Kate Thomson Sculpture @ House for an Art Lover

There is a great little show of the fantastic sculptor Kate Thomson's work on at the House for an Art lover right now until 30 September. Her work has a beautiful simple and delicate quality and plays with light in really interesting and unusal ways. Its well worth a trip to the HAL to see the show,

About Kate
"Kate Thomson is an established Scottish sculptor who has been working internationally for the last 20 years. After graduating in Fine Art from Newcastle University, she worked for 3 years as a community artist in the Gorbals in Glasgow, where in 1989 she was also one of the six Founding Directors of the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, before starting to work on site-specific public sculptures for parks, gardens, and buildings all over the world, from inner city re-developments and prestigious new building projects, to established sites like the British Embassy in Tokyo.

Kate Thomson’s work is abstracted from the human form and landscape, exploring relationships in physical, cultural and social space. Her beautifully crafted marble pieces use form to articulate light and life, and touch on something essential yet unique in all of us."

For more images of her work see - http://www.ukishima.net/

Empire Exhibition 1938 - Bellahouston Park

Glasgow has a bit of a history of putting on big shows, from the International Exhibition of 1888 through to the Glasgow Garden Festival a hundred years later. The biggest of all these exhibitions however, falls right in the middle of the two.

The 1938 Empire Exhibition was one of the biggest events ever seen in the UK and was imagined as a means of kick starting the Scottish Economy and Industry, which had been in declining into a depression since the end of the First World War (which at the time was still just being called “The World War”.).

The aim of the Festival was to show off the skills and ingenuity of Scotland and the British Empire to the rest of the world and bring in new orders. A team of nine of the top architects of that generation were employed under the master planning supervision of Thomas S. Tait to create a strikingly modernist vision of a future city in Bellahouston Park.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of this event a project was put together last year to create a digital archive telling the story of the exhibition and allowing you to get a taste of what it must have been like to walk its grand streets. The project has been brilliantly put together by the Digital Design Studio under the supervision of a team of experts and the website is a treasure trove of facts, figures, videos, images and drawings. For example did you know that this was the last big show of the British Empire, that it took ten months to build, was only open for six months but still managed to attract 13m people which was about five times the total population of Scotland.
The main part of the Empire Exhibition project is a intricate 3D digital model of the park and all the principal buildings, which you can navigate with an interactive map. The map can be reviewed on the website but it can also be found at the House for an Art Lover where there is an Interpretation Centre with a continuous loop, a research archive and a small exhibition of memorabilia. The only thing missing from the project site is a proper explanation of the reasoning to build this amazing park of sculptural buildings but then only to give them a shelf life of six months? It’s similar to when the Garden Festival was constructed, it too proved hugely popular but was closed and dismantled a short while later. If they were both still around what would that section of South West be like today?

In the end however, nearly all the buildings were taken down and removed, some found new life in new locations, like the Palace of Engineering which is now at Prestwick Airport, but most were just dismantled for good. The only real survivor is the Palace of Art which is still in the Park but now serves as a centre for sporting excellence. There’s a nice section on the project website where you can compare images from 1938 to how the same scenes looks today.

The images on the site are a glimpse into a fascinating time capsule, not just of the fashions and styles of the time but also of their ideas of what the future might hold. There is a great deal of optimism and a grand sense of hope for this future expressed in both the park’s layout and the individual building designs. It makes you wonder what Scotland might have become if this enthusiasm had been able to grow uncut by the Second World War which began just nine months after the Glasgow Exhibition Closed.

Links:

Main Website

Slideshow video of old photos

Video on Best Laid Plans

House for an Art Lover Page
Map of Bellahouston Park

Patricia Cain Exhibition at House for an Art Lover

If you came along to Art in the Park this year, then you would have seen the work of Patricia Cain. A Glasgow based artist, Trish uses drawing and painting as a means of exploring the artist's process of thinking. Her focus in doing this has been on the destruction and re-construction of the urban landscape in Glasgow. She has a particular interest in the River Clyde and it's regeneration, the construction of the Loch Katrine Water Project and the new Riverside Museum.

Trish is exhibiting at the House for an Art Lover, in Bellahouston Park, from the 22 September - 2 November.

Bowling Tennis and Pitch and Putt Open

For me the sign that summer has arrived, is when the bowling opens in Queens Park. While walking through the park yesterday, we took a quick wander down to see when the bowling was due to open.....to our delight the bowling was already open, in fact it was the first day of the summer season...this was possibly the reason why the greens were empty apart from a Magpie which was happily hopping about.

The greens, tennis and pitch and putt will be open from 10am till 6pm 7 days a week. For anyone that doesn't know the council greens and equipment hire is free.

So I am already planning on a trip to the park next weekend to perfect my bowling technique...looking forward to many summer afternoons of triumph...

* There's also free bowling in Bellahouston Park

Burns Night @ the House for an Art Lover

It's Haggis time of the year and to celebrate this, the House for an Art Lover are hosting a Burns Evening.

A evening to celebrate the life and genius of the national Bard will take place on Sunday 25 January 2009 at 7:00pm.

Guests will be welcomed by the riveting sounds of a piper as they enjoy a glass of champagne in the stunning surroundings of the Music Room before proceeding to the atmospheric Main Hall and Dining Room, where they will be served Burns’ inspired fare with a twist including the traditional neeps, tatties and of course the renowned guest of honour, the haggis.

Following the hearty address to the haggis and delightful dinner, guests will be further entertained by popular Burns’ poetry including the perennial Tam O’Shanter as well as a selection of lively songs.

Tickets are £45 per person or £400 for a table of 10. For ticket reservations please telephone 0141 353 4770 or book tickets online through our

secure payment system.

Womens 10km Run

The womens 10km run is on this Sunday. The race starts on Maxwell road. The ten km route takes the runners through Polloksheilds, Pollok park and then finally finishes at Bellahouston Park.

If you've not signed up to participate in the run, go along and cheer them on.

*Those who are not intending on going along - just remember all the roads around that part of town will be closed to traffic.

New Years Resolution

It's at this time of the year when we promise ourselves we'll be fitter, healthier, tidier, skinnier and then after a few weeks we can be found with our feet up eating a chocolate biscuit.

Glasgow's Women's Jogging Network course's start in early February. So if you fancy completing a 5km or the woman's 10km run, this could be the course for you. One of the course's is the 10km crash course, you meet up with a group of women, all beginner runners, many have never ran in their life's and there's a mix of ages from 18 to 70. The class meets twice a week for 12 weeks. In the first class you may run one minute and then walk for two or three, but by the end of the twelve weeks you will be able to run and complete the Women's 10km in May.

The feeling of setting a goal and achieving it is a fantastic feeling and completing the 10km is great and happens to be alot of fun.

The course is £53.50 for the 12 weeks and you can pick up a brochure in any Glasgow sport centre or you can telephone 0141 287 5079

Jingle Bell Run - Bellahouston Park

Everyone's getting into the Christmas spirit, even the Woman's Jogging Network. There hosting their annual Jingle Bell Fun Run on Saturday the 15th of December at 2pm.
I think it's a 5km [it doesn't say on the flyer] but there is a good 5km route through Bellahouston Park. Fancy dress is welcome, but it's not mandatory, so if you don't want to run round the park in a giant snowman outfit, that's quite understandable.
After the run there will be some festive themed food at the Palace of Art.

I've been really lazy lately and haven't been out running properly...so I may just go along and cheer you all on.

To book a place call the network on 0141 287 4450 it's £8 for members and £9 for non members.

House for an Art Lover

This winter, if you are in the mood for some good food and some enjoyable music and you have a large wallet then you should give the "House for an Art Lover" in Bellahousten Park a visit.

When I first visited the house a few years ago, I found it a strange building - beautifully old in look and yet weirdly modern at the same time. This I guess is due to the fact that the building was created from old sketch designs left behind by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This means that while some elements of the building are extremely carefully thought out and detailed by the big man himself, other areas have been put together by contemporary architect in a different style. While on the whole the two different parts meld together pretty well - it does unfortunately highlight the main glaring fact about the building - its a fake. While the main rooms are as delicately sculpted as those at the Hillhouse or the School of Art, the rooms here were never built to be lived in. When you open some doors, instead of another smart bedroom, you'll find a fire escape or a large modern meeting room.

The building has really been constructed as an exercise in style and as such lacked the lived in quality that the real Mackintosh buildings have. This is not necessarily a problem or a detracting feature, but it is something to be aware of when you visit as otherwise it can make for an uneasy experience.

Returning recently I was pleased to see that the building is beginning to grow into its surroundings and take on a more settled look. The inside is still a bit of a mix but it too has developed further, most noticeably as a very popular wedding venue. (If you decide to visit - phone ahead to check if a wedding is on. They are nice to see, but it does mean most of the building will be closed off to you.) With weddings, corporate events and the Houses programme of music performances, the building does now feel that it has a purpose and now has that little spark of life. Its just a shame the location is not that brilliantly served by public transport.

Anyway, the reason for this post, is to talk about the music concerts. There are a good few on over Christmas, most involving some posh grub and the wearing of a black tie. I think they could be ideal to get you into the Christmas spirit but at £55 a ticket they are a little expensive. The alternative is the Sunday Recitals which take place throughout the year - the next one is 9 December - Lauren MacColl/ Barry Reid - fiddle/ guitar and its only £3.50.

http://www.houseforanartlover.co.uk/

Crazy horses - a wooo a wooo

"Chimera...a legend brought to life.
The greatest show on 120 flashing hooves!
Never before has there been such a lavishly costumed spectacle of equine fun, thrills, drama, dance and skill set to specially arranged music and performed by the largest and most popular equestrian touring theatre show in Europe."

Or so says their website's hype - we will be able to make up our own minds in Bellahouston Park from the 5 July until the 8th when a show about horses fighting a Chimera, - a creature part lion, part serpent and part . . . goat?? comes to town. Not quite sure what is so terrifying about goats or how a bunch of horses will do battle with it but it sounds a suitably interesting experience that I think we will probably go along. Most people will already have heard about the show as there are posters everywhere - lots of the charity shops etc also have a ton of discount vouchers which give you a half off and are worth trying to track down. We've got a couple of spares so if anyone would like us to post them one then drop us an email. southsidehappenings@gmail.com