My Generation (part 2)

GENERATION, with the sub-heading "25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland", is an exhibition of art, sculpture, photography, installations, performance and more currently taking place across Scotland. It has certainly attracted my attention and I have previously posted an image from one of the exhibitions on display at the Tramway in Glasgow that caught my eye.

I took a trip into Glasgow on Monday to visit the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), as it has four GENERATION exhibitions currently on display, each one totally different from the others. There were two that I particularly wanted to see, but found myself quite taken with all of them.

I would usually say that I don't 'do' modern art, or that I don't 'get' it, and that's generally true. However, I've found myself quietly amused at how much I am enjoying these exhibitions, even though I would never suggest that I somehow do 'get' the symbolism or meaning of the artists' intentions.

The artist behind today's blip is Nathan Coley and the work is called The Lamp of Sacrifice. The rest comes from the publicity blurb: "Nathan Coley is interested in how people relate to architecture and what they choose to believe. His installation at GoMA features models of 286 ‘places of worship’ which he found in the 2004 edition of the Edinburgh Yellow Pages. Coley adapted the concept from an idea voiced by the Victorian artist and critic John Ruskin (1819–1900), who said ‘it is not the church we want, but the sacrifice…’ "

286 cardboard models of churches, mosques, temples, etc. with the religious symbols removed. Whatever one thinks of the end product, one has to admire the artist's dedication!