From time to time I get off our little rock and venture to the 'mainland'. Today has been one of those days as Molly and I went to Glasgow. I adore Glasgow. For me the cultural heritage mixed with the contemporary arts make it a really exciting place to be. I am very good at convincing myself of the need to go despite most resources I need being available on the island or online. It does mean an early start as the ferry leaves at 8.20am but by 10.25 we are right in the centre of the city. The little venture today was, as always, a mixture of work and pleasure. With the studio opening less than a month away this girl had to stock up on art supplies and that was high on the agenda. Molly's agenda was clothes shopping so I pretty much left her to that.
I did have time to introduce Molly to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) which is one of my favourite haunts. They are currently hosting a new installation piece entitled Every Day which has brought together six Glasgow-based artists who all use sculpture in some form or another. The installation offers an insight into the world around us and the use of common objects dominates. As a piece it asks you to look at how these objects have been altered and recreated in the space to produce a new and uncompromising dialogue. I would need more time than I have to fully appraise it as a piece of modern art and thankfully I will be getting that time. I will be doing a review of the installation as the space is to be used as a performance context for the Siobhan Davies Dance Company. A solo dancer will interpret the installation and make a physical and emotional response. I will then be reviewing that response and the hope is that we might come back to the start.
I am particularly thrilled with this piece because the Siobhan Davies Dance Company is one of my favourite contemporary dance companies. I have always felt that they were the first company to explore both every day gesture and stillness as a contrasting dance dynamic. I had not seen any of their more recent work so I am proper excited. It is my previous life as a dancer and choreographer that I will be able to draw on but this will be fused with my more recent explorations in fine art. I am a big fan of conceptual installations especially if they make me question. I can see that there are some smaller installations that have merit in their own right as part of Every Day. These will require more careful consideration on the second viewing. Today I was struck by the piece as a whole and the place of juxtapositon within the piece. There is no doubt that scale and position have been played with in an interesting manner but for me it was the story behind the connections that became more engaging. I watched as people walked around the outside of the installation when I am quite sure the intention is that you should walk within it. I walked within it. The choice of material tells yet another story but I think my interpretation was a bit simplistic so, again, the second viewing will be crucial.
It would appear that around every corner there is a writing assignment just waiting for me and I consider myself very fortunate. Glasgow never fails to fuel the soul and I have had a lovely day. That said, I am always so happy to step back onto the pier at Brodick and know that I am home. I am less happy with the number of emails that suddenly appear to be 'urgent' so must dash and decide whether they are actually urgent. Somehow I doubt it because not very much in my life is urgent now and I make sure it stays that way.
Until tomorrow. xx
No comments:
Post a Comment