Artist hits out in mural row
Painter blasts‘negative’,‘sad’council
An artist criticised by council bosses for painting a tribute to his father on the side of Perth Theatre in the lead-up to Armistice Day reckons he is just doing his bit to brighten up the city.
Ian Cuthbert Imrie, whose dad was in the Black Watch, blasted the council for its “negative” attitude towards his latest work – which shows a Black Watch soldier in front of a Scotland flag – after learning the local authority had said it would be writing to him this week asking him to pay to remove it.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson announced this week: “We have written to Mr Imrie to advise that we will be seeking to recover costs associated with the removal of his work.
“Mill Street is part of the Perth city conservation area. There is a legal requirement for planning permission for work in this area, given its historic interest and character.
“This has been explained to Mr Imrie several times but so far he has not sought planning permission for his work, and has also chosen not to apply for other advertised opportunities, open to all artists, to create new art in public spaces on Mill Street.
“As the content of the most recent painting relates to Remembrance Sunday, we will not be taking any action to remove Mr Imrie’s work this week.
“But after Armistice Day commemorations have finished, we will be removing the work.
“Mr Imrie has installed other works in parts of the city centre, and as he does not have the building owner’s permission, or planning approval for these works, we will be requiring him to either remove these works or demonstrate that he has the required permissions in place for their continued display.
“We are very disappointed that Mr Imrie’s actions have required us to take steps to
Ian Cuthbert Imrie believes his paintings inject life remove his work, but we are keen to support opportunities for all artists and we do not believe any single artist should be treated favourably or differently from others.”
Mr Imrie responded yesterday: “It’s all very negative and I find it really sad. Perth is slowly dying and it needs something to give it life.”