By Elise Ramsay, Edhelp Supervisor, ECA Library
At ECA Library we are surrounded by many original artworks. Each piece conveys the College of Art’s close links to prominent artists and benefactors.
As you enter the library, Janet Boulton’s piece Little Fields Long Horizons flanks the doorway. Only if you stand in just the right place can you make out the words in relief without the reflection obscuring them. Donated by the artist in September 2009, it is a standout example of her method for paper pulp relief work. Boulton passed away in January of this year, and this piece represents her lasting legacy as an artist-in-residence at ECA in 2006.
Boulton’s focus on garden design and history brought her into collaboration with Ian Hamilton Finlay, an internationally renowned poet, writer, visual artist and avant-gardener. Finlay’s ‘philosophers garden’, Little Sparta, in the Pentland Hills served as an immense source of inspiration for Boulton, and the subject of her residency at ECA. This piece draws on Finlay’s poem, engraved on three pairs of stones at Little Sparta. We can recommend Boulton’s book, which describes in exquisite detail Boulton’s works on Little Sparta, and there are two copies available to loan at ECA Library. Janet Boulton : remembering Little Sparta : watercolours, reliefs, garden works, 1993-2009. For all books by Janet Boulton, including original Artists’ books featuring her paper relief works, click here.
Fittingly, a piece by Finlay joins Boulton’s on the same wall at ECA, Evening / Sail. Known for his contribution to the genre of concrete poetry, Finlay has long been a focus of study at the University, including a symposium in 2017 which explored his art and poetics. Books about Finlay’s diverse artworks, including Artists’ Books, can be explored here.
Moving to the windows by the current journal wall, we pass the immutable gaze of Andrew Grant, Edinburgh College of Art’s most prominent benefactor of the 19th century. This piece is by Kenny Hunter in 2015, a leading Scottish artist and then Programme Director of Sculpture at the College. With Andrew Grant’s generous support, the ECA Main Building on Lauriston Place was built in 1907, and the Andrew Grant Bequest was established, which since 1930 has provided scholarships for ECA students. The sculpture is painted bronze, including the base, which succeeds in disguising itself as wood.
Moving downstairs, we can see ‘Eight photographs of Blinky Palermo’ by concrete photographer Monika Baumgartl, documenting the momentous ‘Strategy: Get Arts’, 1970. This Edinburgh Festival exhibition of Düsseldorf-based artists took over the College of Art. These photographs depict Palermo perched atop a very tall ladder on the ECA Main building staircase creating his Blue, Yellow, White, Red, a mural of horizontal band of primary colours near the ceiling in ECA’s Main Building. For more about this work, and the ‘Strategy: Get Arts’ exhibition, I recommend this book Strategy: get arts : 35 artists who broke the rules, which is available for loan at ECA Library.
Finally, perhaps the favourite piece of art for ECA students looking for a cozy place to study, is the grey upholstered arm-chair, a final project made by Laura Virtanen, BA Design & Applied Arts (Product Design) ECA, in 2009.
Come and see these artworks and explore our collections the next time you are passing by West Port and Lady Lawson Street!
Guest post by Elise Ramsay, Edhelp Supervisor, ECA Library
