Pop Paolozzi! A series of prints based on the life and work of Edinburgh’s most renowned transnational artist

Transnationalizing Modern Languages: Mobility, Identity and Translation in Modern Italian Cultures

The Proctor, Professor Lorna Milne, will formally welcome pupils from Drummond Community High School, who produced artwork for this exhibition based on the work of Paolozzi.

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) is one of the UK’s most outstanding modern artists. Born in Leith, the son of first generation Italian migrants, Paolozzi was interned in 1940 when Italy entered WW2. He later studied art in Edinburgh and London before moving to Paris. He established a reputation on a global scale as sculptor and major figure in the Pop Art movement.

The work that will be on display has been produced by S1 pupils at Drummond Community High School, Edinburgh, very close to where Paolozzi grew up. The pupils researched Paolozzi’s own transnational experience to produce prints expressive of both his Italian-Scots childhood and fascination with the modern, mechanical world. The eight prints in the exhibition were created by the artists at Edinburgh Printmakers, sponsored by SNIPEF (Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Association), whose main office is close to the school. The exhibition is the first public event of the AHRC-funded research project exploring Italian culture outside Italy in a transnational frame.

Today! 27 May, 12 - 1.30pm, Arts Lecture Theatre Foyer. All welcome!

Community involvement project to monitor archaeological sites

Tom Dawson (School of History), managing director of SCAPE (Scottish Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion), is working on the prioritisation of action at archaeological sites threatened by coastal erosion. Funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland and the Crown Estate will enable project staff to work with the public to record and monitor sites using a specially designed smart phone app and an interactive website. The three-year project will involve communities from around the entire coast of Scotland. As well as monitoring known sites and recording new discoveries, local groups will also tell the project team which sites they feel are most deserving of further work. At least twelve of the sites selected by the public will be subjected to more detailed study. A range of follow-up projects will record the threatened remains in both conventional and new ways. This could include archaeological excavation, making films about sites, laser scanning, constructing 3D models from aerial photographs or recording sites through photography and art.