l
ART & EXHIBITIONS LIST
Edinburgh College ofArt
“I’ve not woven a tapestry in 3 years,’ proudly announces a final yearstudent, while elsewhere in the studio a colleague is fiddling with what looks like a transparant fibreglass coffin. Next door, someone is wiring up decaying lemons to a small electric light bulb.
Some students here are actually making tapestry work - but many are sculpting, ‘making stuctures‘ in metal, wood, tar and cloth, creating books on desktop computers, performing live and conducting bizarre experiments on sealed jars of rotting fruit. And what is more, they are being encouraged to do so.
The department is one of the few of its kind in Western Europe and ‘Tapestry’ seems more of neat label to satisfy administrators and grant-makers rather than a prescriptive category. In an institution renowned for a slightly puritanical adherence to the virtues of a classical art education and for a strong emphasis on the production of finished work, this is something of an anomaly. Moments afterasking why this might be, lfind myself in the midst of a group of graduating students whose unbridled enthusiasm and idealism is surprising. ‘Here you’re free to go off into other areas and explore. But it‘s not a free-for-all. You are made to develop your own ideas and techniques and pushed really hard to find the best method for communicating what you are discovering . . . In a way, it’s more ‘fine art’ than painting . . . lt forces you to thinktoryourself and also trains you for work outside of the college and the
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world ofart.‘
Nevertheless. a casual acceptance lorexperimentoutside offine art traditions belies a more trenchant hostility to more radical change in what counts asthe ’rightthing‘ forart students to be doing. ‘Most of the staff
1 —they’re all canvas people. They’re not
really open to otherartforms. lwas working with performance and they simply didn‘t want to know, just hoped I’d getoverit.’
A future in a Thatcherite Britain holds no illusions, but neither does it induce feelings of despair. ‘If a Conservative government is in power, people tend to want conservative paintings on their walls . . . You just have to try and be as good an artist as you can be . . . lfwe were as pessimistic as they force you to be, they would win.’ How far have those kind of pressures penetrated into art school life? ‘We've felt it here. We
7 FinalYearStudents atthe Tas'i epament
used to have more space, some part-time tutors and a stocked wool cupboard to buy from. That’s all gone now and the cupboard is empty. You can't just call up a technician and say ‘Can you weld this for me‘ or whatever, which might be the case in Sculpture. Ourtechnical facilities consist oftwo liquidizers and a washing machine.‘ Worries aboutjobs and financial survival don’t seem to weigh too heavily and with degree shows around the corner, life after graduation seems a million miles away. Most hope to go on to postgraduate work, win scholarships to study abroad or to earn a living in tapestry restoration. Almost without exception, pursuing personal artistic aims and ideals is the first priority. ’lt‘s all about really knowing what you want and, even if you feel absolutely crap about it, knowing that’s what you have to do.’ (Simon Bayly)
bx painters lrom all round Seotland as u ell as tapestries from the Iigxptian I larrania SL‘IIUUI.
I BOURNE FINE ART 41)undas Street. 557 ~lll5ll. Mon I‘Tl Illam (spm. Sat
Illam lam.
Scottish painting 1800—1950 and decorative arts.
I BYZANTIUM \'ietoria Street. 225 PM. Mon Sat “lain-5.2%)an
Proposals for the Future Development of Victoria Street Sometime in June as_\et unspeeil'ied. The \ arious architectural sehemes tor the Street's future are displaxed.
I CALTON GALLERY Ill Royal Terraee. 556
. lllllt.Mou I'ri Illam fipszat 1 Want lpm.
I‘)th and early 2llth eenturs British paintingsarul \xttlet'eolotlt‘s.
I CENTRAL LIBRARY ( ieorge l\' Bridge. 225 55.“, Mon I‘ri ‘lam .S..‘\llpin; Sat ‘lam- Ipm.
The Scots Magazine 250th Anniversary 1 .Iune 13.Iulx (‘entral l.ibrar_\ (iallerx. .\ displa} otar‘tieles and Itne dt‘ms ingsthat has e appeared in the ‘\sorld’so|dest popular magazine".
Moving Worlds I 'ntil lll.Iune. .'\ displax ol photographs \\ ith text trom reeent immigrants to I'dinburgh. The Iidinburgh Room.
Comics and Cartoons 1 'nut alone. The Librar} 's eolleetion ol earieature and cartoons in books go on shim.
; Altrusa Club Exhibition l‘ntil .‘sulune. .-\
seleetion ot I’ri/exs inners lrom the Iindeax our eompetition (see beloxs )are on shoxs at the line A rt I.ibrar_\ .
I CITY ART CENTRE 2 Market Street. 225 2424 ext (itffill. Mon Sat Illam bpm.
I .ieensed eale. ID].
Edinburgh College of Art Degree Exhibition x) ll).lune. Iiinal year students from the Sehool of Design and ( ~rafts shots their imaginatix e and original work betore graduating
I COLERIOGE GALLERY 47b ( ieorge Street. 22lll.‘~ll5..\1on- Sat Illam- 5.3llpm. Studio Glass I 'ntil 3 .Iune. IttCItltIL‘s\st)l'I\‘ b} (‘harles Bra} . alingside those ot three xoung Izdiuburgh artists.
I COLLECTIVE GALLERY um I Iiin Street. 22ll l2till. Tue Sat 12.3” 5.30pm.
Positions otSilence l'ntil I7Jtine. Paintings by Rebeeea I-‘ortnum \s ho takes her inspiration t'rom Iitet‘ar} sourees and aims to ereate a new image torxs‘omen. I EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART Lauriston I’Iaee. 22‘) 931 I . Mon—'I‘hurs lllzirtt--S.3l)prn: I‘ri 10am—5pm; Sat Warn—noon. School of Drawing & Painting: School of Sculpture: MA Fine Art l7—27June. School at Architecture 22—2s’ June.
I ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION 23 .-\lholl
(‘reseent.22‘)152ts'. Illam 5pm.
A View From The North East I ‘ntil Slime, I FILMHOUSE I.othtau Road. 22S 2hS'S’.
Mon Sat noon llpm;Sunb.3ll Ilpm. Fabric Collages l ‘nul 34 June. Meg \Valson
displa} s some ot her abstraet \\ orks.
I FINE ART SOCIETY 12 ( ireat King Street. 55tstl3tl5. Mon- I’ri‘lfillain 5.3llpm.Sat Illam- lpm.
State DI the Art l'ntil 2ll.lune. Some (ill Seottish artists has e been brought together b} the line A rt Soeiet) to represent the best painting and seulpture UttllL‘ I‘lSlls.
I FLYING COLOURS GALLERY 35 William Street. 225 (‘77). Tues» Hi I lam (rpm. Sat Illam lpm.
The Cyprus Collection " .Iune 7 Jill}. \Vateieolours troni the I'.aslet‘tt Mediteranean b} S} Is ia
\Voodeoek (‘larlx'e \'. ho noxs spendso months a )ear in (‘x prlls.
I FRENCH INSTITUTE I3 Randolph ('reseent.225 5300, Mon I’ri‘).3(lam 1pm and 2 5.3llpm.
Anne Nordmann Photographier la Danse I'ntiI 15 .Iune. Anne Nordmann aimsto eapture the sudden upsurge and distinetix e mmements ot danee.
I FREEMASONS HALL 9b ( ieorge Street. Wed I-‘ri lllam hpm. Sat Illam Ipm. Charity Art Exhibition trail 3 June. The lriends ot St ('olomba's I Iospiee has e organised prolessional and amateur artists todonate their \sot'lx‘.
I THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY Market Street. 225 23S}. Mon Sat Illam 5.30pm Sunl 5.30pm.
Open Exhibition 3 .Iune lo .Iul} . The \sorks to feature in this exhibition are ehosen l’rom around 7llllentrants and eneompasses professional and amateur artists.
I GALERIE LA BELLE ANGELE I l I Iasties Close. (‘oxx gate ( behind 3N) ( ialler) ) Mon I-‘ri Illam 5.3llpm; Sat llam 4pm. I‘raming l'or artists done on the premises. I GALERIE MIRAGES Raeburn I’laee. 315 2(stl3fl‘ue Sat lllMlam J..‘sllpin.Sun
2 «1.30pm. CIt)\L‘LI .\IUIILI£t}s.
Animal Regalia I'ntil 3t) .IUITL‘. Seleetion tit adornments that man has tised to beautil} elephants. eamels. donkexsandoxen. (‘olleeted over a period ol I2 )ears mainly Irom the Middle Iiast and India.
I GALLERY OF MODERN ART Bellord Road. 550S921. Mon- Sat Illam Spin; Sun 2 5pm. [1)] (‘ate.
T he gallery ‘s jlisll} renoxs ned eale isopeu
& CRAFTS from
at
SCHOOL OF DESIGN
9th — 19th June Mon—Sat lOam—6pm
Ceramics, Glass, Printed Textiles, Fashion. Jewellery & Silversmithing, Furniture & Visual Communication
CITY ART CENTRE. MARKET STREET. EDINBL’RGII
PAINTING: SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE: MA FINE ART
from 17th — 27th June Mon—Thurs “lam-8.30pm; Fri mam—5pm; Sat “lam—12 noon
at EDINBL'RGII COLLEGE OF ART LACRIS'I‘ON PLACE. EDINBURGH
EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART ‘ T} a {I {3C
SCHOOL OF DRAWING &
54 The List 2 — 15 June 1%")