26 August 2013
Great Scottish tradition celebrated in installation
Thirsty art-lovers attending the inaugural Print Festival Scotland (PFS) in Dundee next week will be able to enjoy a pint and game of dominoes while putting the world to rights at a unique venue created especially for the occasion.
The Tin Roof Social Club is an art project inspired by traditional Scottish pubs and social clubs created by Dundee-based artists Fraser MacDonald and Catrin Jeans, both graduates of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD).
Based at the Tin Roof Arts Collective in Bellfield Street, the "clubbie" is intended to act as a hub where visitors attending the festival, practising artists and the public can come together and bond. An art installation that functions as a working social club, Tin Roof will provide tea and coffee, daily newspapers and snacks for daytime visitors, with evening patrons will enjoy a fully licensed bar and pool, darts, dominoes and other competitions.
Fraser and Catrin will adopt the roles of "landlord" and "landlady" between Thursday, 29th August and Sunday, 1st September. The work of both artists sees them challenge preconceptions about art by juxtaposing it with situations and venues generally considered far removed from the altogether more genteel surroundings of the art world.
Fraser has previously drawn inspiration from his former job as a refuse collector to create an art movement run as a mock trade union called "The Garbologists" in reference to the study of refuse while Catrin has turned the tables on booze-soaked, 18-30 style bar tours to adopt the persona of a holiday rep leading art crawls round Dundee and Liverpool.
Together they hosted a 24-hour game of football in a Dundee gallery that aimed to make art more accessible and break down perceptions of elitism by demonstrating the parallels between the world of art and the world's favourite pastime. The marathon five-a-side game featured local amateur sides and enabled the artists to engage with dozens of people who would not normally visit an art gallery.
"The reason for the project because social clubs are recognisable to everyone, but they are not venues usually associated with art," explained Fraser.
"The idea came about because after hosting 24-hour football, we saw how an art performance or installation could involve the audience in genuine physical expression while at the same time enjoying themselves, and competing against one another. An important aspect of the Tin Roof Social Club is scheduled pub sports' tournaments of darts, pool, dominoes and draughts.
"The décor is all relevant to Dundee, but at the same time different methods of printmaking have been incorporated into the design of the social club to emphasise how art and design is more everyday than people imagine."
Catrin added, "We are both interested in making people think about who is and who isn't an artist and show them how art is relevant to their lives. Art is meant to depict real life and ask big questions and these things happen every day in pubs and clubs. These clubbies are a great Scottish tradition and we wanted to celebrate them."
PFS accompanies Impact 8, the world's largest and most prestigious printmaking conference which the University is hosting later this month. Examples of numerous types of printmaking techniques are showcased in the exhibition, including etchings, screenprints, lithographs, mezzotints, monoprints and the latest digital printing technology.
Beer mats with the Tin Roof Social Club logo on them have printed, while various other surprises created by Fraser, Catrin and contributing artists and relevant to the celebration of printmaking will be found throughout the installation/club.
More information is available by visiting www.facebook.com/events/627461553939348/ or emailing tinroofsocialclub@gmail.com
Notes to editors:
Print Festival Scotland
Print Festival Scotland is the nation's largest ever celebration of print and printmaking. It has been organised to coincide with IMPACT 8, the world's most prestigious printmaking conference, which is being hosted by the University of Dundee in conjunction with partner organisations.
Forty events will be held in Dundee and at venues across Scotland from August 23rd to September 1st 2013. Print Festival Scotland is a celebration of interdisciplinarity and exploration through the medium of print brought to the nation by partners including:
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
The University of Dundee
Abertay University
Dundee City Council
Dundee Contemporary Arts
V& A at Dundee
DC Thomson & Co Ltd
The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum
Scottish Print Network
The full programme for IMPACT 8 and Print Festival Scotland can be found at www.conf.dundee.ac.uk/impact8/exhibitions
UK City of Culture 2017 bid
Dundee is bidding to become the UK City of Culture in 2017. The first stage of the bid was submitted in April and it was announced in June that Dundee had been shortlisted, along with Hull, Leicester and Swansea.
Dundee's strengths in the arts and creative industries is underlined by the fact that there were 2,414,362 attendances recorded at cultural venues in the city last year. This will be enhanced by the V& A at Dundee, which will not only be the iconic centrepiece of the regenerated waterfront but will take Dundee into a global circuit of cultural destinations, generating 300,000 visits per year and creating 200 jobs.
Dundee is a creative city with a huge amount to offer and designation as UK City of Culture provides a perfect stage to do it on at national and international levels.
More information about the bid and how you can play your part in supporting it can be found at www.wedundee.com
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
