me, me, me

India in full fascinating bloom

2008-03-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

Blog on...

2008-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

On my way to Goa, I had to stay over at Heathrow Airport to catch an early morning flight. I chose the Comfort Inn Hotel, which was close and cheap. And guess who I saw there. The guy with the spinning head on the SEA Blog. I don't know his name or anything, but back at school last week, I saw him and mentioned I'd spotted him there. He agreed that was pretty random.

Self as subject - Self as object?

2008-02-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. Body as a site of Cultural Representation. What does that mean? It's my latest research assignment, so I better find out. And as I'm going to Goa during the research period, much of what I come up with will be influenced by what I experience there...woo-hoo!

Stop the Carry On

2008-02-03T03:56:00.000-08:00

Glad I got that out my system. I'm cured now. You're actually okay, Mackintosh Building. Safe from further attack. For the moment.

Breaking the Rules (without meaning to)

2008-02-03T03:30:00.000-08:00

I found this old window frame thing at the skip opposite the Mac and decided, given the window theme of my work, that it had indeed been laid at my feet by the Universe, to aid my art. Perfect for throwing paint at. So I picked it up and hurried down to the studio with it. As I got to the basement corridor, a janitor came rushing behind me shouting: "You can't carry that hen, Health and Safety! You're not meant to be carrying that!" So I speeded up a bit and shouted back cheerily: "I'm nearly there, just along here!" Then he, trotting faster to catch me, and getting a bit pissed off that I hadn't stopped, snapped: "Whose your teacher hen? ye canny dae that...there's nothing youse wouldnae try!...but it's Health and Safety...". I reassured him it would be okay, saying with a smile: "Ach, I'm here now. I won't be carrying it about again. I'm sure it will be fine with Paul Cosgrove...". ?

Jim Lambie

2008-02-03T03:07:00.000-08:00

I caught up with GSA Graduate Jim Lambie - ahead of shows in New York and Japan and a big one in Glasgow's GOMA - for a wee chat over a cup of tea and a Marlborough Light...

JIM'S PONDERINGS ON THE MACKINTOSH:

"It's Glasgow's showpiece. I take visitors up there to have a look at it."

"I found it a bit restrictive. I did my best work in the old Girl's High - we could do anything we wanted there..."

"I wouldn't be able to produce the kind of work I would want to produce in it."

"But there's always going to be somebody, one O' Grade short of a sanction, who wants to make art history by jumping through one of the windows or something..."

"It's like this treasured thing, you can take it out and have a look at it, but you've got to wear gloves."

"It's becoming more and more preserved to the point it will just end up a museum."

"...that's bound to affect the art that's being made in it."

"What sort of art will come out of that restrictive environment?"

window window, burning bright

2008-01-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

This is the first part of my site-specific piece of work. It represents the lull before the storm, the order before the chaos, the calm behaviour before the tantrum...the playing of the game.

getting there...

2008-01-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

lines
text
red
light
colourful
naughty
contemporary
celebratory
psychedelic
bright
cheeky

Bruce Peter

2008-01-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Bruce began studying at GSA in '92 and is now a lecturer in Architecture and Design. He spoke about the Modernist qualities (including the expanses of glass, which interest me) and the Decorative qualities of the Macintosh, and how fans of each style can hold opposing positions. Then he described a 'seismic cultural change' over the past decade in political correctness in the building. It seems Mac users were able to be their bohemian selves up until the late 80s - and that was just the lecturers - some of whom he described as 'debauched old rock stars,' who even had groupies. The students, who Bruce dubbed the 'golden generation of glasgow artists' included Jim Lambie and Jenny Saville. The Mackintosh, a 'scuzzy, dark and incredibly liberal' space is becoming more cleaned up, more manicured, for commercial reasons. Bruce described the new toilets as having the flavour of a 'Paige and Park shopping centre'. I adore this colourful imagery which, combined with the recent Avant Garde lecture, is cementing my ideas of a piece which celebrates non-conformist notions.

Marianne Greated

2008-01-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Marianne came to Mac as a student in '94, now she's a lecturer in Painting and Printmaking. She had a 'romantic view' of Mackintosh before she started art school, then got sick of all the tourist stuff and felt like it had been left some tacky legacy. This resonated with me, as I'd been put off by that too. However, she's come full circle again and not only loves the building but feels privileged to be working in it. The painting studios are deliberately north facing so the light doesn't change continuously as it would if they were south facing. Clever. She's sad that some of the most amazing spaces are now used for administration. Marianne told me lots of anecdotes about people being naughty and getting caught...and I'm thinking of a rebellion theme.

Renee Chater

2008-01-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

Renee is a 4th year Interior Design student. She's based on the top floor, which is her favourite as it's a less busy thoroughfare. Her studio, however, is full of computers and she finds that, erm, 'difficult'. Renee prefers the Mac's little secrets to its big attractions. She loves the nooks and crannies, the half-landing studios that can only house two or three people, the way the stairs have been worn down by the tracks of time, and the windows. As part of the GSA's Digital Mackintosh Conservation Project, Renee's mum, Nina Hepburn, sponsored a window as a gift for Renee's 30th birthday. Her window is one of those at the front of the building in the janitor's office. This news helped develop my idea to transform a window.

Ray McKenzie

2008-01-15T08:38:00.001-08:00

Ray has been in and around the Mac for 30 years now. He describes it as an 'absolutely excellent' building. What makes it so special for him is the sheer aesthetics of the details and the spaces - the architectural fixtures being the 'pieste de resistance'.

We spoke about how I had been put off Mackintosh before attending art school because of all the tourist merchandise - the motif postcards, the writing, the mugs...but Ray pointed out that the building is bigger and better than the cliche.

The discovery of other little bits and pieces, the more you use it, goes on and on. I agree. To know the Mac is to love it, and this project is forcing me to know it and to love it more.

fearsome figures!

2008-01-11T02:50:00.000-08:00

sexy surfaces!

2008-01-11T02:36:00.001-08:00

lovely lines!

2008-01-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

slow burner

2008-01-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

Wee bit of a confidence crisis with the project so far but have asked the universe for some divine inspiration. While I'm waiting, in case I'm in a queue, I'll do exactly what is suggested on the brief. Always a good start, eh? So I've taken some photos of the bits of the Mackintosh that interest me - both negative and positive - and have compiled a list of animated characters I want to speak to about the building. People who are a bit bananas (...in the nicest possible way - I love bananas). And once their brains have been picked I'll share that tasty fruit salad of information with y'all.