The art of Alasdair Macintyre
INDEX
ART
Current work
Legends of Art
Early work
ARTIST PROFILE
Exhibiting History
Artist Statement
MEDIA RELEASE
The early Art of Alasdair
Macintyre, 1993-1999
by Mari Tumoka
Mythology has always played a large
part in the work of numerous artists throughout the decades, from the
standard “household name” artists, to the obscure, to artists who have been
relegated to the “cutting room floor” of western art history.
When looking at the major art produced by Alasdair Macintyre over the last
decade, we can see an evolutionary thread which has linked Macintyre’s
almost obsessive concern with art history, his religious belief system, the
redundant images of societal mass-culture, and his awareness of the place of
the artist as “shaman” or visionary in the great big scheme of things. His
current art practice owes much to his early explorations into incorporating
his personal philosophy and belief system into his art.
After early years of struggling to find a personal mode of expression following his graduation from the Queensland College of Art in the early nineties (and an aborted attempt at pursuing an art career in London) , Macintyre first came to the attention of Brisbane art audiences with his “Black Box” series. Shallow box frames which contained various substances sealed behind a sheet of tinted glass upon which a small body of text was carefully painted. Some of these “Black Boxes” received minor critical acclaim, through commendation awards in Brisbane and interstate, with others entering private collections.
A major work of this period entitled “A Homage to Courbet”
(1997)- fig. 1, encapsulates early indications of Macintyre’s mindset.
Sealed within the box is a sea of uncooked noodles, writhing and swirling
this way and that, like an organic monochrome tangle of tight brushstrokes
in relief. Emerging from the swathes of noodles are several tubes of oil
paint and a paintbrush. Hovering over the entire arrangement is an
abbreviated quote by Gustave Courbet, proclaiming an “Art for Arts sake”
philosophy.
It is no coincidence that the tubes of paint in this piece are of student
quality. Indeed the concept for this piece was conceived by Macintyre as a
student at the Queensland College of Art in the late 1980’s, he would often
consume the cheaply available but filling noodles raw, in lieu of a more
costly or time consuming lunch. In many ways, “A Homage to Courbet” is a
honest and highly personal manifesto by an artist in the early stages of his
career, manifesting his own Franciscan beliefs of simplicity, setting down
the guidelines that he is to pursue through the decades ahead.
Of the dozen or so “Black Boxes” from this period, the text alternates between direct quotes from artists and verses from The Bible, establishing an early trait in Macintyre’s work, which is to combine a Judeo-Christian devotional ethos with the historical mythologies omnipresent within the realm of western art history. Having been born into, and raised within the catholic faith, Macintyre is sharply tuned to the spiritual dimension that guides and empowers the lives of devotees, whatever the religion. In many ways, art has become something of a second religion to the artist, as he has intimated in several artist statements, the following is from his most recent (2002):
Having had a catholic upbringing, and ongoing faith commitment, I am keenly aware of the extra parallel dimension that this experience has afforded me. In many ways, I could substitute the word GOD with ART and vice-versa. I do not like to personify the notion of God, as with Art, there is no one artist. To me, God is a spiritual field, all encompassing, in everything, a “force” for want of a better word. Art is the same.
Macintyre then goes on to further emphasize this belief artist as visionary:
I also believe that certain individuals have a direct
sense of this force, and thereby can convey this elite experience through
their own personal visions, to the community at large. As the many saints
were the servants of God, so too the many artists are the servants of art.
In this light, using the medium of today, I am creating art which
mythologises these visionaries...
This language is very much in keeping with one of Macintyre’s preferred literary mythologist, Joseph Campbell, author of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” (1949), who spoke about “elite experiences”, and the visionary aspects relative to the many native peoples Campbell studied.
A variation of this philosophy is evident in a less cryptic box entitled “A
Homage to Graham Sutherland” (1997) figure 2. One of Macintyre’s most liked
quotes is from writer George Bernard Shaw, “Without art, the crudeness of
reality, would make the world unbearable”. In this work, the artist relates
another quote from Shaw, “It is easier to replace a dead man than a good
picture”, behind which is encased a charred photograph of wartime British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, surrounded by tubes of paint, canvas, and
brushes, similarly burnt. This work relates to an incident where Winston
Churchill’s widow wilfully destroyed a portrait of her late husband painted
by Sutherland (said by many to be one of his best works), by burning it.
Shocked upon hearing this story, Macintyre created this work, not so much to
denigrate the great hero of World War II, but to bring to peoples attention
the value that art must play within a society, regardless whether it be to
everyone’s tastes.
By the end of the nineties, Macintyre was pushing the
parameters of his own art. The boxes were becoming more intricate and
utilizing colours other than black. With “An Instrument of Peace” (1998)
figure-3, the black box now became a modern variation of the cross of san
Damiano, with the Franciscan Peace Prayer inscribed upon the front, behind
which was enclosed rocks and rubble. At the centre of the cross, the latin
symbol of tou softly glowed, illuminated by an electric light within. “Do
Not Be Afraid” (1998) figure-4, further utilised a Biblical quote, but this
time the box was white, and it contained 98 new, fuzzy tennis balls,
uniformly sealed away forever, never to be struck, thrown, or bounced.
Both “An instrument of Peace” and “Do not be afraid” were exhibited in
consecutive Mandorla Religious Art Awards in Western Australia. Macintyre
often would dispatch his work to large scale group shows in lieu of
exhibiting locally.
With the solo exhibition “The Human Condition” (1999),
Macintyre displayed 23 artworks, all sealed in box frames, in the old West
End Markets building in Brisbane, the last show in the Wim de Vos/Adele
Outteridge run “The Studio”, before the bulldozers rolled in to revamp the
complex. In many ways, this exhibition also signalled an end to the box
frame work, as the artist then moved in to his “Legends of Art” phase.
In hindsight, the “black box” phase of the artists work didn’t always
successfully capture the nature of the metaphysical concepts that Macintyre
was grappling with at the time, but the small body of work from this period
does initiate something of a starting point for the artist, particularly in
the light of the concepts he is dealing with in his current art practise.
Mari Tumoka is a freelance writer and painter, now based in Europe.
References:
Campbell, Joseph, 1972, The hero with a thousand faces, Mythos books, Princeton.
Levy, Mark, 1993, Technicians of Ecstasy: Shamanism and the modern artist, Bramble books, USA.
Fichner-Rathus, Lois, 1992, Understanding Art, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Thevoz, Michael, 1995, Art Brut, Editions d’art, Geneva
Interviews conducted with the artist, 24/07/01, 03/09/02.