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Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, The Alexander Gibson Opera School Commissioner: Royal Scottish Academy of Music and DramaArtists: David Pearl, Nicholas Pryke & Tom Perkins Date: 1998 Project Description The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama has successfully established itself as one of the major arts venues in Glasgow, acting as a cultural centre and artistic stimulus for the community at large. The Academy is considered by many to be one of Glasgow’s principal cultural assets and is recognised nationally as a centre of excellence for performance training in music and drama. The RSAMD was awarded one of the first National Lottery Capital grants in Scotland for its plans to build an Opera School to the north of its existing building. Working closely with the client and architects, Boswell, Mitchell and Johnston, in the early planning stages, Art in Partnership identified a number of opportunities and developed a proposal for a series of artwork commissions that would be integrated within the building. These include a specially commissioned reception desk; decorative glazing for the three public circulation areas including the entrance area, first floor atrium and Opera Studio windows; and a lettercarving commission handcarved into the red sandstone above the entrance area, naming the new Opera Studio and creating a new typeface for the Academy. Handcarved lettering on facade by Tom Perkins. The aim for the title, RSAMD, was to create letters with a strong individual presence which combine to give a sense of movement running through the title. The letters underneath have been kept upright and without serifs (terminations at the end of strokes) to form a contrast to the letters above them. “Coming from a calligraphic background, I like to infuse my letters with a sense of movement and tension as can be seen in the large letters RSAMD used for the sign here." Decorative glazing by David Pearl “My aim is to bring into play the essentially abstract nature of music and architecture and find parallel expression in colour and light. The forms of the work are based on my studies of the projection, reflection and refraction of coloured light.” Reception desk by Nicholas Pryke “The design intention was to create a contemporary piece of furniture which is visually light, crisp and ‘clean’ and which fulfils the multi-functional requirements of the workspace.” |
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