With all the things going on both on and off campus, sometimes it’s just nice to walk around a room on a Sunday afternoon soaking up the vast amount of culture Glasgow has to offer, whilst pretending to look intelligent in front of your peers with your use of generic comments. It’s even better when you can do this for free.

Simone Kubik

A free exhibition featuring the work of two recent graduates of Glasgow School of Art, who play with ideas of light and dark within their photography.

Alasdair Gray: City Recorder
When: Nov – June 2012
Where: GoMA
How much: Free

This exhibition features art from Glasgow’s own Alasdair Gray and his period as ‘artist recorder’ of Glasgow in the 1970s, and shows how Gray depicted city life in this particular era.

Members’ Christmas Show
When: Nov – 24th Dec
Where: Glasgow Print Studio, Trongate
How much: Free

If you fancy buying a more personal and creative gift for Christmas this year, from now until Christmas Eve, make your way to the Trongate and survey the number of prints and gifts on display by the gallery artists.

Colour, Rhythm & Form: JD Fergusson and France
When: Nov – 8th Jan
Where: Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum
How much: £3

For a mere £3 head to the Hunterian to view the works of the late Scottish Colourist JD Fergusson. This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of his death and celebrates his particular lifelong interest in France.

Castles of Illusion
When: 3rd-17th Dec
Where: CCA
How much: Free

An exhibition of new work in the CCA by Laurence Figgis, Brin Frost and Zoe Williams who all draw on aspects of the surreal and the uncanny, and use a diverse range of mediums to do so.

Image: Richard Campbell

The first word spoken in Marilyn, a new play about the endlessly iconic Marilyn Monroe, is an exclamation: “Peroxide!” Spoken by Monroe’s fictional hairdresser Patti (played to perfection by Pauline Knowles), the word is an early expression of the themes that drive the play; of affectation and self-fabrication, not to mention female suffering. In a Q&A session after the play, its star Frances Thorburn spoke of the scalp burns she suffered after a six and a half hour dye treatment to achieve Marilyn’s classic bombshell blonde.
The play, written by Sue Glover, which ended its short run in Glasgow on March 12 but continues at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre from March 15 to April 2, constitutes a snapshot of Monroe’s celebrated and stormy life. Set in the summer of 1960, the then 34-year-old actress is shooting the film Let’s Make Love and living with her husband Arthur Miller at the Beverly Hills Hotel next door to her costar Yves Montand and his wife, the actress Simone Signoret (played by Dominique Hollier). Both women’s husbands feature prominently in their lives and in the denouement of the action onstage, but neither is seen; only Marilyn, Simone, and their shared hairdresser Patti appear. While a three-person cast is somewhat risky, there is nothing to worry about in the able hands of the three actresses; they all effortlessly inhabit their characters.

When we first encounter Marilyn barrelling her way into Simone Signoret’s room she is in character as the public figure we all know: bubbly, vivacious, demanding our attention. Frances Thorburn initially plays her with an almost manic enthusiasm, flitting across the stage at a breakneck pace and laughing a little too loudly. Her behaviour is in marked contrast to that of Dominique Hollier’s more controlled Simone. But as the play develops, this Marilyn comes and goes, reflecting a private life consumed by anxiety and self-doubt. After the play Thorburn noted a comment in Simone Signoret’s autobiography, that in all the time the two actresses spent together, Simone only remembers seeing Marilyn ‘be Marilyn’ on two occasions. By now Marilyn’s life is such common knowledge that we all know the private pain behind her very public smile; the abandonment and abuse in her childhood, the exploitative sexual politics of mid-century film studios, the miscarriages, the drug dependency. The image she projected was one of a carefree and willing sex object, but as the play demonstrates, this image was one Monroe herself had a hand in carefully manipulating, but one that constrained her.

Despite initial doubt the two actresses eventually become friends, aided along the way by the tough but always empathetic Patti. Their friendship, though, is a troubled one. Jealousy lies onboth sides: Simone is entirely, self-effacingly, devoted to her husband, and becomes more and more vulnerable the closer he gets to his co-star. Marilyn is frustrated by her typecast role as a dumb blonde in frivolous comedies, and her doubts about her career are only confirmed by Simone’s critical success. What is ultimately on display here are the limitations placed on both women. Despite how their lives look from the outside, neither is truly free.

Only in its dramatic conclusion does the play temporarily lose focus. The circumstances of Marilyn Monroe’s early and ambiguous death are already well known and it seems to have become requisite for any artistic depiction of her life to include her overdose. The limited time frame of the first act is part of why the play works so well; by narrowing its scope, it presents a truthful microcosm rather than extravagant generalities. The ending’s overblown mythologizing doesn’t seem to fit with the play’s earlier subtlety. Still, this momentary misstep doesn’t detract from the excellent acting by the three leads, the valuable illumination of the problems still facing women as well as the originality of Marilyn’s take on the most public of public figures.

Marilyn runs until 2nd of April at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Thursday 3rd March brought to 2011 the annual celebration of World Book Day, and I was eagerly awaiting its arrival. However, for me, this years event was overshadowed by my excitement for a brand new event to be held on Saturday 5th March – World Book Night.

World Book Night was the first event of its kind, and has been described as the ‘most ambitious and far-reaching celebration of adult books and reading ever attempted in the UK and Ireland.’ From Saturday 5th onwards, one million books have been distributed to members of the public around the UK and Ireland by 20,000 specially selected ‘givers’. Altogether 25 carefully chosen book titles, including Alan Bennett’s ‘A Life Like Other People’s’, Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’, and John le Carré’s ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,’ will make up the huge one million book giveaway. The idea of World Book Night was developed by book publisher Jamie Byng, who came up with the concept during the World Book Day Conference in 2009. It has taken two years to take form, but finally World Book Night has arrived!

I am very privileged and grateful as I was selected as one of the ‘givers’ for World Book Night. As the presenter of Subcity Radio’s show ‘TheBookClub’ I was selected to give away 48 copies of the book of my choice to listeners of the show and students from Glasgow University. For my giveaway I chose Toni Morrison’s incredibly moving novel ‘Beloved’. After reading this book during the Summer, I selected this book because I believe it should be read by everyone. The novel tells the life story of character Sethe, and how slavery has affected both her and the family before and after her. It is an incredibly emotive read that forces its reader to face up to issues one would most like to forget, but in the end leaves us with an unforgettable feeling of hope. I can not recommend it highly enough.

As part of this wonderful giveaway of literature, I will be leaving copies of ‘Beloved’ all around the University, just waiting to be discovered. Keep your eyes peeled! If you find one of the many copies I have left around the University, I hope you enjoy it. My first request is that you treasure the story as much as I do. My second, (and this is a tough thing to ask I know!), please pass on your copy of the novel once you have finished. This is a story which must be passed on and shared among readers far and wide. So once you have finished with it, pass it on to a friend or family member, or you could even leave it somewhere undiscovered to be found by another mysterious reader. Hopefully, the books journey can continue past the final pages and touch the lives of many more people.

Thanks to my role as a ‘giver’ in World Book Night, I was offered the opportunity to go to the launch party of World Book Night on Friday 4th March. With a line up including Alan Bennett, Rupert Everett, Margaret Atwood and a host of other famous authors, I could not refuse! There was however, one small problem; the event was taking place in London’s Trafalgar Square. With only a week’s notice to the launch party, I must admit I thought it was going to be an impossible trip, but, after a searching for funds and an 8 hour night bus to London, I found myself in Trafalgar Square come Friday eve. Was it worth it? Without a doubt YES! Despite being in an extreme state of exhaustion and stood in the bitter cold of London town, World Book Night 2011 Launch was an event to remember – for all the right reasons! The event was compared by Graham Norton who introduced us to 12 very lucky ‘givers’ who shared their experiences with the novel of their choice. This was followed by an hour and a half of talks by some of the most important figures in British Literature today. Talks from Alan Bennett, Margaret Atwood, Rupert Everett, John le Carré, Philip Pullman, as well as celebrities like Suggs and Boris Johnson, made the evening one of variety and emotion. Each reader selected their favourite novel, either from the list of 25 or not, and proceeded to read an extract from that. For me the most memorable were Alan Bennett’s reading from his book ‘A Life Like Other People’s’, John le Carré’s ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,’ and Boris Johnsons’ reading about being hungover – perfect entertainment for a Friday night! The evening has been called ‘the biggest single literary event in history’ by the Telegraph, and I feel very privileged and lucky to have been part of such a moment in literary history.

World Book Night is not something to be celebrated just by the book-lover. It is something to be celebrated by each and every person. Reading is something to be enjoyed by all, it has no boundaries. I urge you to seek out a copy of ‘Beloved’ around the University, and remember to pass it on! The journey of reading is one that never ends, and for some people discovering this book may be the beginning of there journey. I hope each and every one of you who finds a copy enjoys your emotional journey across its pages. And for those of you who don’t find a copy, pick up the next book you see and read it. You never know, it could be the turning point in your journey.

Image: Roy Campbell Moore

Janis Claxton Dance Company famously performed Enclosure 44 – Humans as part of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Enclosure 44 – Humans was a dance piece exploring the relationship between movement of animals and movement of humans. This type of exploration harks back to Simone Forti’s experiments in animal behaviour from the Judson Church Dance Movement in the 1960s, however Claxton’s company brought it up to date by situating Enclosure 44 in a real (albeit empty) enclosure in Edinburgh Zoo. The zoo remained open to the public, who were confronted with human’s imitating animals rather than the real thing.

This subversion of expectations; humans instead of animals, humans moving like animals was instrumental in the creation of a dynamic piece of work. Claxton has continued with this theme in her latest work, Humanimalia, which sees five dancers perform animal-inspired movements and behaviours. This time, the work is presented in performing arts venues across Scotland. The more conventional setting allows for experimentation in staging and lighting. The stage remains sparse throughout the performance, apart from two glass cages on lockable wheels, which are often pushed, pulled and inhabited by the dancers. Aside from the animalistic overtones these seem to say something more, especially in the context of an all-female performance. Women in cages banging their bodies against in the sides in frustration and fear cannot help but have some sexual overtones, especially whilst the other dancers look on, voyeuristically.

This watered down S&M aesthetic is prevalent in the mainstream, especially music (yes Rihanna, I’m looking at the likes of you), and has unfortunately become a bit cliché. It seemed a shame that Humanimalia couldn’t have tackled this is a more contextually aware manner. Presenting ‘avant-garde’ in a guise so similar to mainstream cannot help but invite unwanted comparisons. Similarly towards the end of the performance one dancer removes her top, and is covered in raw bacon by another dancer. Any women-as-meat points were unfortunately swept away instantly by Lady Gaga ‘Meat Dress’ references.

Voyeurism is something which is constantly explored throughout the performance, as some dancers move whilst others watch. There are few times when all dancers will move in unison, which mimics the slow (some may say monotonous) nature of watching laxidasical zoo animals. However, I think the point is slightly laboured. The dancers consistently return to somewhat obvious animalistic movements; surrounding prey, surveying the territory, timid exploration of another’s body. There is also a sequence where a live feed video of the audience is projected onto the wall opposite the audience. I get it, we’re watching them, it’s like in a zoo where humans watch animals. Something more subtle could perhaps have worked better.

Having said this, some of the contact work, especially in the duets was really well executed, and overall a lot of the movement was entertaining. I just wish that either it had been in the zoo, where obvious animals references could have been overlooked on fact that the setting was apt, or that the performance had perhaps hinted at the theme, but not so explicitly.

Humanimalia, Tramway Friday 4th March 2011

With the advent of mechanised transport and the reality of increased mobility borne out of this industrialisation, the Italian Futurists were obsessed with the idea of speed: ‘We say that the world’s magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty; the beauty of speed,’ Marinetti would declare in their inaugural 1909 manifesto. Indeed Sant’Elia imagined a layered city centre accommodating trains, trams, buses, cars, aeroplanes and was even gracious enough to spare an afterthought for pedestrians.

It was in this very spirit of juvenile misadventure that a scheme for the M8 motorway was contracted; a motorway that would traumatically rip through the urban fabric of Glasgow, bisecting the city and forever leaving it scarred. Only the river Clyde presents a greater physical barrier. It is with hindsight that we may now survey the callous misguidedness of this endeavour.
Instituted in 1965 (just before the construction of the inner city section of the M8), it was not with hindsight, but prescient foresight, that the New Glasgow Society had to rely on when confronted with serious urban issues such as these. The Society had their eyes wide open. They beheld a magnificent Victorian city (albeit not without its problems) and recognised the quality of its existing building stock at a time when it was not voguish to do so. From its inception, the Society was instrumental in raising public awareness to the full consequences of the construction of the M8 through Glasgow amongst numerous other issues.

However, it would be erroneous and doing the Society a disservice to consider it merely in terms of being preservationist in aim. On the contrary, throughout its history the New Glasgow Society has long supported and actively promoted new projects deemed to be worthy of and beneficial to Glasgow. Indeed, from its inception and into the 1970s (with a burgeoning membership of over fifteen-hundred), the Society used its considerable and persuasive influence to express its views and concerns to the relevant authorities, advancing or disparaging a project as deemed fit. Nor did the society shy from conflict, squaring-up to the Glasgow Corporation (for example) over the then proposed widening of Great Western Road.
Thus a society was formed in possession of the collective vision of its members and, moreover, their unequivocal voice for the betterment of its city. This was a vision that would discern, not just observe; this was a voice for Glasgow that would build-up, not condemn.

Regrettably, since these auspicious beginnings, the Society has declined considerably, both in membership and interest – it was in dire need of a catalyst. To that end, a desire to revitalise the New Glasgow Society has been sown. Accordingly, the preexisting commercial unit has been refurbished and re-presented as a gallery space; a new website has been built; and there is an ongoing commitment to edit and preserve the Society’s extensive and fascinating archive. A re-launch party in the gallery space emblematically marked this resurrection on Saturday, 5th March 2011.

The Society’s firmly-held conviction is that it is timeous to cultivate a renaissance for the urban fabric of Glasgow. The re-launch event is indicative of a broader intention to engage in a programme of activities for the long-term. There is an ambition to promote and enhance the series of talks and walking-tours provided by the Society in order to raise awareness of the urban milieu. There is an intent to rediscover a much-needed voice for the local community, thereby invoking the original spirit of the Society and becoming more proactive in the assembling and shaping of our city. Finally, the key component of the new agenda is to forge a strong link to architectural education. This will be cultivated (in part) by the launch of what is envisaged will be the first of several architectural competitions for students – the two Glasgow schools of architecture invited together to focus attention on a specific area or issue. With consideration to the Society’s genesis, it is fitting that the initiatory competition should centre on the effects of the new M74 extension, currently severing the south side of the city.

The Society exists to promote, encourage and stimulate public interest in, and care for, the beauty, history and character of the city of Glasgow and its surroundings. The Society demands high standards of architecture and town-planning in the Glasgow region (in co-operation with other interested organisations, where appropriate). The preservation, development and improvement of features of general public amenity or historic interest is encouraged. The New Glasgow Society seeks to pursue these ends by means of meetings, exhibitions, lectures, publications, conference, publicity and schemes that are of a charitable nature.

Now is the time to re-open those weary eyes and stretch that vocal range once more.

The next event at the New Glasgow Society will be on Thursday 17th March from 5.30pm, with a talk about the exhibition and the Society at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be provided. The New Glasgow Society: 1307 Argyle Street (next to Firebird). www.newglasgowsociety.org.

The Inventors of Tradition is housed in disused building on Stockwell Street.  In a past life it was clear the location of the exhibition had simply been a deserted, white-washed box room with no apparent prospects (it was in fact a unoccupied retail space).

The transformation of the premises which house the exhibition is much like the changing fashion industry today. With the introduction of mass branding and chains like Primark taking over the High Street it feels like the traditional methods of textile production have been lost. However, the exhibition of 21 Stockwell Street aims to rectify this situation by educating the average civilian, like myself, about fashion and what it should mean. Through displays of exclusive archive material from a number of individuals and companies, ‘The Inventors of Tradition’ tells the story of the Scottish textile industry. We begin in the 1930s and take a journey through fashion and textiles which ends in the 1990s. Significant and world class work by designers including Elizabeth Radcliffe, Robert Stewart and Jean Muir, is displayed throughout the room in a range of different ways. Valuable pieces and their designs are enclosed in display cabinets, as well as  photographs of the designers and their factories. A series of short films can be found towards the end of the exhibition. All are documentaries sourced from the Scottish Screen Archive in the National Library of Scotland.

I would not really call myself an avid follower of fashion, and so on entering 21 Stockwell Street, I was concerned about how out of place I would look. I am a self-confessed borrower when it comes to clothes, and most items in my wardrobe have belonged to one of my many relatives (Thanks Grandma).With this in mind, I was fascinated by such a historically based exhibition. And in some cases I found myself saying, ‘I have one of those!’, and  (rather embarrassingly) I saw items of clothing similar to some of the hidden clothes in my Mother’s wardrobe. I think in todays fashion world, an exhibition like this plays an important role. It is crucial that the old textile traditions of the past aren’t forgotten and replaced by the  cheap and immoral production techniques favored by the   by High Street. The exhibition runs until the 26th February, and is without a doubt a must see. I recommend you pop along, just for an education in the past. And to see if you can spot any of your relative’s items of clothing hidden somewhere!

The photographer John Thomson was born in Edinburgh in 1837, and first travelled to Asia in 1862. He was so won over by the culture that he returned in 1868, and spent the next four years travelling through China. A new exhibition of his photography, China through the Lens of John Thomson, is on now at the Burrell Collection. Located in the middle of Pollock Country Park, the whole thing is a visual delight. The photography is beautiful and evocative, and the history is painstakingly researched and presented in great detail. China through the Lens of John Thomson is undoubtedly a success.

The photographs, which include a range of formal portraits, candid street shots, and photos of landscapes, scenery, and monuments, are categorized by region. Of the dozens and dozens of photos included, every one has a multilingual label that includes its title, date, historical context, and significance. Many also include Thomson’s own writing. The degree of detail included is surprising but definitely appreciated; all of his work can be understood in context.

Despite the amount of both history and historiography expressed, this exploration of Victorian era photography is by far the most enlightening part of the exhibition.

The practice of photography was invented during Thomson’s lifetime, and as the exhibition notes, cameras were still unfamiliar to most Chinese people during Thomson’s time there. He was clearly a master of his craft, but part of what makes the photographs noteworthy to a modern viewer is what we would perceive as their imperfections. Photography as an art has changed drastically since Thomson’s time, and in the age of Photoshop, it would be completely unheard of to exhibit photographs that display the ink blots, severed edges and slight cracks that Thomson’s do. But there is also a purity and an artistry to his pictures, many of which are astonishingly beautiful.

The photographs of people are among his most striking. Thomson took many portraits, of both high-ranking officials and lower-level, more idiosyncratic professionals at work: blind musicians, a night watchman, a mender of broken dishes, a ‘dealer of curiosities’, and so on. Several are traditional Chinese portraits, where the subjects all face the viewer and the arrangement of figures is hierarchical. But in many more photos, Thomson’s composition makes a conscious break from tradition. He has his subjects face away from each other, or away from the camera. He also has many portraits of people of different social statuses standing side by side, and positions some portraits as stereoscopes. The result is personal and expressive, fulfilling Thomson’s stated goal of capturing his subjects ‘faithfully and with sensitivity.’

“The Lens of John Thomson” is an important inclusion in the exhibition’s title. In all the history and context provided, we are never once given the impression that this is anything but one person’s perception of a culture. The exhibition never glosses over the biases Thomson is bound to have had as a British Victorian; while his sympathy for the poor is noted, so is his distaste for beggars and his occasional racial generalizations. Rather than present a false image of the photographer as immune to the prejudices of his time, the exhibition is not afraid to depict Thomson honestly.

This is the first showing of the exhibition in Scotland, and is on loan from the Wellcome Library.

Having studied at the Glasgow School of Art for almost four years now, my thoughts are beginning to turn to life after graduation.  We all know that there is next to no funding in the arts, and for an individual leaving what can only be described as ‘the Art School bubble’, the future looks deeply uncertain.  Without the pressure of the degree show, or various student-run exhibitions, many graduating Art School students can feel like there is no outlet to make their workpublically available. This is where the various collectives and organisations come into play, most of which have been started by former students. In effect, what these offer is an environment which allows artists an opportunity to produce work for a specific cause, rather than idly working towards an nonexistant exhibition.

Glasgow are currently hosting ARCAN MELLOR for the second time.  ARCAN MELLOR was set up by former students and Glasgow-based artists; Simon Gowing, Tomas Poblete and Leo Bruno Todd, with the intention of promoting Scottish and English artists in both London and Glasgow.  Currently they are showing work by recent Royal College of Art graduate Samuel Nias at The Dutchy.  The exhibition, A PRISM APPLIED TO THE EYE GLASS OF MY REFLECTOR, charts Nias’s fascination with natural phenomenons such as the Northern Lights.  The exhibition shares a lot of its aesthetics with what I would term Retro Futurism, with nods to the geometric psychedelic forms of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Nias sites ARCAN MELLOR’s input as being the driving force behind his post-university realisation that he needed a studio, as having something to work towards makes this financial and time commitment worth while.

We speak to Tomas Poblete, the founder of ARCANMELLOR.

Firstly what is Arcan Mellor and what do you hope to achieve?

ARCANMELLOR are Tomas Poblete, Leo Todd and Simon Gowing, all as one mind and project commissioner ,coordinator and curator. What we hope to achieve is the ability to present work to a greater audience, be it artwork or design,  from  young and up-and coming artists in solo shows here in Scotland, London and even internationally.

Obviously you and Simon have lived in Glasgow, what is it about Glasgow which makes you want to put exhibitions on here?

The choice of Glasgow comes as second nature. Having had lived and worked in the City obviously helps but Glasgow’s great ability to facilitate good art and projects is part of its appeal.

Do you think there is a benefit in exhibiting both in London and in Glasgow?

As for now we haven’t one particular show coming up next here, we are working on a show in Sao Paulo, Brazil and we focused on that just now, but certainly in the near future we will hopefully have more shows here in Glasgow, as well as being able to work and present more Scottish artists in London. I guess ARCANMELLOR did at first try and make a commitment to presenting Scottish artists in England and vice versa, but that now has evolved into a more open idea in the sense that if the work or project  works as we want it to work, it wont matter where the artist is from.

How do you choose the artists you exhibit?

The way we choose an artist  has all to do with the individuals work, and if  we agree on him or her being someone we would like to work with we contact them and beguine a dialogue that could lead to a commission by ARCANMELLOR or even a collaborative project between us and the artist.

Samuel Nias is showing at The Dutchy until 12th March

The River Clyde: a romanticists dream. The flowing artery that provided a life force to the dormant bishopric of Glasgow; the pin that pierced the frustrated balloon of pre-industrial globalisation; the lungs that inhaled the wealth of the Empire, arrogantly spluttering back with conquering force. And now? A graveyard of these powerful days, for Glasgow’s Clyde once more lies dormant.

Or so it may seem to the romanticist. For the Clyde may not  have retained its image as a symbol of industrial prowess, and to an extent has become a stage for displaying commercial interest, yet regeneration is underway. Moreover, whilst imagery displayed by those adoptees of pre-Raphaelite optimism, such as John Atkinson Grimshaw, conveyed the Clyde with the mystery and vivacity that is so tempting to adhere to, it must be asked whether or not this a true representation of the cultural role the industrial river played within Victorian cities? For tenuous metaphors aside, art that appeals to our own romantic aspirations often remains a dramatic whimsicality from the reverie of another: the excited storyteller after too many whiskies. Or something like that.

Thus, while the Clyde begins its recovery, after the misfortune of global economics outcompeting much of its shipbuilding infrastructure, romanticism, once again, becomes relevant. This time, however, replacing the potentially jaded nostalgia created by the art of romantic Britain, there is an optimistic anticipation, as felt by those 19th century artists in which it was composed. When Atkinson Grimshaw painted his deeply atmospheric night scenes of Broomielaw; the wonders of emerging industrial technology, such as gas lighting illuminating shop windows, were depicted. In fact, due to the sheer significance of technological transition at the time, his work may be an even truer overall representation of the Clyde at the time, encompassing more than the morphology of the Clyde, but the emotions of the people themselves.

So, while artistic interpretations suggest art as a more historically accurate representation of a place than the place itself, the question of the Clyde’s potential as a romanticist status in the future, remains unanswered. While the centre of the city, firmly rooted in the Glasgow Grid rising from North of the Clyde to Garnethill on one axis, and stretching from the M8 to the Merchant City on the other, is unlikely to lose its prominence as the business and tourist heart of Glasgow, the Clyde will, once again, gain a growing interest, perhaps more widely felt in other former industrial cities such as London and Liverpool.

With more than 400 projects on the Clyde, either in planning or having been constructed since 2003, and with the majority being either strictly, or including, residential and public amenities, the future for the Clyde is positive. While some areas may face gentrification, social and council housing schemes aim to ensure social diversity on the Clyde. And with internationally recognised postmodern excursions, in the form of the Armadillo and the Transport Museum, international attention returns to the Clyde once more. But can the redevelopers, the new romantics if you will, reproduce the imagery of a bustling Broomielaw boasted by Atkinson Grimshaw? Can such an emphasis on housing produce the required touristic lure that would generate further developments and lead to continued growth? Or can the arts themselves, such as architecture, elevate the river to reflect Glasgow’s prominence as a leading European city once again. Time, and, predictably, money will tell.

Aiden Hall is studying Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art

Photography by Olivia Vitazkova

Perhaps it was just me, but this Christmas holidays seemed really long. Not in a sort of ‘Oh God, I’m so bored,’ kind of way, but in a sort of lovely, dragging out of nice activities, old friends and copious nights (and days) of drinking.  I do love going home, but on returning I am instantly reminded why I choose to study in Glasgow .

Glasgow is up for a good time; ‘you’ll have mere (more) fun at a Glasgow stabbing than an Edinburgh Wedding’ as the saying goes.  Genuinely one the best things I’ve seen this year was on the door of the Savoy Centre, which unfortunately was closed for the day.  Simply pinned up was a sheet of average A4 paper, on which had been crudely scrawled: ‘Shut Aw Day.’ And why not? Who needs a fancy well made ‘closed’ sign. I got the message; the Savoy Centre was shut. For how long? Aw day. Deal with it.

I am amused by phonetic spellings of words which are suggestive of a Glaswegian accent; just so you have my level. But if that’s your level too then GOMA’s current exhibition (and to be honest the first thing I’ve liked at GOMA in a long time) is for you.  Hertie Querty (Hertie – ‘fond of fun and merry,’ Querty – ‘in good spirits, full of fun and mischief’) is a sort of contemporary art funfair.  As with all funfairs there’s seedy undertones, attention-grabbing visuals and banter which treads precariously between jovial and threatening.

Not all the pieces are Glasgow-based, or even by Glasgow-bred artists, but there is a genuine feeling that a Glaswegian sensibility has played a part in the conception of most of the pieces, and indeed in their curation. George Wyllie’s'Tropicana Glasgow’ showcases the elements of Glasgow’s coat and arms, arranged totem-like on a palm tree. There are echos of Stanley Baxter’s 1970s mock ‘how to learn a language’ television show “Parliamo Glasgow.” The idea of Glasgow as a exotic, far off island might seem laughable (just have a look out your window at the weather), but Wyllie pitches this just right.

There are fourteen artists represented, nine of which studied at the Glasgow School of Art.  Arguably, David Shrigley’s contributions to Hertie Querty are the highlights. His crude commentary on human condition are poignant whilst bizarrely funny – one drawing depicts an overweight man lying  on the ground. ‘DRUNK AGAIN.’ is scrawled across the top in much the same manner as my beloved ‘closed aw day.’ ‘I”M NOT DRUNK, I”VE BEEN HARPOONED,’ comes the equally scrawled reply.

As irrelevant as I’m making this sound, the exhibition is a sort of treasure chest of important works, with a couple of Greyson Perry’s vases on show, and Roderick Buchanan’s Gobstopper which won the Beck’s Future’s Prize in 2000. This exhibition is full of ‘the banter,’ and has enough substance to give you your cultural fix that’ll last “aw day.”

Hertie Querty runs until May 3rd