0 MERCURY GALLERY 3 3 Nortlt Bank Street. 225 32th). Mon? l‘ri lllame5.3flpm. Sat lilam l.f)t)pm. Mascaras de Mexico— Indian Dance Masks from Guerrero t‘niii Sat s March. An exltihition of ttniqtte masks front Sotttlt America isee panel).
0 NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND The Mound. 55o Si): 1. Mon Sat lilamw5pnt. Stiit 3 5pm. The Natiortal (iallery. Portrait ( iallery artd (iallery of Modern .-\ri will not he continuing tlte lunclttinte closures of preyious winters aitd w ill be fttlly operatiortal throughout the day . Figure Drawings t 'ntil end March. 300 years of figttre drawings.
0 NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND (ieorge IV Bridge. 32o ~153l.
Mon» Fri ‘).3t);titt 5pm. Sat
0.30am lpnt.
The Finnish Epic—The Kalevala 1835-1985 l ‘ntil I‘ri 2S l‘elt.
Fifty Years On -The Saltire Society 1935—1985'l‘ltrougltout March. .\it exhihition celeitrating tlte 5flth anniyersat'y of tfte society tit tlte fieldsofScottish education. architecture. ntttsic and the enyironment.
. ~13 I Iig‘li Street SSft 957‘).
While renoyation is itt progress tlte re will he no exhiltitions at the Netherltow.
0 OPEN EYE GALLERY 5“ ( ~tintlterland Street. 557 liijt). .‘yion l-‘ri
ltiam rttpm. Sat loam—4pm. [Di Contemporary British Prints lilitl Lesley May Miller—Ceramicst‘niil liltttrsft March.
0 Queen Street. 550 S921. .‘yion Sat lilant 5pm. Stttt 2-5pm.
The Riddell Collection t littil elltl .‘ylar. Gallery Concert l-‘ri 21 felt. Tisttpm. A rranged to coirtcide with the openingofthe Riddell ('olleciion lixhihition. Peter Riddell ltegan huying old pltotograplts iit the l‘t5ils when there was little interest iii the s'uhject. In the following years he amassed tltottsattds of items giyen to the Portrait (iallery lty ltis family after his deatlt last year. St) of the best examples are on display at the Portrait (iallery. showing the yast range of subjects t lttdia to Iidinhurgh) and the extremely ltiglt quality of the work. An elegant catalogue. specially puhlished for the occasion. contains a wonderful introduction to Victorian photography hy Sarah Steyenson of the Portrait (iallery.
o PRINTMAKERS' WORKSHOP GALLERY :3 I 'nton Street. 55“ Mon—Sat lilartt»~(tpttt.
Artists Offshore I'ntil Sat 15 March. After a stay on a sntall supply yessel in the presence of the massiye rigs of the North Sea. 14 young artists commissioned hy the Stirling Shipping Company. put together prints whiclt illustrated their experience. The images iii the
resultingexhibitionarestrongartd powerful— nteninoilskins.decks slicked with water. yards of piping arid the giant hodies of the rigs themselyes.
0 QUEEN'S HALL 5 Hope Park
Crescent. MS 345i».
: AlexMann—VlsuaISound t'mil
March. Paintingsof music.
247‘).
ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST
' —? MASCARAS DE MEXICO
In the hot misty mountains olthe state of Guerrero in Western Mexico. they dance with the devil. Good and evil fight it out on the streets and bats and
lizards tear through the skin of mortals.
The tiger and the dog are hunted and trapped asthe Heathensfleefromthe powerful doctrine of the Christians. All this and acres of coloured costume. fluttering ribbons and the music of whistle and drum. Fiesta Day.
Gillian Raffles. owner olthe Mercury Gallery discovered the masked dances of Mexico while on holiday and returned recently to buy a group of masks and photographtheirmakers. The exhibition now on at the Mercury Galleryisthe resultolhertrip.
Before Christianity took hold in the 16th century. the mask was used in the sophisticated Aztec, Olmec and Toltec civilisations. Man became animal or god. The magic of transformation was part ofeveryday life.
Whenthe new leaderfrom overthe seas arrived (as the Aztec prophets said he would) in the form of the Spaniard Cortez. the pagan dances were adapted to embrace Christian stories. Transformation became a tool of conversation for the new Catholic
0 RIAS GALLERY l5 Rutland Sqttare. 32‘) Tlfl5. .‘yfon l‘ri L)am 5pm.
The Way We Live t‘ntil in is felt. Contemporary housing designs lty Scottish architects.
0 ROYAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND ()ueen Street. 55h Si): 1. \lon Sat lllam 5pm. Sun: 5pm.
‘I am come home‘ t mil .‘stt April. 'l’reasures of Prince (‘harles l'.dw ard Stuart.
0 ROYAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND ('hamlters Street. 335 "534.
Mon Sat lilam5pnt. Sun: 5pm. Costumes and Textiles of Kuwait for an indefinite period
ADOUI Face for an indefinite period. Small display of make—up aitd hair ornaments front trtltal ltegtnnings to present day punk
New Acquisition l’ottr rare Lilltl preyiously unknown Benin (Nigerian) figures haye been recently acquired aitd are now on display iii the main hall of the
0 ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY The
Hound. 235 ottfil.
No exhihitions until the end of April.
0 SCOTTISH CRAFT CENTRE Ht) ('aitoitgate. 55oS13h. .‘ylon Sat lilamw 5.3tlpm. t‘eramics. knitwear. pottery. glass aitd textiles front the craftsmen aitd women of Scotland. 0 THE SCOTTISH GALLERY ()4 (ieot‘ge Street. 33.5 59.55. Mon ~l~ri
9am 5.3flpm. Sat f).3l)ant lpitt. Helen Lee—New Work t 'ntil Wed 5 March. lleleit lecis portrait of .New York focuses on a warrtt. inyiting hrownstone. l'he skyscrapersoftlte city are far iii the distance. their geometry softened at tlte edges lty I.ee's hrush. ller portraits of people are gentle aitd intimate. \the almond—shaped eyes set far apart helong to the large piitk face of the hride which fills a whole picture. (irandpas and children hay e a
priests. Thus the dance of the Moors and the Christians became as much part of the festival repertoire as the
older dance of the jaguar.
Though Christianity is now incorporated in the message of the masks. they remain essentially Mexican and true to the tradition of the indigenous people. Some are
prominent place iii the softly designed compositions.
Scottish Paintings and Watercolours l'ntil Wed 5 March. .‘yfixed show including work lty Pltilipson. l’eploe. liellany.
0 THE SCOTTISH MINING MUSEUM lady Victoria ('olltery. Newtongrange. \fidlothian. no! 751‘}. Tue l’ri ltlant ~i3tlpiit.
Sat Suit Noon 5pm.
ADayinthe Life ofa Coal Company .‘\n ambitious display which recreates the early days of the colliery lty using life—si/e models.
Prestongrange ( ltetween Prestonpaits aitd \ftisse‘lltttr'glt) lite l’ri
lflam 3pm. Sat Sim Noon 3pm. Part of the Scottiin .‘ylining Museum. tltissitccontainsayisiiorcenire and displays illustrating coal ntuting methods.
0 THE SHORE GALLERY 5‘) lfcrnard Street. :25 (35.1. \lott l‘i’i.
llattt 4pm. l)e7.ailsoffuture exhihitions w ill he announced iit The list.
0 STILLS GALLERY li)5 lliglt
Street. 55“ l l-ltt. lites Sat 12 opnt. Benson and Hedges Gold Awards Exhibition I hid Sat 1 Mar. l’resh front its showing at tlte t‘ollins (iallcry itt ( ilasgow. tltis exltiltitioit shows the work of ISO students and amateurs. The theme of the competition this year w as energy. producing photographs like Brian Shaw‘s Ifltte Monday. art eyocatty e intagcoflack of energyor(icorge Logan‘s Nuclear I’ishing. a yisual witticism. reminiscent of the HS; II adyerts.
Onthe Edge ofWhite Peak Sat s
Mare Sat 1‘) April. Photographsof limestone quarrying lty .lohit l)ayies. 0 TALBOT RICE ART GALLERY ( )ld College. I'niyersity of lidinltttrgh. (to? fill l ext ~13fiiS. Mon Sat.
, lflam 5pm.
frightening. The face of one mask has a
miniature horse clinging suffocatineg totheface ofthe devil whilea lizard traps another beneath his scales.
Large noses (which accompanying photographs of the dancers in action show being put to good use as anchors for their hat ribbons) curly noses. the pug nose of the wart hog and the flaring nostrils of the ever-present devil in all his disguises, guarantee to excite and thrill the crowds. The vivid colours of evil. calculated to entice and tempt. disguisethetreacherous coils ofa snake oozing from a devil‘s forehead and a scaffolding of assorted beasties shield a defiant boar. Stripes and streaks of paintcoatthe wood. moulded hide and real horns ofthe grotesque creatures. The sadness of the exhibition isthatthese once festive. communal masks are now fatedto hang as wall decoration.
The sparkle of life and the dance is missing and with modernisation creeping into even the more remote areas of Mexico. the ancienttradition of the dance may die out within a couple ofgenerations. The devil nowadays is not so easily identified as a bullwith horns.
Dante‘s Divine Comedy t 'ittil Sat 15 March. .-\it exftiltition of( ieoffrey .‘ylcliw an‘s paintings inspired lty the great ltaliait poet. To" ( iallery are showingacoittpaittoitexftihition during the same period. (’ontact the Italian Department of the liniyersity for details of a series of lectures oit Dante aitd ltts influence. 0 THEATREWORKSHOPH llantilton Place. 135 “Lil. \fott Sat ‘l..if).tiit late. Drawing and Prints by Diane Greig I'ltroughout \farclt. l’iguratiye prints and drawings oit the theme of l>ance from a young l'dinltttrglt artist. FIITD Print I ittil eitd l’clt. .-\ selection of the prints aitd paintings produced by llteati‘e \Vorksltop's printworkeis. during contntunity pi'oiectsandworkshop sessions. CIBSSBS \lost classes ltay e now Itcgun. ltui there are single day silkscreen courses ayailaltle. Details on application. 0 TORRANCE GALLERY Silt l )ttndas Street. 55tiii3iiti. \fon l-ri llaiit tipm. Sat it)..‘~i);titt 4pm. Alexanders. Burns R.S.W. L'ittil Sat 22 felt. l’aiittiitgs iii oil and watercolour. 0 359 GALLERY If I" ( ~owgatc. :35 Still}. .‘ylon Sat 13.7%) 5._ii)pm. Paintings and Prints by Geoffrey McEwan I hid Sat l .‘yfarclt. See also 'l'alltot Rice .-\rt ( iallery. l'lte 3N) has ait exciting programme of classes aitd lectures. Contact Angela \Vtapson. .ift‘) lidtletttioli ( )fftcer for details. 0 TRAVERSE THEATRE l 1.3 West Bow. Slob}? Where I Live —New Paintings by Sylvia Woodcock-Clark l 'nttl in 7 Mar. 0 TRIANGLE COFFEE HOUSE GALLERY 7 Randolph Place. .‘yion—I-ri. ‘)._‘~f).titt a. illpnt.
AIiCB Bold —An Exhibition ‘l'lirottgltottt
.‘ylarch.
lltcl tst .31 l elt it \fat 33