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FIRE DAMAGED GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART HAS PRODUCED GENERATIONS OF SCOTLAND’S GREATEST ARTISTS

Robbie Coltrane attended the school of art

Glasgow School of Art has produced a host of famous alumni across the creative fields over the past 165 years.

As well as renowned artists, former students include members of the bands Travis and Franz Ferdinand, and actors Peter Capaldi and Robbie Coltrane.

Several winners of the prestigious Turner Prize studied at Glasgow School of Art (GSA), including Martin Boyce, who scooped the prize in 2011 for his installation Do Words Have Voices, beating what critics felt was the strongest shortlist for many years.

Graduate Douglas Gordon took the prize in 1996 while it was won by Richard Wright in 2009. Simon Starling also picked up the accolade in 2005.

This year three out of the four candidates for the UK’s best-known art award – worth £25,000 – studied at the school.

Dublin-born film-maker Duncan Campbell, 41, has been nominated for his presentation It For Others, described as a reflection on a 1950s documentary about African art.

He studied in Belfast before completing the Master of Fine Art (MFA) programme at Glasgow in 1998 and continues to live and work in the city.

Canadian Ciara Phillips, 37, is a Glasgow-based screen printer shortlisted for a project where she set up a temporary studio and invited artists, designers, and local women’s groups to produce new screen prints. She also completed an MFA at the School of Art in 2004.

Tris Vonna-Michell, 31, was born in Southend-on-Sea and graduated from Glasgow in 2005.

Other famous artistic alumni include Alasdair Gray, writer of Lanark, who is also known for his murals around Glasgow in locations such as Oran Mor and the Ubiquitous Chip, and artists Joan Eardley and Peter Howson.

Artist and playwright John Byrne, former partner of actress Tilda Swinton, also studied at GSA, as did poet and playwright Liz Lochhead and Labour politician Cathy Jamieson MSP.

In the music world, Fran Healy, Dougie Payne and Andy Dunlop from Travis and Robert Hardy from Franz Ferdinand are among the school’s alumni.

David Shrigley, nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013, studied at GSA, as did Jenny Saville, who exhibited in the Royal Academy’s Sensation exhibition in London in 1997, and Alison Watt, the first woman to have a solo exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh himself studied at GSA where he met his wife Margaret MacDonald. 

Huge: The scale and ferocity of today’s fire was clear as a giant plume of smoke blotted the Glasgow sky yesterday afternoon

Flames: The orange glow of flames could  be seen tearing through the building and ripping through the roof

Safe: Firefighters described the blaze as ‘protracted’ but fortunately there were no reports of anyone being injured

Famous: Visitors on guided tour in Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed gallery, left, and the much-loved library pictured right

While the heavy masonry on the outside of the building nods towards Scottish baronial architecture, the interior has slightly finer touches, such as the hearts carved into these roof supports

The ornate interior of the building featured spectacular mahogany beams and wall cladding (pictured) featuring geometric art nouveau motifs

Yesterday afternoon smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the listed building on the corner of Renfrew Street and Scott Street, and flames were bursting from windows on the upper floors.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said dozens of its firefighters have been tackling the blaze since 12.45pm.

A post on Twitter from the School of Art said: ‘The Mackintosh building is on fire, all have been evacuated.’

Six fire engines were at the scene and crews on a laddered platform blasted the flames with a water jet.

Broadcaster
Muriel Gray, former student and current chairwoman of the school,
arrived and burst into tears when she saw the building in flames.

She said: ‘It’s been an absolutely devastating day for
everyone involved with the School of Art, students who are preparing for
their degree show and all the staff. We
just want to make it clear that we are so grateful to the fire service
who responded within four minutes and there were no casualties which is
the main thing that we were concerned about.

‘It’s
a very black day and we have a lot things to do and think about now. We
are waiting for the investigation to be completed then we can start to
rebuild some of the things that need done.

‘Our
thoughts are of course with the students whose degree shows were being
prepared but I would like to say I have never been prouder in my life of
an art school because the staff and students and the people of Glasgow
have been fantastic.

‘We
don’t know what’s been destroyed and what’s been salvaged so we’re just
waiting for the all clear so that we can get in and assess the damage.
It’s just a waiting game.’

Senior
firefighters said the operation at the scene was likely to be
‘protracted’. While there are no reports of anybody having been injured,
the fire service confirmed that it did lead several people to safety.

In
its latest update, the fire service said crews will remain at the scene overnight damping down hotspots.

Alex
Misick, 25, was helping his girlfriend put the finishing touches to her
degree show project across the road in the school’s new Reid building
when they saw plumes of smoke.

The GSA graduate, now vice president of the Students’ Association, said: ‘I think everyone is in shock. It’s soul-destroying. It
was literally a few hours to go before everyone finished up and handed
in. That’s everyone’s work over three or four years. Everyone’s in
tears.’

Firefighters say 90 per cent of the building’s structure is still intact, as are around 70 per cent of its contents

Forlorn students at the school took to Twitter to mourn the loss of the school and their work, with some saying their deadline for coursework was at 5pm yesterday

The historic building is used to attracting 20,000 visitors a year to marvel at its beautiful interior, but today onlookers came to watch as firemen battled to save it

Cordoned off: The centre of Glasgow was at a standstill yesterday as police and fire closed off a vast area around the dangerous fire

Smoking:
The blaze at Glasgow School of Art’s historic Charles Rennie Mackintosh
building is believed to have started when a projector exploded in its
basement

Dangerous: Dozens of firefighters are desperately tried to control the fire, which got out of control yesterday afternoon

Shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran used the social networking site to say she had ‘just heard about terrible fire at Glasgow School of Art’, adding: ‘Hope people are safe.’

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson,
who is an MSP for the Glasgow region, said the blaze was ‘dreadful
news’.

She described the art school building as ‘one of Glasgow’s finest’. 

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said on Twitter: ‘Thoughts with staff students at @GSofA – awful to see destruction of this iconic building and students work.’

Austin Yuill, who works as a chef at
the art school, told the BBC: ‘I’ve been moved two streets away from the
Mackintosh building but before we left the place was completely ablaze
all down the west side of the building.

‘I’m told it started in the basement and it’s worked its way all the way up through the five floors.

‘As far as I know it started from a spark which has gone on to foam, expanding foam.’

Asked
how busy the art school was, he said: ‘It would be very busy because
we’re working up to the end-of-year assessments, so all the students
were installing their work all over the Mackintosh building.

‘There
are a lot of very upset students here.’

LIVING MASTERPIECE: REGARDED AS MACKINTOSH’S BEST WORK, THE SCHOOL ATTRACTS 20,000 VISITORS A YEAR

As
well as being a celebrated art school, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s
building is listed and is a tourist attraction in its own right.  

Construction
work started on the building in 1897 after Mackintosh won a design
competition while working for Glasgow architects Honeyman and Keppie.

Widely
regarded as his best work, the long E shaped Rennie Mackintosh school was
voted as the best building in the last 175 years in a survey for the
Royal Institute of British Architects.

The first half of the building was completed in 1899, but the art nouveau design in the Gatehill area took another 12 years to finish.

Its opening heralded a new age in 20th century European architecture, marrying heavy baronic style stonework exterior with much finer interior decoation, with geometric patterns and floral motifs in the ironwork, tiles and lighting fixtures.

It took around 10 years to complete due to funding issues and several alterations were made by Mackintosh during the process.

More than a century later it remains a working building serving hundreds of students.

It
also attracts about 20,000 visitors each year, who are taken on tours
of the building, according to the School of Art website.

Other
popular Mackintosh designs in his home town of Glasgow include the
Lighthouse, the Willow Tearooms and House For An Art Lover in
Bellahouston Park.

Yesterday in a statement the RIBA said: ‘Damage to a building of such immense significance and uniqueness is an international tragedy. It is irreplaceable.’

He
added: ‘Quite apart from it being voted the best building of the last
175 years, it is a major tourist draw and has an incredible reputation
as an art school. This is really terrible.’

Some students were in tears outside the building.

Hugh Thornhill, a second year student, said: ‘I was helping one of the fourth years set up their exhibit and suddenly the alarm went off. We didn’t think it was anything but we had to go out and then we saw smoke coming out and realised that it was really bad.

‘It got to the point where flames were coming out of the top floor.

‘All that effort is gone, everyone’s work on that side of the building is ruined. Even if it didn’t catch fire it will be damaged extensively.

‘The degree show next month is pretty much a bust now, it’s sad.’

Staff are arranging for locksmiths and services for students who left personal belongings and keys in the building.

Second
year student Clare Reilly said: ‘It’s not about that (keys and personal
belongings), four years of work is gone for all those students, the
deadline was at 5pm yesterday.

‘Even the archive and library in there will be gone.

‘There’s so much work and history in the building and it’s gone. I’ve got two years to go but we might not be allowed back in.’

Fran Healy, who studied at GSoA before becoming lead singer of guitar band Travis, expressed his sadness on Twitter.

The Why Does It Always Rain On Me? singer said: ‘Man the mac library is all wood!!!! And loads of paper!! Man!! Just super super sad this place which has been with Glasgow and with all the students is burning down…’

Famous: As well as producing great artists, the building ttracts about 20,000 visitors each year, who are taken on tours of the building

Damage: Smoke billows into the Glasgow sky yesterday afternoon as the fire continued to rage

The iconic Charles Rennie Mackintosh building was shrouded from view by the smoke created by the fire

But he also
paid tribute to the firefighters who had been sent to contain the
blaze. Architect and television presenter George Clarke, who had studied
Mackintosh, also paid tribute to the structure.

He
said: ‘Devastating to see the Glasgow School of Art in flames…I’ll
support its full restoration in any way. Thank God no one was hurt …but my heart does go out to all the students who have lost their
amazing work!’

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) tonight described the blaze as ‘an international tragedy’.

‘The
most important work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an architect of
international significance, Glasgow School of Art is held in the highest
regard by architects and the public alike – it was rightly judged to be
the best building of the past 175 years, in a nationwide poll run by
the Royal Institute of British Architects.

‘Damage to a building of such immense significance and uniqueness is an international tragedy. It is irreplaceable.

‘The
RIBA joins our colleagues in Scotland in sending out a message to the
students, staff of the school and all those who have been associated
with this building over the decades, a message of sorrow and
commiseration at this terrible, terrible news. It is too early to talk
about what happens now, but the Institute will do anything it can to
help in any way.’

Grand: The Glasgow School of Art in the centre of the city has dominated the skyline for almost 200 years

Chief Officer Alasdair Hay, who is at the
scene, said: ‘This is likely to be a protracted incident and crews have
been working extremely hard to tackle what is clearly a very
significant fire.

‘The priority throughout this operation has been to protect life but salvage operations are also under way.’

Mr Hay added later: ‘At this point we can’t
establish what the cause is but we have specialist teams working with
Police Scotland to establish the cause. We’ve had a significant fire
within the building and at this point we’re still extinguishing that
fire. We’ve had firefighters inside working under very arduous
conditions and at a later point we’ll be able to determine and describe
the conditions more fully.

‘There
has been significant spread within the building but we’ve used all our
resources to bear on it. We regularly attend significant fires but the
iconic status of this building is not lost on us.’

He said there were 17 units from Glasgow at the scene and specialist units from across the country.

‘Part
of our operation is to try and salvage what we can and we worked with
colleagues from the school who identified objects of significance that
they would like us, if possible, to save.

‘They
described the objects and their location and we briefed officers and
firefighters, where they could, did the salvage if it was safe to do
so.’
He could not say what objects were saved.

When
asked if all student work has been destroyed he said: ‘It’s too early
to establish that. There was a salvage plan and we’ve worked to save the
iconic items but we’re not unaware of the importance of the work of
students within that building.

‘There
are still pockets of fire but we are confident we have extinguished the
main fire. There are structural engineers here and we are working with
them to save as much of the fabric as we possibly can.’

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