BOOKS
AVAILABLE AUGUST 2024
Discover the essence of Scotland’s cultural brilliance with Demarco’s Scotland, an immersive journey into the heart of one of the world’s most captivating nations. Experience the richness of Scottish identity, woven with threads of history, art and tradition.
This, the compelling sequel to Demarco’s Edinburgh, is where the soul of Scotland is laid bare through the eyes of Richard Demarco and Roddy Martine. Explore the profound connections between art, culture and history as you trace Scotland’s evolution from ancient pilgrimage routes to modern-day artistic endeavours.
Whether you are a seasoned Scot or a newcomer to its shores, Demarco’s Scotland is a celebration of the country?s enduring spirit and timeless quest for meaning. The perfect read for Festival enthusiasts, cultural explorers and history buffs.
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https://luath.co.uk/products/demarcos-scotland?variant=43912594882710
Scottish Affairs August 2024, vo. 33, No. 3 : pp. 311-331
Fighting till his Final Breath:
Richard Demarco as a Public Intellectual
"Richard Demarco has long been a prominent figure in the Scottish cultural sphere. He has been a significant cultural progenitor, raising the profile of the visual arts within Scotland. In his long cultural life, he has often come into conflict with Scotland’s cultural ‘officialdom’ and is a strident critic of the present-day Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. This article examines Demarco the public intellectual, often overshadowed by Demarco the provocative, hyperbolic showman. It identifies and contextualises Demarco’s abiding themes, locating them in a belief that art has a unique ability to heal personal and societal wounds. It goes on to examine whether his ‘declinist’ dismissal of much contemporary culture stems from an elitist disdain and whether his cultural vision is nostalgic and narrow. The article also examines Demarco’s critiques of both commercialism and state-supported cultural institutions. It argues that underneath the public persona, there lies a unique and challenging cultural vision; one which will survive after his rich cultural life ends."
by Charlie Ellis
Read the complete essay here:
https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/scot.2024.0511?role=tab
The Edinburgh Festival of those days was a much more accessible village... The ground rules were well enough understood. Everything about it was containable. The Fringe was the seedbed for talent and ran happily in step with its established elders and betters. They both knew their place. But then something equally remarkable was about to take place in the New Town of the city I knew and loved...
1947. The beginning of the Edinburgh Festival and Richard Demarco – later to become gallery director, artist and teacher – is at the heart of it and has been every year since.
The same year, Roddy Martine is born. In 1963 when, at the age of sixteen, he interviewed Sir Yehudi Menuhin and David Frost for an Edinburgh Festival magazine he edited and the following year, met Marlene Dietrich.
Both Richard and Roddy have unique perspectives on the most remarkable international festival of the arts the world has ever known. They have witnessed its evolution over the years and are passionate believers in the power of creativity within everyone.
In this fascinating book, Richard – the 2013 UK recipient of the Citizen of Europe medal – explores the original world vision of Sir John Falconer and Rudolph Bing and, with Roddy, recalls the highs and lows of The Edinburgh International Festival, The Fringe, Art, Book, Jazz and Television Festivals, and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Now in its eighth decade, can the Edinburgh Festival survive? Where do we go from here?
Praise for Richard Demarco:
As well as being recognised internationally as an artist, Richard is equally recognised as the promoter of exhibitions and theatre events that have broken new ground in Britain and further beyond, to which the long list of his national and international awards and honours attests. His writing is as idiosyncratic and enthralling as his drawings, driven by true passion and belief, the personal account of an artist whose deeply rooted and abiding love for his native Scotland shines clearly in his words. RICHARD NOYCE
The Scottish artist Richard Demarco once said: "The Scots think of it as their capital; they're too possessive, Edinburgh belongs to the world." And following a recent visit to the Scottish capital, I can see what he means. MICHAEL MCCREADY, Belfast Telegraph
It wouldn’t be the Festival without Demarco. JOHN McLELLAN
Demarco 2020
Sample pages, click on the images below to enlarge
Arthur Watson (Past President, RSA) has collaborated with a significant number of Richard Demarco’s friends and colleagues in the worlds of culture and education in order to create a large-format publication as a unique celebration of Richard’s 90th birthday on 9th July 2020.
"Demarco 2020" follows the Demarco Gallery style of the 1970 ‘Strategy: Get Arts’ catalogue. The foreword is by the Rt. Hon. Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Government’s former Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, along with contributions from Marina Abramovic, Sir John Leighton and many others.
This A3 publication (64 pages in full colour) is available at an early-bird price of £25 with cheques made payable to:
The Demarco Archive Trust Limited
Address: Demarco Archive Trust Ltd. Stroma, Wellbank, Beauly, Inverness IV4 7EX
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Richard Demarco: The Italian Connection
AVAILABLE in HARDBACK and KINDLE FORMATS
AT AMAZON
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Since the 1960s Richard Demarco has had a pivotal role in the production and promotion of the visual and performing arts in Scotland. The Italo-Scottish artist, cultural entrepreneur and educator has organised and fostered cultural exchanges and collaborations throughout Europe and has been a champion of European culture and the avant-garde in Scotland.
Although some research and publications have been devoted to Demarco's endeavours, little is known of the numerous cultural exchanges and collaborations between Italy and Scotland that he initiated and developed in the past fifty years. This gap in the historical canon of knowledge is extraordinary because in the Demarco's archives - a portion of which is at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA, (representing activities from 1963 to 1995) and a portion at the Demarco European Art Foundation, Edinburgh - are many traces of exchanges between Italy and Scotland promoted by Demarco as part of his larger European network and contribution to the Edinburgh Festival.
These documents include photographs, ephemera, notes, catalogues and artworks that feature events involving relevant Italian or Italian-based artists, producers, performers, directors, critics including: Palma Bucarelli, the Count Panza di Biumo, Giulio Paolini, Jannis Kounellis, Bruno Ceccobelli, Toti Scialoja, Carlo Quartucci and Carla Tatò, Mimmo Rotella, Mario Merz, Fabrizio Plessi, Achille Bonito Oliva, Maria Gloria Conti Bicocchi, Giuseppe Chiari, Guido Sartorelli. This publication is the main outcome of the eponymous research project, Richard Demarco The Italian Connection and uncovers and retraces many stories and reassesses how Demarco promoted Italian visual and performing arts in Scotland and Scottish art in the Italian cultural context.