I arrive on Thursday and immediately its good to be home. The weather is looking good and its good to be back. My parents meet me at the airport, and we head off to The Glasgow School of art to see my brother's degree show:
His work represents a culmination of a journey which I've watched develop over the past few months... it's mostly found objects and accidental discarded art from the streets of Glasgow. It means quite a lot for me, because Glasgow's very fond to me and full of memories, and there is an invisible imprint of both the city and my brother written across the work.
Degree shows at art school are a very strange thing indeed. It's rare that I visit galleries of modern art, but usually you have a diverse mixture which goes from the reasonably understandable to the very abstract concept. Art students spend 4 years learning to understand concepts and a field which extremely alien to "normal" people. Art is so Subjective. Most people know what they like, so it is rare to be able to pick out something that you have a real affinity with in such a sea of abstract concepts. Much of the very conceptual work on display doesn't look like it took a tremendous amount of effort to create. My dad often says that art should be something that he can't do himself. i.e. it should contain some sort of skill. When the skill is an abstract concept which you have no access to, the output of four years work is also not very accessible. Every now and again you see something that you are able to position your own concept on and it means something to you. Not necessarily as the artist intended, but you get an enjoyment or meaning out of it, so it becomes art. I think it's very much like music. It needs some sort of training to learn to attach to concepts, be it through a step by step evolution from one thing that you like to an extension of what you like, or a formal training, if you aren't in that zone, it's just a bizarre surreal trip..... Jesus, I'm a hippy.
Conceptual art is not the only thing presented, there are various other flavours and endeavours presented in different departments, the most impressive to me is the Jewellery section where concepts are outlined in intricate silverware and other works, you can clearly see the evolution and the effort. Jesus... I'm an engineer....
Anyway... after a brief journey into the world of Art, we are heading off for a family dinner in a local Indian restaurant. Family that is, plus my brother's girlfriend, and Mowgli... my date for the night.
This really feels like home, as everyone gets to catch up with travels, and life and what not......
We head home to Ayrshire for an early night......
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It's an early start in the morning. It's the day of my brother's graduation. Mowgli and I start off by heading off in the Beetle to meet Paprika off the plane. She's a trojan, she left berlin at about 4am or something, and she still looks bright eyed and bushy tailed. We have a few laughs at Mowgli's latest hair style before we head into Glasgow...
My parents are meeting us at about 11.30, so we give Paprika the guided tour of the centre of Glasgow. Buchanan Street... Argyll Street... George Square.... and Kilt shops.... The best thing about Glasgow is the people. It's great to be in a country where people are friendly again.. There's few cities where people are more welcoming(I blame the drink....)
By 11.30.... it already feels like we're late for lunch. Everyone seems very excited because of the "event". It doesn't seem like 3 years since I was standing in a kilt in the July heat at 10.30am wondering why I was in a kilt but not drinking.
After some lunch, Mowgli, Paprika and I head to my old seat of learning Glasgow University:
Beautiful int it!! Truth be told, I actually spent most of my in this concrete monstrosity:
Or moving even closer to the truth, I was meant to be in the above, but spent a fair amount of my time competing in pub quizes here:
We are pretty early, so Paprika gets a tour of the west end of Glasgow:
We head to the main uni building to meet The Cadet and lap up the atmosphere. Paprika is very excited as she get sot see lots of people wearing kilts. They have chosen to do they whole bonnie prince charlie well dressed for graduation kilt rather than the just woke up hungover and couldn't find clean trousers grunge kilt that Mowgli and I have been known to employ.
The Cadet runs across the main entry of the university as we are talking to a lecturer that Mowgli and I have in common, we are discussing Mowgli's degree results that he has just received. He asks if I am happy with my degree results. It;s either a joke, or in the lives of university lecturers, three years is quite a short time.
My parents arrive, and I head up to the Bute Hall:
Mowgli, Paprika and The Cadet are heading off for a wander until the ceremony is finished. You can read about their adventures in their blogs(If they ever start writing one).
Sitting in the Bute Hall is quite impressive for the first 5 minutes... then it's clear that we are here to listen to a list of names for the next hour or so. I realise I should apologise to anyone who attended my graduation. As they finish the last syllable of my brother's name, I excuse myself and head for the toilet.
Outside, I join the troops again and we wait for the new alumni of the Glasgow School of Art to spill out.
On a nice day, the courtyard of Glasgow University is beautiful... out the back it looks onto the soon to be re-opened Kelvingrove Art Galleries, and the south side of Glasgow:
We get lots of family photos and those that aren't driving enjoy a champagne.
My parents are heading back to the isle or Arran from Glasgow, and Paprika and I are heading to Ayrshire to recharge out batteries before we embark on a roadtrip tomorrow with Mowgli and The Cadet.
After a long day, we finally roll into my parents house... we have little energy to prepare dinner, so I treat Paprika to the joys of Scottish Chinese take away.... I donlt know what it is, but we tend to use, more oil, salt and sugar to ensure that, in my opinion, other european countries just can't cut it when it comes to Scottish chinese.
......good night......
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