The
Society of Scottish Artists
108th
Annual Exhibition
2005
Venue:
The Lower Galleries, RSA Building, The Mound
Exhibition Dates: Saturday 22nd January – Thursday 17th
February 2005
Reflections on 'Body Parts' - Giles Sutherland
Bodyparts-
Performance Art Festival
SSA
on Screen
The Future
Introduction
In a world full of words and text and merchandising, it is hard for new
visual arts to survive without them. However, I would like the audience
to enter SSA 2005 not wearing a ready cliché, but with an open
mind.
The art world is a strange one and full of contradictions. The SSA is
no exception: a need for commercial viability versus real development
of a meaningful language for contemporary art: a truly wide representation
of artists versus rigorous peer group selection.
It is well known amongst working artists, but rarely acknowledged, that
all artists subsidise the culture industry to a huge extent. Therefore
we celebrate the fact that the SSA and this wonderful exhibition here
in the RSA are, largely artist supported. Not just supported by those
whose work is represented, but also by every artist who submitted work
and those who donate their time and skills to make this happen. Our community
of art in Scotland is all the stronger for their generosity. I hope that
the SSA continues to provide a benchmark of aspiration, creativity and
ideas for decades to come.
For the first time we have a time slot of January /February and our placing
for this year within the 3 smaller but beautifully formed lower galleries.
Our very existence within the RSA building is a delicately balance, and
a symbiotic dance of opportunity alongside the other annual exhibiting
societies. So to make the most of the intimacy of this years space allocation,
we present a lateral solution to artists’ representation.
SSA on Screen is a tantalising programme of 16 short film and video works
from 14 artists as far a field as Japan, Spain, and Ireland as well as
across the UK. These works have also been selected through open submission,
and represent a huge range of approach in new artists’ film making.
These film works show performance, theatre of objects, computer animation,
body art, bald humour and exquisite bad taste. Brilliant!
Another critical and high risk adventure in SSA2005 is our new festival
within an exhibition: Bodyparts: a 5 day festival of live art. Taking
place from the 9th- 13th of February, this exciting development (and a
natural one since the SSA has long supported and represented performance
art practice) has been achieved through an historic first time collaboration
between the SSA, the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Galleries
of Scotland. Unachievable without this partnership, and with crucial financial
support from the Scottish Arts Council, we celebrate the diversity and
intelligence of this critically relevant art form through our festival
programme. We hope you can join us during that period to experience the
amazing work of 16 artists from across the UK brave enough to be their
art.
Within the best tradition of the SSA, 7 invited students from across the
4 Scottish Art Colleges have had their work selected - they are part of
the future that we are proud to support.
Kate Downie
President