ART REVIEW
[EE— BOOK or was a IN PRINT
Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop until Sat 6 Apr. Under their new and sexier name Underwired, the Edinburgh Women Artists Group have linked up with their counterparts in Seattle to produce a double exhibition of work at the Edinburgh Printmakers Gallery. True to their collaborative ideal, each artist contribute only one work, so the show is a medley of styles and techniques. The Seattle Women’s Caucus of Art sound pretty radical but their 23 prints entitled Book of ours are disappointingly tame. largely concerned with women’s issues, their work tends toward the sentimental with prints like Janice Holkup’s Patriarchy, depicting the shadow of a woman over which are inscribed the words ‘I am woman, my name is anonymous and I am invisible temale.’ In a more adventurous spirit, some of the work in the Edinburgh group’s In Print collection breaks away from predictable ideas and traditional methods at printmaking. Hard to miss is Lucy Brown’s Boiones (Spanish for testicles). A print of the imprint of a man’s genitals on a scarlet background over which the word coiones is printed in gold. The gem of the exhibition is Nina Pope’s Where Are We Now? created using a new computer generated print method, this technicoloured miniature landscape is
like a peek into an Alice In Wonderland world through the wrong end at a telescope. (Tanya Stephan)
OUT OF THE WEB
l"ringe (ialleijr'. Glasgow until Sol 6 .-lpril.
From virtual reality to abstract American artists such as Jackson Pollock. Victoria Morton claims some diverse inspiration for her work. Perhaps this explains the uneven feel of Out (2/ The We!) at the Fringe Gallery.
in Castlemilk Arcade. With the exception of two paintings. which allow the luxury of relatively straightforward interpretation tied to a clear. developing aesthetic. the show is liable to sail over most people‘s heads. And that‘s a shame.
Nodding in all the right directions. the exhibition programme sets otrt Morton's artistic stall attractively enough. To some. painting does seem ‘increasingly prirnitive‘ in this age of new media. so finding alternative ways of revamping the medium and expanding its possibilities is welcome.
In two untitled works (most on offer
Frog’s legs: Jeremy’s Reasonable Tricks by Jane Benson
Hyper-reality abstracts: a painting by Victoria Norton
have no name. so guess which I mean). Morton effectively uses the texture and depth offered by air/nushing in striking contrast to traditionally painted. abstract shapes. These are both flat and inanimate. as well as dynamic ‘storm and cloud‘ formations. The result is a graphic hyper-reality -~ a virtual world of pixels inhabited by incongruent objects pasted D'l‘P-style into the same frame.
Creating space. Morton has conjured up an illusion you can move through. She encourages the viewer to expand. explore and create a story for these new worlds. but unfortunately this is nor repeated throughout. The remainder seem tentative and unsure by comparision. and a number of works are simply decorative in a nice sort of way. Although the majority struggle. on the positive side the show‘s clear minority strengths confrrm that the rnuch—rnaligncd medium of painting still has plenty to offer. tl’aul Welsh)
British Art Show questionnaires
Two artists in the much-talked about British Art Show share with The List their thoughts on life and art.
CATHERINE YASS
ll'l(l(’.\'('(’lll arul ltat‘k-lil. ('atherine l'ass is p/Iologt'apltii' inrages of'enip/y. institutional t'orritlors pirll the viewer in to a luminous atul eerie tunnel of colour. Her work is on show at the .S'eottis/t National Gallery of't'llotlern .rlrt.
When did you decide to become an artist?
I have always wanted to be an artist and I don‘t regard myself as a photographer. If another media came ur then I would use it.
Where do you work?
At home in London.
Where did you take your series ot photographs ot corridors?
At Springfield Psychiatric Hospital. but any photograph you take is not objective. I wanted people to feel they were falling into the picture. To be seduced by it.
What photographic process do you use?
Photographic images are often too authorative. the camera can only lie. I want to make the photographs show this. So I always try to undermine it by exaggerating the colour. distorting the image and playing around with the processing of both negative and positive images.
00 you ever destroy your work?
I ” . r.',:/./
Everything is self-destructive. but I keep things. perhaps to be re-used. Which artist most intrigues you? Bellini for his portraits. also Goya and Rembrandt and Victorian photography for the way it abuses truth and power. What are you currently working on?
I am photographing London‘s Smithfreld Meat Market. the architecture. the people and the meat. before it closes in March.
The British Art Show is at seven [Edinburgh venues until Sat 27 Apr. For
details see Art Listings.
TACITA DEAN
'l'ltroug/ililni. drawings and II(’)t'.\‘/’(l/)(’)‘ clippings. 'liu'ita Dean explores the l)()lllI(l(ll'l(’.\‘ ltelrr'eenfiu'l arulg/ie/ion. Relelling stories: the blurs the lines between reality and Ill_\‘lll until everything is not what it seems. Her work is on .vllorr‘ al the ('in Art Centre.
When did you decide to become an artist?
There was no specifrc moment. but I had to light hard to get to art school. I had lots of misconceived and romantic views about being an artist. If I knew all I know now I would have become a lawyer.
Name a significant event in your career?
Meeting Derek Jarman on a train. It was the bravest thing I‘ve done. ljust went tip to him and we talked about film.
Can you explain the film The
.llilt'l_\'i'tlonl ()I St Agatha llll Several Paris)?
It‘s an authoritative fiction. an insight into relics. facts and fiction. It‘s a way of dealing with information: to present it in a documentary way.
Which artist most intrigues you? Marguerite l)uras for her frlms and writing. Also the work of Chantal Akerman and Marcel Bromlthaers.
Do you ever destroy your work?
Very rarely. I am a hoardcr.
What are you currently working on?
I am making a film called Disappearant‘e At Sea to be shown this summer in the lighthouse at Berwick- upon-Tweed.
llow doyou relax?
I don't relax too well. Cups of tea l suppose. I should do yoga.
Do you make enough money?
No. I need a teaching job.
'Iaeita Dean is giving a talk on her work at the City A rt Centre on Sat [3 Apr at 2pm.
68 The List 22 Mar-4 Apr l996