The central theme of the lecture was to interrogate and question the present-day significance of the ‘Pitmen Painters’ against a backdrop of the popularity and critical acclaim that has been accorded to Lee Hall’s play of the same name, which began with a limited regional appeal in Newcastle, but which subsequently went on to huge national and international success with extended runs at the National Theatre, London, and in America on Broadway.
The lecture was structured around the concept that artworks function within systems of knowledge that are historically, socio-economically, politically and culturally located. In other words, the paintings by the Ashington miners were not autonomous observations created in isolation, but were expressions that were heavily dependent on and determined by external sources and forces.