I have 2 essays re-published (the only contributor to have more that one) in this comprehensive critical overview of the last 25 years of Contemporary Visual Art in Scotland.
From the archive, the GENERATION Reader has gathered essays, talks and artist writings from the period, some of which have never been printed before. Artist Ross Sinclair’s essay for the 1991 Windfall exhibition and his nineties satire on a future Scotland as a giant historical theme park have been republished in full for the first time since 1996. Graham Fagen and Ruth Barker write about the challenges for artists working in public. There are robust accounts of the state of art institutions from figures like Adele Patrick and Professor Neil Mulholland as well as recollections of art education from artists including Luke Fowler, Katy Dove, Sara Barker and Corin Sworn.
Available to buy alongside the Guide, the GENERATION Reader is a packed volume, full of the ideas, arguments and inspirations that have shaped contemporary art in Scotland. With an introduction by novelist Louise Welsh, this collection of brand new essays and writings from the archive tells the story of the last 25 years in the voices of the artists and writers who took part, capturing the energy and ideas of the times.
New writings include prize-winning novelist Nicola White’s recollections of her work as a curator in the Glasgow Art Scene in the nineties and her recent travels, retracing the steps of poet Edwin Muir’s Scottish Journey from Orkney to Glasgow, Professor Andrew Patrizio on working with artist Christine Borland to install a one-tonne bale of compressed rubbish into a pristine display case at Kelvingrove Museum and the day that then Prime Minister John Major and his wife Norma visited Glasgow’s McLellan Galleries. Curator Francis McKee describes espresso-fuelled days showing Scotland’s artists at the Venice Biennale.
The GENERATION Reader is the first volume of its kind to be published on contemporary art in Scotland over the last quarter century painting a lively, ambitious and at times controversial picture of the period.
“GENERATION is a major, nation-wide exhibition programme showcasing some of the best and most significant artists to have emerged from Scotland over the last 25 years.
The programme traces the developments in art in Scotland since 1989. It shows the generation of ideas, of experiences, and of world-class art on an unparalleled scale by over 100 artists in more than 60 venues. The artists within GENERATION came to attention whilst working in Scotland, helping to create the vibrant and internationally recognised contemporary art scene that exists here today.
The art that has emerged from Scotland during this period is characterised by its diversity, rather than by one particular style or dominant trend. GENERATION offers an opportunity to see art that is innovative, thought- provoking, imaginative, at times beautiful, at others challenging, but always inspiring.
GENERATION is delivered as a partnership between the National Galleries of Scotland, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland and is part of Culture 2014, the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme."
