Hopes over blaze cordon
THE cordon around the fire-ravaged Glasgow School of Art in Sauchiehall Street could be reduced in two weeks.
Some residents and business owners could get back in for the first time after the fire.
THE cordon around fireravaged Glasgow School of Art could be reduced in two weeks.
GSA say the east gable of the Mackintosh Building is within two weeks of stabilisation which will ensure the Dalhousie Street end of the building is safe and stable.
Work is continuing around the building and the neighbouring ABC O2 which was also badly damaged in the fire.
GSA director Professor Tom Inns said: “The shoring scaffolding on Dalhousie Street, which is the critical part of the work to make the east gable safe, is on schedule for completion in the next two weeks.
“After this we hope very much that Glasgow City Council Building Control will reduce the size of the security cordon.
“We continue to work seven days a week to make the whole of the Mackintosh Building stable as soon as possible so that the community can return to their homes and businesses.
“Our primary focus to date has been on the east gable and south facade which are most significantly impacting on the community, but following initial safety work on the ABC O2 we have now begun dismantling the dangerous parts of the west gable in earnest.”
Flames tore through the Charles Rennie Mackintoshdesigned building on June 15, the second devastating fire to hit the art school.
More than 100 firefighters battled to save the building, but the fire was more widespread than before when they arrived and spread throughout the building, also engulfing the O2 ABC music venue on Sauchiehall Street.
Businesses and 33 homes within the cordon zone remain evacuated following the blaze. Locals have been left frustrated that they cannot access their property to retrieve possessions and staged a protest in June.
STAFF and students of Glasgow School of Art paid tribute to a teacher and former programme leader who made a ‘huge’ contribution to the Scottish art scene.
John Calcutt, who worked at the school since 1987, has died at the age of 67.
He started teaching in the Department of Historical and Critical Studies as well as supporting Master of Fine Art students as a dissertation supervisor.
During his time he mentored hundreds of students including MFA alumni roster and Turner Prize winners.
He then moved on to teach permanently on the MFA in 2005 and spent a period of time as Programme Leader for the GSA’s newly approved MLitt in Fine Art Practice, which he co-wrote.
Although he was not an artist, John studied and wrote extensively on art for the entirety of his career and worked as an art critic for Scotland on Sunday and The Guardian.
He was, for a time, associate curator at the Centre for Contemporary Arts.
In 2006, he was one of the nominator-researchers for the Beck’s Futures prize and one of the vetting panel for BBC 2’s School of Saatchi.
Professor Alastair Payne, Head of the School of Art Fine Art said: “John was a much loved and well respected member of the School of Fine Art and we understand just how keenly his passing will be felt by students, his colleagues and the creative community in Glasgow.
“We are deeply saddened by his loss especially his incredible talent to inspire those around him.”
Artist and current MFA tutor, Graham Ramsay added: “I knew John first when he taught me at GSA, then through his work as a curator and writer, and finally as a colleague when I joined the MFA teaching team some years later.
“We became firm friends, and it was a genuine pleasure to work with him.
“It’s true to say that he was a man of many hidden talents and catholic tastes. He also had a great sense of humour and a keen critical intelligence.
“John was eternally selfeffacing despite the fact that his contributions to the art scene in Glasgow and beyond were huge.
“The flood of messages I’ve received over the past few days pay ample tribute to the influence he had over generations of artists and the high esteem in which he was held. He is already sorely missed.”
GSA tutor, Professor Ross Sinclair said: “I first got to know John when he was my tutor during undergraduate Dissertation in the late ‘8-s at the GSA.
“It has been a privilege and a pleasure to count him as a colleague for almost 25 years. He was a highly respected and valuable presence in the institution and will be sorely missed.”