors attend and £65,000 is given in prizes. You can enjoy a very expensive Pimm’s at £7 a shot while you wander through.
In the main galleries the RA academicians show their vast, brightly coloured canvases.
The hype about the show claims that amateurs are given the chance to be hung alongside the best artists. Actually, the show is about making money for the academy, and the amateurs are kept firmly in place.
I usually go along hoping there will be a surprise, i.e. something really new and interesting. I’m usually disappointed. My friend Madeleine enters a couple of paintings each year, and I enjoy seeing her work. She said the only way to get accepted is to submit something very small. The academicians, on the other hand, have a different rule of thumb: very large.
I’m basically tired of big, hyped art events that attract huge crowds and are more about market forces than art. Many of these academicians are familiar brands just showing their signature works. I don’t remember the last time that my heart leaped seeing a work on offer there. Still there’s always hope that this year will surprise us! So I guess I’ll be heading along there in June just in case!
— Countess du Ruel
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