2006 Summer Exhibitions at the City Art Centre
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Item no 94 01 + EDI N BVRG H+ THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL 2006 Summer Exhibitions at the City Art Centre City of Edinburgh Council 29June2006 1 Purpose of report To present the programme of exhibitions to be mounted in the City Art Centre from 29 July to 22 October 2006. 2 Summary 2.1 This report summarises the exhibitions that will be on show at the City Art Centre during the summer of 2006. These are Toulouse-Lautrec and Art Nouveau Poster, Albert Watson FROZEN, and Anne Redpath and the Edinburgh School. This complementary group of exhibitions should have broad appeal to the general public, with an international flavour, and should attract both a local audience and visitors to the city. 2.2 The ground-breaking exhibition of posters by Toulouse-Lautrec and contemporaries examines the Postermania phenomenon of fin-de-siecle Paris. Scottish-born Albert Watson is one of the world's greatest contemporary photographers and this is his first ever exhibition in Scotland. Anne Redpath was one of Scotland's leading 20thcentury painters and her work is presented in the context of contemporaries including Gillies and Maxwell. 3 Main report Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Nouveau Poster 3.1 The City Art Centre will be the only Scottish venue to host Toulouse- Lautrec and the Art Nouveau Poster. This ground-breaking exhibition includes 140 French, Belgian and Spanish posters, which range from the early 19th century to the end of the Art Nouveau period. 3.2 The exhibition presents the cultural and aesthetic influence of Toulouse- Lautrec and his contemporaries on poster art in Paris, Brussels and 1 works by other leading artists including Jules Cheret, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard and Alphonse Mucha. 3.3 The exhibition is drawn primarily from the collections of the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Jersey. In addition, rare and significant works are on loan from the private, Parisian collection of the descendants of Edmond Sagot, “the father of poster dealers”. In 1880s Paris Sagot was the first art dealer to appreciate the aesthetic significance of poster art. For the next two decades his promotion of the medium was instrumental in the development of the fin-de-siecle Postermania. 3.4 In addition to the posters, the exhibition includes a number of gouache and watercolour studies for posters, as well as printed theatre, circus and cabaret programmes, and early advertising for a variety of commercial products. 3.5 The exhibition has been organized by the Jane Voohees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Albert Watson FROZEN 3.6 Stunning - provocative - haunting. However they are described, Albert Watson’s photographs are known worldwide for their beauty, power and masterly craftsmanship. Incredibly, this will be the first UK solo show by the Scottish-born photographer, and FROZEN is a retrospective of his rich and diverse 36-year career. The show’s 200-plus photographs represent the full range of Watson’s work, from iconic celebrity portraiture (Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, David Bowie to name a few) to shots of convicts in Louisiana; from exquisite Moroccan landscapes to sassy reportage work in Las Vegas, alongside his well-known fashion photography. 3.7 The exhibition includes hundreds of Polaroids of out-takes from Watson’s shoots from over the years and a DVD showing snippets from more than 500 TV commercials he has directed. 3.8 Albert Watson is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest photographers. He made his name as a fashion and advertising photographer in the 1970s before branching out to tackle a wider variety of assignments and personal projects. His work has appeared on more than 250 covers of Vogue, as well as in Rolling Stone, Time and Newsweek. He has undertaken countless campaigns for major brands such as the Gap, Levi’s, Chanel and L’Oreal and recent film projects include work on The Da Vinci Code and Kill Bill. 3.9 His work is immediately recognisable for its technical prowess and emotional pull. “If his name is not familiar,” wrote the Sunday Times, “his photographs will be: Alfred Hitchcock holding a dead goose by the neck, a naked Kate Moss looking like a mermaid.” 3.10 The exhibition is being organized in close collaboration with the photographer Anne Redpath and the Edinburgh School 2 3.1 1 Anne Redpath was an intriguing and complex character. Born in 1895, her father was a pattern weaver for a tweed manufacturer, she had a strict upbringing in the Scottish Borders. From 1913 she studied at Edinburgh College of Art, which at the time was a haven for artistic inspiration. Her work is characterised by her passionate use of colour and expressive handling of paint and she attributed her love of bright colours to her father, saying: “I do with a spot of red or yellow in a harmony of grey what my Father did in his tweed.” 3.12 Her paintings combine the sensual with the intellectual and the familiar with the exotic, and display an exceptional degree of individuality and masterly skill which confirms her standing as one Scotland’s greatest 20th century painters. The exhibition will also highlight works by other members of the Edinburgh School including William Crozier, Sir William Gillies, Sir William MacTaggart William Geissler and John Maxwell. 3.13 Rarely exhibited personal belongings are also on display, including Redpath’s painting palette, as well as a painted chest and sets of cups and saucers often depicted in her paintings. A Still Life activity area, a hands-on education guide and a programme of exciting workshops for families and schools, as well as guided tours for adults, accompanies the exhibition. 3.14 The exhibition has been organised in association with The Fleming Collection, London. Marketing 3.15 As in previous years, the City Art Centre’s Festival exhibitions will be marketed as a complementary package, emphasising the relationship between the different exhibitions on display, as well as the excellent value for money they will provide. A detailed marketing strategy is being planned for them, drawing both on the Culture and Leisure Department’s own established practices, as well as avenues available through the International Festival, the Fringe, the Edinburgh Art Festival and the Edinburgh Galleries Association. 3.16 A wide range of media will be used including posters, leaflets, press listings and advertising, stressing the fact that the admission price allows entry to all three exhibitions. As in previous years, favourable editorial coverage will be sought. Opening Hours 3.17 The opening hours for the summer exhibitions are the usual City Art Centre hours of Monday to Saturday, 1O.OOam to 5.00pm, and Sunday, 12.00 noon to 5.00pm. The exhibitions will be on display to the public from 29 July to 22 October 2005. Contractual Arrangements 3.18 The Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition has been created by the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museums which is part of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. A draft agreement has been drawn up between the Zimmerli and the Council after extensive negotiations. The Council will pay a fixed fee for the hire of the exhibition and make a contribution to the transport costs. The exhibition is being shown at the Gas Hall in Birmingham before it comes to Edinburgh and some of the costs are being shared. An exhibition agreement will be signed 3 after it has been concluded to the satisfaction of the Directors of Culture and Leisure and Corporate Services. 3.1 9 The Albert Watson exhibition is being created in association with the photographer himself, and the exhibition costs are being shared by the Council and the photographer. The Redpath exhibition is being created by the City Art Centre in association with the Flemings Collection in London. Any contractual arrangement for these exhibitions will be made through exchange of letters Finance 3.20 The estimated gross cost of mounting the Festival programme of exhibitions is f 130,000.This will be met from income from admission charges, sales income and sponsorship. There will also be a contribution from the Museums and Arts Division’s 2006/2007exhibitions budget of f 15,000, which represents the estimated cost to the Council. A full financial breakdown is given at Appendix 1 3.21 To offset the costs, it is proposed to levy admission charges of f5.00for adults, f3.50 for concessions and f 14.00 for a family ticket, admitting either two adults and two children, or one adult and three children. These prices are in line with the Council’s policy of encouraging the widest possible access to cultural events and offer good value for money. 3.22 The budget is based on a prediction of 22,500visitors, a realistic estimate based on numbers of visitors to City Art Centre paying summer exhibitions in recent years. 3.23 In line with previous practice, it is proposed that any surplus income generated by the exhibitions will be allocated to the Culture and Leisure Department’s Special Exhibitions Fund, to assist with the financing of major exhibitions brought to the city in the future. 4 Conclusions 4.1 This report deals with the proposed exhibitions to be displayed at the City Art Centre in the summer of 2006.This complementary group of shows has an international and Scottish flavour, and while both serious and scholarly, should prove popular with both visitors and residents. 4.2 The exhibitions will be supported by print and interpretative materials, ensuring that access to them is available to all visitors. Publications will be available to visitors who wish to study the subjects in greater detail.