The Art We Deserve? - ACE082.5

Whitechapel; Jack Jones at the "Art for Society" exhibition (1978), work by "artists who care deeply about reaching broader sectors of the population" but get little state encouragement. Jack Jones (his VO talking about artists’ responsibilities) looking at exhibits including a panel from the Paddington Print Shop, and a Trades Union picture. Banners for UCATT, National Union of Seamen, and others. Jones suggests that artists should make more effort "to persuade the public to take an interest" in art. Street murals by Desmond Rochford and David Binnington at Royal Oak; details. Rochford talking about the images, and about an artist’s need for political involvement. Drinkers in the Oliver Arms. Cork asks how artists, "trained to think in elitist ways" can involve the community in their work. Rochford interviewing people about their thoughts on the murals: most claim not to know what they’re about, though they like them. Rochford says he’s not trying to be populist for the sake of it, but "is dealing with the issues of the day". Views of the murals, by their style made "too remote from their spectators daily existence".