ART & EXHIBITIONS
PICTURE BOOKS
I/ ‘ i. ' WW
‘Deux livres pour un kifo' - one ofthe ‘livre-obiets at the National library
Book Arts/Art Books, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.
The problem with exhibitions of books is that what one sees is restricted, - two pages or the cover- frustrating one's natural inclination to pick up a book and turn its pages. But the fact that they are exhibited at all shows that it is possible to consider a book's form independently of its content. This
exhibition from the Musée Royal de Mariemont in Belgium, one of Europe’s finest book collections, illustrates the progression from a beautifully bound and printed book, through to the ‘Iivre d’artlste’, where the book itself becomes the work of art, and to the ‘livre objet’ which dispenses with text altogether and uses only the physical
‘ shape of a book.
Forthe traditional blbliophile, there are many finely crafted books with rich, gold tooled covers like those by Jacques Weckesser. More adventurous are the Blakean combinations of text and illustration with experimental poetry like ‘Violette Nozieres’, illustrated by Salvador Dali, Max Earnst and Alberto Giacometti. Also of interest is Catherine de Mesmaeker's ‘Une Femme un Corbeau Ia Nuit’, on hand-printed Nepalese paper, showing the reworking of a poem from first draft to final version and Isabelle Tavitian’s writing of Michaux's poetry in transparentglue on transparent pages.
Perhaps the most fascinating pieces in the exhibition are the ‘Iivres obiets’. The ‘Livre-vermicelle’ by Jean-Pierre Benon uses the components of a book, but stripped of their meaning — vermlcelle letters are jumbled up in a hollowed out ‘Dictionaire LarouSse’. Anne Goy’s ‘Livre en caoutchouc' is essentially a large rubber book in which the shape of the text is seen but not articulated, and ‘Livre en plomb’ by Juliette Bousseuf, weighs 6kg with ‘pages’ of lead and gold.
Jacques-Louis Nyst's ‘L'Objet‘ has a cover which shows the ‘obiect' and inside the text reads, ‘I brought back from my last trip/a strange object/metallic, blue./ I've looked at it carefullyflhe top lifts up like a lid, or like the top of a dissected skull/Inside it is empty’. I should have thought it obvious to Jacques-Louis, from the straightforward cover illustration, that
he is looking at a blue teapot(Glllian K. Ferguson)
be Unbearable’ Until 20 Apr. Acreative . adaptation of what George Bernard Shaw really said. Illustrating the point with works on paper and innovative installations are Jurgen Albrecht. Sol Lewitt. Tessa Robins and Craig Wood.
I HANOVER FINE ART 22a Dundas Street, 5562181. Mon—Fri 1(1am—6pm: Sat 10am—4pm.
Alastair Buchanan: Recent Works in Gouache Until Mon 8 Apr.
Jean McNeill: Walercolours and Oils Until Mon 8 Apr.
Four Textile Artists Sat 13—29 Apr. Mostly figurative works by four freelance textile artists who graduated from Glasgow School of Art Embroidered and Woven Textile Department.
I KINGFISHER GALLERY 5 Northumberland Street Lane. 557 5454. Mon—Fri 9.3(Iam—4 . 30pm.
The Spring Exhibition Until Fri 12 Apr. Mixed media exhibition oflandscapes, still life and figurative paintings by Anne Anderson, Anne Gordon and Claire Harrigan.
I LADY STAIRS HOUSE Lady Stairs Close, Lawnmarket. Mon—Sat l()am—6pm.
A celebration of Scotland‘s greatest literary figures — Robert Burns. Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.
I MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD 4211igh Street. 225 2424. Mon—Sat 10am—6pm.
The best days of your life? Toys, videos and various kids‘ bits and pieces shed some light on how it was for everyone else.
I NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND The Mound, 5568921. Mon—Sat lllam—Spm; Sun 2—5pm.
Watercolours by Edward Lear Until 28 Apr. There was nothing nonsensical about the several thousand landscape paintings and drawings produced by Lear during his lifetime. which is probably why they only recently began to receive any recognition. The 42 works on show are from the collection of Sir Steven Runciman and were mostly painted by Lear during his extensive journeys in the Eastern Mediterranean. particularly Greece and the Ionian islands.
Sunshine and Shadow: The David Scott Collection of Victorian Paintings'I‘hurs 1 1 Apr—2 Jun. A collector with a special affection for high Victorian art. David Scott was one of a rare breed of art lovers who claimed never to buy a picture as an investment. ‘but solely because I liked it and wanted to own it and live with it.This collecion includes works by Millais. Dyce and Sandys.
Etchings by D. Y. Cameron Wed 3 Apr—30 Jun. Highly prolific, though fastidiousin his insistence on quality. Cameron produced more than 500 plates between the late 1880s and the early 1930s, a period during which etching received a popularity unparalleled in later years.
I NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND George IV Bridge 226 4531. Mon—Fri 9.3()am-8.30pm; Sat 9.3(1am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm.
ANNA FOX
In Pursuit
Pg
PDRTEDLID gallery 5-27April
Tuesday - Saturday 12.00 - 5.30 43 Candlemaker Row Edinburgh 031 220 1911
'I'Illi SCOTTISH (3
I .-l.l.l~2lt\' j
94 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 3DF, Tel 031 225 5955
"IMAGES FROM TRAVELS" PAINTINGS by LESKEZK MUSZYNSKI
"LIGHT, COLOUR, FORM" - PORCELAIN by SUZANNE BERGNE NICOLA HENLEY - TEXTILES
8 APRIL - 1 MAY Gallery closed Monday 15 April Mon-Fri 10 — 6; Sat 10 -1
MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
EAST FORTUNE AIRFIELD
Visit Scotland's largest air-related museum. Over thirty aircraft including a 1940 De Havilland Tiger Moth. Aero-engines and rockets are also on display.
Admission free. Open daily 10.30am - 4.30pm East Fortune airfield - follow the signs from the A1
* Tearoom * Shop * Access for disabled visitors *
All enquiries Tel 031 225-7534 ext 456 or 0620 88308
NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF SCOTLAND
The List 5— 18 April 199159