TMOR

Things are drawing to a close, and in a period of rapid change in my work, I have neglected my blog. The Master's Show is two weeks out, and I'm almost complete one work, The New RC Pavilion, and contemplating the fate of what I've come to refer to as the "3D work". Instead of a blow by blow account of what I have been up to, I'll try and inject the thought processes as they've developed with the work.

The New RC Pavilion

The centrepiece and the physical manifestation of my Masters work, which I frame under the dramatic title of The Monument of Ruin, or TMOR (due to my enjoyment of industrial sounding abbreviations).

From the early stages of my Masters I identified that the work with St. Bride's, went beyond the digital, and a 3D model (projected or otherwise). The modelling afforded me, similar to undergraduate, an intimate understanding of the structure, but the "mythology" surrounding Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, had to be articulated in a physical object. The notion of a "pavilion", a Modernist Soap Box from which to deal with issues of the context, and ironies of the Movement as it is perceived today. Miles Glendining in his book, Architecture's Evil Empire - the triumph and tragedy of global modernism, succinctly gives reason for the prominence of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's work in an age of what he refers to as "New Modernism":-

In places that were short of 'heroic' old modern egos, reputations could be posthumously manufactured. In Scotland, for example, where the 1950s and '60s had been dominated by the worth establishment of Sir Basil Spence and Sir Robert Matthew, New Modernist propagandists in the 1990s and 2000s constructed a myth of heroic genius around a local firm of postwar church designers, Gillespie, Kidd & Coia...

My opinion of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia has come full circle, initially displaying frustration towards the lack of dogma behind their work, then accepting it as part of the visual vocabulary of the Modern Movement, and again, feeling a slight aversion towards what I refer to as The Mac (Mackintosh School of Architecture) triumphalist touting of the firm. These are honest words from someone who has based his Masters on the firm, but I've now come to a point where I accept the "myth" of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia as part of their present day cultural value. Although no doubt Miles would disagree, there is a romance behind places like St. Peter's Seminary, and artists are drawn towards these visual queues that are, sometimes, loaded with fictitious ideologies.

Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, for me, represent a "high-art Modernism" as their brutish and striking buildings are endowed with histories that go to the core of our relationship with the Modern Movement. Similar to Sir Basil Spence's Queen Elizabeth Square, a poster boy for the Modernist high-rise in Scotland, with its demolition in 1993, it became a monument to this shift in opinion towards anti-Modernist rhetoric. So one could argue, that St. Peter's, like Queen Elizabeth Square, has become, as Miles suggests (with regards to GK&C's churches), a poster boy for a romanticised "Heroic Modernism" in Scotland.

The NVA are essentially attempting to re-asscribe cultural value to St. Peter's, and this notion, along with other dichotomous narratives which play out in GK&C's practice, are given centre stage on The New RC Pavilion.

I think I'm going to stop for the moment, as I've chewed through some momentous thought. I'll attempt to update later this week, going into a little more detail about plans for the Masters Show.

A Crisis of Faith

Perhaps not as melodramatic as it sounds, but my work is aggressively asserting itself as something I did not envisage when I began the Masters.

Let me explain, when I last updated my train of thought was coherently converging on ideas of the Modern Object as Monument - without purpose, an icon, a contradiction. These ideas manifested themselves in a "pavilion" like overhang, which free floats in space. The design was extracted from the altar overhang in St. Bride's, and the intention was/ perhaps still is to projection map the 3D model on to the physical model - using, for example, simulated light via the projection in an attempt to "make good" the poor quality of light in the real church.

So, I dutifully began discussing and measuring possible spaces, along with building a physical model to test out projection mapping. One of the possible spaces is shown below, called the IED Crit Space, it's a self contained room which would allow me to create the atmosphere, and ambience of St. Bride's, drawing all attention to my centrepiece altar/ pavilion overhang.

I've been drawn to this overhang form since I first visited the building back in October last year. It commands a presence over the space, and, without all the opulence and grandeur of a typical Catholic Church, defines itself as a new form of ornament. These details, are in my opinion, Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's real triumph. Of course there is the bombast of the overall structure, but the sculptural use of brick and concrete quite literally redefines the dialogues and narratives which normally take place in a church.

Alas, I'm having a crisis of faith, not in my resolve, but in the final form of what I've come to refer to as my pavilion. I made a cardboard model, less than one third the size of the planned final pavillion and it there's something dissatisfying about the form. I feel like there's "too much" mass/ form/ weight. Whilst I was building the model, I enjoyed the way the curves of the arches worked out with the main mass (see here). So this sent me on a slippery slope which has led to this crisis of faith, which does feel right, but would result in me having to let go of all, if not most of what I've done before, including using the 3D model of St. Bride's.

So from making the model, to summarise, here are some of the conclusions I've come to:

• I need height.
• I need light, be it projected or day light.

This post is a little all over the place, as I'm in the process of drafting a pro-forma for the Masters Show, and have to give an indication of what space I need. At first I needed an isolated room which would allow me to hang a heavy object from the ceiling; and was dark-ish. With thw prospect of extruding simply the curves from my overhang and hanging them, weight is reduced, and this opens the possibilities of spaces with much higher ceilings up. However these spaces carry the disadvantage of being share with the Master Show, and will most likely be day lit, so projecting may be out of the question.

The work is developing rapidly, and I intend to reign my thoughts in more frequently with a blog post.

Clarity of Thought

I always find it difficult when writing an academic piece to focus my thought, and my "mini-dissertation" (as I like to call it), is no different. At 4500 words, the word count is not (at this point), of major concern. The difficulty I have, is being concise, and linear. I have a tendency to "jump" around, and as such, some of the writing is reading convoluted. This blog post will, hopefully, clear my thought, as I tend to blog "key" pieces of information.

Gillespie, Kidd & Coia

The research is extensive, but the writing is proving difficult. I had an excellent meeting with a member of staff from RCAHMS who provided invaluable insight in to a lot of the background politics of the firm. Understanding the internal dynamics of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia gives understanding to their lasting legacy as such a predominant Modernist architecture firm with a relatively small portfolio of work.

One aspect of this legacy I had not previously considered was the firms very close ties with the Mackintosh School of Architecture (or 'the Mac'), through Jack Coia, Izi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan all (at one point of another) being former alumni and staff. Watters (1997) succinctly explains the relationship in the RCAHMS publication Cardross Seminary - Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and the Architecture of Postwar Catholicism:

"Academic interest in the work of the practice developed further in the early 1990s - a trend which Metzstein and MacMillan, both by then based at the Mackintish School, were well placed to nurture. Here the previous decade's transformation of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and its key personnel from an active practice into university-basded academic dynasty began to encourage cross-fertilisation between the teaching of present-day architecture and the pursuit of heritage."

This in part almost creates the Myth that is Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, as I've previously stated, one touted by the Mackintosh School of Architecture. I am in no way suggesting the work of GK&C is actually less significant to the dialogue of postwar ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland, however I do feel their work deserves more scrutiny beyond the aforementioned rhetoric and triumphalism. Striking the balance, as an artist, is what I intend to do, and although something I would not normally do within such a short space of words, I want to quote the above RCAHMS publication, as it's refreshing honest account of GK&C work gives weight to my idea of "scrutiny":

Father Foley recalled one occasion in the early 1970s when Jack Coia showed a group of 'wide-eyed architectural students around the building while we mopped up the rain water from the floor'. (Watters, 1997)

This perfectly illustrates the dichotomy of the Modernist Catholic Church (and to a wider extent Modernism in general). A movement which trumpeted functionalism as one of its key aspirations, falling short on this goal. To be fair to GK&C their work is often regarded as a more individualistic (Rodger, 2007) strand of Modernism, and arguably form played as crucial a role in their work as function.

The Concept of Modern Heritage

Again, another area which I've decided to examine more closely, is the idea of Modernism as heritage. I like to band this word around a lot in reference to my own work, but I have not really stopped to consider what it actually means within the context of the Modern Movement. Although my time is limited, I intended to expand on the notion of heritage and my contribution to this as an artist.

I'm going to stop now, as this has helped, but I feel I need to start reading again.

I have neglected the blog of late, but over Easter I hope to do some consolidation posts cover off the key events in March.

The Dreaded New Years Blog Entry

So, I've put off long enough, it's time for my gargantuan post-Christmas Break/ New Year blog update. As you would imagine, a lot has happened in the (almost) month I've been back at university. I have been working, just not blogging, and as a result getting into a self-destructive cycle of daily accumulating more blog-worthy information but still putting off actually blogging it. The ironic thing is, I do find blogging useful, as it charts my thought process during Masters, but like that coffee (or tea in my case) you were meant to have with that old friend, you can so easily put it off - "I know we were supposed to meet up but...": "I have a hand-in due"; "I've got to go to the moon"; etc. There's no excuse, so here we are, updating my blog, which is a step towards actually meeting up for that cup of tea.

Ok, so now we're back on track, I will try and give as brief a possible overview I've undertaken since the last post, and where my practice is going.

St. Bride's and Magnificent Modernism

The modelling of St. Bride's coming along nicely, albeit slower than I would like. I'm spending time trying to capture the sculptural details which were (in my opinion) of critical importance to Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's visual language they developed for what I like to call The New Catholic Church. I'm moving towards projection tests of the model by the end of the month, which give me a feel for how I want to take the concept of Virtual Modernism forward. The delay has primarily been caused by a new focus of work I intend to undertake this semester, in short, the understanding of the modern social interactions present day users have with modernist structures.

Space Syntax

One thing my previous work lacked, was the social impact of modernist buildings on those who used them (who I will rather cleverly refer to as "users"). This was in part due to my regard of the social issues surrounding modernism giving birth to the stigmatism that often surrounds the movement, but it also was not knowing how to address the sticky goo that is human interaction with space. Space syntax may provide the answer to my woes. Understanding how a space is currently used, will allow me to compare and contrast the architects vision against the reality. Obviously the modernist utopia did not come to fruition, but there are still tangible ideas within modernist spaces that are often overlooked when the movement is shrugged off as a "failure".

I'm still in my very early days of research into space syntax, but I have been afforded the opportunity of a placement on the SerenA Project, based in the VRC, at Dundee Contemporary Arts. In effect I intend to use the DCA as test-bed for the theories of space syntax, and attempt to visual the outcomes in a conceptual manner. Like with St. Bride's, I intend to create a work that enters into a conversation with the viewer. In the case of the DCA, the viewer of any outcome may also be the user of the space, and as such the connection between the work and viewer becomes more profound.

Space syntax is a very well research area, and I'm not attempting to bring new theory, but instead, at the very least, enhance the visualisation possibilities of current space syntax visualisation. I would like to marry the ideas formulated from my concept of Virtual Modernism, and perhaps use more immersive installation based work to present space syntax data.

I'm equally fortunate (through involvement with SerenA) to have the opportunity to interact with Space Group, University College London (a leading voice in space syntax theory), who will no doubt will have a profound impact on my own artistic practice.

Now, I'm back on the blogging band wagon I intend more frequent updates with a greater focus on specifics. Right now, this is a general overview of where I am, and where I am going. No doubt over the coming weeks I will back-reference anything I've missed, and expand on anything I've not made clear.

The New Catholic Church

I'm making way with my Google SketchUp model of St Brides, East Kilbride. Right now I'm still on the simple stuff - tracing around the plans of the model and matching them to the floor plan (my main point of reference).

When I start modelling like this, it reminds me of why I enjoyed my work last year so much. You get to know a building intimately when working from plan, and constructing it into a 3D model. My toolkit (SketchUp) and process may be rudimentary but it accomplishes everything I want - a basic exploration of form. There's something almost sculptural about modelling in 3D, as one requires a little artistic licence in translating form.

I'm still at the early stages of the model, but hope to have the exterior completed by the end of this week. The interior is going to be more challenging, as the detailing is what gives St Bride's it's sculptural narrative. There's an ironic indulgence in the use of brick to create such opulent form.

I owe Gillespie Kidd & Coia and St Bride's a (partial) apology. As I previously indicated I found it difficult to swallow the concept of modernism applied with such a lack of socialist vision. However when we put St Bride's in the context of its period and location, I begin to understand GK&C's rationale in creating such a brute. First off, St Bride's was in East Kilbride, Scotland's first new town which was in many respects the archetype of new town planning in Scotland. Enter modernism. With a focus on community, open space, the separation of man from machine (the car), modern affordable (especially important to a local authority) building techniques made modernism fit well with the model of the new town. A new church for a new town therefore had to integrate well with what I would describe as The Modernist Vision (generalised, I would describe this as a view to a more socialist future). GK&C were following the lead of their contemporaries by not following the status quo in church design. Modernism did not do nostalgia, and therefore St Bride's had to be of its time.

The non-descript form, simply asserts, like many modernist buildings, "I am man made". St Bride's catered for the Catholic community, rather than the state, and as such, it transposes some concepts applied in modernist architecture (such as quality of light) to this client. At the same time, St Bride's pre-empted The Vatican II which saw mass become a much more inclusive affair, and as such the sense of community in the church was never greater. In a similar fashion in which the application of modernist architecture by the state improved peoples way of living, the application of modernist architecture, improved peoples way of worship. Exploring this notion, particularly exploiting the importance quality of light (or lack there of), allows a narrative to developed from even the buildings on the periphery of The Modernist Vision (as religion is generally a redundant concept in the socialist state).

MAPMAPMAP

As promised, an update into my adventures in video mapping with Jaygo Bloom at the VRC. The two day workshop saw the small group of us (three in total) video map onto cardboard boxes in the Centerspace. Thoroughly enjoyable and a chance to get a hands on experience with some of the technology which makes these visual spectacles possible. There's a lot of "visual indulgence" in video mapping, as it's often employed by VJ's but when applied in an installation based environment it can heighten the visual language of the piece being shown.

First off, apologies for the poor quality video and image, I was a little ill-prepared and only captured images using my iPhone. However a fellow video mapper at the workshop brought a SLR, so I will update with links when he puts up the images. Quality of image aside, the above video demonstrates the high level of interaction between the physical space and projected environment. At this juncture in my Masters I see this as a method of contextualising modernism within the present and giving it relevance using the technologies of the "future".

My first semester has been dominated by an ever broadening attempt to "understand" modernism, but one must draw a line between looking at the Smithsons and dissecting The Communist Manifesto. Modernism commands contextualisation within socioeconomic history but yet when you look at many of Gillespie Kidd & Coia's buildings the movement is applied as a style. It seems as the movement is diluted down from Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier the utopian agenda is adapted and altered, which is why I refer to it as a "style" rather than a movement. We did have our moments of glory with developments such as Robin Hood Gardens but I feel we often misappropriate the values of modernism to a building which carries the distinct style. This is very much a thought-process in motion, and perhaps when I wake-up tomorrow and gaze upon my pictures of St Bride's I will lament on this notion.

I have digressed slightly, but my post still relates to the application of video mapping in my practice. If anything it can be used to highlight the irony and contradictions within the modernist movement, specifically Scotland's attempts triumphed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia.

For my contribution to the video mapping I created a 3D object which was lit in Maya. When mapped on to a white plinth it was gradually illuminated with a light that does not exist. The creation of a fiction within a virtual environment can serve two purposes in my work: juxtaposing reality against the forgotten fictions of modernism and the creation of a narrative which only exists within the viewer's pre-conceived notions of the history of modernism.

I'm on to something, I just don't yet know exactly what it is.

Links, links, links:-

http://www.antivj.com/ (video mapping artists extraordinaire)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamvlog/sets/72157625462044176/ (my Flickr set of the video mapping workshop)

Late Night Render

So, I'm going to keep this post brief, as I want to avoid blogging for blogging's sake. I'm currently taking part in the Video Mapping Workshop being run by Jaygo Bloom in the VRC. Basically we're exploring the visual possibilities of mapping images (static or moving) on to physical objects.

My interest comes from the idea of working within a virtual environment with architecture and juxtaposing this against the physical. There's no better an example of architectural video mapping (in an installation enviroment) than the work of Pablo Valbuena. Jaygo gave some examples of his work today, but missed out one of my favourite of his pieces (video below).

Modernism (in terms of form and structure) seems designed for the preciseness of architectural video mapping. This output also fits nicely with the concept of Virtual Modernism I discussed in my previous post. The use of 3D simulation gives modernism the clean lines, and completed fictitious utopian narrative it so desires.

Moving forward I have to consider how this technical craft can be applied to the realities of modernism (i.e. its demise). There's a fine line between nostalgia/ rhetoric (remembering modernism for what it was and could have been) and contextualising the movement in the present (without resorting to the typical MODERNSIM = FAIL conclusion). Perhaps I want to resort to nostalgia and rhetoric - a little socialist ideology is always welcome in our every expanding globalised capitalist democracy. I'm still not sure.

Anyways, I've nattered on. Once the workshop is complete I will update with some images and a more detailed account of what went on. I will also be updating about my visit to the GSA Archive where I viewed the original architectural plans for Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's St. Brides in East Kilbride.

Virtual Modernism

Perhaps modernism was never supposed to move beyond the utopia of Constant's New Babylon or even Le Corbusier's Plan Voisin. Perhaps modernism should be confined to the imagination where it cannot decay and erode over time.

It struck me when in discussion with two members of staff from the School of Architecture the great discourse between the often over-hyped ideologies of modernism and the application of these ideologies in reality. I'm currently shuffling my way through Gillespie, Kidd & Coia: Architecture 1956 - 1987 and I've got an ever increasing sinking feeling as I read on. The book opens with Nick Barley (2007), Director of The Lighthouse in Glasgow, proudly proclaiming: "This book offers a careful explanation of why MacMillan and Metzstein's - already well-loved by users and occupants - deserve much wider acclaim now."

Hmmm. Now granted, I've not visited all of GK&C's buildings and asked users and occupants: "Do you love this building?", but I have touched base with a parishioner at St Brides, East Kilbride and Everything's not Coming up Roses. As I've previously mentioned, it appears to be a common theme within modernism that things go wrong. For example, take Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, in which the the tenant, Mme Savoye had a written exchange with Le Corbusier about issues of a leaking roof (article link). Buildings have problems, and I'm not suggesting for one moment GK&C's buildings were of a poorer build quality than the status quo but they did have the weight of their modernist ideologies to carry.

When I use the terms "modernism" and "ideologies" in the context of this discussion, I do mean it in the broadest sense possible. The modernist ideologies I refer to are the socialist utopias in which “A house is a machine to live in.” (Le Corbusier, 1923).

Going forward I want to explore the notion of confining the remnants of modernism to the confines of a virtual state. Similar to my work last year working in a fictitious state can preserve those ideologies which are challenged within the context of the real world.

St Brides, Flickr and Blogger

St Brides - interior, originally uploaded by jamvlog.

So I've worked my way through a few of the key shots of St Brides, cleaned them up, and got them looking fairly presentable.

One thing that strikes me about St Brides is the stark contrast between The Vision and reality. It's a common theme in modernist buildings, that, although built for function, they often failed in their main purpose. I met a parishioner who had no end of stories to tell about the "failings" of the building. For example, apparently the sewage system is so poorly designed that it backs-up after heavy rain.

So this leave me in a quandary, I have to confront these issues in a manner which is still sympathetic to the ideologies of modernism. The use of 3D may provide an interesting solution. If I encapsulate St Brides in the virtual, then it becomes like a fiction, one where I can re-direct the narrative. I can use this the fiction to confront modernism with its harshest reality, that, buildings aside, its ideologies never came to fruition.

I will update as my thought process flows.

On a side note, I think I'm going to have to do something fairly drastic with my Blog. I'm caught in a never ending battle in my attempts to imbed linked images from Flickr into my posts. Also the complete lack of flexibility in altering layouts (this post has been achieved by using Flickr instead of Blogger to update) is driving me to despair. Hence "Flickr" and "Blogger" in the title.

Quality of Light II

As mentioned in my previous post, I planned a visit to the modernist marvel that is St Brides in East Kilbride. First off, and slightly off topic, this was my first experience of a New Town. East Kilbride was Scotland's first post-war New Town which adopted a very modernist approach to town planning. I came in direct conflict with this planning when trying to navigate my way to St Brides. The New Town layout (which can be seen in more extreme examples like Cumbernauld) separates (to a degree) the car from the pedestrian. A lovely idea, except when you're trying to get anywhere. The endless roundabouts circle what I can best describe as "islands" of inhabitation. Trying to infiltrate these Islands of Man can be a difficult task when using an alien mechanical moving device (i.e. my Fiat Punto). In St Brides case, I could see it for quite some time, but had trouble locating what appeared to be one access point. It's also difficult to stop, and re-evaluate your strategy when trapped between roundabouts on the dual-carriageways. An efficient endless flow of traffic which becomes difficult to navigate when you're lost. Eventually, however, I found St Brides and took sanctuary for the best part of the day before tackling EK's road labyrinth to get home.

I digress, so on to the main event, St Brides, East Kilbride. As the title suggests, my visit was to bathe in the glory of Gillespie Kidd & Coia's architectural genius in their manipulation of the structure to produce a high quality of light. My modernist ideologies were shattered when I found such a dark expansive space (even with artificial light). The windowless indented brickwork (shown right) barely captured enough light to emit even a glow. Now to be fair to GK&C it was a very overcast day, so the exterior lighting was not ideal, but it still struck me how dim the space was (a fact, regardless of weather conditions confirmed by one parishioner).

Now my opinion of St Brides may seem of doom and gloom (no pun intended), but in actual fact I took a lot of positives from experiencing the space. For one, the poor quality of light resulted in a very sobering experience. I was left to my own devices for well over an hour, and the main hall, with it's dim artificial lighting was extremely calming (although at one point I thought I saw a ghost). The the soft warm tones of the brickwork also added to this mantra.

Perhaps my perceptions are slightly bias due to being brought up a Catholic (not currently practicing) and familiarity of churches - until my early teens attending weekly. I therefore associate a church as a place of quiet and sombre reflection - the closest comparison I can make of this feeling is being in a library. This paragraph may seem a little off topic, but ultimately feeds in to my choice of subject matter. Whether I like it or not, something in my subconscious is drawn to the church through years of conditioned worship - old habits die hard. I'm not sure to be honest, but I do know for me that churches + modernism = interesting subject matter.

I'm currently in the process of Photoshoping my way through the 160 plus images taken on my visit to St Brides. I plan on uploading the worthy to Flickr (link below), with some already up at the time of this post. More to come as I explore and develop ideas in relation to St Brides, modernism, the church, et al.

Links:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamvlog/sets/72157625224573437/ (St Brides set on my Flickr)

Quality of Light

I had an excellent tutorial with Jaygo Bloom last week, who is currently showing at the DCA - part of the Discovery Exhibition. I discussed my interest in creating work within virtual environments, with possible extension into his field of video mapping onto real objects. It was refreshing to get the perspective of a practicing artists who works successfully both commercially and in respect of his own practice. Jaygo re-affirmed the importance of the idea, and the means by which this is realised should be an afterthought (considered, of course).

That leads me to my focus for this year. "Focus", a term I'm constantly banding about almost in a state of fear that if I "loose focus" I will implode. I'm never short of ideas, just putting those ideas into practice almost seems sacrosanct, and therefore I hold off until I know my focus. That said, most of my 3rd Year in TBADF was spent pondering, so I tend to draw more and keep momentum through reading, blogging, etc. I have to strike a happy medium between research and practical work.

Last year I enjoyed working from plans of the Hutchesontown C Development, it allowed me to develop a "relationship" with a building that no longer exists. As such, I think that's a good starting point for any practical work, establishing a connection with my subject matter.

At the point in time, my focus has been drawn to the churches of Gillespie Kidd & Coia. There's an interesting juxtaposition between the employment of modernist architecture to re-invigorate the liturgy and the subsequent dissolution of the modernist movement. The socialist ideals of modernism also seem at odds with their employment in religious structures. I'm still not sure if I'm entirely comfortable with the notion of modernism and churches - in particular GK&Cs application of a "style" rather than an "ideal". I sound like a purist, and give GK&C less credit than they're a due, their application of the "style" is beautifully informed.

St. Bride's in East Kilbride has to be my favourite of GK&C churches, an ominous exterior downplays the even more striking interior. The light is channelled through the thick walls of exposed brickwork in a beautifully considered design. The consideration of light, especially when employed to draw focus to (for example) the altar in a place of worship, seems central to CK&C buildings. Modernism prioritised function over form, and as such, the consideration of lighting was a major focus.

Lighting, a crucial component of my Degree Show work, but something, surprisingly, I did not put too much weight on. As such, to truly experience how the light interacts with some existing modernist structures I'm planning a trip to East Kilbride, to visit St. Bride's. From there I can start to develop the idea beyond sketch-book drawings with photographs and video.

Links:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsalib/ (GSA's Photograph Archive on Flickr)

Renfrewshire Council HQ

I am a little out of focus. I've been looking at modernism in Scotland, however this feels too vague, and I'm going through the motions of deciding what matters to me. In such situations I tend to take a step back, and work from what I know: drawing. I enjoy the juxtaposition between some modernist buildings and the natural landscape they inhabit. A nice example can be found in my hometown of Paisley, nestled between the White Cart River and the historic Paisley Abbey, this concrete bruit pierces horizontally through the landscape.

Curiously, the Council have opted to refurbish this concrete monster in a slightly less offensive "plastic" looking cladding. Perhaps the concrete was too expensive to maintain, but this solution wants to please the harsh realities of the original structure in a much more understated way. I think it looks awful. That said, at least the building has been preserved in some form.

The above photograph was taken in 2006, and my abhorrence to this building is apparent from my comments: "Horrible grey box rising from the greenery. Quite a nice contrast. Not the most interesting subject matter, but I like the strong horizontal lines." Fascination is a concept I looked at in a short Contextual Review task for the Research Skills and Methods module, examining Toby Paterson's "fascination" with post-war modernist architecture (link). This ambiguous quote by Gartside (2003) sums the term up nicely: "fascination is a sense of being draw into something that cannot be fully explained or analysed."

So, still not fully understanding my fascination with modernism, I've been drawing, and think this building could be the subject of a painting. I will update with some scans from my sketch book later on this week.

Toby Paterson

I feel a greater affinity to Toby Paterson than every before. After missing the opportunity to view his Consensus and Collapse exhibition (and public talks he made) at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, I was pleased to discover that the good old DJCAD Library had bought in a copy of the DVD made to accompany the exhibition. Whilst being a diligent blogger and appropriately linking my post I've also found an online version of the video which can be viewed here.

I digress, so, to understand more about my affinity with Toby Paterson, I need to explain a little more about my practice at undergrad. My final year came as somewhat of revelation, in that I found an area of interest rich in research material and more importantly an area of genuine fascination. This area in the broadest sense is post-war Glasgow architecture, and more specifically (in terms of my final years work) the dominant force in Glasgwegian social housing, the high-rise.

The high-rise has always been a curious fascination I've had about Glasgow (along with Cumbernauld). Brought up in a bottom floor end-terrace house. Never lived in a high-rise. Never really noticed them (or Cumbernauld) until moving away to Dundee. Almost four years of living in Dundee with regular visits home. From one of the very first visits home the scale of high-rise Glasgow struck me. After entering the city limits, but still a few miles out from the centre you catch a glimpse of Red Road. Towering in the distance, the Colossus of Glasgow, welcoming visitors to the Empire's second city. Favourable words, for a less than favourable building, the high-rise. A simple, yet not fully understood fascination with these structures has led to my body of work for 4th year, and the Degree Show.

I've cited myself because this statement, taken from “QEIIS Report” - the supporting material for my final year's work – captures my sense of enthusiasm towards what, at the time, was the unknown. I knew I liked the scale and bombast of Glasgow's architecture, but I wasn't sure why, which made research all the more interesting. I then settled with one building in particular, Queen Elizabeth Square, designed by Sir Basil Spence, a tribute to brutalist architecture. This building was unforgiving, bold, but held a lot of the ideals many modernist architects wanted to achieve with their structures – community cohesion, open spaces, and in the case of QES, gardens in the sky. Queen Elizabeth Square in particular promised a better standard of living to the residents of the Gorbals which had become regarded as a slum. However, the popularity of the high-rise has declined, and the ideals, and magnificent architecture forgotten. So where is the synergy with Toby Paterson?

Well aside from the subject matter – urban landscapes - more specifically Paterson's explanation of his practice and rationale on the DVD struck a cord. Paterson specifically referred to the Anderston Centre, and how he obtained and worked from the original plans. I would through an almost identical process with QEIIS, I visited and obtained copies of the original Hutchesontown C Development (Queen Elizabeth Square) architectural drawings and explored this now demolished structure through them. From an early stage I decided I wanted to re-build Queen Elizabeth Square, out of context, and shed in new light. I literally measured the original plans and built a to scale (approximately) 3D model using Google Sketch-Up. From this simple model my Degree Show work developed in what became known as QEIIS (Queen Elizabeth II Square for anyone two steps behind). The work celebrates the scale and form of this beautiful piece of infamous architectural history, out of context and devoid of the emotional social history which shrouds the building.

I described the work (incorrectly on reflection) as a form of architectural preservation, but approaching the subject matter as an artistic and applying some conceptual thinking to the presentation. So instead of a gallery of photographs or original drawings on display (which play a role in preserving the memory of this building) I created a living, moving, incarnation of this building projected on two walls.

Masters has caused pause for reflection on my practice, and I'm taking the time to ground my work in the context of other works. Although I knew Toby Paterson and his work (doing a little research last year), scratching the surface is not enough, which is why it's time to pause, reflect and research. Defining my area of interest more accurately and providing context for my work as an artist are the two channels of thought and research I intend to pursue this semester.

These posts help ground my thinking, which is why, even without a captive audience, I'm publishing them, in essence, to myself.

Dead brilliant websites:-

Scotsman article on Toby Paterson

Virtual Mitchell

RCAHMS

futureglasgow.co.uk

basilspence.org.uk

Militant Modernism

I've begun reading. Which is a good start, but at the moment Owen Hatherley's Militant Modernism only serves in highlighting my large knowledge gap in the area of British Modernism, and other associated types of architecture. I hope in gaining even a small understanding of this vast area I can inform my practice more succinctly.

More to follow over the coming days/ weeks.

Apologies (to my ever growing fan base i.e. me) for these place-holder entries.