ONE of the UK’s leading live art practitioners has donated their entire archive to their former university who will put it on display next week.
Alastair MacLennan’s work spanning across his entire career will be exhibited together for the first time at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design.
MacLennan is a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone and recently donated his entire archive to his alma mater.
The exhibition, entitled ‘Alastair MacLennan: Actuations and Other Works’ celebrates this gift and opens on the 5th floor of the Matthew Building on Wednesday 19 June.
The exhibition of his work will be available to see free for everyone until July 19.
He will also receive an Honorary Degree from the University of Dundee at its summer Graduation ceremony the same day.
An artist of the highest international standing, MacLennan is primarily known for his performance art but has also embraced painting, drawing, sculpture and installation at various points in his career.
He established his distinctive form of performance, which he refers to as ‘actuations’, in the early 1970s and has performed and exhibited extensively since then, both individually and collaboratively.
The extensive archive gifted to the University documents more than 600 performances presented throughout the world.
The exhibition features drawings, objects, and video and photographic documentation of selected performances as well as some of his student paintings and works transferred in the 1990s from the collection of the then Scottish Arts Council.
Janice Aitken, Associate Dean for Public and Community Engagement, said:“It is most fitting that this exhibition will open on the day that Alastair MacLennan will receive an Honorary Doctorate and in the same ceremony at which our students of art and design will graduate.
“Alastair is one of Britain’s major practitioners in live art and a distinguished and celebrated alumnus of Duncan of Jordanstone.
“Seeing his incredible body of work exhibited and hearing from him at their graduation ceremony will be inspirational to the class of 2019 as they look to go out and make their mark in their chosen field.
“What is particularly exciting is that we have been able to bring together examples not just from the part of his career for which he has been internationally celebrated but also his student work. It is the first time that work spanning his entire career will be shown together.”
‘Alastair MacLennan: Actuations and Other Works’ opens on the 5th floor of the Matthew Building on Wednesday 19 June.
Entry is free and is open from 10.30am – 5pm each weekday until Wednesday 19 July.
