Showing posts with label exhibition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhibition. Show all posts

Monday 31 July 2023

Banksy Deconstructs at First Exhibition Glasgow



He deconstructs art and is radical, surprising. Dismaland, anti-war, 

 

It’s easy to understand Banksy’s desire to have this first major show of his 25 years of art making at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) Glasgow (once the Royal Exchange) with the coned Duke of Wellington proudly outside – coned comically now for 40 years after the council gave up trying to remove the cone.

 

Glasgow is a challenging and vibrant place – a place of a multitude of music venues, both big and small, where impressive stone architecture sits side by side with glass modernism, acute poverty and impressive art and architecture – tall Rennie Mackintosh design, merchant city venues, westend wealth, Clyde ships (now mostly silent like past ghosts) and swaying walkways that connect north and south Glasgow; the meetings and protests at George Square, down Ingram street and along Nelson Mandela place.

 

Glasgow is very much about its people and street art makes sense in a city that won’t be silent.





We first enter a dark, enclosed space with flickering lights, sounds and movement to represent street life – rather than the usual quiet of art galleries. There’s Banksy’s anti-war images – throwing flowers and hearts. There are many images of children. 

For Brexit - 'VOTE LOVE'


Banksy early on realised  the power art activism and art as protest can make. He eventually realised that the backgrounds didn't matter on the walls, where space played an important part too.

It was important to be seen and out on the ordinary city streets. To express how we are lost at times and our inhumanity.
It's also a protest to art elitism. Towards the end of the exhibit he shows us how he shredded his girl with a heart image, after a bidder at Sotheby's bid 750K! One thing missing after occurs though - where is nature except in his bunch of flowers? 


Hope in humanity sits alongside despair here – can we forge new pathways? Often surprising, questioning, 


“The purpose of art is not to hold up a mirror to life but to take a hammer to challenge it"








Sunday 17 June 2018

The 'Mack' and Mackintosh 150 years, Glasgow's most famous landmark

The "Mack" Glasgow's much loved Art School
This year Glasgow celebrates 150 years since the birth of its most famous artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 
150 years major Exhibition Charles Rennie Mackintosh, ‘Making th Glasgow Style’ (1890 – 1920)
at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and museum – until 14 August. 2018 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of celebrated Glasgow architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928). 

At the core of this style is the work of The Four: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his future wife Margaret Macdonald, her younger sister Frances Macdonald and Frances’s future husband, James Herbert McNair. Glasgow was the birthplace of the only Art Nouveau ‘movement’ in the UK and its style had an impact internationally – with Mackintosh and Macdonald exhibiting to great acclaim in Vienna. Around 250 objects are on display across the full spectrum of media, including stained glass, ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, furniture, stencilling, embroidery, graphics, books, interiors and architecture. 

Willow tea rooms

It is wonderful to hear that the Willow Tearoomshave been refurbished and restored. On 7 June, art enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the launch of Mackintosh at the Willow, a £10m restoration of his iconic tearooms. Only a block away from the Mack, there was lots of excitement about the establishment of a Mackintosh quarter and the impact it could have. Heartbreaking that it could happened in the final stages of restoration.

Beautiful Glasgow art school library
The high street needs more unique experiences today. 
Glasgow boasts many unique art treasures; not least the impressive Kelvingrove museums, its university cloisters, the marbled stair cased town hall,  the Merchant City streets and the fine, delicate style of Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s art nouveau buildings which were heavily influenced by the clean lines of Japanese buildings.
At any one time there are exhibitions of Mackintosh’s work on in Glasgow, from walking tours to  visiting his well loved buildings – School for an Art lover, Scotland street school, Willow tea rooms, The Lighthouse, 
LAUCHLAN GOUDIE – Mackintosh: Glasgow’s Neglected Genius

Margaret MacDonald


Sadly though not his renowned art school…
Saturday 16thJune
Devastated of the news of the fire in Mackintosh’s Art school – unbelievable. Channel Four reports that a passing policeman raised the alarm. Was no one on site for fire protection – that is someone there guarding the site day and night to deal with this kind of event, which is predictable on an insecure building site. What were they thinking and who was the site manager?  
Another report the fire was sudden and spread through flammable materials - all seems very very strange - on the day the students were graduating and almost exactly four years since the original fire.
Thinking today of all the artists who studied there and how badly they must be feeling today. My thought was four years ago – this historic building was never made to house these ridiculous structures art students make today - AND THEY MUST BE MADE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Mackintosh’s art school should be only for an art museum and library – and not put at such risk ever again. 
Firefighters battle the horrendous blaze Friday night
"The rooms may smell of smoke, the hallways piled high with debris, but it's heartening to see how much of the Mackintosh and its contents survived."
"Whole rooms and their contents are left intact. The Mackintosh Room - used for board meetings - looks as if its occupants have just stepped out for a breath of air. The fireplace, light fittings, panelled bureau and distinctive windows show no trace of the devastating fire which swept through the building last Friday

“The Art School is, at the end of the day, one of the very best buildings of the early 20th century anywhere in the world.’ Appollo magazine

Tuesday 25 April 2017

A New Scottish National Photography Gallery

 470 clergymen who founded the Free Church of Scotland
The Scottish National galleries are showing an exhibition of the work of Scottish photography pioneers,
Robert Adamson and David Hill – ‘Scottish Photography pioneers, A Perfect Chemistry. Fisherfolk of Newhaven,’
27th May to 1st October 2017, TE SCOTTISH PORTRAIT GALLERIES, Queen St, Edinburgh.

It has taken others overseas to recognise the work of these Scottish pioneers in photography. These two world renowned pioneers are mostly unknown in Scotland and are yet more reminders of the neglect of Scotland’s heritage.  

The Museum of Modern Art New York put on an exhibition Photography1930 – at the beginning of the show Hill and Adamson had pride of place as Photography pioneers. In 1989 The Huntarian Glasgow staged another exhibition of Hill and Adamson’s work, which came over from Saskatoon Canada, where it had been acclaimed.


The Scottish galleries hold the biggest collection of their work in the world, yet only exhibit their work every 15 years. In the 1840s Hill and Adamson were partners in the new science of Photography. Adamson portraits of clergymen documented the disruption in the Kirk with the Free church of Scotland. They worked in Rock house, Calton hill, producing portraits and also images of the Forth estuary and coast.

In the 1990s the Royal High school was considered for a new Scottish National Photography gallery  to include Annans, Gillanders, Calum Colvin and others.


**Scottish Artist David Hill 1802 – 1870), landscape painter
He formed Hill & Adamson studio with the photographer Robert Adamson
(1843 - 1847) pioneer photographer. He learned lithography at the school of Design Edinburgh. His landscape paintings exhibited Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland and he established Scottish Academy1829 with Henry Cockburn.

Pioneer Photographer Robert Adamson (1821–1848) pioneer photographer at Hill & Adamson. Best known for his work with artist David Hill at his photographic studio Rock House Calton hill. Hill and Adamson were commissioned in 1843 to make a group portrait of the 470 clergymen who founded the Free Church of Scotland. Hill had desired to make photographic portraits of the founders as reference material.

Adamson’s collaboration with Hill, who provided skill in composition and lighting, and Adamson’s dexterity with the camera, proved extremely successful. They used the calotype process, and produced a wide range of portraits depicting well-known Scots.

They photographed Fife landscapes, urban scenes, the Scott Monument under construction; 
the fishermen of Newhaven and the fishwives who carried the fish in creels the 3 miles (5 km) uphill to the city of Edinburgh to sell them round the doors, with their cry of “Caller Herrin”
They produced groundbreaking "action" photographs of soldiers and two priests walking side by side.


They produced some 3000 calotypes of mostly portraits within 5 years, 1843 – 1847.
Adamson died unmarried on 14 January 1848, at the age of 26.

In 1851, the works of Hill & Adamson's appeared at The Great Exhibition.
It wasn't until 1872 that their work was rediscovered. In 1905, 1912, and 1914, some of their works appeared in Camera Work. There were also several New York City exhibits at Alfred Stiegiltz’s 291 art gallery and at the National arts club.


Calotype or talbotype is an early Photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot using paper
coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek καλός (kalos), "beautiful", and τύπος (tupos), "impression".

Sunday 12 February 2017

Exhibition My Celtic Connections Photos

I have an Exhibition of some of my Celtic Connections Music Photos at the Old Fruitmarket this year! I can't believe this is my 10th year taking Photos there! Thanks to the media team at Celtic. : )

This was my 10th year shooting at Celtic Connections festival! Over the years I have attended some of the best concerts and taken some of my top portfolio images at Celtic Connections. I enjoy the buzz, the unique collaborations, the friendly banter, the top quality instruments and musicianship, the late sessions and the exciting young artists, the moving Gaelic songs and perfect singers, the fun and foot-tapping ceilidh bands at the Fruitmarket, the musicians that come from many other countries. I meet so many interesting music fans, photographers and folk musicians there. so Big Thanks to the Celtic Connections team for all their hard work each January!) 

My extensive CELTIC CONNECTIONS PHOTO GALLERIES - http://pkimage.co.uk/celticconnections

Friday 6 November 2015

Scottish Women Artists Exhibition Edinburgh


Scottish Women Artists Exhibition Edinburgh - Painters and Sculptors 1885-1965 - 7th Nov 2015 − 26th June 2016; Modern Two (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art)

Women artists in this exhibition will include - Bessie Mac Nicol, Phoebe Anna Traquair, Gertrude Alice Meredith Williams, Margaret Macdonald, Dorothy Johnstone and Hazel Amour, Phyllis Mary Bone, Joan Eardley and Bet Low.

The exhibition will focus on painters and sculptors and the period from 1885 to 1965. ,
(when Fra Newbery became Director of Glasgow School of Art, and until 1965, the year of Anne Redpath’s death).

The eighty years which lay between these events saw an unprecedented number of Scottish women train and practice as artists.  More than 90 works will be shown, from the National Galleries of Scotland’s holdings and other public collections from throughout the UK, as well as from private collections.

Early last century women were forbidden from attending life drawing classes. They also had to give up any art careers if they married. 

The conditions that the artists negotiated as students and practitioners due to their gender will be explored, shedding new light on this vital chapter of Scottish modern art history, whilst uncovering and celebrating women’s contribution to it.
The exhibition will include familiar masterpieces alongside important works by significant artists which are rarely seen and who are not widely known.
The galleries believe there is scope for more shows of female artists and the display is a precursor to a major re-think and re-hang of the gallery.

MY BLOG ON Women Artists - http://www.musicfootnotes.com/2014/10/woman-and-art.html

Modern Scottish Women will be accompanied by a book based on new research, as well as a free permanent collection display of prints by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, selected from a recent gift of her work by The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Charitable Trust.
Exhibition supported by The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Charitable Trust and a sorority of women across Scotland
 Image: Dorothy Johnstone, Anne Finlay, 1920, Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections © Courtesy of Dr DA Sutherland and Lady JE Sutherland 



Sunday 27 September 2015

Edinburgh Arts Festival 2015: Jean Etienne Leotard

*EF ART 
I went to the exhibition by one of the most famous fashion photographers, David Bailey, at the National Galleries of Scotland. He knows how to capture the memorable portrait photography image.

I also went to the Jean Etienne Leotard exhibition there.
He used mainly pastels and managed to capture the most perfect, luminous portraits. Where has he been hiding?  If you look down from the faces you see the most minute detail on the lace and the intimate expressions are unmatched. His realism as astonishing too - photography perfect. 



There are two miniatures of Jacobites -  Prince Charles Edward Stewart, 1720 - 1788. Eldest son of Prince James Francis Edward Stewart.
Prince Henry Benedict Clement Stewart, 1725 - 1807. Cardinal York; younger brother of Prince Charles Edward

His portraits are highly memorable. They present soft delicacy and such careful subtle details.

He is a sensitive recorder of introspection. Oddly this is what interests me with portrait photography too - perhaps I am on the right paths after all!