DEVIL IN THE DETAIL: THE PAINTINGS OF ADAM ELSHEIMER (1 578-1 61 0) Royal Scottish Academy Building, Edinburgh, until Sun 3 Sept 0000.
f‘ffi'i“.",{/," '~:"‘:"r:I ,':°":l ' ‘J‘I/IV{:[ ’ 0", ,1",I,~.. Carzini'iqv ’,«:":i a' :14 .r ', H ffiilli'jémr”; ’w," ’14; ‘fr:"" }
<,rna.l ',f'»’;i:t' 3‘ r : :u' mu: ' gen ll'rf: ."Jifi‘fl: drum, M" .'r j i:':" *r' frrjrri .'!l', r/r'r‘v" t.'.rar:o’;‘,, lr': Cziraxi'j'jaf myrt ef‘i: ar/i T' i,- rriu'xAiiar fir; 1",”) wt Hurrii‘, “1' v if ,r' »:. W‘ff: W; wnmlmit, if ‘.' o: r’in"'w;": HUllJli'l‘ulllI/tfi‘:": tun/1'} '1‘ ..:~:. lllfotlll’Jli’}Willi/4171.9;"<:"<tfl.’:‘~ ~'i/ni.‘ arr: rfrr>.ir:r:rl .‘w’.’ J: 'rzar;ni?:ur full, appmr iati: f l‘,' ni'rwr‘. attur‘fv .'l In nature f’,|l£l‘)f,‘. n, "l"Y‘.. farrri
toenails, thr: ri‘ririritmt utiil<iifie ,f fry". f.élf)f)£lt}(' .‘inrl liliu'i’l La h Ill,f'!\il'3t;.iLrli or t)it>lir,;il mum: has lfrit] lift: in thi; f)£l(;f\t]l()tllltl. ‘lhr: btunrn j rif Sturrhuri' l‘; a twist: Went; inriwriiunt Sillltxlllkhilf).(:l()ilftllrlf'ltlllmml(l.r1.'.(‘ as thr: angel f;*.'.ll|$$ (lr r\.‘.‘ll Titllll hea‘adi. hut in thra (JUN/NI, tratlfatmt lails irla, in the liranrghus of a trr;t: anrl asses tmi, at each other.
Must rlrarnatit; it; flit; use :wf <iarkrums: sparks rufltttif in l()tllltf glass haulers; dramas pla, out Within {wills «if (lilll(“(:l|t]llf. ln 'l'nt: i‘ltxtwl‘ Iflt' f'i(:t:llltl
cows, sheep and people are} painterl white ()ll ilark, Iritlrniiig nut llhtt V|(lf()ll(’lll fairies ()r ghosts. Each painting is a tin\, tviritli rw (into a (frainatit: ‘NUlM where myths are Matt-ti out against suhlirnia landscapes.
(Ailsa Buytll
SCULPT URE
Still from Laddy and the Lady
l ii l.l HENRY COOMBES -
LADDY AND THE LADY Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 30 July 000
In 'over-egging’ one‘s interpretation of an art work, one must realize that this does the work of art a disservice. A purely subjective response is not enough — it forces art to comply with our appetites, we only like what appeals to us. The new film Laddy and the Lady by Glasgow-based artist Henry Coombes attempts to detangle this difficult knot, but art should not be easy. The artist makes objective her/his subjective sensibilities within the artwork, so that the work can be understood as such. The viewer must do the same to hers/his. This does not mean that we should hope to be ‘disinterested’, but that our interest and biases be taken into account before being passed over.
Coombes‘ film is a polished sketch; a small idea made great through the reifying medium of film. We must assume this is his intention. Is the story nothing more than the superficial employment of tropes to generate a narrative? Is this Barney-esque ‘narrative sculpture‘? To put a human in a dog costume could say something
PHOEBE CUMMINGS - FRAGMENTS Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, until Tue 10 August 00
After adjusting to the bright coolness of the Corn Exchange tltii‘uf‘. .33 :' exacth what you're supposed to he lotiking at The stark in r Tt'xw ii - J .. doubles as Navy Blue Designs foyer. is in the same anti: 1. mm i” w: w '- ' 2 work. And while it might suggest that artwork anti mar 'vr mt >...'. u: " 1' " . ' of Cummings wall-based relief works are lost in a xii". unfit- ’ " " " .1 ‘ '
The entrance tliret‘ts \isiturs towards light gre. .'.;‘r.::; _‘,r {pm ~ ti . quotation m curatOr Augustus CaseI‘,-Hag.’ftrrtl grarnl. .ir‘m 2",: ‘: z .
emanates fading echoes at its past. But this Ultfll‘txllilkl ’t"t"'fl‘. 2-, ' :'_'.v.>" : ' frame the exhibition. seems an anomalous iritrouugn r7 t w t" .-.: .«.~ '. " has hardly even begun. The interest of this ,. ting artmt': r». w“: " a ' T'r emanations of histon as it is the :;IILII]S}B(1:;8\\\\‘titlk r‘s w..- ~ msz : pin-Sized human figurines standing in the (any . t .ia'itiifi; s; " . " ' : crawling oxer lightbulbs like moths. nuge IftltTrx’l‘rk‘ barre: s .. H _: 1-1" rough-fired clay obsessitel‘,» looping arounu the rip. ' is f'
are humorous experiments in scale.
Yet. on the other Side of the gallery ner ‘.‘.dii-l\‘15t'tl : ,:e:-,-_-:.~ .: ' " r. decoration that fails to replicate the Challenge of "er risfti‘ at r‘ w " .1' z -2 2w deSign is disappomting and O\€f‘fdll)|llal. e: ‘ralk‘ii ng ‘itt e rm" -. :: ; :' :
saleability. ilsla Leater-Yapi
1 Int-- -‘ 1'. “.~
Visual Art
about humiliation, artifice, the suspension of disbelief, or the Brechtian sense of alienation that the best work engenders. There is no separation between art and entertainment, we can only wish that there were. This film is overly generous, easy in this respect; a narrative can be followed, there is resolution of a kind, the viewer is unthreatened. It sounds mad to say that art should be poorer so that life can become richer, but the poverty of means in art (its limitations) help us realize that life could be better. The flashback scene, while acting as a self-consciously employed filmic technique, both explains the story and forces us to wrongly give the animal a human memory. This slight of hand comments on the recent fashion for anthropomorphistation that has plagued contemporary art, but maybe doesn‘t separate itself from that trend convincingly.
Is this film about the failure of language (the dog disobeys on a pheasant shoot) or the phallic mother (an actress with a gun)? These views bring ‘too much‘ to the film. The humorous elements of the story act as a salve to the more unsettling scenes; the sense of safely distanced artifice, usually provided by the entertainment industry, reigns. (Alexander Kennedy)
4‘ A. .o A .. ..
#‘fr'laf'i {43‘ . I l I o; - .‘ ' " . 'f‘m‘imfiw‘ fut; I .' - x ‘ g L
‘7.
J“ 11.!
n.
h
I
- THE LIST 89