‘OTHERWORLDLY, ANDROGYNOUS FIGURES
INHABIT MYSTERIOUS SPACES'
l ’2' i ,i- r (I? 9" : “s
streams, the -dead J
LL 8". Frances Macdonald Inc . .
With the Mackintosh Festival in full swing, Ailsa Boyd previews the new exhibition of ‘Spook School’ work at the Hunterian.
n IS‘H. a room at the annual student exhibition in the Mcl.e||an Galleries caused a stir in the press. the work described as 'a chamber of horrors in a wax-work‘. submerged in a pea soup bath.‘ The artist-designers of these ‘ghoulish' watercolours. nicknamed the ‘Spook School'. all studied at Glasgow School of Art: (‘harles Rennie Mackintosh. James Ilerbert McNair (a fellow architectural draughtsman at Honeytnan and Keppie). Margaret
Macdonald. who later married Mackintosh. and her
younger sister Frances Macdonald. Two of 'The Four' went on to become the most famous collaborators and exponents of ‘The Glasgow Style‘. but Herbert and I’rances. who married and moved to teach in l.i\'erpool in 189‘). are less well known. This
is partly due to the disappearance of most of their
oeuvre in studio lires or when Herbert destroyed both his work and his wife‘s after her death. The new research behind this collaborative exhibition with the
Walker Art Gallery. Liyerpool. will redress sortie of
this imbalance. recreating the ‘I.ady"s Writing Room‘ from the Turin exhibition of Will. mixing original items with replicas by Scottish makers.
(‘ollaboration is the key to understanding the work of the McNairs. In the early l8‘)(ls the energetic principal of Glasgow School of Art. Fra Newbery brought 'The Four' together. seeing similarities in their style. They produced poster designs. watercolours. beaten metalwork like mirrors and sconces. exhibited internationally and — Frances particularly — with the new independent exhibition societies. They were archetypal ‘New Women’. dressing in corsetless clothes they designed themselyes. liying bohemian Iiyes. and producing astounding art. Their otherworldly. androgynous figures inhabit mysterious spaces of obscure plant
symbolism and indeterminater menacing imagery. but produced with undoubted skill and style. The
Macdonald sisters challenged contemporary ideals of
what was 'feminine‘ in art and life. beating out careers and artistic reputations for themselyes. lndiyidual contributions are often indistinguishable in the furniture and metalwork the sisters made with McMcNair at the same time. all three creating beaten metal panels to fit into furniture. with 'Spook School' imagery. curyes or dramatic rectilinears.
After marriage. the McNairs liyed an artistic life together. decorating their small home in I.i\'crpooI with collaboratiye furniture with stained glass and beaten metal panels. which later went into their room settings for international exhibitions. garnering them international acclaim. Alongside their teaching commitments. they produced jewellery. designs for pageants and theatre and graphic design. yet this was neyer yery profitable. and when they returned to Glasgow in l‘)()b’. their fortunes and relationship suffered. Frances' late watercolours giye yoicc to her frustrations at negotiating married life. linancial and personal insecurity. and although her personal symbolism is never clear. they are haunting images.
The McNairs‘ fame and reputation haye suffered from the loss of much of their output. and their status in the shadow of (‘harles Rennie and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. During this Mackintosh Festiyal. this exhibition will help its exhume the all- encompassing genius to find all the elements which helped to create the myth.
ogee
Doves and Dreams: The art of Frances Macdonald and J Herbert McNair, Glasgow, Hunterian Art Gallery, until 18 Nov.
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THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
* Doves and Dreams This exhibition brings together work by two of ‘The Four' who formed a group with Margaret Macdonald and Charlies Rennie Mackintosh. The exhibition looks at McNair and Frances Macdonald's watercolours. graphics. furniture and metalwork. the pieces they created while in Scotland. and the lesser know works they made in Liverpool. Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow, until Sat 78 Nov. £3 (£2). See opposite.
It Alex Pollard Pollard recently exhibited at the 2005 Venice Biennale. showing work that simultaneously conceals and exposes the process of its own making. This new series of sculptures continues his examination of the relationship between measurement. the simplified human figure and the reduced animal form. Sorcha Dal/as, Glasgow, until Sat 2 Sep. Free.
13 Marcel Breuer - Designs and Architecture A major retrospective of the Bauhaus graduate and Master's highly influential furniture designs and maquettes. The exhibition shows how his early designs drew on and developed the ideas of his teachers, before he became a major player in the International Style, creating internationally significant buildings.
The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Sun 27 Aug. Free.
It Manfred Pemlce An exhibition of new work by the German born artist. Pemice’s makeshift sculptures gleefully expose the cheap anti-art materials that he employs. Holes are drilled in walls. sawdust is left to gather in corners. and an anti-aesthetic aesthetic takes hold in the gallery space which is transformed into a storage area/studio. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Sat 16 Sep. Free.
17—24 All’} 20081115 LIST 39