BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder and when it comes to art opinions are frequently divided – particularly nowadays when there appears to be little evidence of skill in many contemporary art pieces, or installations as we are supposed to call them.
Tracey Emin’s My Bed is one of the most infamous examples of this, being short-listed for the Turner Prize and little different to many a clarty bed around the UK.
This year’s mural at the pre-revamp John O’Groats House Hotel was greeted by a mixed reaction, or, away from the news pages of the local press, a slagging off.
The artwork brought people to Groats and raised awareness of the port’s development but little praise of the artwork was evident, but then if you look at our existing murals you can hardy complain.
There can’t be many people that find the modern mural on Tollemache House, Thurso, very enriching but I suppose we are stuck with it. And it is far more interesting than the dreary modernist walls of the likes of Thurso High School, designed by Basil Spence in the 1950s.
When I attended the school decades ago I realised the building was ugly but when I look at it now, even trying to appreciate its modernism, I find it horrific. It can hardly be said to be inspiring learning in our children.
During my years there, pupils were freezing in the unheated games hall, boiling in the extension, and during one Higher exam a girl fainted in the assembly hall as the ventilation on a hot day was so poor.
You do have to wonder what effect this environment has on young people; especially those who are not convinced by the merits of education.
Yet, despite the cold, dysfunctional reality of our built environment, people in Caithness have strong views about our architecture and open spaces, maybe without even realising it.
From the semi-religious approach to the desecration (or proposed demolition) of the Dounreay sphere as if it were a giant crucifix, to the uproar in Wick over the Highland Council’s original idea to sneak a high school into Bignold Park, the county has a strong sense of what it wants or doesn’t want to see in the aesthetic picture of our built environment and spaces.
THE county arts scene, as evidenced by the annual Society of Caithness Artists’ exhibition, demonstrates good-quality art can be hung alongside some real stinkers. I’m not sure which category Prince Charles’s watercolours should fall into but, in terms of the other work, if I see one more barley field I think I’ll get the combine out. Actually, the royal watercolours are okay.
Thankfully there are no dirty beds in the Caithness exhibition but maybe it is only a matter of time before someone says, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” or directs us to the Marcel Duchamps gents’ toilet.
Bringing it up-to-date, I could easily produce a snotty cushion as a contemporary take on motherhood but I doubt anyone would want to see it.
Cleaning staff beware though, as a cleaning lady in Germany recently removed an artwork from an exhibition thinking it was just a mess (something most of us think when we look at art or a building we don’t like).
The Martin Kippenberger piece, When it Starts Dripping From the Ceiling, supposedly worth £687,000, was cleaned up, removing a beige stain that was supposed to represent dried rainwater. The artwork was apparently destroyed by this action.
However, the German psyche will be used to such losses of great contemporary art, as in 1986 a £344,000 grease stain by Joseph Beuys was mopped up at the Dusseldorf Academy of Fine Arts.
Corrina Thomson is on Facebook and Twitter @corrinathomson
The Tudors... is that a make of crisps?
CHRISTMAS is just around the corner and the shops are filling out with tinsel and chocolate. Shoppers will soon be driven around the bend by pictures of Santa, reindeer and Slade singing “Merry Christmas Everybody”.
A study by Inmedia has found annoying music sends shoppers heading for the exits. This apparently shows retailers should not leave their brand to chance by playing the wrong music in store.
I witnessed this in action in Tesco Wick this week when I popped into the shop during the afternoon on a foray to get some cripplingly expensive petrol. I walked unperturbed past the festive baubles, trees and allegedly bargain toys only to be met by a very loud, flashing barrage of flat-screen TVs hailing some computer game that was about to be released.
The blaring noise was so thunderous it could easily have drowned out a low-flying jet. Perhaps some thought could be given to what ambience this creates for the shopper, given the noise was reminiscent of news footage of recent wars.
The study found 73 per cent of shoppers notice music being played in store, and of those that do, 40 per cent will stay longer in a shop if they feel the music is well chosen for the environment. Conversely, 40 per cent will spend less time there if they feel the music isn’t suitable.
Inmedia’s scientific adviser, Vicky Williamson, said: “Music can profoundly affect our mood, emotions and energy levels. Studies have shown that we naturally exploit these effects every day by using music to optimise our state of mind.
“This new survey demonstrates how similarly important background music is to our shopping experiences. Music is no less powerful just because it is chosen by someone else.”
And if retailers doubt the importance of their brand, along with its music, they need only look at research into British children’s understanding of history. The results show a clear influence from advertising and branding.
The study, which focused on children aged eight to 13, showed some thought Henry VIII was the latest blockbuster in a series of films about a character called Henry, believed the Anglo Saxons were a heavy metal band, and the Magna Carta a brand of ice cream.
The research was undertaken by Daughters of History to support the launch of its historical series of books and toys for girls, which aim to bring history to life through play.
The research, with 1000 children throughout the UK, found: 45 per cent thought the Tudors were a make of crisps; 55 per cent thought Queen Victoria was the pub in the TV soap, Eastenders; 38 per cent thought Winston Churchill was the bulldog from the TV ads for an insurance company, and 80 per cent of children thought the Battle of Britain was a TV talent show.
