telling it like it is

It could be said that I am pretty plain speaking on a day-to-day, face-to-face basis, perhaps more so than in my writing, but I'm not good at platitudes and euphemisms in either form of communication. Most recently I've realised again that I talk about 'dying', 'death', 'dead' rather than 'passing away', 'passing', 'passed'. My father and grandmother died within four months of each other when I was seven and I was told they had died - not passed away or gone to heaven or anything like that. So I've lived in the shadow of death (as we all do, really) nearly all my life.  

I was thinking about my non-use of euphemisms when Alice told me about the Art students' degree show at her university and summed it up as mostly 'conceptual bollocks'. This made me laugh as I know exactly what she means, plus she is well-placed to say this as where she is studying Psychology is one of the best-known nurseries of conceptual art. But I guess some people would prefer a more polite, less unequivocal phrase.

[Scotland Street Schhol, Glasgow, Charles Rennie Mackintosh]

I, on the other hand, went to the Glasgow School of Art on Sunday for a tour of the building, found it was the first day of the degree show, expected it all to be a pile of conceptual bollocks but discovered some truly excellent art. There was a painter and a photographer who stood out and will, I'm sure, make a name for themselves. But there were also two brilliant installations (one is here, the other is by Alexandra Roch and Justyna Ataman in Studio 25) which I found fascinating and meaningful despite the fact that I generally can't stand installations. It's good to be proved wrong; and when I say this is a great show, I'm telling it like it is.

[Scotland Street School]

[The tour is worth doing but if you go when the degree show is on, you can wander all over the building for free. Photography is not allowed inside, and GSA is notoriously difficult to photograph. The best thing you can do is see it like it is. It's one of the best buildings ever. I'd also recommend a visit to the Scotland Street School (free entry) to see another amazing Mackintosh building.]