PREVIEW ART
V IN THE FRAME
Barbara Baa is one oi Scotland’s most established painters and printmakers. ller landscapes combine observation
with a decorative sense oi colour and ionn. Here, she talks about her love oi printmdting.
Detail irom Barbara Bee’s ‘lllghtiall at San Miguel’
‘What attracts me is that it’s quite a good support tor the painting; they go very much hand in hand. There are certain things you can work out in print that helps resolve paintings. Also some oi the ways you use colour in printmaking can diiier irom the type oi colour luxtapositlons you would normally use in a painting. Sometimes you’re on automatic pilot when you’re painting - whereas with printmaking I think one can be more adventurous and that can ieed back, eventually, into the painting. Also printmaking gives you a greater awareness oi suriace quality. For example I quite oiten like to do monoprints iirst and then incorporate that idea or image into a painting.
‘Etching is my iavourite medium because you make some marks, print It and you’ve got an instant magical image. Stone lithography doesn’t appeal to me because the waiting process takes iorever. I love doing monoprints because you can draw an image on a perspex plate, put it through etching press and there you have a wonderiul image which enhances any marks that you make.
I derive a lot oi imagery irom landscape but I also use images that are enclosed by windows or doorways, gardens which are imposed by walls, paths - structured Imagery.
‘lnltially at college I was very Interested in the paintings oi John Piper who used the kind oi textural and tonal contrasts irom diiierent building suriaces. The American Richard Dlebenhorn, Grahan Sutherland and naturally Matisse were strong iniluences on my Ilia. Contemporary painters like Anthony Tapies I love ior his work’s suriace and simplicity, the limitisation In the colour and sheer Inventiveness.
‘I think there’s a very strong printmaking tradition in Scotland and that has always come through the art colleges. The big turning point was when the printmakers’ workshops opened in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. The lead that they gave was tremendous.’ (Ann Donald)
Barbara Ilae Is among a number oi artists irom Glasgow Print Studio, Exhibition oi Published Prints, whose work is on show at The B.S.A until 13 February.
mam- Hidden
depths
‘Sounding the Depths’ is an audio visual collaboration between Irish artists Pauline Cummlns and louise Walsh, that purports to be a ‘comlng together oi themes which both artists had previously explored separately’. Their mullings on political and sexual Identity have resulted in a series oi video and photographic images oi predominantly over IIie-size iemale nudes, projected onto which are various open mouths. A soundtrack oi eiiects ranging irom dripping water to wild laughter provides aural accompaniment to this hardly visual ieast.
Cummlns and Walsh are ‘sick oi reacting to Catholicism, to anti- women laws in Ireland and to constantly being cornered and attacked about ieminism.’ It is a great pity, than, that the artists have somewhat squandered their
opportunity to address these vital issues to any satisfactory or thought- provoking degree. Instead, ‘Sounding the Depths’ is a seemingly limited repertoire oi crude and seli-deieating images.
In an attempt to subvert the ‘iemale model as passive’ role, the artists have created, in their ileshy iemale torsos with anonymous, wet, open mouths projecting irom their bellies, images which nod more in the direction oi mocking grotesquerie than ‘abandonment oi seli repression‘ or indeed any positive representation oi womanhood. llumour is also conspicuous by its absence.
The suppression oi Irish women’s rights over their bodies is a potent and debilitating reality which must surely elicit something more vital than Cummins and Walsh’s collaboration. The Sledgehammer visual approach oi the photographs iails to make much oi an impact. In iact, the whole seems peculiarly dated, uniortunate considering that this exhibition comes at a time when ieminist debate is currently and contentioust burning. ‘Soundlng the Depths’ has much wringing oi hands and gnashing oi teeth but there Is a sense that very little Is being said. Disappointing. (Caroline Ednie)
Sounding the Depths at Street level Gallery until 12 February.
ART
LISTINGS
Exhibitions are listed by city, than alphabetically by venue. Shows will be listed, provided that details reach our oiilces at least ten days beiore publication. Art and Exhibition listings compiled by Beatrice Colin. s
I ART EXPOSURE GALLERY 38 Bath Street. 331 2617. Mon—Sat 10.30am—6pm. Mixed Exhibition Until Mon 31 Jan. Work by Bryan Evans. Tim Cockburn and Liani Chn’smas.
I ART GALLERY G MUSEUM, NELVINGROVE 357 3929. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Cafe. [D]. Voluntary guides are available free of 1 charge to conduct parties or individuals round the main galleries. Ask at the enquiry desk.
Word Pictures: Illustrators In Scotland I Until 4 Apr. An exhibition of work by the f Illustrators In Scotland group which was formed in 1991.
Modern Art From the Collection New permanent display. David Hockney.
Bridget Riley. Alan Davie. Jasper Johns. Bruce McLean and Eduardo Paolozzi are featured in an exhibition of P0p Art and i work inspired by the heady 60s.
I BARCLAY LENNIE FINE ART 203 Bath Street. 226 5413. Mon—Fri lOam—5pm; Sun 10am—1pm.
The Jessie M. King Archive provides information on all aspects of the popular Scottish artist. Plus l9th/20th century work from stock.
I ROGER BlLLCLIFFE FINE ART 134 1 Blythswood Square, 332 4027. Mon—Fri .1 9.30am—5.30pm; Sat 10am—lpm. * Valentine Sat 29 Jan—l9 Feb. A selection of work on a romantic theme by gallery artists.
I BURRELL COLLECTION Pollokshaws Road. 649 7151. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 11am—5pm. Cafe. [D].
The collection of Edwardian tycoon William Burrell. including furniture. paintings. ceramics and glass. housed in an elegant purpose-built gallery. Recorded descriptions and thermoforms available for the benefit of visually impaired visitors.
Degas in Bronze Until 13 Mar. Direct from Brazil. one set o1~ the complete bronze sculptures by Degas depicting
; women. dancers and horses. Degas 1 showed only one of his sculptures in his
life—time. and most of these works were used as explorative studies for his
5 paintings and pastels. They show,
; however. his incredible understanding of movement and the human form.
I CCA 346—354 Sauchiehall Street. 332
7521. Tue—Sat Ham—5.30pm. Cafe. [1)].
Bad Girls Sat 2‘) Jan-«12 Mar. Bad. mad or
just naughty. six artists from the USA and Britain explore sexual identity. 90s style.
. with witty. perverse. erotic or in—your-l‘ace ‘ work. Also a video programme in the
studio. including work from nineteen-
year-old genius Sadie Benning. in her
bedroom with a Fisher Price video camera. plus work by Monika Treut and a film of a Riot (irrl convention.
l I CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENTAL ARTS
218 Albion Street. 552 2822. Mon—Fri 1()am-5pm.
AS Time Goes By Until 11 Feb. Paintings by Margaret Murphy. an artist who has worked with Project Ability since 1989. plus a selection of objects selected by the artist from Glasgow Museums.
I COLLINS GALLERY University of Strathclyde. 22 Richmond Street. 552 4400 ext 2682. Mon—Fri 1()am—5pm; Sat noon—4pm. [D].
Earth Witness Until 12 Feb. Mythical. innovative ceramic installations by Todd Garner. an American artist based in Glasgow.
I COMPASS GALLERY 178 West Regent Street. 221 6370. Mon—Sat 10am—5.30pm. Christmas Exhibition Until Mon 31 Jan. Huge range of work from new talent and established artists.
Degas In Bronze at the Burell Collection
The List 28 January—10 February 1994 53