THEATRE
:— Still live
Something is noticeably lacking in Scottish art: a tradition oi periormance
art. This lack is very noticeable to those
who spend time in places such as Coventry, Newcastle, Hull or, at course, London; anywhere that has an
art school with a department devoted to j
so-called ‘third area’ -time-based media, video, installation and so forth — or even simply a tutor in the college who works in this way. Scotland has its painting, its printmaking and sculpture and even (particularly in Glasgow) a healthily diverse and growing tradition oI site-specific work— but no periormance art.
This October is the tenth anniversary oi the National Review oi Live Art and its third year at the Third Eye Centre, and it’s depressing to realise that despite that sterling work, none oi the tour Scottish art schools, and iew oi the galleries (with the occasional exception oi Richard Demarco and the Third Eye itself) have had the nous to diversiiy into this area. Indeed. the work that has had the most support (critically or in terms 01 exhibition space) has been highly conservative and sale.
The upshot at this is that law oi the periormers in the NRLA have been
Alastair MacLennan
Scottish and the event has been almost ignored by critics here, while at the same time, it has been a beacon drawing artists irom all other parts at the country, and is enthusiastically welcomed by periormers and critics from outside Scotland. And the upshot of that is that it you mention periormance art in a Scottish context, an image is conjured up of some sort of weird theatre, or certainly a theatrederived practice.
This is a great shame, and certainly does the NRLA a disservice. Pigeon-holing work is not necessarily a useiul activity, but it should be pointed out that many oi the periormers at this year’s NRLA come irom a visual arts background, including the three commissioned artists: Roland Miller, the Bow Gamelan Ensemble, and Alastair MacLennan. MacLennan, one oithe best-known periormance artists, is ironically a Scot, but has spent most
oi his mature lite in Beliast, and has become strongly linked with debates about Irish culture and its practice, and iniluential through running the MA in Fine Art at Beltast’s art school. His periormance will last for the duration oi the NRLA— iour days- during which time the audience can ieel tree to come and go as they please.
He describes the process oi performing as being like making a painting; he starts with certain materials and ideas, and works with them over a period ottlme, developing the work into a state oi completion. There is not a pre-set notion ot how the linished piece will work; no pre-iixed events or dialogue; only a set at issues — Ethics, Ecology, Ethnicity—and a short statement: Complacency Feedback Compassion Aggression Crisis Processing Here.
It this is to be the last National Review of Live Art in Glasgow, then the challenge has to go out to the art schools and the galleries and the critics to help iosterthe environment within Scotland ior an iniormed practice of periormance art. It won't just happen by itself, and it is ridiculous ii Scottish artists at the calibre oi MacLennan iind a more conducive working atmosphere elsewhere. (Hilary Robinson)
Alastair MacLennan's Still Tllls, Wed to—Sat 13 Oct, all day at the Third Eye Centre, Glasgow.
THURSDAY 11 .
I Workshop: Marty St James and Anne Wilson .‘vchcnnan Galleries. Education Room. 270 Sauchiehall Street. Noon. Marty St James and Anne Wilson host a creative workshop (limited to twely e people) to investigate methods of video communication.
IVIdeos Studio. Noon—9pm. Sec Wed 11).
I Tread Lightly My Child PS 1 . Noon~8pm
Escapism is the theme of Stephen Carley"s , installation which makes trse of a specially
recorded piece of music by Sheffield-based percusionist. William Vince.
I Talk: Julian Maynard-Smith (‘rlasgtm- School of Art. 167 Renfrew Street. 3pm. Maynard-Smith gets down to basics by posing the question: What Isa-1 (food Idea".
I Talk: Forkbeard Fantasy P52. (rpm. Forkbeard Fantasy are masters ofcomedy and invention and so appropriately their talk is about ('omedy and Invention.
I DI Darkened Rooms The Shelter. 7 Renfrew Court. 7pm. Sec Wed 11).
I Dinner Gallery 1. 7.30pm. See Wed It). I Some Coniusions In The Law About Love
Gallery 1.8.30pm. Forced Entertainment :
inhabit a world of cheap hotels. crass showbiz entertainment and pulpT\'. while confronting the big themes oflove. sex and death.
I Cranky Winders 4 P52. 10.30pm. See Wed 10.
FRIDAY 12 ,
I Videos Studio. Noon—9pm. See Wed It). I My Body Did Everything P51 . Noon—8pm. ' Alan Mclean teams up with Tony Mustoe r to examine male sexuality from violence
to tenderness in aeombined
installation. performance. l I How We Invented The Airplane
McLennan Galleries. Education Room. 270 Sauchiehall Street. .\'oon~5pm. The I Glee Club takes us on a guided tour ofits l heavier than arr flying machine in an l
examination of the nature ofinvention. I Talk: Pete Brooks and Claire Macdonald Glasgow l'niyersity Drama Department. Drama Studio. {i3 llillhead Street. 1.30pm. Prey icwing tomorrow's performance of The Full (ifl.ur‘u.s I’orrunt’. Brooks and Macdonald call forxl 1.or[.ess Shouting.
I Talk: Bobby Baker Glasgow School of Art. lb? RenfrewStreet. 3.30pm. Performance cook Bobby Baker exposes all in this talk entitled Making l’unof .llts‘t’lf. i
I Lite-Saving PS3. bpm. Dislocated action and fragmentsofdaily life are thrown together by The Damned lovely.
I Architecture For Babies (iallery l. 7.3llpm. The future viewed from a PVC sofa in a satellite 'I‘\' chat show and performed by Dogs In 1 loney.
I Di Darkened Rooms The Shelter. 7 Renfrew L‘ourt. 8pm. See Wed It).
I Some Coniusions. . . (iallery 1.9.3llpm. Sec Thurs l l.
I Debate/Performance: The Form Studio. 10.30pm. Even the seminar is experimental as .\'cil Bartlett plays the role of The Moderator introducing
per tormances from six panelists and encouraging a debate both about content and funding. Representitives from funding bodies w ill be present as will Wooster Group Associate Director. Nancy Reilly.
I A Sale Place The Roof. From Illam. lt's impossible to keep a ball-point pen or a Fringe Programme in The Li'sroffices; Kirsten Layers. however. wonders where life's more ethereal moments end up.
I As We Take Our First Breath McLennan Galleries. iiducation Room. 270 Sauchiehali Street. 11am-5pm. lan Dawson's installation is based in a shrine ofdomesticity.
I 0i Darkened Rooms The Shelter. 7 Renfrew Court. Ham and ‘)pm. See Wed ill.
I Videos Studio. Noon—3 3llpm and
S—me. See Wed 10.
I On The Goodnight Loving Trail PSI. Noon—6pm. Sara Domvillc's installation is a fairytale vision of Conquistadors and liberty in the Wild West.
I Inventing The Logic ln Chaos Gallery 1. Noon. Students on Leicester Polytechnic‘s Performing Arts Course present the second instalment in a trilogy based on The Man Who M istook His Wife ForA Hal.
I Bride Kicks Gallery 1. 12.50pm. Fiona Wright plays with images of women and imagination.
I Big Kids Make An P52. 12.30pm and 1.30pm. Martin Burton‘s black comedy plays games with the passage of time and confronts our tendency to avoid reality by setting up systems and habits.
I Five Personages ol Bridal Persuasion Gallery 1. 2.30pm. Galore Performance propose theories about British Rail. the Royal Mail. the population ofBrighton and a housemaid.
I Breadmaking Gallery 1. 3.15pm. Lisa
2 Watts gets energetic with some dough. I Talk: Rose English Studio. 3.30pm. Rose
English'stalks on that popular subject Has! Du ‘Berlr'n' Gefundun.
I No Room ForA Dog P52. 5pm. Annie Loycjoy and Mac Dunlop join forces to
. create an installation/performance which may or may not be about the oppression of » dogs
: SATURDAY '13 '
I The Fall at Lucas Fortune Gallery 1. 6pm. Pete Brooks and Claire Macdonald take an excursion into dream as four people meet in a bar after a Biblical-style flood.
. I Coasting P52. 7.30pm. David lzod and
Adrian Lambert return to the National Review with a foray into the art of
stor' telling and desert island dilemmas. I Architecture For Babies The Shelter. .7 Renfrew Court. 9pm. See Fri 12.
I Blast PS2. 10.15pm. Kate France and
'I'amzin Griffin get together as Blast. and
worry about the atmosphere.
I Dr Even What Leaving Was Gallery 1. 11pm. Anne Seagrave considers escape routes.
Memories _ Confessions Sermons Anecdotes Uncensored emotions Spiritual longing Ecstasy
Turner An autobiographical performance. An inspired act of personal liberation.
Kain iounder of the original rap group The last Poets
Directed by Boris Gerrets
A Third Eye Centre Commission
Fri 5 it Sat 6 Oct. 1.30pm. trio/£2.50
llltRD EV! (ENIR!
i 346-354 Souchieholl St., Glasgow Box Office 041-332 0522
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The List 28 Scptcrrrber lltlcto’wr l‘l‘ltlfil