Keeping the Festival in the picture
"inin businS .
Addison Crescent Study
They’re all related and they’ve spent 40 years on a mission to map the world with through conceptual art. To the Boyle Family, this is perfectly normal.
lifts. Jack Mottram
hc Biwlc l‘aniil} arc unuxual. 'l‘hc lour artixtx. .\lark Biwlc. .loan llillx and. latcr. thcir two childrcn Schaxtian and (icorgia ha\ c hccn cngagcd in a Jll»}c';ii‘ proicct xpanning thc two gcncrationx. 'l‘hc ccntral xtrand ol thcir work. I/It' ll'rii'li/ .X‘i'r'ir'x. rcquircx thc tour to trawl to |.fl(l(l t‘alldoltt locationx xclcclcd h} hlindl‘oldcd \ixtlot'x lo a l‘io‘) c\hihition xticking pinx in a map ol‘ thc world and to attcmpt to rL‘Producc a xquarc of thc carth'x xurl‘acc ax truthlulh ax thc} arc ahlc. l‘or Schaxtian Biwlc. thcrc ix nothing llllll\llili going on at all. ‘\\'c think wc‘rc a \cr} rcgular lainin hc xa_\x. ‘\\'c iuxt happcn to work lttgt‘lltt‘t‘ Ull lilk'\k‘ picllll‘t‘x. Mark and .loan nc\cr w cnt to art xchool. and whcrc\cr thc} lixcd. thc higgcxt rooin wax thcir xtudio. So. from an cat‘l) agc. in) xixtcr and l w crc \cr} aw arc ol what wax going on. and graduall} w c got inorc and tnorc in\o|\cd. Now. I xcc our working togcthcr ttx a lllt‘ L‘_\ CIL‘Z in thc Cttl'ilt‘xl titt}\ (icorgia and I did practicall} nothing. and tna}hc ax .\lark and .loan gct oldcr and oldcr thc) won't do xo much. and wc'll ha\c conic through a complctc c_\ clc of dcxclopincntf .\x for thcir working incthod. Biwlc l’ainil) ha\c xtuck laxt to what thc} duh ‘niothclcxx appraixal." an attcinpt to prcxcnt thc world. not intcrprct it. 'l‘hix goal of ohjccth c prcxcntation hax croxxcd man}
dixciplincx. l'roin thc iltlptixxihi} rcal xquarcx of
London paVcnicnt. tidc-chpt hcach and ploughcd licld to thcatrical pcrl'orinancc at which thc audicncc l‘ound thcmxchcx in a xhop window lacing thc xtrcct. \ ia projcction work that in\ol\cd thc oldcr gcncration ol' Biwlcx w hixkcd oil to tour thc world with .limi chdri\ and Soft Machinc.
WVL‘ \CC IhL‘ i'ittl‘lh picccx tlx thc ltlttlll L‘lClthllI til~ tt hroadcr pi‘ojcct.’ .xa_\x Schaxtian. ‘liarl_\ on. in} parcntx rcalixcd that thc liarth picccx w crc li\cd and
68 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE '-'- . ' :
THE BOYLE FAMILY HAVE STUCK FAST TO PRESENT THE WORLD, NOT INTERPRET IT
pcrinancnt. hut thc carth ix not a li\cd and pcrinancnt placc. xo thcy hcgan doing work that rcl‘lcctcd that changc. l‘or c\atnplc. an c\cttl tnight includc putting icc into a projcctor. which would inch to watcr. thcn maporatc and dixappcat'.'
'l'hix prcxcntational tnodc raixcx qucxtionx. It ix unclcar w hcthcr Bo}lc lianiil} arc Uh\L'l‘\L‘l‘\
docuincnting or artixtx crcaling. w hcthcr thcir xquarcx ol~ world arc paintingx. xculpturcx. or
xoincthing clxc cntircl};
‘\\'c arc in a curioux poxition hccausc a largc part of thc work wc do i.x to inakc ourxchcx imixihlc in thc \Vtit‘k. x0 that _\'t)tl L'illllltll xcc our hand in it.‘ adinitx Schaxtian. ‘\\'c ha\ c xaid that w c don‘t
art. but ax thc inoxt cxciting thing w c could think of doing. Thc traditionalixtx xa_\: “'I‘hat'x not art. that'x going round and taking hitx of‘ ground." At thc xainc tiinc. w hatchr ncw avant-gardc happcnx to hc around will x;t_\'2 “()h. thc} 'rc making picturcx that hang on a wall. lt‘x a traditional landxcapc painting."
'I'hc rctroxpcctch at thc National (iallciw oi .\lodcrn .-\rt. which inarkx thc 40th annixcrxar} of
Mark and .loau'x l'irxt xhow. lookx xct to priwidc xoinc aiichrx. tracing thc dcvclopnicnt of Boyle l-‘ainil} work. and. for thc l'irxt timc. collccting togcthcr thc dixparatc clcmcntx ol thcir practicc. ('omcrxcl). it ma} turn out that Boylc l-‘amil'x haxc xuccccdcd in thcir goal of niotixclcxx appraixal. and thcir work will rcmain unlathoniahlc. no morc and no lcxx than picccx of thc world. Or. ax Schaxtian Bo} lc pqu it: 'In thc end. all wc arc x;t}'iltg ix: “Hcrc ix thix. and thix. and thix . .
National Gallery of Modern Art, 624 6200, 14 Aug-9 Nov, £4 (£3); under 125 free.
tlL‘L‘Cxxal'il}' xL‘L‘ thcnt ax wot‘kx til~
hit
FESTIVAL ART
The best exhibitions this week
I Boyle Family Spanning their entire career. this is the first ever retrospective devoted to Boyle Family, who are celebrated for their hyper-realistic reproductions of squares of the earth's surface. See preview. National Gallery of Modern Art. 624 6200, M Aug—9 Nov, E4 (E3); under 723 free.
I Helen Frankenthaler Best- known for her stained-paintings initiated in the 508. this is the first ever Scottish showing of paintings on paper by the influential American artist. Helen Frankenthaler. See preview. Royal Scottish Academy Bur/ding, 225 6677, IS Aug-26 Oct, £5 (£3.50); under 723 free.
I Monet: The Seine and the Sea - Vétheuil and Normandy 1878-1883 The eagerly anticrpated unveiling of around 90 paintings by the French impresscnist. Claude Monet. A painter of extraordinary variety. this five star show. housed in what has become a world class venue, is a mustsee. See review. Royal Scottish Academy Building, 624 6200. until 26 Oct, £8.50 (£5.50); family ticket £20; under 723 free.
I Black Box Set aside an hour and go see these incredible film installations: Isaac Julien's semi- autobiographical Paradise Omeros; Jane and Louise Wilson's disquieting Gamma: Malerie Marde's remarkable film of people sleeping, At Rest, and Francesco Vezzoli's The End of the Human Voice. See review. Edinburgh College of Art, 227. 6000, until 7 Sep, free.
I Julian Schnabel Love him or loathe him. this new work by the American artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is his first show in Scotland since the 803. Inver/eith House, Royal Botanic Garden, 552 7171, until 26 Oct. free.