Art, Ian Hamilton Findlay

Mar 24, '09 9:51 PM for everyone

 

Ian Hamilton Findlay

The most original ScottishArtist,
 An original thinker, philosopher, author, painter, sculptor and horticulturalist.

HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IS
LITTLE SPARTA

http://www.littlesparta.co.uk/

http://www.littlesparta.co.uk/index.htm

This is a VERY EARLY Art Sunday, if you have read the 'kitchen no 7 ' blog you will realise I have had a few late nights waiting for work in my kitchen.........this is the result of last nights very late night!!

If you are EVER in Scotland, Little Sparta is one place you MUST see. check out his web site.

Ian Hamilton Finlay was actually born in the Bahamas but of Scottish parents, he was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. When he was 13 World War II began and  he was evacuated to the Orkney Islands, then in 1942 he joined the British Army.

After the war, he worked as a shepherd and then began  to write short stories and poems. He published books including ‘’The Sea Bed and Other Stories’’, (1958) and ‘’The Dancers Inherit the Party’’, (1960) and some of his work was broadcast by the BBC.

In 1963, Finlay published Rapel, his first collection of concrete poetry (poetry in which the layout and typography of the words contributes to its overall effect), and it was as a concrete poet that he first gained wide renown. This work was mostly issued through his own ‘’Wild Hawthorn Press’’. After a while he began to inscribe his poems into stone, incorporating these sculptures into the natural environment.
This kind of environmental poetry is a prominent feature in his garden Little Sparta in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, where he lived. This is a five-acre garden which also includes more conventional sculptures and temple-like buildings as well as plants.
In December 2004 in a poll conducted by Scotland on Sunday, a panel of fifty artists, gallery directors and arts professionals voted Little Sparta to be the most important work of Scottish art. Second and third were the Glasgow School of Art by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and The Skating Minister. Sir Roy Strong has said of Little Sparta that it is "the only really original garden made in this country since 1945".
Now the Little Sparta Trust is preserving the garden for the nation and raising enough to pay for all ongoing maintenance of the garden and exhibits within it.
His work is known for a constantly repeating a number of recurring themes: especially classical writers (including Virgil); a concern with fishing and the sea; an interest in the French Revolution; and a continual stream of work featuring World War II. His work can be severe, but it’s also witty and at times dark, deep and whimsical. His use of Nazi imagery led to an accusation of neo-Nazi sympathies, and to a court case, which he easily won. He also came into conflict Strathclyde Regional Council over his liability for rates on a byre in his garden, which the council insisted was being used as commercial premises. Finlay insisted that it was a garden temple, as such a place of worship and exempt from local taxes!!!! He eventually won the case and did not have to pay special rates for the structure. In general, he courted controversy.
One of the few gardens outside Scotland to permanently display his work is the Improvement Garden in Stockwood Park, Luton, England.
His awards are numerous and varied. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985, awarded honorary doctorates from Aberdeen University in 1987, Heriot-Watt University in 1993 and the University of Glasgow in 2001, and an honorary and/or visiting professorship from the University of Dundee in 1999. The French Communist Party presented him with a bust of Saint-Just in 1991.
He received the Scottish Horticultural Medal from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society in 2002, and the Scottish Arts Council Creative Scotland Award in 2003. Finally he was awarded a CBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in 2002.,
Finlay was married twice and had two children. He died in Edinburgh in 2006

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Mar 25, '09 I didn't know about this artist with a difference. His works have such extreme creativity and curiosity, such lateral thought in artistry.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Mar 25, '09 We're certainly learning a lot thanks to you. Who wouldn't love to visit this garden?

delete reply hedgewitch9 wrote on Mar 25, '09 A fascinating man & artist! Thank you Loretta :)

delete reply starfishred wrote on Mar 25, '09 he is really interesting thanks loretta

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Mar 25, '09 Wow, I had no idea he existed. What a creative way to inscribe one's thoughts. As Frank said, a must see place. Just magnificent.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Mar 25, '09 Findlay and this work are new to me and certainly very interesting. There is no doubt that during a visit to Edinburgh, Little Sparta is a must see garden. Thank you.