John Whiteman | |
---|---|
Director of the Glasgow School of Art | |
In office 1990 –1991 | |
Preceded by | Bill Buchanan |
Succeeded by | Dugald Cameron |
Personal details | |
Born | 1934 (age 90–91) |
Nationality | Scottish |
Education | Glasgow School of Art |
Occupation | Architect,educationalist |
John Whiteman (born 1934) is an architect;and former Director of the Glasgow School of Art. He was director from 1990 to 1991. [1]
Whiteman was born in England. [2]
He is a registered architect and planner in both England and the United States. [3]
He became a professor of architecture and urban design at Harvard University. He also became a professor at the Chicago Institute of Urban Studies. [4]
In 1990 he was made the Director of Glasgow School of Art. [1]
He got embroiled in a row with Pat Lally,the then leader of Glasgow District Council,who seemed to unliterally declare that paintings bought for the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow would only be hung for a period of 10 months. The artist at the ceremony Ian McCulloch then stormed out.
The Scotsman carried the story and interviewed Whiteman as a prominent onlooker. [5]
Among astonished members of the audience was John Whiteman,new director of Glasgow School of Art,who said he had never heard of an artist being savaged in such a way in public before. Mr McCulioch accused Mr Lally of censorship. Strathclyde [Regional Council],which spent about £500,000 on the suite,a luxury reception area,said the 7 paintings will not be taken down. The commission is one of the most valuable awarded in Scotland.
He made the headlines again when he was invited to speak at a dinner at a penthouse in Carrick Quay overlooking the Clyde. He ended up buying the flat and was pictured at the Crow's Nest,the balcony of the penthouse. [4]
Whiteman was not afraid to speak his mind. His arrival at the School of Art coincided with the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He saw Thatcherism in his field causing a political run-down of the Arts during the 1980s: [2]
Britain’s higher education system has taken a bruising through the decade of Thatcherism,and Arts has been particularly discriminated against. Things seem to be changing now,and in my dealings with the Scottish Education Department I have been surprised how constructive and direct they have been. The Eighties have been a demoralising time for staff at the art school,which has made them defensive,but there is a lot of enthusiasm there.
He left the post abruptly. It transpired that Whiteman's marriage was struggling under the transatlantic distance;so Whiteman made the decision to return to the United States. The Scotsman had the story: [6]
John Whiteman had come from Chicago,and appeared a rather glamorous cosmopolitan figure who cut a stylish dash in his new habitat. Yet he left abruptly nine months later amid public accusations that the art school old guard had been too resistant to change. That analysis,much debated in the press at the time,now appears to have been more than a little economical with the truth. It has since become quite clear that the main reason for Whiteman’s sudden resignation concerned family and marital difficulties which he felt he could not resolve transatlantically. His wife did not come with him to Scotland.
He was replaced by Dugald Cameron after nine months in charge of the art school. [6]
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect,designer,water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work,alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald,was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism and praised by great modernists such as Josef Hoffmann. Mackintosh was born in Glasgow,Scotland and died in London,England. He is among the most important figures of Modern Style.
Jack Vettriano is a Scottish painter. His 1992 painting The Singing Butler became a best-selling image in Britain.
William Angus McIlvanney was a Scottish novelist,short story writer,and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature;his works Laidlaw,The Papers of Tony Veitch,and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s. He is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir" and as Scotland's Camus.
William Ferguson Miller MBE is a Scottish former professional football player and manager,who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
David Michie OBE,RSA,PSSA,FRSA,RGI was a Scottish artist of international stature.
Steven Campbell (1953–2007) was a painter from Scotland.
Alasdair James Gray was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel,Lanark (1981),is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels,short stories,plays,poetry and translations,and wrote on politics and the history of English and Scots literature. His works of fiction combine realism,fantasy,and science fiction with the use of his own typography and illustrations,and won several awards.
Fyffe William George Christie was a British figurative artist and mural painter. He served in the British Army during World War II as a bagpiper and stretcher bearer. He began painting during the war and attended the Glasgow School of Art from 1946 to 1951. After graduating,he began painting murals,including Christ Feeding the People (1950-1951) and various others in Glasgow,including one in the Glasgow University Union. Christie then moved to London,where he taught at various schools and continued painting.
James Wallace Ferguson was a Scottish painter,born in Stirling,and resident in Glasgow for most of his life. He went to the Glasgow School of Art before the First World War. He won the Guthrie Award in 1923 for young artists of the Royal Scottish Academy. He became the President of the Glasgow Art Club in the 1950s. He also was a Principal Lecturer in Art at Jordanhill Teacher Training College. He died in New Zealand while staying with his son.
David Shanks Ewart was a Scottish painter,born in Glasgow. He went to the Glasgow School of Art just after the First World War. He won the Guthrie Award in 1926 with his work The Toilers.
The Guthrie Award is awarded annually with few exceptions to at most two recipients by the Royal Scottish Academy and is one of the most prestigious art awards in Scotland. It is named after the artist James Guthrie.
Kate Campbell Muirhead was a Scottish sculptor,born in Perth. She won the first Guthrie Award in 1920 with her work,the portrait bust Elizabeth. As Muirhead got older she moved into painting rather than sculpture.
Gordon Stewart Cameron was a Scottish painter,born in Aberdeen,Scotland. He won the Guthrie Award in 1944 with his work,the painting Boy With Apple.
Sinclair Thomson was a Scottish painter,born in Glasgow,Scotland. He won the Guthrie Award in 1948 with his oil painting The White Shawl.
James Hillocks was a Scottish painter. He won the Guthrie Award in 1947 with his work,the oil painting Portrait Of My Mother. He went to teach art in Ghana.
Helen Adelaide Lamb was a Scottish artist known for her embroidery and paintings. She won the Lauder Prize in 1924,1931 and 1953.
Amelia Beattie Forsyth was a Scottish painter. She won the Lauder Prize in 1937.
Anne Knox Arthur was a Scottish artist and author,specialising in embroidery. She became Head of the Embroidery Department of the Glasgow School of Art in 1928. She won the Lauder Prize in 1939.
John Daniel Revel was an artist;and former Director of the Glasgow School of Art. He took the post of Director in 1925.
The Society of Eight was an artistic grouping of Scottish painters. The Society set up its own gallery space in Edinburgh to exhibit their work. It was founded in 1912 and last exhibited in 1938. The Society did not reform after the Second World War.