Scotland in Art: People - Esther

To paraphrase the Bard, though we be small, we are mighty. For its size, Scotland has a diverse range of cultures & communities. At last count, there were about 5,463,600 of us. Our population tends to congregate round the Central Belt especially in the cities, but there are also those committed to rural & island life. It’s tough enough to live through the city winters; I would not do well with island living…

But it’s not about me. Today’s blog is art based on the people of Scotland by artists working in Scotland. We can be a harsh lot, but most of us are trying to be as inclusive a nation as we can manage at this time. We are still bound by the governance of the Union however & still have a long way to go. There are always those that will spoil it for everyone – but not all the stereotypes are true. 

Apologies for lack of dates.

The Big Heids (1999), David Mach (1956-)

I first came to know sculptor David Mach’s work through his match head pieces & loved them at once. This installation is a tribute to the already-ravaged steel industry in Scotland & comprises of life portraits of people from North Lanarkshire. This enormous piece of public art is fashioned from welded steel segments on top of freight containers & has been facetiously described as our “Mount Rushmore…”

Newhaven Boy or His Faither’s Breeks (1843-7), David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) & Robert Adamson (1821-1848)

The first photography studio in Scotland, Hill & Adamson’s partnership began as Hill attempted to record the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, photographing the ministers in order to create an accurate painting. In His Faither’s Breeks, they have captured the reality of the harsh & difficult life of fishing communities in an island nation. The title begs the question: why is he wearing his father’s trousers? Apart from the poverty, has his father been lost at sea?

Self Portrait (?), Alison Watt (1965-) 

Self-Portrait (2019?), John Byrne (1940) 

Self-Portrait (?), Tommy Ga-Ken Wan (?!)

As long as the artist has a mirror, the artist has a subject. Trying harder to look outwards though Scotland may be, many great Scots have existed. We’ve had innovators, discoverers & inventors. We may have had periods of insularity but we’re trying to do better. In any case, the self-portrait is frequently a way to make sense of the world by starting from the interior working outwards. We can hone our skills, develop our techniques & say what we want to say using an actual “self-expression.” Here some of our greatest artists reveal themselves.

Dr Connolly, I Presume?  (2017), Jack Vettriano (1951)

We like a laugh – who doesn’t? - & no-one has given us more communal laughs than Billy Connolly. An international comedian & actor, Billy was honoured by his home city of Glasgow on the occasion of his 75th birthday by having his portrait created by a number of prominent Scottish artists (including his friend John Byrne) for the constructing murals around the city. Jack Vettriano is better known for a different style of painting however used a still from a film Billy had made where he was beside the sea. In the documentary about the project, Vettriano – very well known in his own right – was clearly honoured & nervous about having been asked to participate in such a monumental venture.

Puir Weans (1863), William McTaggart (1835-1910)

The Victorian penchant for fetishising victimhood rode rampant through the art world & the people of Scotland were not exempt from the wave of poverty-porn. As distastefully sentimental now as it ought to have been then, McTaggart nevertheless highlights a problem that unfortunately still exists today. More than one in four – around 260,000 - of Scotland’s children is living in poverty today.

Farewell to Fittie (2017?), Joyce Cairns (1947-)

One might see this painting named as Farewell to Footdee. Footdee is known locally as Fittie & was an old fishing village, located close by Aberdeen harbour. This painting appears to portray the artist’s departure from the tiny village. There are different readings of the small hut on top of the head of the figure on the right, but I wonder if it is a depiction of the “tarry sheds,” sheds that were assigned to each different house in the village & made from driftwood.

Fish Lady (2006), John Bellany (1942-2013)

It is perhaps obvious that a country so reliant on the fishing & farming industries would produce so much art based on agricultural land & the sea. Bellany was no exception, influenced heavily by coastal populations & his heritage as the son/grandson of fishermen.

Barman at Pot Still Pub, Glasgow (2020), Steven Higginson (1982)

One of the stereotypes that may well be fair enough is Scotland’s reputation as a nation of drinkers. This is captured beautifully here by Steven Higginson. Not only is the barman looking quintessentially Scottish, but the bar only seems to be serving Tennents lager, a revolting, yet popular staple in the Scottish drinking community (as I shall grandly call us). I can assure you, it isn’t worth trying if you’ve ever tasted it. Although there are more interesting breweries in Scotland these days (producing the bafflingly-named “craft beers”), if you want decent beer, I strongly recommend the Belgians.

BLM at Eden Court, Inverness (2020), Jacqueline Biggs (?)

Empower at Usher Hall, Edinburgh (2020), Abz Mills (?)

As the pandemic raged across the world last year, the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum & the artists of Scotland responded. The Black Lives Matter Trail evolved from the cancellation of the Edinburgh International Festival, like a phoenix from the flames. In itself it was an act of upright defiance against the silence brought on by the virus as well as a righteous protest at the injustices we sadly continue to see around us. Excitingly, although the murals from the trail across the country have now been removed, Wezi Muhra’s original idea is set to be repeated in October 2021.

 

John Reid, State Registered Paramedic (2007), Mark Moynihan (?)

How often have we praised those who have helped us over the fifteen months? How much have we appreciated the work that keyworkers of all stripes have done for us? Hopefully, we see this collectively as a chance to properly reward & celebrate those that every day save our lives, help us, rescue us, serve us, clear up after us, pick us up, keep us safe, heal us, deliver to us, keep us warm, keep us cool, keep us alive, keep us entertained & keep us fed…