Six Foot Book Club: January Reads

Social Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene by Sarah Lowndes
Genre: Non-fiction/Art History 
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Catriona’s thoughts: Social Sculpture is one of only a handful of works dedicated solely to the history of Glasgow’s art scene. Lowndes highlights the alternative, artist-run spaces that form this infrastructure highlighting the individuals from the seventies who laid these foundations, and those who continue to do so. Lowndes tells the harsh realities of funding struggles and the resilience of Glasgow’s creative community, exemplifying how Glasgow-based artists have historically fought for their work, their community and their spaces.

Lowndes engages with the condescending perception of Glasgow’s art scene, challenging the notorious remarks made by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, who coined the infamous phrase ‘Glasgow Miracle,’ referring to the countless internationally successful artists that have emerged from the city and the apparent surprise of this. Reading Social Sculpture reminded of a conversation I once had with the Director of a renowned gallery in London (he shall remain unnamed) who told me that there ‘there are no good galleries in Glasgow’ and ‘Edinburgh is a bit better.’ He then advised me to leave Scotland entirely if I wanted a respectable career in the arts. Before I had a chance to respond he had already moved on to someone more important and less Glaswegian. Lowndes addresses this implication that Glasgow’s autonomously-run spaces are less valuable than exclusive and institutional galleries as both inaccurate and insulting when so many incredible artists continue to emerge from the city. This now further evident with the most recent Turner Prize winner, Jasleen Kaur, who grew up in Pollokshields near Tramway.

Lowndes leaned on Glasgow’s vast creative network when writing this book, having conducted over 60 interviews. These accounts of ambition and perseverance are woven throughout the sometimes bleak social and political context. This includes contributions from Turner Prize nominees Christine Borland and Cathy Wilkes, former CCA and Glasgow International director Francis McKee, and Optimo DJ Keith McIvor. However, it is Transmission and the Third Eye Centre, now the CCA, that almost immediately emerge as the protagonists of this story of Glasgow, with Lowndes underscoring their critical role in shaping the city’s rich artistic output.

As Scotland’s creative industries, and spaces such as CCA, face increasing uncertainty, Social Sculpture serves as a historical document and a warning about the fragility of arts spaces within a political system that seems to continually disregard them. However, ultimately Social Sculpture is a dedication to the people who build this rich network and a testament to the power of their perseverance and collective effort in the face of systemic neglect.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fee’s thoughts: If you’re looking for something uplifting to start your reading year with, this is not it. Prophet Song is deeply depressing and anxiety inducing, leaving a heavy, unshakable knot in the pit of your stomach from start to finish. However, given the state of the world right now, I believe it is also a necessary book, and certainly one that should be thrust into the hands of every member of the ‘stop the boats’ gammon crowd.

Paul Lynch’s writing is remarkable, and his fluid, rambling prose is compelling. The dearth of punctuation or paragraph breaks and his use of endless, run-on sentences creates a sense of inevitability, sweeping both the reader and the characters along with the inexorable march of time across the page, vividly capturing how so many ordinary citizens are direly affected by a reality they never chose.

Comparisons with the plight of the Palestinian people (or the people of Ukraine, or Syria, or Sudan, or countless other battle-scarred countries), come easily. Prophet Song reflects the violence and destruction we witness in news reports on a daily basis, and it’s a testament to the resilience of those who find the courage to flee their homelands.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte
Genre: Classic Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Hope’s thoughts: Wuthering Heights is, I think, the first cult ‘classics’ book I have read in about six years (sorry!) and I greatly enjoyed it. Brontë’s scene setting was magnificent, and perfectly matched the intensity of her characters. Had I been more versed on Victorian literature, I think this would have been an even better read. Unfortunately, I know I missed certain elements of the novel because I was lost in the jargon of 18th century language, and often found myself checking how many pages I had left. That being said, never has a book made me want to sit by the fire on a gloomy day more. Wuthering Heights is an ultimate-winter-read.

And, in summary of our infamous anti-hero: Heathcliff, convincing women that toxic obsessiveness and sociopathic tendencies equals love since 1847!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Genre: Non-Fiction/True Crime
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alice’s thoughts: Set in Holcomb, a small town in Kansas, during the late 1950s, Truman Capote’s magnum opus, In Cold Blood follows the murder of the Clutter family, the lives of the murderers, and the impact of such a tragedy on a small town. The book has achieved critical and popular acclaim since its release, receiving a Pulitzer nomination the year it was published, and is credited as originating the true crime genre.

As a steadfast hater of true crime, I was apprehensive about starting this book but thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Thematically speaking, it covers that which you’d expect in the true crime genre – the nature of evil, crime and punishment, and the effect of fear – but does so in a way that isn’t heavy handed. Unlike a lot of modern true crime books, which tend to be more stylistically aligned with narrative non-fiction and therefore prone to dramatisation, Capote writes earnestly about the facts, and in doing so provides a respectful and insightful account of the Clutter family murders.

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