Visual Art
REVIEW l’l-lO I OGRAPHY JO SPENCE: SELF PORTRAITS Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, until Sun 16 Nov .000
‘Skull and mask’
Working class artist, photographer, Marxist, feminist, teacher and publisher Jo Spence was an extraordinary talent. Issue-based but always accessible, her work can be seen as the progenitor for the costume box magic realism of Cindy Sherman and the puckish Situationist antics of Tracy Emin.
Spence started out as a commercial studio photographer, but boredom and a desire to open up the possibilities for women to discuss taboo topics through domestic and professional photography set her on a different course. In her work with community groups she constantly utilised disciplines and ideas from outside fine art and photography. Brecht, Vaclav Havel, Lewis Carroll and the Dadaists were among her influences.
This excellent free exhibition builds on the ten Spence portraits owned by GoMA since the early 19905. Digital prints have been donated by Spence’s dedicated archivist (and one time collaborator/partner) Terry Dennett. The work here (a small representation of this prolific artist’s ouevre) connects to a couple of key issues for Spence - her mother and cancer. ‘Tart’ (1978), ‘Love on a Plate’ (1989) and ‘Early Mother’ (1985) show Spence making the journey from coy feminist dialectic to maternal rehabilitation. The latter two are part of a photo therapy series Spence worked on with collaborator Rosy Martin in which she attempts to unpick the layers of self hatred compacted by class, roots and a self destructive mother, whose pinny- bound austerity Spence attempts to recreate with unsettling results.
At 46 Spence was diagnosed with breast cancer, which led to her most famous body of work, A Picture of Health? in which she recorded her treatment and growing dissatisfaction with the NHS and conventional medicines (she credits homeopathy for her eventual recovery). The artist eventually died in 1992 from complications arising from leukaemia. Fittingly, the show ends with Spence in death, her face photographed by Bennett and then mirror-spliced together in The Metamorphosis Series. With this work, Spence’s mischievous cycle of assimilation and ragged trousered philanthropy is complete, her influence on everyone from Jeff Wall to Calum Colvin, undeniable and irrevocable. (Paul Dale)
REVIEW lvlle'l) MHJIA EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART DEGREE SHOW Edinburgh College of Art, until Tue 24 Jun 0000
lnforrnatron overload. autonomy. rngurry proxsoeatron and drssent. Not themes; as such. hut rather loose strands rn the ‘.'\./rllfu|ly drs;parate expanse that makes; up thrs; (:l; ss of 2008 s;ho\.'.'--an(l-tell.
Information overload How many umpteen rnrllron seeonds; make up a lrfetrme’? Brran l-ley'xrtt projects eyery srngle one. hrs; Intzrnatrons; of mortalrty flashrng onto t\.'~./o y‘xalls. gettrng hrgger hy the minute. Else‘s/here. yrrtual a'xorlds; (:ollrde.
Autonomy There are allranees. as; with Ausgang. a group show ‘v.'.'rthrn a show. set rn a prnk-parnted room to (:all therr own. Spaces; are ereated. physreally. mentally and r)syelrogeograr)hreally. Oeorgrna Seott Angless frnds: out who she can he rn ‘l-r'eedom.’ Else‘s/here. there are at least two huts. and mueh gettrng hack to nature. as; if yearnrng after some old fashroned rdyll of home. As; Susre Goodwin says. '. . . lookrng haek. rt was; always; ahout the dars;res; . . .'
Inquiry lvlrnutrae matters. As; rn Brrdget Steed's '3')" lnverlerth Plaee'. set rns;rde pull out dran‘xers where remnants; of a to\.'/n«hous;e now resrde. It's; a euphoard full of ghosts. forensreally s;\.veeprng up the pas;l.
Provocation Kevrn Harman's lwork pretured heloy'xr expernnent rn (:ommunrty relatrons; yra 20f) horr'oy'red “.‘xeleome' mats; may he haek wrth therr rrghtful
REVIEW Mle l) r'VIl:l)lA
GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART MFA DEGREE SHOW owners; hy no\.'.'. the space left hehrnd s;peakrng volurnes;.'See also Chrrs;topn<‘:r
(GROUP SHOW) Vrvranr s half-devoured (:hoeolate head and lrnlay Cramh s; text hased narratrxes;
Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 22 Jun .... And dissent? .Just (:heek out JA l-larrrngton of Ausgang s; \.'\.'rrtten. xrne lrke responses; to a formal examrnatron hy hrs; alrna mater. As art sehool ethos; goes.
Wnrle loeatrng good aurork hy up-and-eonnng artrs;ts; at an undergra<luate show hrtrng the hand that feeds; hrrn heeomes; praetlee Itself. rNerl ()ooperr
can feel lrke you're searehrng for a needle rn a haystaek. at the (Blasgoy'r Sehool . 3 I , .. i
of Art MFA show as; rnrght he expeeted. the work tends; to he stronger. more , ' .. .‘q "
eonfrdent and more fully resolyed. I‘“ " d.
There are (:ertarnly some exeellent students; graduatrng from the MFA programme thrs; year. In the marn s;paee. Nrall Maedonald's Black I’l/ar/ Blues; serres; of works make therr rntens;e presenee felt. although they are eertarnly not the loudest preees rn the exhrhrtron. Stylrstreally very drfferent hut egually rnlr‘rgurng are parnlrngs hy Conor Kelly and an rns;tallatron preee hy limmett Walsh. Standouts; from Srl\.'(:-r's;rnrt'nrng and Jewellery rnelude work hy Hohyn ()rerar and Grll Serrmgeour' lpreturedr. Upstarr's. Carla l ullerlon's; rmpress;r\./e sculptural strueture. of parnted plywood wrth pools; of eement. s; surrounded hy metal sheets; that fold away from the wall. exhrhrtrng large holes;. apparently made hy some toxre materral. lhrs; rs an artrs;t who has; found her style and voree.
All the works; exhrhrt a defrnrte sense of independent thought. even when students; are ‘guotrng' Nathan ()oley. Douglas (Bordon and Matthew Barney. 4 Whrle (:ertarn medrums; or styles; may seam to have domrnated some years. thrs; MFA demonstrates; that art rs rndeed a hroad (:hureh. Every type of rnedrurn seems to he represented. and utrlrsed wth (:onfrdenee and skrll. Not all the work hrts; the mark. hut thrs; rs defrnrtely the hest krnd of talent s;pottrng. rl.r/ Shannonr
Kris Nixfifi? H
94 THE LIST ‘_:.l..: r: n.