Everyone I Have Ever Slept With - Tracey Emin

7/27/2019 Everyone I Have Ever Slept With - Tracey Emin

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Figure 1: The exterior of Everyone I Have Ever Slept With

Amber Lawrence

Assignment 3

Tracey Emin Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963 - 1995

1. Describe the works physical and formal characteristics (including techniques used

in its production).

The piece Everyone I Have

Ever Slept With 1963-1995

consists of a shop bought

tent which Emin has

modified through the craft of

appliqu. The tent itself is

hexagonal, has a blue

exterior and a yellow interior.

Its size is 122 x 245 x

215cm, and has been manufactured as a two man tent. A camping mattress forms

the base and an artificial light has been placed in the roof of the tent which

illuminates the space within it.

Along the bottom of the exterior of the tent the title of the work, Everyone I Have

Ever Slept With 1963-1995, is appliqud in individual letters. Appliqud to the inner

walls of the tent are letters that form names, and smaller lists of names. Emin has

used a diverse range of coloured and patterned fabrics in this piece that are bright

and eye catching.

The piece could be described as both a sculpture and an installation piece. The

viewer initially views the piece from the outside, like one would view a sculpture, but


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Figure 2: The interior of Everyone I Have Ever Slept With

then is encouraged to crawl into the tent to read the names within the space, which

is an approach more commonly associated with an installation piece.

The piece requires a quiet space around it to fully engage with the viewer. Only this

way an intimate relationship between the viewer and the piece of work can be

created.

2. How did events in the artists life help to determine the work?

Emins piece involves people she has been sexually intimate with. As a child, during

the time she lived in Margate in her parents hotel she was abused by unnamed

people also living there. After her father became bankrupt, he began to spend

increasingly less time in Margate, and her mother was forced to earn a living through

mediocre jobs. It was around this time that Emin was raped after leaving a disco at

the age of thirteen. Her mother responded to this event as if nothing had happened.

This experience catapulted Emin into the adult world at a young age. Emins life

became more and more dysfunctional. Her mother moved to London, staying there

for long periods of time and only coming back for a few days. It was during this time,

between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, that Emin became most sexually active.

At the age of fifteen

Emin moved to London

for over a year, lived

with friends then ended

up in a squat with art

and fashion students


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from St Martins School of Art. This proved to be influential as when she moved

back to Margate at 17, she chose to apply for a foundation degree in fine art at

Medway College of Design. Emin did not have the right grades for the course

however got offered an interview for a two year fashion diploma instead, which she

was then accepted onto to. Although she disliked the course, it taught her how to

pattern cut, a technique that has been greatly used in her work, including Everyone I

Have Ever Slept With.

Whilst at Medway, Emin met Billy Childish. Childish, who was an artist, poet and

musician, became a huge influence on her life. He encouraged her to believe in her

own potential as an artist. Childish pushed her to paint and draw and introduced her

to Expressionism; in particular the work of Egon Schiele and Edvard Munch.

Emin suffered the lowest part of her life whilst taking a masters in painting at the

Royal College of Art. Her work was excluded from the final year exhibition, she

became ill and experienced an unplanned pregnancy. Previous years before, Emin

had been told she wouldnt be able to give birth and so she had an abortion. Two

years later she suffered a second abortion.Foetus 1 and Foetus 2 can be seen

stitched into the tent.

In 1992, Emin met Sarah Lucas. Through Lucas, Emin met other emerging

contemporary artists including Carl Freedman, a curator and member of the Young

British Artists movement. During 1995, Freedman included Emin in the group

exhibition Minky Manky. He encouraged her to make something big that wouldnt

compromise the show. The result was her tent.


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3. How do you interpret the meaning of the work?

When I first read the title of the piece, I misunderstood the work and thought that it

was about everyone Emin had ever had a sexual relationship with. It wasnt until I

saw the names stitched inside the tent and read further about the piece, that I

realised that the title was much more literal. The piece, which features around 100

names in appliqud letters, listed everyone she has ever been intimate with;

including her grandmother and friends from childhood.

Emins work is very autobiographical. She is known for using herself and her own

personal experiences as the subject for her work. I feel that this piece of work is very

honest. Emin is presenting her unprotected self to the public , and revealing parts of

her past that are both dark and embarrassing, a task which would be difficult for the

majority of people in society.

This piece of work has themes of nostalgia. The fabrics used are reminiscent of the

past; The floral patterns are like those of grandmothers old curtains, bed sheets and

clothes. The appliqud letters are suggestive of patchwork quilts, which used to get

passed down from mother to daughter. I feel that the craft within this piece is very

feminine and evokes thoughts of relationships between mother and daughter,

grandmother and granddaughter.

Emin grew up in Margate, and spent a lot of her time in its famous shell grotto. The

entire surface area of the walls in the grotto are covered in shells, like a mosaic.

There is an obvious comparison to the grotto and Emins tent; the tent is a similar


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Figure 3: Margates famous shell grotto

shape to the grotto and like

the grotto, decoration has

been applied to the inner

walls of the tent.

The piece of work is about

two people being intimate

with each other, so I think that

use of a two man tent is a

very strong element within the piece. A tent can be seen as a temporary structure,

perhaps this links in with Emins past relationships, perhaps none of them stood the

test of time. Even non sexual relationships may not have lasted like her relationship

with her grandmother who would have passed away before her. When the work is

thought of in this way, it evokes a feeling of loneliness. The motto on the base of the

tent reads: With myself, always myself, never forgetting. Throughout her childhood

Emin always felt like an outsider and perhaps this carried on throughout her life and

throughout her relationships with others.

Emins piece encourages the viewer to crawl into the interior space of the tent

creating a relationship between the viewer and the tent. The calming yellow interior,

feminine patterned fabrics and enclosing nature of the dome shape structure may

create a feeling of comfort and warmth. Which contradicts the lonely motto on the

base of the tent.

4. On what grounds might it be considered a work of art?


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Clive Bell proposed that art is based on significant form as opposed to content.

Significant form refers to the composition, such as the combination of colour and

line, of an art piece. In his book Art, he wrote:

To appreciate a work of art we need bring with us nothing from life, no knowledge of

its ideas and affairs, no familiarity with its emotions. (Bell, C. (1913))

Despite Emins Everyone I Have Ever Slept With having formal qualities; the tents

poles form lines and the fabric of the walls are blue and yellow, her intentions behind

the work were personal and therefore do not conform to Bells theory.

R.G Collingwood believed that through making art, an artists true emotions were

realized and revealed. Furthermore, an artist couldnt plan what emotions were

expressed. He wrote:

Until a man has expressed his emotion, he does not yet know what emotion it is.

The act of expressing it is therefore an exploration of his own emotions. He is trying

to find out what these emotions are. (Collingwood, R. G. (1958 [1938]) p. 111)

During her time as a student, Emin was heavily influenced by expressionist artists

Egon Schiele and Edvard Munch, bringing their ideas into her own work. As an artist

her own emotions determine her work. She has described making Everyone I Have

Ever Slept With like carving out gravestones. In this sense Emins work complies

with Collingwoods theory of art.


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Figure 4: Bicycle Wheel(1913) - Marcel

Duchamp

On the other hand Emins work was somewhat planned; before making the piece she

was asked by Carl Freedman to make something large that wouldnt compromise his

exhibition Minky Manky. This factor disagrees with Collingwoods theory.

The family resemblance theory states that anything that resembles something that

has already been called art, is also classed as art. In 1945, Ludwig Wittgenstein

wrote about the relationship between games in Philosophical Investigations. Morris

Weitz took Wittgensteins theory, and applied it to the art world. He wrote:

The problem ofthe nature of art is like that of the nature of games, at least in these

respects: If we actually look and see what it is that we call "art," we will also find no

common properties - only strands of similarities. (Weitz, M. (1956) vol. 15, no. 1, pp.

31)

Emins work would be considered as art in

relation to the family resemblance theory.

Everyone I Have Ever Slept With can be

compared to the work of Marcel Duchamp.

Duchamps ready-mades were pieces of

manufactured items that he then modified, and

presented as art. Emins tent was purchased

from a regular shop, then modified using the

craft of appliqu.

The piece of art is also an example of taxonomy, a practice adopted by past artists

such as On Kawara. Kawaras TODAY seriesis an ongoing series of conceptual


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Figure 5: TODAY series (Since 1966) On Kawara

paintings that literally

represent a day within the

artists life. The painting

consists of the date written

in the language of the

country he is in. Like

Kawara, Emin uses text in

her work, and has created

a visual list which is strongly based around concept. In a sense, both artists work

around memory, Emin forced herself to remember every person she had ever been

intimate with for her piece of work, whilst Kawaras work enables him to remember

where he was on a certain day in his life through his paintings.

George Dickie constructed the institutional theory of art which simply states that art

is:

(1) an artifact (2) a set of the aspects of which has had conferred upon it the status

of candidate for appreciation by some person or persons acting on behalf of a certain

social institution (the artworld) (Dickie, G. (1974))

Emins tent was first seen in the 1995 exhibition Minky Manky, curated by Carl

Freedman, alongside established artists Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas at the South

London Gallery. Charles Saatchi, art collector and owner of the Saatchi Gallery, later

bought the piece. Therefore Emins piece can be classed as art in accordance to the

institutional theory of art.


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5. Explain why you would classify the work as Modernist, Postmodernist, or neither

or both.

I feel that Eminspiece Everyone I Have Ever Slept With has both modernist and

postmodernist traits.

Modernists argue that artists should produce the meaning of their art, and that their

art should transpire heartfelt truths. The work can be seen as an expression of her

own emotions. The context of her work is autobiographical; her work is always made

through herself and her past. Therefore in this sense, the piece is modernist.

Clement Greenberg believed that modernist art should focus specifically on one

medium; for example painting should explore techniques only used within painting.

He wrote:

The essence of Modernism lies, as I see it, in the use of characteristic methods of a

discipline to criticize the discipline itself - not in order to subvert it, but in order to

entrench it more firmly in its area of competence. (Greenberg, C. (1982) pp. 5)

Emins work explores many different fields. In this piece she applies the craft of

embroidery to a manufactured tent; lighting is also used. Emins multidisciplinary

approach disagrees with Greenbergs definition of modernism.

The piece can also be seen as both sculpture and installation. From the outside, the

form of the piece suggests that it is a sculpture; however Emin encourages the

viewer to crawl into the tent which is a property more commonly associated with


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Figure 6: The Great Bed of Ware

installation. The physical act of the viewer is also a form of participation; a factor of

postmodernism.

Modernists believe that art should

be original. Emin has used taken

influence from history. Interested

in the idea of companionship, she

looked at the Elizabethan Great

Bed of Ware; a huge decorative

bed within which fifteen people

could sleep at the same time.

Many occupants carved their names into the bedpost. Like a postmodernist, Emin

has borrowed and altered ideas from the past.

Modernists argue that art should not involve politics and should remain separate

from life. Emins work and life intertwine involuntary, neither could exist without the

other. Emins work has themes of feminism; the seemingly crude title suggests that

women should be allowed to talk about sex as freely as men do, without losing their

femininity. In this sense Emins tent would be seen as postmodernist.

I feel that there are aspects within her work that are modernist. However, I believe

her work is predominantly postmodernist, as it disagrees with many modernist ideas.

Word Count: 2,194


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References:

Books:

(Bell, C. (1913)Art. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company)

(Collingwood, R. G. (1958 [1938]) The Principles of Art. New York: Oxford University

Press, pp. 111)

(Dickie, G. (1974)Art and the Aesthetic: An Institutional Analysis. New York: Ithaca)

(Greenberg, C. (1982) Modernist Painting, in Frascina, F & Harrison, C. (eds)

Modern Art and Modernism, A Critical Anthology. London: Harper & Row Ltd, pp. 5)

(Weitz, M. (1956) The Role of Theory in Aesthetics, The Journal of Aesthetics and

Art Criticism, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 31)

Illustrations:

Figure 1:

http://artreviewed.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-

slept-with.jpg?w=460

Figure 2:

http://faculty.vassar.edu/jamundy/Everyone2L.jpg

Figure 3:
http://artreviewed.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with.jpg?w=460http://artreviewed.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with.jpg?w=460http://faculty.vassar.edu/jamundy/Everyone2L.jpghttp://faculty.vassar.edu/jamundy/Everyone2L.jpghttp://artreviewed.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with.jpg?w=460http://artreviewed.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with.jpg?w=460


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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/dUUofA7LBAM/Td2Wuv3i0II/AAAAAAAABtk/7zggEK4v7QE

/s400/shell+grotto+dome+just+another+bloke.jpg

Figure 4:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krcbohRLuC1qa5h7no1_400.jpg

Figure 5 :

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxjzgb2lrl1qzu237o1_500.png

Figure 6 :

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Bed_of_Ware.jpg/220px-

Bed_of_Ware.jpg

Bibliography

Books:

Bell, C. (1913)Art. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company

Brown, N. (2006) Tracey Emin. London: Tate Publishing

Collingwood, R. G. (1958 [1938]) The Principles of Art. New York: Oxford University

Press, pp. 111

Dickie, G. (1974)Art and the Aesthetic: An Institutional Analysis. New York: Ithaca

Elliot, P & Schnabel, J. (2008) Tracey Emin 20 Years. Edinburgh: National Galleries

of Scotland

Frascina, F & Harrison, C. (eds) (1982) Modern Art and Modernism, A Critical

Anthology. London: Harper & Row Ltd, pp. 5
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/dUUofA7LBAM/Td2Wuv3i0II/AAAAAAAABtk/7zggEK4v7QE/s400/shell+grotto+dome+just+another+bloke.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/dUUofA7LBAM/Td2Wuv3i0II/AAAAAAAABtk/7zggEK4v7QE/s400/shell+grotto+dome+just+another+bloke.jpghttp://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krcbohRLuC1qa5h7no1_400.jpghttp://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxjzgb2lrl1qzu237o1_500.pnghttp://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxjzgb2lrl1qzu237o1_500.pnghttp://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krcbohRLuC1qa5h7no1_400.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/dUUofA7LBAM/Td2Wuv3i0II/AAAAAAAABtk/7zggEK4v7QE/s400/shell+grotto+dome+just+another+bloke.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/dUUofA7LBAM/Td2Wuv3i0II/AAAAAAAABtk/7zggEK4v7QE/s400/shell+grotto+dome+just+another+bloke.jpg


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Freeland, C. (2001) But is it Art? New York: Oxford University Press

Weitz, M. (1956) The Role of Theory in Aesthetics, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art

Criticism, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 31

Wittgenstein. L. (1953) Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers

Internet sources:

http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/90745/on-kawara-today-series-1989 (April

2012)

http://www.biogs.com/famous/saatchi.html (April 2012)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Her-Most-Famous-Installation-(Everyone-I-Have-Ever-

Slept-With)---Tracey-Emin&id=2534325 (April 2012)

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16917/pg16917.txt (April 2012)

http://www.loveiswhatyouwant.com/artist/ (May 2012)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/duch/hd_duch.htm (April 2012)

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/tracey_emin.htm,kouj (May 2012)

http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Readymades-of-Marcel-

Duchamp.pdf (April 2012)

http://www.southlondongallery.org/page/144/Minky-Manky/208 (April 2012)

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/546/appropriation-in-contemporary-art (April

2012)

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/the-great-bed-of-ware,-room-57,-level-2/

(May 2012)
http://www.loveiswhatyouwant.com/artist/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/the-great-bed-of-ware,-room-57,-level-2/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/the-great-bed-of-ware,-room-57,-level-2/http://www.loveiswhatyouwant.com/artist/


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http://whitecube.com/artists/tracey_emin/ (April 2012)

Internet video sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15jVnBlt6e0 (April 2012)

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Everyone I Have Ever Slept With - Tracey Emin