Edinburgh Exhibitions  -  2004

CITY ART CENTRE

'Benchmark'

20 March 2004  to 22 May 2004

Open 10am to 5pm (Mon to Sat)

Admission Free.

City Art Centre, Market Street, Edinburgh

 

BPhotograph of a Park Bench on Blackford Hill by Graham Clark - One of the photographs in the 'Benchmark' exhibition at the City Art Centre, 20 March to 22 May 2004

© Copyright: Graham Clark.

Reproduced with acknowledgement to the City Art Centre

The Exhibition

'Benchmark' is an exhibition of 40 photographs showing some of the wooden benches with their brass plaques in Edinburgh's parks.  Each photograph is about 20 ins square.  There is also a real park bench in the exhibition!

The photographs were taken by Graham Clark who was first commissioned 14 years ago to photograph some of Edinburgh's park benches  He has maintained his interest in the subject and has continued to photograph them in different seasons and at different time of day.

A leading Tory Councillor has questioned whether this type of work is "Art" and whether it is appropriate for the City of Edinburgh to be supporting it.  The City Art Centre has described the photos as "visually stunning" .

It adds: "These seemingly mundane objects are seen in an intriguing new light.  Most of the benches are gifts to the city, many as personal memorials with moving epitaphs."

A leaflet is available at the exhibition giving the location of each of the 40 photos.  I enjoyed the exhibition and particularly liked:

  1.  Blackford Hill

  4.  Princes Street Gardens

  6.  Inverleith Park

  7.  Newhaven Harbour

10.  Cramond Island

11.  Portobello looking east

20.  Blackford Hill

37.  St Bernard's Well

39.  Hermitage of Braid

 

REFERENCES:  1.  Leaflet:  Exhibitions & Events  - City of Edinburgh Museums & Galleries  -  Feb to May 2004

                AND:  2.  Edinburgh Evening News:  19 Mar 2003, p.3 (for the Tory Council's comments and CAC's response).

 

 

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