Curiosity takes me to odd spots. What could it be--The Glasgow Miracle--that I am hearing and reading about?
The query led me into some interesting conversations and finally to a walking tour sponsored by the Glasgow School of Art. Since I have been interested in the GSA and its historical artistic prowess, I have been wondering about its current teaching and scope. Here was my chance to understand the current art scene in its relationship to place. Yay!
A curator now at the Tate Britain, Hans Ulrich Obrist, called the artistic achievement of Glasgow The Glasgow Miracle, recognizing the excellent art (of all media) produced here and recognizing that there is a lot of good art relative to the size and economy of Glasgow. It seems to me that folks in Glasgow take it a bit further in recognition of the long slog of hard work that has resulted in the artistic achievement.
So anyway--the Miracle is the abundance of cutting-edge, world-class art produced in a small city with a moderate economy.
I am curious about how they did it, what the art looks or sounds like and what the artists think about what they are doing. I am a social anthropologist--I do not believe that it is a miracle from nowhere, I think there must be factors which allowed for and led to the phenomenon. And I think is is fun to explore the idea.
Thoughts on How? and Why?
I had opportunity to talk to several former and current GSA students and my host is a writer who was raised here and has returned recently. Plus, I have had several days to poke around. I have come to a few conclusions on the factors which contributed to the Miracle.
The earlier prominence of Glasgow in the arts rested on the great wealth that flowed here with the industrial revolution. Glasgow was one of the manufacturing hubs of the British empire and the city flourished. Some of the wealth of the city was channeled into the arts institutions which remain strong today particularly the GSA. From the mid-1800's to now, thousands of graduates emerged from the GSA including many like CR Mackintosh who completed their work in night classes over many years. Art was a respected activity for men and women of all classes. The socialist and labor philosophy which saw art as a redemptive activity for the workers and which prized the beauty of utilitarian objects was a major cultural norm here from early days. Many of the GSA graduates remained living and working in Glasgow, often in other professions. The soil was fertile.
As the city declined in the post-industrial economy, the thinking of the cadre of artists contributed to Glasgow's direction. GSA continued to produce hundreds of graduates dedicated to the beauty of utilitarian objects. Real estate was so cheap that art space was plentiful (and seems to remain so now). Arts organizations could find offices and set up galleries. Artists were employed in social programs. The Third Eye Center employed many artists and was dedicated to community organizing.
In 1990, Glasgow was designated the European City of Culture. Even Glaswegians were surprised to find out about their artistic wealth and began to take themselves more seriously. The term Glasgow Miracle, coined in 1996, rose from Europe's new awareness of Glasgow. So on they have gone.
Rent remains affordable for studio space and for living space. There are other artists, writers around, GSA continues to produce prize-winning graduates. Importantly, in my mind, the UK is really prosperous and Scotland as much as anywhere. The North Sea oil services and money flow to the whole country but Scotland services much of the effort. It looks really prosperous everywhere I have been so far. Graduate artists can, and seem to want to stay here to pursue their careers. Good for them.
Hard to say how the future will unfold. But, I think that once things get going, they continue along, so maybe the miracle will continue. Glasgow would surely be a good place for an art-inclined person to spent some time finding out more. Beautiful city, great food, lots to do.
The current trends in art may be somewhat counter to the previous trends which contributed to the Miracle. The prize winners and all students are guided along a course which emphasized transient work which disappears--standing on a pedestal like the statues in George Square, for example. My student acquaintances seemed to have little interest in community action as their predecessors had. Rather, some are fully engaged in the ironic, self-referential art such as the Empire sign. No doubt, the ironic approach to art reflects wider trends in the world too. But it will be interesting to watch whether such work will maintain general public interest and how it will fit the wider Glasgow art scene. Maybe there is enough here to ride out the current trend until something more accessible to ordinary people emerges.
What does the Miracle art it look like
I think this piece captures several aspects of Glasgow cutting edge art. We could only view it through a locked gate so we have a shot of the whole alley--probably appropriate. The mural is not the art in question but rather the piece reading Empire backwards further down the alley. The sign is by the Turnerprize-winning artist, Douglas Gordon who studies at GSA and has moved on in fame and fortune. The sign has layers of irony and self-reference--Glasgow's past as a bastion of the British Empire, Hitchcock's film Vertigo, and probably more. Originally it was erected in a more accessible location but is now hidden so it feels like we are "in the know" about this kind of secret art work.
The mural is not thought to be of any particular distinction--our guide knew nothing about it. Glasgow has no street art such as we became aware of in Rome and very little graffiti of any kind.This mural is known--it was created for the Commonwealth games held in 2014. It is longer than I could capture. Its subject matter is long on animals.
This statue of Wellington is from the height of the empire but has been given a Glasgow twist. For awhile the city tried to keep the hat removed but there is always another traffic cone and another youth to climb up and put it on. Now Glasgow has embraced the image. It is standing in front of the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art where a current Turner-prize film maker has films showing. Wellington is looking down the street where the backwards Empire sign is hidden. Probably not intentional.
Poetry and the written word
Here is poetry carved into the sidewalk: Concrete Poetry by Edwin Morgan.
Poetry posters are erected in a few places--sadly getting a bit faded.
Building detail
All over the city, there is building detail of this kind. In fact, I can't think of any place that had chain lin fencing or utilitarian grids. The top is an un-named parking garage. The lower is a bulletin board at University of Strathclyde.
After the end of WWII, Glasgow experienced a severe and rapid de-industrialization at the same time as its population had reached 1,000,000. The city administration undertook urban renewal via slum clearance and building highways with little thought to the visual or social consequences. This story sounds familiar to most of us in the United States and we are currently trying to get rid of the results of misguided efforts in some places.
In Glasgow, the effort seems to have better results. Slums were cleared but the many visually and socially inclined students and graduates of GSA seem to have had beneficial effects and probably set the stage for the future Glasgow miracle. The Third Eye Center was established in 1974, still going on but under the name of Center for Contemporary Arts, had an outsized impact on the environment of the city.
This playground stands on the site of former housing like the buildings in the background. GSA students and graduates worked with the remaining community members to develop this park which is near GSA in Garnet Hill.
The painted design on the building end is faded but the mosaic mural behind the slide remains in good condition.
The families who lost their housing or were too crowded, moved into these high rize towers which ring Glasgow. It is a small city so this building is within walking distance of city center. It is used now and remains in good condition. The Third Eye Center worked with the inhabitants of these estates to work together to create murals, landscaping and create community. It seems successfully, since the structures remain and are in good repair.
Performing arts
It is August and all performance efforts are at the Edinburgh Festival and the Edinburgh fringe. I have little to say about content and quality. But this shot captures some of the interest in performance. The Theatre Royal is the oldest performance space in Glasgow--a representative of the cultural ambiance at the height of empire. The spires in the background are a recent addition in a very different architectural style. In fact, if I were a better photographer, if it had not been raining, etc., you could see in one frame several architectural styles working together harmoniously. This is common throughout the city. I think the relatively low heights probably helps maintain visual harmony.
This building is about 5 stories tall and near the previously pictured ones. It has won a prize of a different sort: The Carbuncle Prize. I do not recall the year but recently it won the prize conferred for the ugliest building in the UK. It is a movie theatre. I did not find it that offensive but I get a kick our of there even being such a prize.
Maintaining the mix of old and new
Our tour ended here, an area which is called the trongate. The medieval buildings here are the earliest surviving in Glasgow. The reddish tower is there goods were weighed and taxed when coming into the city for market. It is now a theatre and houses art organizations. The building on the left houses painters and printmakers studios. GSA graduates or other artists can rent space here for relatively little money and are able to maintain their studios and livelihood because of the abundance of this kind of space and the low cost of living here.
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