The works here are in two sections. The first section looks at the idea of the human being progressing through the landscape, with an emphasis on the revival of interest in the ancient sites in the 1970s. The underlying theme is that of Movement. The second section, on Callanish, acts as the journey’s destination and the underlying theme is Time.
4.5.1 Spirals and Journeys.
A key development in the Scottish art scene came in the 1970s with the work of Richard Demarco in bringing together artists whose views helped to change opinion on what constituted art in Scotland. Demarco has been described as ‘a pioneer in Scotland of the notion of contemporary art as firmly integrated with the landscape, whether through the making of a journey or of …show more content…
45 (Left) Beuys, J., 1974. [Drawing using symbols Beuys observed at Newgrange in 1974, including the spiral as the principle of organic energy]. (Right) McGlade, J., 1975. [Work at Callanish during Edinburgh Arts Journey]. From Bellman, D. & Richard Demarco Gallery, 1976, and Richard Demarco Gallery,1975. Both books Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland.
On the walls are a number of twentieth-century paintings, selected to give the visitor the sense of moving through the Scottish landscape. They include John Maclean’s Landfall, (1993), John Houston’s Evening Sky over the Bass Rock (1963) and a series of William Turnbull’s abstracts. Fig. 46 Houston, J., 1963. Evening Sky over the Bass Rock. Watercolour. 92 x 104 cm. Via The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.
Fig. 47 Turnbull, W. (Left, 1962) No. 1. Oil paint on 2 canvases. 254 x 375.9 cm. (Right, 1964) Untitled. Screenprint. 50.5 x 71.1 cm. London, Tate.
Also on display is Beuys’ work Runrig (1962-72). The title refers to the old Scottish system of land maintenance, and was also the title of a 1973 performance work by Beuys. Straine (2011) notes that the collage may refer to the colour of peat, which Beuys used as a medium in some of his earlier work in the Scottish …show more content…
49 Johnstone, W., c.1929-1937. A point in time. Oil on canvas. 143.5 x 250 cm. Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
To one side of the room there is a display of the work of John Latham, who addressed the question of when or how an artefact becomes ‘art’ on a large scale in the 1970s. He declared the bings between Winchburgh and Broxburn to be ‘process sculptures’, titling them Niddrie Woman. The exhibition displays material from the Tate’s archive of his feasibility studies for the works. This work forms an intriguing parallel with Macdonald’s designation (see section 4.3), of ancient cup and ring marks as a large scale work of land art (Macdonald, 2009a, p.168). In both cases the works are not natural phenomena but man-made alterations of the landscape to which the term ‘art’ has been subsequently applied. Fig. 50 Latham, J., 1976. Documents as part of APG Feasibility Study, Scottish Office. London, Tate Archive TGA 20042/9.
In the centre of the first part of the gallery is a curved film booth showing Paul Neagu’s performance of Going Tornado, filmed by Grampian Television in 1974. This forty minute documentary is held by the Tate. Fig. 51 Neagu, P., 1974. Going Tornado. Grampian TV Studio, Aberdeen, November 18, 1974. [London,
4.5.1 Spirals and Journeys.
A key development in the Scottish art scene came in the 1970s with the work of Richard Demarco in bringing together artists whose views helped to change opinion on what constituted art in Scotland. Demarco has been described as ‘a pioneer in Scotland of the notion of contemporary art as firmly integrated with the landscape, whether through the making of a journey or of …show more content…
45 (Left) Beuys, J., 1974. [Drawing using symbols Beuys observed at Newgrange in 1974, including the spiral as the principle of organic energy]. (Right) McGlade, J., 1975. [Work at Callanish during Edinburgh Arts Journey]. From Bellman, D. & Richard Demarco Gallery, 1976, and Richard Demarco Gallery,1975. Both books Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland.
On the walls are a number of twentieth-century paintings, selected to give the visitor the sense of moving through the Scottish landscape. They include John Maclean’s Landfall, (1993), John Houston’s Evening Sky over the Bass Rock (1963) and a series of William Turnbull’s abstracts. Fig. 46 Houston, J., 1963. Evening Sky over the Bass Rock. Watercolour. 92 x 104 cm. Via The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.
Fig. 47 Turnbull, W. (Left, 1962) No. 1. Oil paint on 2 canvases. 254 x 375.9 cm. (Right, 1964) Untitled. Screenprint. 50.5 x 71.1 cm. London, Tate.
Also on display is Beuys’ work Runrig (1962-72). The title refers to the old Scottish system of land maintenance, and was also the title of a 1973 performance work by Beuys. Straine (2011) notes that the collage may refer to the colour of peat, which Beuys used as a medium in some of his earlier work in the Scottish …show more content…
49 Johnstone, W., c.1929-1937. A point in time. Oil on canvas. 143.5 x 250 cm. Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
To one side of the room there is a display of the work of John Latham, who addressed the question of when or how an artefact becomes ‘art’ on a large scale in the 1970s. He declared the bings between Winchburgh and Broxburn to be ‘process sculptures’, titling them Niddrie Woman. The exhibition displays material from the Tate’s archive of his feasibility studies for the works. This work forms an intriguing parallel with Macdonald’s designation (see section 4.3), of ancient cup and ring marks as a large scale work of land art (Macdonald, 2009a, p.168). In both cases the works are not natural phenomena but man-made alterations of the landscape to which the term ‘art’ has been subsequently applied. Fig. 50 Latham, J., 1976. Documents as part of APG Feasibility Study, Scottish Office. London, Tate Archive TGA 20042/9.
In the centre of the first part of the gallery is a curved film booth showing Paul Neagu’s performance of Going Tornado, filmed by Grampian Television in 1974. This forty minute documentary is held by the Tate. Fig. 51 Neagu, P., 1974. Going Tornado. Grampian TV Studio, Aberdeen, November 18, 1974. [London,