Visual Art
Go west
Alexander Kennedy looks at Print The Legend, where nine internationally acclaimed artists take images from the western as the inspiration for their work
IlL‘ ltlt‘tl til‘ the Attterican \Vc‘sl tlIlL'L‘ stretched
out like a great \‘irginal e.\panse of prairie. a
l'antas) onl_\ limited h) imagination and the Pacific Ocean. 'I‘his m}th is not onI_\ an American obsession. but one that the \\ hole \Vc‘slc‘l'll genre film- \ ie\\ ing world shares.
I’atricia Bickers editor of .-\rt .\lonthl_\ and curator of Print l/It’ Ixjei'ni/ at the I’ruitmarket has chosen nine liuropean artists to deconstruct and reconstruct this m_\th. The show brings together film. sculpture and photograph) to e\plore the idea of the \seslern. tising \arious methods in order to unpack issues surrounding the genre.
ll‘ \testerns are about goodies and haddies. let's start with the good gins and girls. The} might not seem so llllpl'L‘ssIVL‘. hut the} tisuaII} end up winning. In one of the small dark rooms upstairs Salla 'l‘_\ kkii‘s modest IllllL‘ l'ilm 'l.;tssti' steals the \Iltl\\. 'I‘he sc‘\llttlisetl male figure of a couho} fills the screen. but his stor} (if. he has one) seems irrele\ant. .-\1 first glance. I} kkii appears to gi\e us a sexen-minute slice of a larger film. where a _\oung girl stares longingl} at a semi- naked ho} practising jumpng through his lasso. Narrathe. tnusic. action and the emotion comes to a crescendo; this is both the ape\ of. a narrati\e and the t'ormalist e\amination of a l'ilmic de\ice. \\ here all constituent elements meet in the art ohiect.
(‘ornelia Parker's simple little sculpture. ‘liiithi‘so Firearms‘. takes an iconic object from a \ iolent past. the (‘olt.45. and hands us back something Useless and clunky. Peter (iranser's photographs ol~ (‘ierman weekend cowboys also plunder the m_\th. and mess tip the distinction hemeen past and present. lil}lll and
‘GOODIES USUALLY END UP WINNING’
Lasso by Salla Tykka
realit). 'I-Ilc cti\\liti} is presented as :1 ptisctl construction. an amalgam of sllellllL‘l's that all desperatel} sa_\: ‘I'm a cottho). honestl' Isaac
.lulien’s installed film deals \tith a similar sense of
desperation. \xith [\Hi ga} L‘tl\\lltl}\ tr_\ing to remain hutch \thile figuring out their passionate attachment through the medium of. dance. 'I‘his that} seem limit}. a hit of" old—fashioned camp. hilt can‘t this also he said of the figure ol the co“ ho} generall} 2’
So. \\hat of the "hatldies".’ It‘s difficult to care about Simon I’atlerson‘s \\ttII drauiitg. and \like Nelson‘s sculptures and installation also fail to comince. I)ouglas (iordon git es us another ‘I)ougIas (iordon‘. and man} people seem to like this. .-\s is often the case with (Bordon. it‘s all about scale: in this case 'higness‘ and slo\\iiess. It'll take _\ou the )cars to \tatch his dri\e-in film projection installed outside the galler}. hilt about fix e seconds to get to grips with its meaning.
.\'o\\ that America is full) conquered and colonised. and. in man} \\tl}s is ‘the West. like an} other e\pansionist super pou er it must spread further. again hecoming a m_xth fuelled h} empt} h_\\\ords such as 'pt‘ogt‘css~ and 'democrac) i. an ideal to fill the hearts and minds of occupied peoples. 'I‘his ma} ha\e been too trite a political point for Bickers to make. Here the msth ol' the West is embodied in the cartoon figure of the couho}. but the New er cannot help but interpret much of the \Hil'k on \Il(l\\ from a contemporar} political perspecti\e.
The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 4 May 00..
LIST
THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
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* Let Me Show You Some Things An exhibition of sculptures. short films and a newly commissioned short which allows the Viewer to channel hop through films from the Glasgow Film Festival (curated by The Magic Lantern). Orchardson creates a Modernist, filminspired videotheque for the visitor to watch Sarah Tripp's short film, where the relationship between a orphaned brother and sister is examined. See preview, page 96. CCA. Glasgow, until Sat 29 Mar.
* Print the Legend: The Myth of the West Art Month/y's Patricia Bickers brings together nine internationally acclaimed artists to examine the myth of the Wild West as portrayed in western films. See review, left. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 4 May.
* Craig Mulholland: Petites et Grandes Machines This exhibition of paintings. sculptures and films by the Glasgow-based artist attempts to highlight various ethical issues raised by information theories and their related technologies, and the place of the subject within these abstractions. The work focuses on the ideas of progress. entropy and their social, cultural and legal impact. Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Gallery and Sorcha Dal/as, Glasgow, until Sat 22 Mar.
=l= Camilla Low: Straight Letters Low’s sculptures are a response to Constructivism and Minimalism, and attempt to transcend traditional modes of display. Works are clustered. stacked, suspended or leant against the wall. They combine a seemingly casual presentation with refined. tightly crafted and considered use of colour. surface and form. DCA, Dundee, until Sun 30 Mar.
./ , )1 THE LIST 95