Em C.
Yelp
I remember when the Gallery of Modern Art first opened. It was exciting and added modernity to the museum culture of Glasgow.
My aunt (who I affectionately call Morris just in case you think I'm talking about a bloke) took me here many a time when I was younger. Morris supplied the museum installments and enriched my life with exhibits, encouraging me to talk about paintings and stuff. When I was younger I actually knew a lot about Scottish art. I dunno what happened but I blame puberty for turning my interested brain into a pile of mess while I pined (fruitlessly) for boys, so I see 1996 as the glory days of my intellectual capacity. Unfortunately.
So aye, those heady days of exploring art were great. It seemed like the exhibition space was used well back then, with exhibits coming and going every three months or so. They had permanent features downstairs, which included a tunnel made of lights which was oodles of fun for a kid to talk through, and a weird massive head thing you could go inside that I vividly remember smelling funny. But it was all brilliant. They even had a miniature model of a city that lit up, it was amazing.
Now I don't know if I romanticise my earlier experiences with GoMA because I was young, but I have begun to realise this place is a shadow of its former self. It is like an empty shell. The basement has become a library, which is great since it's in the centre of town but with so many beautiful buildings bricked up in the neighbouring Merchant City, the books may be better situated elsewhere to make way for art.
The less said about the ground floor the better - it seems to be going for the Tate approach and having one massive sculpture. Said sculpture or exhibit may be great but it seems empty and vacuous when there is so much space being wasted. It's also been a good few years since I saw a good exhibition down here, the last one being the history of secterianism in football (dunno its actual name).
The most interesting exhibitions always seem to be bundled up to the third floor, like they're being packed into the attic and discarded like old toys. But what I have seen up there has been great despite the smaller space. The last notable exhibition which took my breath away was called Tall Storeys. It was centred around the arts community operating in the Red Road flats and is moving and life changing. Check out the groundbreaking work conducted by the community at http://www.redroadflats.org.uk/
When you see things like the Red Road photography snapped by kids in the area, the work put into it is inspiring (this particular group has inspired me to do my course at uni). I would like to see more locally sourced, modern art from all mediums shown in the GoMA more. They tell tales of this city that sinpire both locals and tourists alike. It's these artistic stories which paint a picture of our city overall, and often to see the space wasted downstairs means that a lot of great artists are going unnoticed.
So why four star it? As Andrew said, the building is gorgeous. And it breaks my heart to be negative about a museum which I am so at home in, and which I used to love so dearly. However, currently I can't help but feel that Glasgow's art scene is throbbing at the pulse, which can't be heard in the main exhibition space in here. I don't want to criticise what art befalls this museum - certainly it hosts its fair share of interesting pieces - but it could be more! So I'll four star, based on its potential to be as great as I once thought it was.