ART & EXI—IIBITIONS
seventeen contemporary photographers. this exhibition aims to demonstrate the vital part photography has played in the recent resurgence of Scottish culture. Work ranges from straight black and white shots to an inventive synthesis of painting. sculpture. photography and words. Dynasty: The Royal House of Stewart. Permanent exhibition.
I OUEEN'S HALL Clerk Street. Box Office 668 2019. Mon-Sat 10am—5pm. Cafe. Familiar Objects Until 25 Nov. Portraits by Liz MacKay ofthe mundane. usually forgotten, odds and ends ofdaily life.
I RICHARD DEMARCO GALLERY Blackfriars Church. Blackfriars Street (off High Street). 5570707. Mon—Sat 10am—6pm.
Four Scottish Artists Until 17 Nov. Paintings, prints. constructions and sculpture from Erland Brown. Lys Hansen. Dawson Murray and Fred Stiven. Portraiture Masterclass 17 Nov. £25. With Richard DeMarco. Basic drawing materials will be provided. and a buffet lunch is included in the fee.
I ROYAL INCORPORATION OF ARCHITECTS IN SCOTLAND 15 Rutland Square. 229 7545. Mon—Fri 9.30am—5pm. Photographic Exhibition Until 16 Nov. Pictures of Glasgow.
I ROYAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND Chambers Street, 225 7534. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm.
The Work 01 Angels Until 10 Feb 1991. Celtic masterpieces from the 6th—9th centuries AD. including medieval secular and ecclesiastical metalwork and casts of several important sculpture stones.
Pots Hot At The Pans Until 1 Mar 1991. Following a successful showing at the Scottish Mining Museum in Prestongrange. this exhibition ofpo cry from various locations along the Lothian coast transfers to the RMS for the winter. I ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY The Mound. 225 6671. Mon—Sat lllam—Spm. Sun 2—5pm.
Works On Paper Until 11 Nov. A display of contemporary works using pastels. watercolours. pen-and-ink and other media. by Academy members.
Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen Exhibition l7 Nov—15 Dec. Paintings. prints. sculpture. tapestry. ceramics. jewellery and other applied arts. along with work on loan from the City of Leeds Ceramic Collection.
I ST BRIDE'S COMMUNITY CENTRE Orwell Terrace. 346 1405. Opening times vary according to the centre's activities — phone y for details.
Scotland and Its People Until 21 Dec. An exhibition originated by the Adult Learning Project. exploring the theme of Scottish identity through photography. involving groups and individuals from around the country.
I THE SCOTTISH GALLERY 94 George Street. 225 5955. Mon—Fri 10am—6pm; Sat 10am—1pm.
Pictures for November Until 27 Nov. A large mixed exhibition of important works by sixteen artists including Eardley. Gillies. Peploe and Redpath.
Barbara Rae Until 27 Nov. New Spanish paintings. including award-winning large-scale canvases.
I SOLSTICE GALLERY 18a Dundas Street. 557 5227. Mon-Fri 11am—5pm; Sat 10am—lpm.
Mixed Exhibition 9 Nov—1 Dec.
l 1 i
Step By Step, Portfolio Gallery, Edinburgh.
In conversation and photographs, Sirkka Liisa Konttinen has followed the lives of mothers and daughters from a Tyneside dancing school over a period of seven years. She intended the study as ‘an attempt at putting a linger on the troublesome nucleus of female experience’, hoping it would act ‘as a springboard for both critical and sympathetic examination of women’s lives within our society.’ The resulting exhibition — photographs interspersed with excerpts from conversations — offers an unusual, intimate and engaging insight into the life of a working-class community.
These are no privileged Royal Ballet pupils; mothers work extra nights or save their tips to pay for lessons; costumes are home-made. Dancing offers an escape into glamour and frivolity from the gritty practicalities of daily life, a chance to dream. The sharply-focused images capture both sides of the story with sympathetic irony— girls in sequinned satin and net dresses are pictured in ordinary living rooms or bedrooms, the clarity of detail -carpet and wallpaper patterns, gas fires, TV sets—juxtaposing fantasy and reality.
The limits, or context, of the escape offered by dancing are ever-present. The exhibition follows the daughters as they grow up, get married, have children of their own. The realities of unemployment, poverty, divorce, hard
E LITTLE LADY - \ ‘
work. are interwoven with the fun and excitement of the dancing school; run-down terraces and tower-blocks are juxtaposed with tutus. Various themes develop from the words and pictures: the importance of home and family, the hard-headed yet often humorous resilience with which difficulties are faced, the importance of the school as a female community, the women’s robust combination of romanticism and pragmatism.
The sombre tone of the photographs and the scrupulous avoidance of sentimentality create an overall sense of bleakness, yet many of the actual images, along with the quotations, portray a kind of tough optimism, a determination to seize enjoyment wherever possible. Some of the outdoor shots— a washing powder ad on a billboard, a Conservative election poster (‘Britain is great again‘) overlooking litter-strewn waste ground, mannequins in the window of a bridal shop. tired-looking women carrying shopping and small children— suggest an oblique, understated commentary. But on the whole Konftinen’s own views remain unobtrusive: the exhibition is primarily a detailed, unembellished portrait of these women’s lives— home, family,
I: work, their hopes and dreams for themselves andtheirchildren. The r clarity and warmth offhe images
. complement the eloquence of their own ‘ words. (Sue Wilson)
Contemporary Scottish painting and sculpture by artists including lack I-‘irth. Andrew Fitzpatrick. Perpetua Pope and Kate Robinson.
I STEP GALLERY 39 llowe Street. 556 1613. Mon—Sat Ham—5.30pm.
Mixed Exhibition Until 30 Nov. Featuring Brian Kelly. William Littlejohn and Ian Cook.
I STILLS GALLERY 10511igh Street. 557 1140. Tue—Sat Ham—5.30pm.
Orderand Chaos: Views of Gaia Until 17 Nov. New composite pictures by Patricia MacDonald. based on aerial landscapes and ground~based shots. exploring ideas of order and chaos in nature and mythology. with particular reference to]. E. Lovelock‘s ‘Gaia‘ theory ofthe earth as a single living organism.
I TALBOT RICE ART GALLERY ()ld ( ‘ollege. L'niversity of Iidinburgh. South Bridge. 667 1011 ext 43118. Mon-Sat 10am- 5pm: Sun 2 5pm.
John Mooney: Recent Paintings 1 mu 1? Nov. Still life paintings ofcacti and house plants and some larger. more symbolic works by an Iidinburgh painter and printmaker.
Old Master Drawings from the Galleria dell‘Accademia, Venice 1 'ntil 1 Dee. Around sixty drawings lrom the 1 liin Renaissance to the 18th century . including works by Micliaelangelo. ( iiulio Romano and I’otissin.
I THEATRE WORKSHOP 34 I lamilton
I’laee. 2265425. Aural 16 Nos «5 Dee. 'I‘he \Vesler I iailes Asian Women's ( iroup displays a
selection of its photographic work featuring images of the group. their families and community.
I 369 GALLERY 233 (‘owgate. 225 3013. Mon—Sat 10.3(lam—5.30pm.
Dorothy Steel: A Retrospective t'ntil 24 Nov. Steel was a contemporary ofloan Iiardley. and her early style was similar. ller later work. however. became
by views of (ireenock and (iourock. This exhibition covers around 50 years of work. David Duke: Paintings Until 24 Nov. Duke is an Edinburgh (‘ollcge of Art graduate. now based in London. who works in semi-abstract forms. Philip Duthie: Amsterdam Paintings t'ntil 24 Nov. I)uthic won last year‘s Scottish Arts (‘ouncil Amsterdam bursary; this exhibition is the result of his year iii the city I I TORRANCE GALLERY 29b Dundas Street. 556 6366. Mon-Fri l lam-6pm; Sat l().3llam-—4pm. I. Lesley Main 12» 24 Nov. New paintings and mixed media work by this Glasgow-based artist. I I TRAVERSE THEATRE 112(iras‘smarket. 226 2633. 'I’ue~Sat l lam-41(1pm; Sun 6 ‘ 10pm. The Depressed Hen: Paintings by Rob Rain L'ntil 18 Nov. llain lives in the Borders and spends much of his time studying animal antics. producing light-hearted miniature paintings from his observations. I WASPS Studio (iallcry. Patriot l lall. Henderson Row. Stockbridge, 225 138‘). Mon—Sat l lam—5pm: Sun 2- 5pm on exhibition daysonly. No exhibition at present.
OUTSIDE THE CITIES
Dunblane
I CORNERSTONE GALLERY Cathedral Square. (1786 823696. Mon—Sal 9.31)am--5.3()pm; Sun 2—-5.3(lpm.
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' QTY. " In] 13 October— 1 December 1990 A CAPITAL COLLECTION
Scottish Art Belonging to the City ofEdinburgh
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23 October - 17 November
1990 CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT Photography Competition and Works from the City's Topographical Collections
City Art Centre 2 Market Street Edinburgh EH1 lDE Open Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm
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