Sandy Smith
Encyclopedia
Sandy Smith is a Scottish
visual artist
currently based in New York City
. He is the younger brother of professional Rock Climber Malcolm Smith
and experimental psychologist Kenny Smith.
, and later moved to Glasgow
to study Art
at the Glasgow School of Art
from 2001 to 2005. His first solo exhibition in Glasgow was in 2006. Since this time Smith has exhibited widely in Scotland and Internationally, to some critical success in Denmark and the USA.
“Road trip USA”
In the summer of 2008 Smith undertook a collaborative project with another Glasgow-based artist, Alex Gross, which saw them create 3 solo exhibitions during a 9000 miles road trip around the western United States. A project was organized by Smith and Gross, and funded by the Scottish Arts Council
and the British Council
. The trip was, in Sandy Smith’s words, to be a “fast, flowing journey into optimism, failure, modernism, landscape and tourism, as well as a jovial examination of the artist's role in relation to these grand ideals”.
The 11 week trip resulted in three successful exhibitions in Seattle, Las Vegas and Utah, and lead to the pair being awarded a New Work Scotland award at Edinburgh’s Collective Gallery, where their final collaborative exhibition was held in December 2008. This exhibition was also documented in the UK magazine Art Review.
The four exhibitions, along with other works and tourist photographs from the journey, are shown in detail on Smith’s website.
"Junior: A monument in film making history" is the title of an essay commissioned by the Artist from an academic essay writing company. The essay was to prove that Junior
is the best film ever made, and reference various philosophers and thinkers such as Roland Barthes
, Jean Baudrillard
, Michel Foucault
, Sigmund Freud
and Marc Augé
amongst others. The essay itself is available to download from a website Smith set up specifically to host this project, www.juniorbestfilmever.com. The topic has also spurred a competition where the public is invited to submit their own take on why the film should be considered the greatest ever made, with cash prizes available for the winning entries. Despite being covered in the National press
, the competition received fewer entries than there were prizes available and the competition has been ‘infinitely extended’ according to Smith’s website.
"All the time I was making this I was thinking of you" was the title of Smith's solo exhibition, at Market Gallery in Glasgow. This exhibition in July 2007 followed on from a four-week residency in the gallery space, where Smith spent his time making a flowering forest from craft
materials such as crepe paper, tissue paper, Papier-mâché
and poster paint.
“Mauritian Sunset” was the final work in a series of installations using redundant or discarded computers as building blocks to create architectural features or follies. This series of works first brought Smith’s artwork to international attention, and was featured in magazine articles in the UK and Europe, and on German Television.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
visual artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
currently based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is the younger brother of professional Rock Climber Malcolm Smith
Malcolm Smith (climber)
Malcolm Smith is an elite rock climber born in Dunbar, Scotland. He is the brother of Scottish Visual Artist Sandy Smith.Climbing since 1988, he has developed an impressive list of repeated hard climbs, notably repeating Ben Moon's 1990 testpiece Hubble at Raven Tor aged only 18...
and experimental psychologist Kenny Smith.
Biography
Smith was born in the small Scottish town DunbarDunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
, and later moved to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to study Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
at the Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
from 2001 to 2005. His first solo exhibition in Glasgow was in 2006. Since this time Smith has exhibited widely in Scotland and Internationally, to some critical success in Denmark and the USA.
Major Works & Projects
“Pure Love”, the title of Smith’s first solo show in London in April 2009, marked the romantic influence of the road trip project undertaken the previous summer. A return to working individually, the exhibition showcased a new series of abstract sculptural works executed in shagpile wool. The tactile nature of these works was highlighted by a large lightbox’s confession of “I want to hold you”, although the inclusion of a slowly revolving mirror in the centre of the space, precariously held at an angle, keeps the viewer aware of his/her own physicality in relation to the sculptures.“Road trip USA”
In the summer of 2008 Smith undertook a collaborative project with another Glasgow-based artist, Alex Gross, which saw them create 3 solo exhibitions during a 9000 miles road trip around the western United States. A project was organized by Smith and Gross, and funded by the Scottish Arts Council
Scottish Arts Council
The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
and the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
. The trip was, in Sandy Smith’s words, to be a “fast, flowing journey into optimism, failure, modernism, landscape and tourism, as well as a jovial examination of the artist's role in relation to these grand ideals”.
The 11 week trip resulted in three successful exhibitions in Seattle, Las Vegas and Utah, and lead to the pair being awarded a New Work Scotland award at Edinburgh’s Collective Gallery, where their final collaborative exhibition was held in December 2008. This exhibition was also documented in the UK magazine Art Review.
The four exhibitions, along with other works and tourist photographs from the journey, are shown in detail on Smith’s website.
"Junior: A monument in film making history" is the title of an essay commissioned by the Artist from an academic essay writing company. The essay was to prove that Junior
Junior (film)
Junior is a 1994 American comedy film written by Kevin Wade and Chris Conrad and directed by Ivan Reitman. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a scientist who undergoes a male pregnancy as part of a scientific experiment.-Plot:...
is the best film ever made, and reference various philosophers and thinkers such as Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...
, Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.-Life:...
, Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Marc Augé
Marc Augé
Marc Augé is a French anthropologist.In an essay and book of the same title, Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity , Marc Augé coined the phrase "non-place" to refer to places of transience that do not hold enough significance to be regarded as "places"...
amongst others. The essay itself is available to download from a website Smith set up specifically to host this project, www.juniorbestfilmever.com. The topic has also spurred a competition where the public is invited to submit their own take on why the film should be considered the greatest ever made, with cash prizes available for the winning entries. Despite being covered in the National press
, the competition received fewer entries than there were prizes available and the competition has been ‘infinitely extended’ according to Smith’s website.
"All the time I was making this I was thinking of you" was the title of Smith's solo exhibition, at Market Gallery in Glasgow. This exhibition in July 2007 followed on from a four-week residency in the gallery space, where Smith spent his time making a flowering forest from craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
materials such as crepe paper, tissue paper, Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
and poster paint.
“Mauritian Sunset” was the final work in a series of installations using redundant or discarded computers as building blocks to create architectural features or follies. This series of works first brought Smith’s artwork to international attention, and was featured in magazine articles in the UK and Europe, and on German Television.
External links
- www.sandysmith.co.uk - Artist's own website
- www.juniorbestfilmever.com - Website for JuniorJunior (film)Junior is a 1994 American comedy film written by Kevin Wade and Chris Conrad and directed by Ivan Reitman. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a scientist who undergoes a male pregnancy as part of a scientific experiment.-Plot:...
competition started by Smith