night'.’ John White. mountain guide. looks at me and says nothing fora minttte. ‘llills aren’t dangerous.‘ he says. ‘people are. And although accidents can happen. the most important thing to me. as a gttide. is that my group comes back down the hill again.” I drive back towards
Portree. through the small fishing village of
Uig. Now that the cloud has lifted. it‘s simply one of the most beautiful bays I‘ve ever seen. l'ni starting to realise why Angus liarquhar wants to clintb the Storr in better weather.
SCENE 6 Starr, afternoon, sunshine As we emerge from the wooded part of the path.
slightly ottt of breatlt from a pacy ascent of
several hundred feet. Angus looks tip and exclaims: ‘Wow! 'l‘hat‘s perfect! If we get conditions like this at night—time. it will be breathtaking.‘ We‘re bathed in sunshine. btit the peas of the Storr is in the clouds. However. as we‘ve come over this brow. the Old Man has emerged front the murk. It looks like a giant version of ()belix's menltir. stark against the cloudy backdrop. Although it’s daylight now. Angus is convinced that night-time ascendants could get a view just as stunning as this.
SCENE '7 Trotternish, afternoon, showers l’aul Mouncey‘s Brazilian wife is complaining
about the weather. ‘In the past six months. we’ve only had two days without rain.‘ she says. Mouncey. born in Scotland. has returned after l6
years in Sao Paulo and composed a piece of
music that will be heard on the Storr. It is strongly reminiscent of (iavin Bryars: simple. yet fully orchestrated and powerful. 'l‘ve never been tip the Storr: I‘m looking forward to going tip in the dark to have a listen.' he says.
SCENE 8
Storr, afternoon, cloud
We're inside the clouds. climbing tip towards the peak on the newly—restored path. As we come round the corner. the cloud lifts again and we see that we‘re in a hidden amphitheatre. When the installation is complete. this will be lit tip so that each of the rocky outcrops around the rim will be visible. though Angus is adamant that the effect won‘t be over the top. ‘lt will be very sensitively done.~ he says. "l'here‘s no point in us trying to overpower what’s already here with spectacular lighting effects.’
SCENE 9
Camper van, night, rain
Driving back through the Highlands on my five hour journey home. I can‘t stop thinking about this strange. compelling event and I'm struggling to ptit it into any kind of context. Before arriving. I‘d wanted to think of it in terms of the myths. the legends. the stories that are often told about intense mountain experiences. livery hill walker has tales of their own. I‘d been hoping to frame this whole event as an exercise in exploring mythologies
through ottr own experiences: a rural version of
the situationist ‘dérive‘ (in which philosophers walk through cities in order to think about them). In fact. having done the walk. I start feeling that the lighting and the restored path might prevent me front creating my own personal narrative: in sotne way there‘s already a tightly spttn story created by Angus and his team. based on the powerfttl context of Storr. 'l‘rotternish. the isle of Skye. It‘s a story that starts with the great geological history of this amazing part of the world. btit it is also about the cultural. political -- (iaelic -— history of the 'l‘rotternish region. with its poet Sorley Macl.ean a visceral presence among the trees and rocks and the endlessly enchanting views over the sea to elsewhere. What better story is there than that?
The Storr, Unfolding Landscape, Mon 1 Aug-Sat 17 Sep. For tickets and accommodation information, visit www.nva.org.uk.
THE WOW FACTOR
Sometimes, art just happens to be jaw- droppingly spectacular. Here are some of the most talked-about examples.
Wrapped Reichstag Christo made world headlines by wrapping Berlin's Reichstag in silver fabric — with the help of thousands of volunteers — to create an iconic image of post- communist Germany. What‘s not clear from the photos is that the fabric itself was as thick as chain mail. Credibility rating 7/10
Break down
For this recent project. Michael Landy made an inventory of everything he owned (including his Saab. as well as works of art by friends ‘ like Damien Hirst and partner Gillian Wearing) and destroyed it all in a vast machine he'd designed specially for the job. Mind you. he certainly didn't put his equity as an artist into the shredder.
Credibility rating 6/10
Spiral jetty
The legendary Robert Smithson created ‘Spiral Jetty' in 1970 by building a spiral of basalt rock and earth into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. For decades it was submerged. but thanks to six years of drought. the sculpture reappeared. Recent reports suggest that rising waters are about to engulf it once more and it remains one of the greatest trophies for art tourists. Credibility rating 10/10
Battle of Orgreave
Turner Prize-winning Jeremy Deller filmed a dramatic full- scale reconstruction of the fiercest clash between striking miners and police during the 1980s strike. and then showed the poignant. moving result as an art work. Credibility rating 8/10
Naked bodies
Some wouldn't accept that he‘s an artist at all, but
‘ photographer Spencer Tunick certainly has the knack of creating a spectacle, simply by getting together enough sweet (and naked) little assets to create one hell of a big media commodity. Watch it. he's in Gateshead at the moment. Credibility rating 4/10
Roden Crater
At the heart of a dormant volcano in the Painted Desert. northern Arizona. James
Turrell has spent years shaping and shaving the entire crater to make the mother of all land art projects which deals with our perception of light and space. It's so big it will probably never be finished.
Credibility rating 9/10
21 Jul-4 Aug 2005 THE LIST 23