Andrew Graham-Dixon: The Raft of the Medusa

Andrew Graham-Dixon is one of the leading art critics and presenters of arts television and joins us and the artist John Beard for a talk on the 16-foot high contemporary masterpiece by John 'After the Raft of the Medusa'. After the Raft of the Medusa is the same size as the Géricault original and is painted in black and white oils and wax. John's intention is ‘To make quieter it’s loudness,’ he says. ‘To calm and still the image. To demand more attention from of the viewer. To depreciate the romanticism. To draw the viewer into and through the surface.’ Andrew has a long history of public service in the field of the visual arts, having judged the Turner Prize, the BP National Portrait Prize and the Annual British Animation Awards, among many other prizes. He has served on the Government Art Collection Committee, the Hayward Advisory Committee, and is currently a member of the board of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.