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The Shifting Focus of the Traditional Centres of Contemporary Art: Scotland’s Evolving Position from Periphery to Prominence Deborah Jackson Ph.D The University of Edinburgh 2013 "I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis; that the following thesis is entirely my own work; and that no part of this thesis has been submitted for another degree or qualification". Signed ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Abstract My thesis considers the distinctive characteristics of contemporary artistic production and display in Scotland from the 1960s to the present. The main objective is to make manifest the diversification of global sites of contemporary art away from traditional centres by examining less exposed aspects of art practice in Scotland. My methodology is driven by a set of case studies of artist-run initiatives (ARIs), which provide models of enquiry into alternative methods of production and display of contemporary art and that demonstrate the role of ARIs in producing art scenes, and not merely representing those that already exist. I focus on counter-histories of self-organised ARIs and their legacies, and adopt a genealogical approach to examine how recent praxis and infrastructures came into existence and how their initial impetus intersected with their historical conditions. Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory is employed to examine local forms of power and infrastructure, as well as the wider, global structures of the art world. The emphasis is on how ARIs and established institutions can and do negotiate with each other and in recognising the interpenetration of different scales of art institutions. I apply a bifurcated approach in order to bring Scotland into dialogue with anthropological discussions of cultural globalisation. I ask how locality, nationalism and globalisation are configured in (visual) culture generally and as applied specifically to a Scottish context. This is underpinned by a consideration of Scottish Devolution as a disintegration of hierarchical domination, which correlates to the ideologies of artist-run practice. Finally, I propose the eradication of top-down delivery in favour of horizontal distributions of knowledge and practice via self-organisation. 3 Acknowledgments I gratefully acknowledge the academic support of my supervisors Dr. Jonathan Murray and Professor Andrew Patrizio, and thank them for their perceptive and attentive consideration of my work. For their support and advice I would like to thank my colleagues in Visual Culture at Edinburgh College of Art and at Talbot Rice Gallery. I would like to acknowledge all the interviewees, particularly Tom McGrath and Cordelia Oliver who both passed away before the completion of this work. I am also indebted to Jim Haynes, Alexander Moffat, Susannah Thompson, Richard Demarco and Directors past and present of Embassy, notably Shona McNaughton, for sharing their views and experiences with me. For their encouragement and support I would like to thank Allan Thomson, Kate McKay, Sadie Barber, Barry Bryson, Allan Thomas Jackson and Ellen Kennedy. 4 5 Table of Contents Introduction 16 1 Institutions by Artists 44 2 The 57 Gallery 59 Scottish International Relations 64 The New 57 Gallery 69 Fruitmarket Gallery 87 3 Third Eye Centre 94 Glasgow Arts Centre 95 Socio Aesthetics 103 Centre for Contemporary Arts 109 4 Forebank/Seagate/Dundee 114 Contemporary Arts Capitalising on Culture 124 5 Locating History in the Present 130 Embassy 137 The Annuale 146 Professional Practice 150 Institutions Without Enemies 156 The Art of not being Governed 168 6 Centre of Attention 171 Devolution not Revolution 175 It’s not where you come from, 180 it’s where you are coming from Conclusion 184 References, Bibliography and 190 Interviews Appendices 1: The 1957 Gallery 203 Association 2: Memorandum and Articles of 204 Association of the New 57 Gallery Limited 3: Embassy Constitution 205 4: Transmission Constitution 208 6 List of Figures Fig.1 Demarco, R. (1961) Jim Haynes’ Paperback Bookshop [Photograph] The Demarco Digital Archive: The Demarco European Art Foundation Fig.2 Demarco, R. (1959) Jim Haynes’ Paperback Bookshop [Photograph] The Demarco Digital Archive: The Demarco European Art Foundation Fig.3 Jim Haynes and commemorative sculpture at the site of the Paperback Bookshop. (2012) [Photograph] Courtesy of The University of Edinburgh Fig.4 Cover of Scottish International. (1973) [Digitally reproduced from original] Collection of the author. Fig.5 Strategy: Get Arts catalogue cover. (1970) [Photograph] Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive; sourced from the Demarco Digital Archive Fig.6 Oliver, George. (1970) Das Rudel/The Pack by Joseph Beuys, installed at Edinburgh College of Art for Strategy: Get Arts. [Photograph] The Demarco Digital Archive: The Demarco European Art Foundation Fig.7 Alexander Moffat and John Bellany and their Open Air Exhibition - located on the railings adjacent to the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Edinburgh. (1964) [Photograph] Image courtesy of Alexander Moffat Fig.8 Alexander Moffat and John Bellany and their Open Air Exhibition - located on the railings adjacent to the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Edinburgh. (1964) [Photograph] Image courtesy of Alexander Moffat Fig.9 Hugh MacDiarmid opening the John Heartfield festival exhibition at the Appleton Tower, The University of Edinburgh. (1970) [Photograph] Image courtesy of Alexander Moffat Fig.10 Installation view of John Heartfield festival exhibition at the Appleton Tower, The University of Edinburgh. (1970) Image courtesy of Alexander Moffat Fig.11 The New 57 Gallery Committee. (1972) [Digitally reproduced from original] Collection of the author. 7 Fig.12 Catalogue for Four Artists exhibition: James Birrell/Michael Davey/Gareth Fisher/Thomas Lawson. (1979) Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive; sourced from the (New) 57 Gallery Archive Fig.13 Installation view of Four Artists at The New 57 Gallery. (1979) Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive; sourced from the (New) 57 Gallery Archive Fig.14 Edinburgh Arts group outside the Third Eye Centre. (1979) [Photograph] The Demarco Digital Archive: The Demarco European Art Foundation Fig.15 Tom McGrath’s Arts Centre Plan. (1974) [Digitally reproduced from original] Image courtesy of the CCA and the Third Eye Centre Archives Fig.16 Oliver, George. (1975) The Opening of the Third Eye Centre, Saturday 10th May 1975 [Photograph] Image courtesy of the CCA and the Third Eye Centre Archives Fig.17 John Byrne, Boy on Dog (Blue Sky against Grey Sky), 30 Annandale Street, Govanhill. (1974) [Photograph] Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive; sourced from the Scottish Arts Council Archive Fig.18 Graffiti on Boy on Dog (Blue Sky against Grey Sky). (1975) [Photograph] Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive; sourced from the Scottish Arts Council Archive Fig.19 Back on the Map - The Garnethill Exhibition: The Third Eye Centre (1976) [Digitally reproduced from original] Image courtesy of the CCA and the Third Eye Centre Archives Fig.20 The Dirty Hands: Alex Pollard and Clare Stephenson. (2009) [Photograph] Courtesy of Transmission Fig.21 Direct Serious Action Is Therefore Necessary: Joanne Tatham & Tom O'Sullivan. (2010) [Photography] Courtesy of Transmission Fig.22 Forebank Studios. (n.d.) [Digitally reproduced from original] Image courtesy of Robert McGilvray Fig.23 Seagate Gallery. (n.d.) [Digitally reproduced from original] Image courtesy of Robert McGilvray Fig.24 Win Together, Lose Together, Play Together, Stay Together. (2003) [Photograph] Courtesy of Craig Coulthard 8 Fig.25 Installation view. (2003) [Photograph] Courtesy of Craig Coulthard Fig.26 Transmission. (n.d.) [Photograph] Courtesy of Transmission Fig.27 Young Athenians publicity poster. (2006) [Digitally reproduced from original] Courtesy of Tommy Grace Fig.28 Paul Carter exhibition poster. (2006) [Digitally reproduced from original] Courtesy of Embassy Fig.29 Installation of 12XU in Embassy. (2006) [Digitally reproduced from original] Courtesy of Embassy Fig.30 Embassy’s Professional Development Programme posters. (2004, 2005 & 2006) [Digitally reproduced from original] Courtesy of Embassy Fig.31 No Soul For Sale, Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. (2010) [Photograph] Courtesy of No Soul For Sale Fig.32 Parade: Public Modes of Assembly and Forms of Address. (2010) [Photograph] Courtesy of Neil Cummings Fig.33 Embassy’s installation of Broadcast Yourself at No Soul for Sale. (2010) [Photograph] Courtesy of Embassy Fig.34 The Embassy Collection: 10 limited edition boxes produced by the committee for EXTENSION at Glasgow Art Fair. (2004) [Photograph] Collection of the author. 9