Scottish artist Ken Currie is probably best known for his huge Three Oncologists in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, which now hangs opposite his Unknown Man. Many people won’t know who painted either work, but they are both certainly striking and not easily forgotten. But if we don’t know the artist’s name, what more are we likely to know about him?
He is one of the four artists known collectively as ‘The New Glasgow Boys’ back in the 80s but, as he obliquely suggested in his discussion at Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Winter Words Festival with art historian Tom Normand, this was not a chummy, supportive group. The association with the original ‘Glasgow Boys’ did, however, help his career.
Notes to self
Paintings and Writings is a collaborative work between Normand and Currie, using Currie’s journals—which he had been keeping throughout his career—to throw light on his artistic journey. The event at Pitlochry was a two-man show, using projections of the works being discussed to illustrate that journey. It wasn’t an ‘in conversation’ as such, more a ‘my turn, your turn’ critique and explanation of various artworks from the critic’s and the artist’s point of view.
It didn’t make for a particularly smooth delivery, but it was absolutely fascinating, especially once Currie really got into his stride. Understanding the man and his motivations is key to understanding his works of art. To attempt this without seeing the pieces under discussion projected behind the speakers would have made a nonsense of the whole thing.
It didn’t make for a particularly smooth delivery, but it was absolutely fascinating, especially once Currie really got into his stride.
From start to finish, they are stunning, and many are even bigger than the huge screen they were shown on in the Studio at Pitlochry, which was the perfect venue for this discussion. It is quite industrial and spare, and it almost felt like being in Currie’s own studio.
Currie’s journals were ‘notes to self’—a practice most artists are used to—and he certainly never expected them to become public. Normand had other ideas, and the result is genius. We’re used to seeing artists’ sketchbooks but not to reading what they’ve written for their own records. And, I suspect, Currie may not have revisited his own words very often prior to this project either.
Not easy on the eye
His paintings are not easy on the eye, and some are more than a little shocking. Certainly graphic. From early in his career, Currie’s works have been hung in public places; civic art, in a way. And whilst his work is most definitely figurative, as it has progressed, his figures have often become more wraith-like—though not ghostly, he is quick to assert.
He is interested in what is encapsulated in the phrase ‘the human condition’, from a political and humanitarian point of view. And as the world around him has changed, so has his subject matter. His early work is redolent of the likes of the ‘Pitmen Painters’ from Ashington in the North East of England. Blocky and muscular, bold colours. Over the years Currie’s palette has contracted and there are no bold black outlines defining them now. The reds and blues still in evidence are all the more striking against his blurry whites and greys.
His paintings are not easy on the eye and some are more than a little shocking. Certainly graphic. From early in his career, Currie’s works have been hung in public places; civic art, in a way.
Like any work of art, a painting should stand on its own without the viewer having to have any information about it, and the viewer’s response is possibly what matters most. Currie’s artworks provoke a reaction for sure. You might not like that, but if you believe that art should educate and not just entertain, please don’t avert your eyes. Ken Currie still has a lot to say, as his magnificent The Crossing II (Famine Horse), now on display in St Giles’ Cathedral on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, attests.
Sadly, there were no copies of the book available at the Theatre—an oversight by the publisher, we were led to believe—but I saw a few copies being clutched by people in the audience and I, for one, will be heading off to my local bookseller for my copy on Monday.
Featured Image: Tom Normand & Ken Currie – Winter Words Festival Poster Image
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