Main content

Michael Craig-Martin

Pioneering conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin talks to Michael Berkeley about the parallels between his art and the music he loves.

Michael Craig-Martin is one of our most influential artists, celebrated for his huge black and white wall drawings and intensely coloured paintings of everyday objects, as well as his installations, sculpture, and computer-generated works. A pioneering conceptualist, he's always provoking questions about what we understand to be art.

Born in Dublin in 1941, Michael Craig-Martin grew up in the United States but returned to Britain in the 1960s where he's lived and worked ever since. He's had numerous solo exhibitions and his work is in national collections worldwide.

He is Emeritus Professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths, having taught there for over four decades, and he's been nicknamed 'the godfather of the Young British Artists', who include Damien Hirst, Gary Hume and Sarah Lucas.

He received a CBE in 2001 and was knighted in 2016.

Michael Craig-Martin talks to Michael Berkeley about the parallels between his art and the music he loves, including Satie, Bach, the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, and he reveals his long-standing passion for opera.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus production for 大象传媒 Radio 3.

Available now

37 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 Sep 2018 12:00

Music Played

  • Erik Satie

    Gnossienne no.3

    Performer: Noriko Ogawa.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Sarabande (Cello Suite no.2 in D minor)

    Performer: Yo鈥怸o Ma.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Aria (Goldberg Variations)

    Performer: Glenn Gould.
  • Giuseppe Verdi

    Addio, del passato (La Traviata)

    Singer: Maria Callas.
  • Simeon ten Holt

    Canto ostinato (excerpt)

    Performer: Kees Wieringa. Performer: Polo de Haas.
  • Georges Bizet

    Au fond du temple saint (Pecheurs de perles)

    Singer: Jussi Bj枚rling. Singer: Robert Merrill. Orchestra: RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.
  • Antonio Vivaldi

    Vedr貌 con mio diletto (Giustino, RV.717)

    Singer: Philippe Jaroussky. Ensemble: Ensemble Matheus. Conductor: Jean鈥怌hristophe Spinosi.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 27 Aug 2017 12:00
  • Sun 23 Sep 2018 12:00

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

For Private Passions, Jools Holland revealed his piano history to Michael Berkeley.

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield鈥檚 Private Passions

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield鈥檚 Private Passions

Harry doesn't usually give interviews 鈥 but he couldn't say no to Michael Berkeley.

Archive Unlocked: Two Decades of Private Passions

Michael Berkeley introduces memorable interviews from Private Passions' archives.

Podcast