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Want to get your teeth into something juicy? Advertise in our annual Food & Drink reader survey results, with reader recommended places to eat, drink and beat the January blues.
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Illustration: Jode Pankhurst
Credit: Ralph Steadman
Own Art: Peacock Visual Arts
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H
ow can you find a thoughtful and original gift for cultural and intelligent loved ones? A discerning pal or partner isn’t always an asset come Advent. As an excellent starting point for finding a thoughtful gift that will not be forgotten, eaten, dissolved in a bath or returned for the January sale credit, there is Peacock Visual Art’s Winter exhibition. This particular gift will also be an important contribution to the maintenance of an indispensable resource within the Scottish art community. Since 1974, Peacock has provided for fine artists (and others) resources that may otherwise be prohibitively difficult to access. This is especially true within the Aberdeen context, where the gallery makes it a special priority to support young artists coming from Gray’s School of Art. As well as enjoying consistent support throughout their history from public funding, Peacock also make efforts to engage with the wider community in their fundraising. It is for this reason that they make a special event of their seasonal public exhibitions. In most of the events covered in the art section, the chance to buy a work of art is exceptional. For the most part, there are plenty of commercial galleries around the country, and most national galleries have some kind of gift shop. Peacock is, however, one of the rare publicly funded institutions that readily offers artworks for sale. Print is an important medium for Print Curator David McCracken as it makes it possible to own original works of art without having to commit to the bother of some kind of gallery heist. He considers it the most democratic medium. allowing for wide audiences to be able to enjoy historical and contemporary fine art prints from unique editions. All of the work included in the exhibition is made in-house, and includes a unique print edition from, for example, Janice Kerbel, one of the four 2015 Turner Prize nominees. Within her Turner presentation, the dedicatedly multimedia artist presents her own operatic compositions. Each one describes some clumsy or unlucky accident to befall her poor titular protagonist, Doug. Text is splayed in just as haphazardly, with words like “trunk, floor” splayed across the page. There’s a whole roster to choose from, with some of the prominent Scottish artists of the 20th century, including Barbara Rae and Joan Eardley. It’s a showcase of the good work that’s made possible by Peacock Visual Art. Head along, find the ideal gift and turn a Christmas purchase into a meaningful contribution to Scottish art. [Adam Benmakhlouf]
21 Castle Street, Aberdeen peacockvisualarts.com ownart.org.uk
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