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New food exhibit at the St A's Musuem
Miriam Rune learns how food is not just practical, but fun and enlightening too
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Many times in the last year and a half have I walked through Kinburn park on the way to and from
town, and always thought that I should visit the St Andrews museum. So I jumped at the chance to
write a review for their (discreetly-advertised) exhibition, because at last I now had an excuse to go,
rather than seeing it as one more digression from essay-writing.
The more permanent exhibition aims to give an A-Z of St Andrews history, just a selection of some
of the 60,000 objects in the Fife Council Museum. Now that MUSA has become a frequent visiting
place of mine, I was expecting more from the museum in the park. It covered many areas that MUSA
only touches upon, like the citys wartime history and the Victorian period.
The temporary exhibition could easily be missed as the ground floor gives precedence to the
A-Z exhibition and the café, it has been banished to the first floor. The name of the exhibition is
HotPot [art, food and people] and this title really does speak for itself, because the whole exhibition
seems to be about making food fun, beautiful and sociable. The introduction to the exhibition
describes the hotpot as being a universal concept, crossing cultural boundaries, and giving the
opportunity to share food and make it into a social event. This can be summed up in one of the
pieces by Ruth Archibald-Swaans, Untitled, which, despite lacking in beauty in the traditional sense, is a very intriguing piece. It consists of the surface of a table made of dough, which shows the imprints left by the interactions left by guests at a dinner party.
Also featured is Gayle Chong- Kwan, who is known for creating mythical landscapes out of food, in an exhibition named Cockaigne, which includes a rather meaty interpretation of the Tower of Babel.
Both artists hold workshops, which are part of the programme of events running over the next couple of weeks. Included are discussions with figures from the food industry, food critics and local producers, aiming to stimulate discussion accompanied by duck soup and false moustaches, as one example.
I wasnt convinced that an art exhibition based on food would be enlightening, or even sustainable (wouldnt the pieces just go mouldy?), but I was mistaken, and my friends managed to spend a good couple of hours playing chess with party rings and Ritz biscuits on a chocolate and biscuit board, and with pink-wafer dominos. The banana and apple dominos were left untouched because they sadly looked a little worse for wear
Remembering the legacy of JD Salinger
Sophia Latorre-Zengierski rediscovers Salingers genius in Franny and Zooey
In light of Salingers death on 27 January, I felt the need to re-engage with
his works. Despite my love for The Catcher in the Rye, I decided to pursue one of his lesser known works.
Franny and Zooey, is the compilation of two short stories, which appeared
individually in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957. They are linked through the
central characters: the Glass family. This is a family blessed by wealth and wisdom,
but burdened by grief and separated by pain. The eldest brother, Seymour has
committed suicide. The other siblings are greatly distanced from each other. Zooey
struggles to find appealing roles as an actor. Bessie, the family matriarch, is constantly
juggling her worries from one child to another. It is in this context that one weekend
in 1955, the youngest and only daughter, Franny, decides to have a nervous
breakdown.
In the first part, Franny, tells the events of Franny's weekend date with her
boyfriend, Lane. Its the Yale game, but the two choose to go out to lunch. Lane
tries to impress her with knowledge of writers and philosophers, but she only scoffs
at the idea a higher education and turns her thoughts to her book: The Way of the
Pilgrim. Shes taken by the idea of praying without ceasing, but Lane is more
concerned with the party they are to attend. The episode ends with Franny fainting and their plans subsequently post-poned.
The second part, Zooey, which explains more of the familys background, begins with Zooeys two-hour long bath being interrupted by his mother, who expresses her concern about him and his sister. Later, he finds Franny lying on the sofa and he tries to help her understand the flaws in her logic and how she could more clearly see things...
Salingers writing is deceptively simple; he describes characters quirks and habits down to detail, without sacrificing the readers interest in plot. His characters opinions, stubbornness and quick-wittedness allow them to be round and relatable, yet there is a charming, hidden aspect to them. The dark, macabre sense of humour comes to light. Zooey says to his mother, Thats the spirit! Make it chicken broth or nothing. Thats putting the ole foot down. If shes determined to have a nervous breakdown, the least we can do is see that she doesnt have it in peace. The family members are brutally honest with each other, something that clears the air and causes stress. Salinger manages to strike a balance between a family dynamic that is interesting and secrective, and yet personal and understandable.
Another key player in the storyline is the city itself. Their fifth avenue apartment serves both as an escape from the world and a huis clos among the family. The city is home, where Franny flees to, where Zooey struggles for work, where Bessie copes with the problems of her children. And yet, despite the pain, it is a place they would never leave. Zooey remarks: But Id hate like hell to leave New York...I was born here. I went to school here. Ive been run over here twice and on the same damn street.
In this short novella, of just over 200 pages, the Glass family may not resolve their problems, but they learn a helluva lot about life. And, just maybe, we do too.
Great Art in our own backyard
Lucie Ware revisits the National Gallery
of Scotland
Why not visit works of the artists that grace Paris, Florence and Venice for £15 instead of £600? Hop on a train to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and try the treasures of the Athens of the North for free.
Its down the road from us, packed with the best from Raphael to Gainsborough to Cézanne, and its housed in a graceful gallery to rival London or Barcelona. I had an inspirational visit in fact it inspired a Jackson Pollock all of my own and its free.
The Mound has two buildings the National Gallery (a neoclassical beauty designed by Playfair) and the Royal Scottish Academy Building. You can potter through over 600 years of art from the early Renaissance, and also be plunged into Scotlands artistic history. If youre gagging for more, the National Gallery also holds special temporary exhibitions. January was Turners watercolours, now there are artists prints from Dürer and Toulouse-Lautrec until 23rd May catch it while you can!
I discovered all this on an Art History trip, and caught the NGS bug. Actually, I had earlier caught a stomach bug resulting in the Jackson Pollock mentioned above a self-generated interplay of colour and abstraction rendered into a post-modern croissant bag during the trip. Nice. But Im going back this week and this is why:
The National Gallery has clearly carefully considered how to present its works sensitively. The paintings are hung in a logical but unregimented order on three floors, linked by elegant spiral staircases. There is enough space to be able to focus solely on one painting, and the wall colour and lighting, although strong, doesnt distract your attention seems obvious, but not all galleries cut the mustard!
When youve had your visual fill you can head downstairs to the Western Link for your stomach fill in the suave restaurant or swanky cafe. This floor links the National Gallery to the Royal Scottish Academy building and is a well equipped educational centre for talks and courses. And with all the money youve saved by going to Edinburgh (and not Venice), you could blow the budget in the new Art and Design Shop and the gallery-goers best friend - the gift shop.
So, ScotRail may not be the Venice Express, but the destinations just as good - see you there!
