A Visit to Kelvingrove

Author(s): Merlin James

Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 150, No. 1264, American Art and Architecture (Jul.,
2008), pp. 477-478
Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40479805 .
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BARNETT

NEWMAN AT BETTY

PARSONS

GALLERY,

NEW YORK

first
timein morethanthreeyears,Prestoncouldacknowledge
the
By 1955itwasmucheasierto consider'Abstract
Expressionism'
artist'srole in the rise of Abstract
light as shorthand
fora group endeavourthanas an umbrellaterm
Expressionism.
anexhibition
tocelebrate
thetenth forindividualprojects.It is consistent
with the incommensurappeared(as'No. 7') in Tenyears,
of
the
Parsons
anniversary
Betty
Gallery.Prestonwrote:Once a
abilityof Newman'sworkand the criticallanguageof the early
faroutpostof the advanceguardand now a secureterrain,
this 1950s thatNewman's reputationimprovedmarkedlybetween
has
adventurous
talent
which
later
received
wide
October1952 and December1955,duringwhichtimehe exhigallery promoted
Hans Hofmann,BarnettNewman,JacksonPollock, bitednothing.
recognition.
Ad Reinhardt,Mark Rothko and the late BradleyTomlin (all
who havefashioned
the
here)aresomeofthepainters
represented
nowfamousstyleofabstract
thechosenstyleofmost 32Idem:'Year-endexhibitions',
ibid.(25thDecember1955),P.X14; Tenyearsran
expressionism,
American
from19thDecember1955to 15thJanuary
artists'.32
1956.
contemporary
non-figurative

Lettersto the Editor

majorand minorworksalikeare used as examplesin pedagogic

Certain
ensembles,
againoverpowered
bygimmicky
paraphernalia.
worksare entirely
unlabelled(a printby S.W. Hayter,a sevenDutchinterior),
in a
teenth-century
existing
onlyas visualstimulae
area.
learning
The caffranchises
in the entrancehall and thejokey clown
headshangingon thestairs(designedby a communications
firm)
set the tone thatextendsinto the galleries.Touch-screenand
interfaces
sir, Your November2007 Editorial(pp.747-48), to whichMark interactive
abound; one paintinghas funny'thought
O'Neill's letterobjectedin yourMay issue(p.330), onlybeganto
bubbles'attachedto it; mobile phones are used freelyin the
touchon the failings
of the fineartdisplaysat the Kelvingrove galleries;
noiselevelsareoftenhigh;andthecomputer
in
monitors
ArtGalleryand Museum,Glasgow.I writeas a Glasgowresident theResourceCentreshowsearchhistories
almostentirely
ofchat
andfrequent
visitor
to theMuseum.The overwhelming
rooms,triviavideositesor onlineshopping.
problemat
is thattheability
to concentrate
andreflect
is comproIt is in thiscontext- the dmystification
of artto the point
Kelvingrove
- thatthe verylow hangingof manyworksdoes,
misedby intrusive,
crudeinformation
scrambles
and an insistent of disrespect
of'enhancedvisitor
thatisultimately
counter- contrary
to O'Neill's claims,represent
increasedriskto thephysiparading
experience'
calsafety
ofthecollections.
Of coursethereisa thrill
inbeinggiven
productive.
The maingallery
ofwonderful
modernFrenchpaintings
haschil- intimateaccessto worksof art,as long as thereis also a sense
dren'sactivity
islandsa fewstepsawayfromtheworks,creating
a
of curatorial
care.But withoutthatauraofreverence
theeffect
is
to devaluetheworkandleaveit morevulnerable
to casualabuse.
playschoolhubbub.Flip-chartlabelsfor each painting(Fig.51)
demandthatviewershuddlewithininchesof the closelyhung Indeed,a bronzebyZadkine,free-standing
on an activities
bench,
works.A Picassoand a Dufyhangat kneeheight,unlit,behinda
animationwhose voice-overbroadcasts,
in a
computer-screen
charmingFrenchaccent,a tale of 'MonsieurDufy'sDay Out'.
a soundtrack
fromtheadjacentItalianRenaissance
Simultaneously
the
rudiments
of perspective
and iconography.
galleryexplains
WhenyoureachtheItalianpictures
Botticelli,
(Bellini,
Titian)your
viewiscluttered
andobstructed
boardsandbycases
bygiantgraphic
ofarmour,
artefacts
andexplanations
ofpaintmanufacture
(Fig.52).
The clunky(oftenmalfunctioning)
lightshow projecteddirectly
onto the BotticelliAnnunciation
is particularly
shocking.Then
come strainsof Josquindes Prs froma 'side chapel' complete
withmini-pews,
a biginformation
a hefty
panelaboutaltarpieces,
with
more
and
a
from
the
workfacts,
hand-placard yet
painting
of
Pesellino.
The
music
on
disc
from
the
shop
(available
shop,a label
tellsus) is a ratherapproximate
historical
matchwiththepainting
andservesonlyasmoodMuzakina caricature
ofthekindofsolemn
thatisactually
so difficult
toachieveinthisMuseum.
contemplation
The nextroomofDutchartrestores
somedignity,
marredonly
buttoo oftenat Kelvingrove
by obtrusive
story-boards;
anysense
of art'suniquequalitiesand theveneration
it mightdeservehave
beensacrificed,
as beingsynonymous
withexclusivity
presumably
andelitism.
Whenart'spreciousness
or emotivepowerareheeded
at all theyarenotgivenspaceto maketheireffect
butinsteadare
and rathercondescendingly
as in the
'thematised',
pedantically
Pesellinochapelor in zonesaboutconservation
andrestoration
or
labelson eithersideofCharlesCamoin'sPlacedeClichy,
51. Flip-chart
Paris,
'ScottishIdentity
in Art'(cue thebagpipes).On thegroundfloor Kelvingrove
MuseumandArtGallery,
Glasgow,2008.

A visitto Kelvingrove

THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE CL JULY 28

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477

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

MuseumandArtGallery,
52. ItalianRenaissancegallery,
Kelvingrove
Glasgow,2008.

in one corner,showsclearsignsof havingbeen shovedaround

fromthestudioofRiberahungtwofeetfrom
(Fig.53) A painting
theground(ironically
in a displayaboutconservation)
is dappled
with fingerprints.
Constable'slow-hungHampsteadHeath has
similarfingerprints
on itsslipframe.Placedclose to manyworks
are heavyinformation-placards
or othervisualor tactileaidsthat
visitorsare invitedto pick up and manipulate.This is courting
as wardingis at an absoluteminimum.On my
disaster,
especially
lastvisitI spentan hourin thethreemainpainting
roomswithout
seeinga warder.When I activelysearchedI founda sole member
of staff,
stationedon a centrallanding,responsible
for
distantly
all twelvegalleriesof the whole upperfloor.A veryfew,small
CCTV camerasseemto be in place,butmanyworksarein blind
spots(e.g. the Dutch interiormentionedabove, unalarmedand
to a partition
screws;
mirror-plated
by threecommoncross-head
Fig.54). As I write,one painting(whichhad hungon the same
as Turner'sModern
partition
Italy),
JohnMichaelWright'sFrances,
(c.1658),hasbeenremovedforrestoradaughter
ofOliverCromwell
tionafterreceiving
majorscratch
damage.
In spiteoftheblackpictureI paint,it wouldtakequitesimple
balancebetweenpopulismon theone hand
stepstoachievea better

53. A Zadkinebronzein a hands-onenvironment,

MuseumandArtGallery,
Kelvingrove
Glasgow,2008.

of
and, on the other,professional
protectionand presentation
artand respectforitsrealvalue.Thereneedbe no U-turnor loss
offaceforthemasterminds
oftheMuseum'srelaunch:clearaway
someof theclutter,
givemajorworkssomebreathing
space,ban
mobilephonesand createan airof quietin certaingalleries,
drop
or replacethemwithheadphonesand
publicaddresssoundtracks
bringin vigilant
warding.We can onlyhope.
MERLIN JAMES

A portrait
by Canini?
in stone:finansir, In ArnoldA. Witte'sarticle'Payingforfrescos
cial aspectsof the decorationof S. Martinoin Rome', in your
Marchissue(pp.182-86),thereis reproduced(as Fig.30) a Portrait
of GiovanAntonioFilippiniby an unknownartist(1651; Casa
dei Carmelitani,
generalizia
Rome).
In theBritish
notebooksofthevirtuoso
androyalist
exile
Library
RichardSymonds(1617-60)he recordsthathe visitedS. Martino
on fouroccasionsduringhistimein Rome (1649-51).1The artist
GiovanniAngeloCaniniwas Symonds's
mentorwhilehe was in
- or at leasta patron- ofCanithecityand Filippiniwas a friend

and
ni, whose altarpiece The Holy THnitywith Sts Bartholomew

Nicholas
ofBan (1631) is stillin thechurch.2
On one ofhisvisitsto thechurchSymonds's
notesindicatethat
he wasaccompanied
Canini.
On
that
occasion
by
theywereshown
the mitreand crown of Pope Silvester(reg.314-15) and other
'curiosities'
by the 'Priorof the Carmelites',
Symonds'stermfor
is dated1651,a timewhenFilippiniand
Filippini.As theportrait
Caniniwere evidently
stillin contact,it seemsverypossiblethat
he is thepainterof theportrait
whichis stylistically
comparable
withCanini'sotherknownworks.
ANNE BROOKES

MuseumandArtGallery,
54. ArtDiscoveryCentre,Kelvingrove
Glasgow,2008.
478

1 See London,British
Library,
EgertonMS 1635,fols.iv-2r; HarleyMS 942,
andAdd.MS 17919,fol.77r.
fols.iov-nv;fols.79r-v;
2 See A. Brookes:'Richard
AccountofhisVisitto Rome in 1649-51',
Symonds's
TheWalpole
69 (2007),pp.1-183.
Society

JULY2OO8 CL THE BURLINGTONMAGAZINE

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