Exhibitions
Events/Talks/Lectures
Communities
Group Tours of Foto: Modernity in Central Europe
Free introductory tours of Foto during June and July for community groups. Book in advance.
more- 1st June to 30th July 2008
- By arrangement.
Special Events
The Drawing Room in July
Explore different 'mark-making' processes in these monthly, experimental drawing sessions inspired by the modern collection, led by a contemporary artist.
more- Thursday, 10th July 2008
- 5.30-6.45pm
Special Events
The Agnew/McAllister Duo
Flautist Aisling Agnew and classical guitarist Matthew McAllister perform music from their debut album, Recital, which features a wide range of virtuosic and beautiful music from around the globe.
more- Thursday, 10th July 2008
- 6-6.30pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Hungarian Village and Spring Shower
This is a screening of two short films from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at the National Gallery Complex. Hungarian Village, 1935, Hungarian with English intertitles. Intended for tourism and marketing among foreign audiences, this documentary short uses idealized images of rural Hungary and staged scenes of Hungarian folk life. Spring Shower, 1932, Hungarian with subtitles. A coproduction between France and Hungary, Spring Shower's rich visuals and stylized narrative incorporate folkloristic motifs. Fejős’ affinity with Hollywood, where he spent time before and after completing this film, is evident.
more- Thursday, 10th July 2008
- 6-7.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Sense and Sensibility in Two Paintings by Greuze
Jean-Baptiste Greuze was much admired in his day, notably by Diderot, for the emotional appeal and sound morality of his pictures. How do we respond today to his minor stories in paint? Belinda Thomson, independent art historian, discusses Greuze's A Boy with a Lesson-book and A Girl with a Dead Canary.
more- Friday, 11th July 2008
- 12.45-1.15pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Budapest, City of Baths and others
This is a screening of four short films from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at the National Gallery Complex. Budapest, City of Baths, 1935, Hungarian, silent. Diverging from dynamic formal explorations of the city, this promotional-educational short (a commissioned work) explores the beauty of Budapest through its aquatic richness, complemented with picturesque images of the city. Jewish Life in Krakow, 1938/9, Yiddish with subtitles.Jewish Life in Lwow, 1938/9, Yiddish with subtitles.A Day in Warsaw, 1938/9, Yiddish with subtitles. Polish-Jewish travelogues, possibly produced for an American-Jewish audience, center on daily Jewish life in the city and explore both contemporary and historic aspects of Poland's famed cityscapes.
more- Saturday, 12th July 2008
- 2-3pm
Special Events
Gallery of Modern Art July Highlights Tour
A tour of the Gallery of Modern Art's permanent collection which spans the period from the 1890s to the present day.
more- Saturday, 12th July 2008
- 2.30-3.15pm & 3.30-4.15pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: The Dybbuk
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at the National Gallery Complex.The Dybbuk, 1937, Yiddish with subtitles. Introduced by Dr Glyn Davis, Glasgow School of Art. Based on S. Ansky's play (known also as Between Two Worlds), the film's mythical elements and themes of Jewish folklore tell a story of unattainable love. One of the most ambitious projects of the interwar Polish film industry, Der Dybbuk was also one of the last to emerge from the thriving Polish-Yiddish film industry.
more- Sunday, 13th July 2008
- 2-4.15pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Hortobágy (Rated PG)
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh. Hortobágy, 1936, Hungarian with subtitles. The legendary Hortobágy region of the Great Hungarian Plain is central to Hungarian national identity. Austrian film maker Georg Hoellering addresses societal progress through three generations of herdsmen, all playing themselves.
more- Monday, 14th July 2008
- 6–7.45pm
Talks & Lectures
Weimar Women: Photography and Modernity
The centrality of women to the visual culture of Weimar Germany as both photographers and photographed will be explored in this lecture by Dr Dorothy Rowe, Senior Lecture in the History of Art at the University of Bristol. A particular focus will be on the avant-garde artistic networks in Cologne during the 1920s, and, in particular, on the photographic practices of August Sander and Hannes Maria Flach in their representation of women as both the subjects and objects of photographic discourse.
more- Tuesday, 15th July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Vanity Fair: Glamour, Charisma and the Iconic
Is there a difference between the photographic portraits of stars that have appeared over the decades in Vanity Fair, and those that appear in other magazines interested in the lives of celebrities? Dr Glyn Davis, Lecturer at Glasgow School of Art, will explore the relations between the star and the celebrity, and the ways in which photographs by Annie Leibovitz (and others) construct and contribute to our understandings of glamour and charisma.
more- Wednesday, 16th July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: The Blue Light (Rated PG)
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh. The Blue Light, 1932, German, silent.Riefenstahl's debut as a filmmaker is this dramatic tale set in the Dolomites. A late representative of the mountain film genre, the film revolves around a mythical character portrayed by Riefenstahl herself.
more- Wednesday, 16th July 2008
- 6–8pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Children Must Laugh
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at the National Gallery Complex. Children Must Laugh, 1935, Yiddish with subtitles. Financed by the Jewish labour movement and banned by Polish authorities upon its release, Children Must Laugh was produced as a fund-raiser to improve the living conditions of Jewish children.
more- Thursday, 17th July 2008
- 2-3pm
Special Events
The Impressionist Studio
Come and be an artist for the afternoon in the Impressionist Studio. Try the different activities available each day, with help from our friendly artists. Dress up for a café scene; pick and mix objects to create your own still life; paint from a moving landscape; model and draw from tiny figures. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. All sessions are drop-in so numbers may be limited. If we are busy just come back later!
more- 19th July to 16th August 2008
- 2-4.30pm each day
Talks & Lectures
Impressionism's Underrated Seriousness
Matthew Collings, artist, writer and TV broadcaster, opens the Impressionism & Scotland exhibition by giving an illustrated talk about present culture's misunderstanding of Impressionism as art's tamest moment. He will argue that we have nothing in art today that can remotely match Impressionism's profound seriousness. Collings' television series Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2004, will be showing repeatedly throughout the duration of the Impressionism and Scotland exhibition.
more- Saturday, 19th July 2008
- 2-3pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Address Unknown
This screening is part of the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at the National Gallery Complex. Address Unknown, 1935, Hungarian with sub-titles.A Hollywood-style Cinderella story set in contemporary Hungary (in a tourist town on Lake Balaton) is an example of the romantic comedy genre prevalent in Hungarian domestic film production of the 1930s.
more- Sunday, 20th July 2008
- 2-3.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Tour of Foto (2)
Join Rachel Adams for an introductory tour of the exhibition which will be suitable for people who speak English as a Second Language.
more- Sunday, 20th July 2008
- 11am-12noon
Children & Families
Bags of Art in July
Collect a bag of new activities from the Art Station at the top of the stairs to help your family explore the collection and create your own artwork. Supported by Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland.
more- Sunday, 20th July 2008
- 2-4pm
Talks & Lectures
Modern Subjectivities: Photographic Self-Portraits from 1920 to 1940
According to a much-quoted observation by Roland Barthes, photography can be seen as 'the advent of myself as other: a cunning dissociation of consciousness from identity'. Traces of this dissociation have been present in the history of the photographic portrait from the very beginning but in the years after 1920, they take on a new and different forms ranging from documentary photography to photo-montage and surrealist images.Dr Stefanie Diekmann, photography scholar and Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the Viadrina University in Frankfurt will discuss some of these developments in portraiture and focus on the particularly interesting phenomenon of the modern self-portrait, including photographs by Werner Rohde, Umbo, Witikiewicz, Václav Zygmunt and others. Sponsored by the Goethe Institute, Glasgow.
more- Monday, 21st July 2008
- 6-7pm
Children & Families
Summer School Week 1
A Summer School exploring the impact of photography on painting, led by artists Andrew Mackenzie and Luke Watson. The course is for young people who love to look at, discuss and make art. We will explore the summer exhibitions: Impressionism and Scotland, Vanity Fair Portraits, Foto: Modernity and 20th-century paintings at the Gallery of Modern Art, and create our own artwork, making of use of the education facilities and the green spaces around the galleries. By the end of the course participants should have lots of sketches, a CD of their photographs and an oil painting. All materials will be provided.
more- 21st to 25th July 2008
- 10am-4pm
Courses
Words on Canvas - 21 July 2008
Come and join this recently formed creative writing group who meet fortnightly. Sessions alternate between exploring parts of the collection for inspiration and then sharing writing created as a result. Expert help from artists and writers is available. All levels of experience welcome.
more- Monday, 21st July 2008
- 10.30am-12.30pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Kuyaviak, Faithless Marijka, and The Song of Ruthenia (Rated PG)
This is a screening of three short films from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh. Kuyaviak, 1935, Polish, in English.Kujawiak, a traditional Polish dance, is dynamically captured on camera by director Cekalski, a noted figure of independent Polish film production in the late 1930s. Faithless Marijka, 1934, Slovak, Yiddish and Czech with subtitles.In Subcarpathian Ruthenia, Faithless Marijka recounts a simple story of infidelity while exploring the larger context of the region's social isolation. Secondary characters (non professional locals) illustrate the complex social and ethnic relationships of the region. The Song of Ruthenia, 1937, Czech. Again in Subcarpathian Ruthenia, lyrical images portray the challenging life of woodworkers, while a voice-over narration gives a potent critique of living conditions in the region.
more- Monday, 21st July 2008
- 6–8pm
Talks & Lectures
Understanding Celebrity Culture Today
Why are we obsessed with celebrities? Why are they used by multi-national corporations to sell products and politicians to curry favour wih the public? Celebrity culture is not new. Most historical authorities trace it back to Alexander the Great who in Calisthenes, had the world's first celebrity spin doctor. However, celebrity has never been so ubuiquitous as it is today. Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology and Culture at Brunel University and author of Celebrity (Reaktion), discusses why we are preoccupied by celebrity and traces the changes that have occurred in the meaning of celebrity. Instead of dismissing it as vacuous or trivial, he suggests that there are good reasons why ordinary people look to celebrities to provide parables and role models.
more- Tuesday, 22nd July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
Live Music Now: Emma Harper and David Higham
Soprano Emma Harper, accompanied on piano by David Higham, recreate the glamorous sounds of Hollywood in the 1930s, inspired by the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibition. In association with Live Music Now Scotland.
more- Thursday, 24th July 2008
- 6-6.30pm
Talks & Lectures
The Glasgow Boys
Scotland's own major contribution to Impressionism was the work of the Glasgow painters known then, and now, as the Glasgow 'Boys'. Centred around Guthrie, Lavery, Walton, Macgregor and Paterson, these painters were at the forefront of the acceptance of Naturalism and Realism in British painting. Roger Billcliffe, art historian and Director of the Roger Billcliffe Gallery in Glasgow, discusses how their painting transformed art in Scotland and questioned the dominance of the establishment academies and societies which were reluctant to admit them to their walls.
more- Friday, 25th July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
National Gallery Highlights July Tour
An introduction and tour of the National Gallery's permanent collection, focusing on key paintings. Meet at the main entrance of the National Gallery on The Mound.
more- Saturday, 26th July 2008
- 2-2.45pm & 3-3.45pm
Communities
Signed tour of Impressionism and Scotland for people who are Deaf
Free tour given by Mary Kilpatrick and interpreted into British Sign Language by Mary Dunlop. Please book by Friday 25 July.
more- Sunday, 27th July 2008
- 11am-12noon
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: Heave Ho! (Rated PG)
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh. Heave Ho!, 1934, Czech with subtitles.Avant-garde concepts and burlesque comedy merge in a film crafted by the famous and popular Czech theatrical duo Voskovec and Werich (V+W). In Heave Ho!, their signature slapstick humor is fused with antifascist and anticapitalist propaganda.
more- Monday, 28th July 2008
- 6–8pm
Talks & Lectures
Modernization of Life Through Art
Michal Bregant, Dean of the Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague, illuminates the role of film in the first Czechoslovak Republic. Sponsored by The Czech Centre, London.
more- Tuesday, 29th July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Collecting Photographs for the Nation
Sara Stevenson, Chief Curator of Photography at the National Galleries, talks about acquisitions to the National Photography Collection in the last seven years, some of which are on view in the Kaleidoscope exhibition, including work by Captain Alfred Buckham, Mari Mahr and Catriona Grant.
more- Wednesday, 30th July 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Communities
Impressionism and Scotland for the Visually Impaired
Descriptive tour and practical workshop led by Juliana Capes & Jennie Temple.
more- Wednesday, 30th July 2008
- 10am-3.30pm
Special Events
Foto Film Screening: The Blue Angel (Rated PG)
This is a screening from the Modernity and Tradition film season supporting Foto. This screening will take place at Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh. The Blue Angel, 1930, German with subtitles.Marlene Dietrich in her first iconic role as a femme fatale plays a sensual singer at the café Blue Angel. Based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat, the opposing values of the protagonists also become a critique of modern lifestyles.
more- Wednesday, 30th July 2008
- 6–8pm
Special Events
Portrait of the Month for August
Meet one of the many faces in the Portrait Gallery's collection in these monthly talks focusing on a different portrait each month.
more- Saturday, 2nd August 2008
- 11-11.30am & 12-12.30pm
Communities
- 2nd August to 31st October 2008
- By arrangement.
Talks & Lectures
Tracey Emin in Conversation with Patrick Elliott
Tracey Emin, whose retrospective exhibition opens at the Gallery of Modern Art on 2nd August, will be in conversation with the exhibition’s curator, Patrick Elliott. Emin is not only one of Britain’s most celebrated artists, but she is also one of the most articulate and passionate commentators on art today.
more- Sunday, 3rd August 2008
- 2.30-3.30pm
Children & Families
Art Cart in August
Art activities for all the family inspired each month by different works from the collection. Supported by Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland.
more- Sunday, 3rd August 2008
- 2-4pm
Talks & Lectures
The Paper Treasures at the Gallery of Modern Art
Fiona Pearson, Senior Curator at the Gallery of Modern Art, presents a survey of the highlights of the Prints and Drawings Collection at the Belford Road site, which includes almost fifty years of purchases, gifts and bequests. A selection of the latest acquisitions are currently on show in the Kaleidoscope exhibition.
more- Monday, 4th August 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Children & Families
Summer School Week 2
A Summer School exploring the impact of photography on painting, led by artists Andrew Mackenzie and Luke Watson. The course is for young people who love to look at, discuss and make art. We will explore the summer exhibitions: Impressionism and Scotland, Vanity Fair Portraits, Foto: Modernity and 20th-century paintings at the Gallery of Modern Art, and create our own artwork, making of use of the education facilities and the green spaces around the galleries. By the end of the course participants should have lots of sketches, a CD of their photographs and an oil painting. All materials will be provided.
more- 4th to 8th August 2008
- 10am-4pm
Talks & Lectures
Magazine Covers - From a Publisher's Perspective
What makes a great cover? David McMurray, a magazine publisher and Visiting Lecturer at Napier University, discusses magazines and their front covers from their use of design and cover lines to how celebrities are used to help sell them.
more- Tuesday, 5th August 2008
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
Live Music Now: Gary Innes and Ewan Robertson
Scottish music with a French flavour performed by Gary Innes on accordion and Ewan Robertson, winner of BBC Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2008, on guitar and vocals. In association with Live Music Now Scotland.
more- Thursday, 7th August 2008
- 6-6.30pm
Special Events
Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice (2004)
Weekly screenings of the acclaimed Channel 4 documentary written and presented by art critic, Matthew Collings, which reappraises Impressionism focusing on the work of Courbet, Manet, Monet and Cézanne. The documentary will be repeated in its entirety every Thursday from 7th August to 2nd October.
more- Thursday, 7th August 2008
- 11am-12.45pm
Talks & Lectures
Binge Drinking: Hookers and Hangovers in Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec
Concentrating on two paintings, Degas's L'Absinthe and Lautrec's A la Mie, Richard Thomson, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh, will compare two representations of Parisian low-life painted fifteen years apart. He will also contrast different attitudes to public morality in Britain and France at the fin-de-siécle.
more- Friday, 8th August 2008
- 12.45-1.15pm