Visual Art
The
shooting
gallery
This year, the Art Festival happens to be Chock full of photography. Alexander Kennedy peers through a long lens at the exhibitions on offer.
hcrc‘x xomcthing ahout thc l'latncxx. the
xtillncxx. thc rttthlcxx ximplicit) ol~ a
photograph that htn‘nx into _\our retina. e\ co w hen xpccd»wa|king around a w eck'x worth ol xhowx in one da_\. So it makcx xcnxc that the hordex ol' happ} xnapp) tourixtx at the l'cxti\al tand itx halw xihling. thc .v\rt l-cxtixal now in itx third _\cari ha\c hccn gixcn an art hacchanal dotninatcd h} the photographic image.
'l'hc Scottixh National (iallct‘) ol‘ \lodcrn .-\t't c\hihition tnntil 5 \o\. Urllt) (Lilith) hringx the work ol‘ \ew York-haxcd photographer Robert Mapplethorpe t I‘Ho WNW to Britain tor the lirxt time in a decade. lil).\'.\l amonc'.’ .\'o. _\oti won‘t lind much ol‘ that at S.\'(i.\l.-\. 'l‘he c\hihition ol. 7‘) workx l'octtxcx mainl} on hix xocict} portraitx ol' late greatx and art world lttminaricx. although we are promixcd a xclcction ol' lilowet'x and the odd penix to hreak UP the ‘w ho'x w ho' lccl ol‘ the w hole allair.
lt ix a comtnon occurrence l‘or w c|| tneaning gallcr} tlirectorx to attctnpt to hit \lapplcthorpe’x work l'rom the gutter h} L‘\lolliltg ilx reliance on claxxical ltlL‘LlN oli heaut}. hut it'x not thexc elementx that make \lapplcthorpe‘x work ‘grcat'. Richard (‘al\ocorcxxi. Director til. the Scottixh National (Ballet) ol‘ .\lodcrn .‘\rt ga\c it a go. xa_\ing: 'Mapplethorpch photographx ol' the human head and hod} demonxtratc a claxxical xcnxe ol’ heattt} that ix at oddx with hix reputation. I think that thix c\hihition will xurprixe man} \ixitorx'. But it ix prccixel} hix 'rcputation' hix \L‘\tl;tlil) ax xnhiect matter that makex Mapplethorpr work laxcinating. ()therwixc. hix printx would ha\e been condemned to aexthctic death h} .\thena. the xhop. not the (ioddexx. l’rudixh cop-out. or cann_\ rcappt‘aixal
Robert Mapplethorpe. a self-portrait
68 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE
ol an artixtic gcninx'.’ You cart he the judge. ('ontinning in the populixt \cin. lidinhnrgh- horn .-\|herl Watson rcturnx to the cit_\ alter a Soweto carccr ax an cnormottxl) xucccxxltil commercial photographer t(’it_\ .v\rt (’cntrc. until 23 ()ct. £5 lk_§.5(lll. 'l'hc xhow will comprixc Slit) or xo imagex drawing l'rom the lull range ol‘ the photographer'x octt\re cclehrit} portraitx. documentar} photographx. ax w c|l ax landxcapc and laxhion photograph}. \Vatxon hegan ax a l'axhion and ad\crtixing photographer in the I‘)7()x tmming to l..-\ in I‘)7ll then \Y in NW») hel‘ore branching out to tackle a much w ider \ariet} ol' axxignmentx and
perxonal projectx. nxing the Iandxcape ol~
.\lorocco ax inxpiration. llix work hax appeared on more titan 250 co\crx ol~ loam: ax well ax ill RUN/Ila SIN/Iv. ’I'I'HIt'. .Vt'ti‘xn't’t'k. and
III/('I'l'lit'il'. lle hax t'c‘c‘c‘ltll} cotnc to our
attention ax the photographer who prexentcd l'ma 'l‘hurman in [UN Iii/l. xporting a _\ellow trackxttit and wielding a xamtirai xword once a co\cr ol‘ The /./'\I. and now a look that can he xcen on moxt cit} xtrcctx tminttx the xwordl. .'\c‘t‘o\x thc road at the l‘rnitmarkct. Dutch artixt Marijke Van \Varmertlam c\hihitx photographx. xculptttrex and xhort tilmx (l’irxt
drop. l‘ruitmarkct. until l7 Sep. l'reet. Her
earl) work l'ocuxed on repetiti\e actionx which
xhe e\tendcd eternall} h) looping the lilm. llcr
more recent work takex thix idea ol‘ the he}ond lurther It} imhning her photographx with a magical realixt xenxihilit}. where the eax_\ llow ol' lilc ix temporaril) xtalled xo that it hccomcx lcxx lamiliar.
The work xeemx to want to thwart our
e\pectationx h} going tix more than w c e\pectcd. ln 'l’anncnkoek'. l‘or e\ample. a pancake rixex o\ er the Ir} ing pan like a xil\er} lull moon. with the hand ol‘ the thrower in the bottom lel't hand corner l'urthcr complicating ideax Ul- \c‘;tlL‘. :\ ltt\\cd pancake. like it!) L‘\L‘l'}tltt) miracle. alwa}x itwokcx glee and a xcnxc ol‘ accomplithent ~ here it aimx to mow aw a} lrom our xuhjectne xatixl‘action tthe xugar and the lemon juice) and into the realm ot the xuhlimc.
MAPPLETHORPE'S WORK MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED TO AESTHETic DEATH BY ATHENA THE SHOP NOT THE GODDESS
Another homecoming ol xortx the wax horn
in (ilaxgowi ix marked h} an exhibition ol'
photoiournalixm h} Harry Benson (Being There A l‘il‘t} Yearx oi Photojottrnttlixm. Scottixh National Portrait Gallery ~1:\ug-7 Jan. U) til—ill. a photographer who alwayx had the knack or being in the right place at the right time. Or may he that xhould he the right place at the wrong time w he xtood feet away l‘rom Bohh} Kenned} when he wax xhot. wax in the room when Nixon rexigned. and wax round the block than the Twin 'l'owerx when the lirxt plane hit on i I September. 200].
Thix e\hihition of work from a career xpanning tilt} )earx drawx together over 100 ol‘ Benxon'x moxt iconic imagex. and prexentx a xelection oi rarel} xeen work for thix
v)“; :, f‘t‘ :1, q_t' '1 . 1" J JI “".“‘~r‘-'L..fi,k abgfuai .2.» 7:31.. .25- 3:541“ rm. 1A..