festival

EXHIBITION REVIEW The Tiger And The Thistle

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In I799, In the name of colonialism, the British stormed Seringapatam, the capital of the southern Indian state of Mysore. The British were victorious and the battle left dead Tipu Sultan, ruler of the region.

Known as the 'Tiger Of Mysore', Tipu apparently frequently declared that he would rather live two days like a tiger than 200 years like a sheep. All good fuel to the British imagination. Tipu embodied exotic romantICIsm, partiwlarly after his death, and he ceased to be an 'implacable enemy of Great Britain In India’. This show, subtitled Tipu Sultan And The Scots In inc/la 7760— 7800 comprises examples of Tipu's weaponry along with paintings of Tipu himself. And, of (Ourse, paintings of strapping Scots domg their stuff for their country (and trade routes).

At the exhibition’s centrepiece is a large canvas Sir Day/d Baird Discovering The Body Of Tipu Sultan by the Scottish artist Sir DaVId Wilkie. Like many of the paintings of the Brits abroad, the work is about colonial herOIsm. Painted In I839, It shows Baird dramatically alive and Tipu very dead

It Is also a piece of specific propaganda. Baird felt his role at Seringapatam was never fully acknowledged by British military command Wilkie's painting was out to assert Baird's place In history. He has clearly made It. (Susanna Beaumont) 555555 The Tiger And The Thistle, National Gallery (Venue 63) 624 6200, until 3 Oct, Mon—Sat 70am-6pm. Sun 7 7am—6pm. £3 {£7 50).

DRAWINGS REVIEW Mastery And Elegance

Alfred E HorVItz, a one-time real- estate executive from Hollywood, has amassed a vast collection of French drawmgs The drawmgs, dating from the early 17th century through to the early 19th century, appeal to Horvitz as they appear to achieve a 'balance

DJ Derrick Carter as depicted by Barry Olden for Tribal Funktion

between the cerebral and the sensual’. Certainly the use of crayon, pencil and chalk achieves an opulence. Swathes of lightly crumpled silks, delicate curls of foliage or a gentle blush of colour on a young girl‘s cheek, all can be brilliantly and sensually drawn.

Many of the works are studies for later paintings. Charles-Joseph Natoire's Study For A View Of Heaven is a high Baroque scene. A mass of saints and clerics, drenched in a vast acreage of fabric, seemingly cavort in trompe l'oeil bliss; the composition later evolved into a real-life ceiling fresco for a Roman church. Another engaging work is the formidable- looking Mademoiselle Clarion playing Medea. Seen on board a chariot, Ms Clarion was unsurprisingly a famed tragedienne of her day. (Susanna Beaumont)

a Mastery And Elegance, National Gallery (Venue 63) 555 8927. until Sun 5 Sep, Mon—Sat 70am-6pm, Sun 77am-6pm. Free.

MIXED-MEDIA REVIEW Churchill: The Evidence e 9% e

As Evelyn Waugh once cuttingly said, Churchill was 'simply a radio personality that outlived his fame.’ Certainly Winston Churchill had a way with words at a time when every British family gathered ceremoniously around their wireless. Churchill's talk of gifting to the nation his ’blood, toil, tears and sweat’ and of 'fighting them on the beaches' had the Brits gripped. And crucially, as any personality worth their cult status knows, Churchill gave time to image management. The cigar, the bow-ties, the hats all contributed to 'the father of the nation' look. Setting out to reveal both the man and the myth, this show of memorabilia, photographs, the occasional sandbag and, Importantly, the BBC broadcasts doesn't get heavy on veneration. His fancy political footwork Is looked at, particularly the World War I disaster of Gallipoli, a campaign initiated by Churchill. Yet Churchill was no political shrinking violet, as Lloyd-George later observed: ’Winston now thinks he is God and the

galleries - museums

GROUP SHOW PREVIEW The Nature Of Sweetness

Think of Switzerland, and a vast imaginary slab of Lindt tends to hit the lips. The chocolate-box imagery of the alpine land is, however, a tad irritating to the nation's artists. They are not for churning out pictures of men in lederhosen or Heidi lookalikes. At Edinburgh College of Art, six artists from Basel are exhibiting work that shows how far cocoa solids are from their mind. Selected by Swiss curator, Marianne Eigenheer, the work is resolutely contemporary with the majority of the six working as installation artists.

One is Barbarella Maier, a somewhat itinerant artist who for the last two years has travelled Europe making work in people's homes. In Edinburgh Maier is installed in a studio and is working with Scotland's answer to the

All stuffed up: Marie And Bambi by Barbarella Maier

lederhosen: the kilt and a pair of bagpipes.

'l've blown-up a picture of bagpipes on the photocopier,’ says Maier who intends to make an outsize instrument stuffed with cotton-wool. 'It will probably resemble a strange animal, but I want the studio to be a peaceful room for relaxation.’ Could this be the antidote to the profusion of bagpipes being played on the Royal Mile? (Susanna Beaumont)

e The Nature Of Sweetness. Edinburgh College Of Art (Venue 73) 227 6032,

8-30 Aug. 70am-5pm. Free.

only God.’ (Susanna Beaumont)

are Churchill: The Evidence, National Library Of Scotland, 226 4537, until Oct. Mon—Fri 70am-8pm. Sat 70am—5pm, Sun 2—5pm, free.

EXHIBITION REVIEW

An Infinite Storm Of Beauty at

As the Scottish Parliament consrders proposals to deSIgnate Loch Lomond and Cairngorm as the nation's first national parks, an exhibition on the life of conservationist John MUIT is timely. Born in Dunbar in 1838, East Lothian's most famous son emigrated to Wisconsin 150 years ago, where he became one of America's most revered figures.

A career all-rounder, Muir was a man of extraordinary energy who spoke of the 'natural inherited wrldness’ of his blood. Abandoning university, he explored North America and became famous for his celebration of natural beauty and his campaigns to create the parks of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.

This exhibition sketches his life with photo-panels, a video presentation and the odd painting. But for a great outdoors man, it's a bit airless. Muir was a pivotal figure in American Culture, visited by both the writer Emerson and President Roosevelt, while his work influenced a whole generation of artists like Ansel Adams. A lot more could have been said. (Marc Lambert) e An Infinite Storm Of Beauty, City Arts Centre, 529 3993, until 2 Oct, Mon-Sat 70am-6pm. Sun noon-5pm, £3 (£2).

ART REVIEW Summer Madness 3% is“??? 9c

The club flyer as artefact Is now Wider recognised, which Is why what is essentially a scaled-up, less disposable version of clubland artwork works so well when placed in the cool white rooms of the Bellevue Gallery.

Fred Deakin, Ellen DeakIn and Harry Olden are all distinctive in their nocturnal pursuits, with Fred Deakin's large-scale inkjet paintings familiar from his ubiquitous posters for the now legendary Edinburgh easy- listening club, Going Places. Olden's computer-manipulated inkjets are altogether more sci-fi, while Ellen Deakin’s kitsch cartoon heroines are ice-cool tough on the outside with an altogether softer centre. They appear to have sashayed straight out of the Virgin Cola TV ad. Her Sweetest Hangover, however, implies a stranger brew.

The after-hours influence on all three artists is clear and, while Summer Madness is subtitled as an exhibition from the trio's nightlives, it also represents a coming of age and an acceptance into the art fold of club culture. It's club class. (Neil Cooper)

a Summer Madness (Fringe) Bellevue Gallery (Venue 97) 557 7663, until 22 Aug, noon-6pm, free.

STAR RATINGS

tirttir UIIIIIIssal)le

it t t * Very good Worth seeinq Below average

i t it You've been warned

s-iz Aug 1999 TllELIST 77