AnOther's 2011 Art Highlights

2011 has been an exciting year for art coverage on AnOther, taking in the old, the new, the renowned, the undiscovered, and the controversial in a series of interviews, reviews and exclusive films. Here, we look back over the most popular features of the year, from the photography of Hedi Slimane and Ryan McGinley, the varied oeuvre of Tim Noble and Sue Webster, to dance as performed by Pina Bausch and Sylvie Guillem and the first novel for State of the Art columnist John-Paul Pryor.

1) Ryan McGinley returned to London for the first time in two years with Wandering Comma, a dreamy, elegiac ode to youth and beauty. Michael Kowalinski’s interview with the photographer found out more than expected, with McGinley revealing, “I have the word penis tattooed very large inside my bottom lip. I always have a big penis in my mouth.”

2) Infamous dancer Sylvie Guillem granted AnOther a rare interview to coincide with her performance in 6000 Miles Away at Sadler’s Wells. One of the greatest practitioners in her field, Guillem discussed her move away from classical ballet towards the range of unconventional works that have led to her reputation as a rebel.

3) March’s Art Talks with Hedi Slimane provided an opportunity to explore the sheer range of the former Dior Homme designer-now photographer and curator’s work. An exhibition in Brussels saw his photographs interspersed with pieces by filmmaker Gus Van Sant and sculptor Oscar Tuazon, while the show he curated in Paris, California Dreamin – Myths and Legends of Los Angeles, paid testament to his love of the art and spirit of his adopted country.

4) Polish painter Wilhelm Sasnal enjoyed a retrospective exhibition at London’s Whitechapel Gallery, and AnOther writer Skye Sherwin caught up with him to discuss musical inspirations, and the eternal, primal power of drawing.

5) In February, iconic photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark brought some of his most infamous works to London in the exhibition What Do You Do For Fun?, which served to highlight the unfathomable influence of his work. A fascinating filmed interview with the legend demonstrated the debt owed to Clark by all photographers who have sought to break taboos and shine a light on the scandalous, drug addled underbelly of their societies.

6) In one of the most heartbreakingly personal projects of the year, 2011 saw the release of Wim Wenders’ cinematic testament to his friend and inspiration Pina Bausch, a film that had been initiated by the choreographer herself prior to her death in 2009. Talking to AnOther, he gave an emotional elegy to the dance legend, and spoke vehemently of the importance of preserving her legacy.

7) AnOther contributor John-Paul Pryor released his debut novel Spectacles this year. Described as a “poetic mixture of raw violence and transcendence”, the launch party saw the author in conversation with writer Henry Hemmings, discussing magical realism and the grotesqueries of the modern concept of beauty.

8) Husband and wife duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster showed their staggeringly huge structure, Turning the Seventh Corner, in Berlin in July. Prior to the opening, Webster discussed their Egyptian inspirations and collaborative style with Frankie Mathieson for AnOther.

9) As the youngest daughter of rock star Frank Zappa, who made her UK debut as Howard Moon’s love interest on the Mighty Boosh, Diva Zappa’s first foray into the London art scene was always going to be interesting. And her show of site-specific embroidered artworks, set within Soho’s oldest patisserie did not disappoint, weaving together a veritable masterpiece of whimsy.

10) Featuring works of heart-wrenching humanity and unflinching candour, Richard Billingham’s exhibition Ray’s a Laugh was a funny, yet deeply discomfiting portrayal of his elderly parent’s lives at home in a West Midland’s tower block. in conversation with Isabella Burley, Billingham discussed returning to these highly personal pictures more than 15 years on.