MIXED MEDIA QUEST FOR CAMELOT: THE ARTHURIAN LEGEND

26 Jan 000.

The myth of King Arthur is all encompassing. You only have to turn

and Guinevere. For centuries. the

ROund Table has been immortalised and embedded in our Imagination through art. literature. film and muSic. But who was he? Was he a gallant King or a post-Roman British Celtic

explored in this three-floor family- Orientated exhibition. Entering the

stop is a display of costumes used in

been transformed into Camelot's king and dueen. Children's zones on every

and Quiz/es allow the adults to peruse the collection of comic books and original film posters.

nonetheless. iHelen Monaghanl

MIXED MEDIA GROUP SHOW WORDS & THINGS CCA, Glasgow, until Sun 23 Dec 00.

Words 8 Things addresses a Similar theme to the V&A's Here and Now exhibition: the making of copies and versions of originals. questioning why artists want to display objects and why the public want to look at them.

JODI's customisation of classic computer game Ouake has resulted in thirteen variations of the original. The concept itself is absorbing. but it's harder to approach the work as a Visual art ‘object' than as an idea.

Simon Starling’s work is about how meaning depends on context ibe it language. nationality or historyl. He transpons Poul Henningsen's 1957 design clas3ic the Artichoke Lamp - to a Daihatsti Hi Jet van, using materials from the van to recreate the lamp. and vice versa. In Black Stack. meanv-xhile. he explores the value of mass-produced objects by combining 32 home-made DKS fibreglass chairs. based on the 19:35 Eames design. to form a SCLilptural tower.

The interdisCiplinary approach continues in Mark Dion's Deept/me Closet. an interpretation of Lord Kelvin's experiment. Twelve large wooden steps bear the name of a geological epoch. obscured by a slowly descending stream of pitch. You enter the interior of the structure via a Narnia— like door to a magical planetarium.

No one could accuse the CCA of dumbing-down here and any opening event invites a level of anti-climax but. as a group show addressing several themes in a limited space. Words <2 Things is perhaps too ambitious. lSusannah Thompson;

JURASSIC CRETACEOUS

TFDTI A h\ I Mark Dion’s Deeptime Closet

Moving to the next level. the Victorian

revival of the legend is explored. IN ART Housmg a fine collection of paintings City Art Centre, Edinburgh, until Sat and Sta'ned glass Vth's romam'c response to Arthurian times is perhaps what most of us identify With. Tennyson's series of short poems and the epic ldy/ls Of The King inspired on the TV for Saturday night's National many artists. With his poem the Lady of Lottery draw to hear the names Arthur Sha/ott (1832 being one of the most popular images for 19th century artists. legacy of Arthur and the Knights of the John William Waterhouse's fondness for the idea of a femme fatale is revealed in his study for The Lady Of Sha/ott. Paintings by Edward Burne— Jones. stained glass panels by William Morris and early photography by general? These questions and more are Margaret Cameron also stand out.

The final section focuses on the validity of the Scots claim with the space through a torch-lit doom/ay. first inclusion of the earliest known literary reference to Arthur. the epic poem Y John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur. A Gododdin which describes a raid by a foetis on towism of the legend in Britain band of warriors from Edinburgh into and beyond leads to a selection of toys England. Dating from the 13th century. and games: even Barbie and Ken have the core of which many believe is from the 6th century. the mystique of King Arthur continues to elude us. And while floor places for drawnig. dressmg up we may not know the real truth, this exhibition is a fascinating exploration

Sir Galahad by George Frederic Watts

SOLO SHOW

JIM LAMBIE The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Fri 23 Nov 000.

Numanoid by Jim Lambie

The glove is walking. A disembodied black driving glove skates on the gallery floor on lengths of bamboo. bleeding paint. This work is called Northern Sou/. but really it makes you think first of Freddy Krueger or the attenuated limbs of Dali's fantasy elephants. A door has been blocked off and covered with a bank of mirrors from Salvation Army wardrobes and dressers. You keep wanting to go through the door but you can't. only watch your tilted reflection rushing coldly towards you.

On the floor. Gary Numan looks up from the cover of a customised LP. his creepy cut-out eyes peering from under blue glitter lashes. More reflections are cast by a cluster of old mirrors around a pillar, wrapped in duct tape and splattered with paint. Patrolling the edges of the room is a tracksuit top festooned with brackish razor shells and a shamanistic staff woven of many colours. While this show has iess immediate visual impact than Jim Lambie's best known work psychedelic floors it confirms that his knack of making everyday voodoo hasn't waned.

AlthOugh Lambie is now based in New York. these works seem to pay tribute to his old Glaswegian stomping ground. He evokes dirty beaches. charity shops. tracksuit tops. the gents barber and dance music with characteristic insOLiciance. But while Lambie's materials may be commonplace. the feeling his work provokes is far from normal. (Sarah Lowndes)

Art

SOUND INS I'Al I A} ION MATT

ROGALSKY: ELLIPSIS Sleeper, Edinburgh, until Fri 7 Dec 000

Silence is golden, so they say. And the emptiest vessels make the most noise. according to my primary school teacher. At Sleeper this month yOu can dismiss both of those statements as yeti listen to the silence. hissing and hiccoughing. Cambridge-I)ased artist Matt Rogalsky has worked iii the past with still images of 'IV newsreaders blinking. and with grids of colours linked t > the fluctuating financial markets. using; sriunds. structures and images in the same way as found objects. Fcr Sleeper. Rogalsky is using his own specially developed software to process Radio .1 as it plays live and to play Olli.’ the sounds \.'.i’ill(:i‘i are below a certa n. Silence titreshol I through a speaker 3.". the small white ijaliei'y space. He aiiijz‘iif.c-s the 'silences' to cieate a

002521 5:34

Installation view of Ellipsis

Surprisineg frantic succession of breaths. tutting sounds and vocal clicks. and the end wall display s a constantly changing number: a Video projection of the Iota accumulated (Itlzil‘ilff .1 of ‘silences' played so far.

And that's it iii-ally. Compact. a neat ‘(lttii and worth j‘ojtj‘-il‘g nits if you're iii the area. Take a radio with jxo.i and tune into Hattie -'. to heai how the gaps '.’. into the sentences. Hat don't tell them said so. i()ati'iona Is‘lattki

I:‘ 33‘ Ni“. V“ THE LIST 85