My vision, however, to develop our home Skateraw as an artistic gateway into Scotland was clearly brought into focus on a recent trip to Tuscany with Richard Demarco, Terry Newman and my wife Sandra. Guiliano Gori has created one of the world’s most remarkable private contemporary art collections set on a farm, the Fattoria of Villa Celle in the beautiful Tuscan landscape. Richard had the foresight to invite Giuliano Gori to Scotland in 1982 and took him to see Ian Hamilton Finlay’s masterpiece ‘Little Sparta’ to help Gori take account of Scotland at Villa Celle. Today the only Scottish artist to grace the collection at Villa Celle is, of course, Ian Hamilton Finlay.
Gori has also linked the Renaissance through Filippo Lippi’s work in the Cathedral at Prato by commissioning artworks by Robert Morris and Manzu for the Cathedral. A trip to Barga, the most Scottish town in Italy, to meet political officials was truly memorable, not least for the extraordinary degree of reverence in which they held Richard. A lifetime dedicated to forging links on the international stage between governments, institutes, collectors and artists cannot be underestimated. I feel we have an opportunity to help Richard to continue his work promoting the relationship between Scotland, Italy and the rest of Europe at an historic time in the history of Europe as it further unites in a formal political sense. The beauty of our Scottish landscape is one of our national assets largely thanks to nature and the custodians of our land, the farmers.
I am concerned about the increased polarisation of attitudes between our rural and urban populations usually fuelled by misinformation and a general lack of mutual understanding. Both could do well to better appreciate each other even if only as an act of enlightened self interest. Farming is going through major changes as the public becomes increasingly concerned about how their food is produced and how the countryside is managed. The greatest changes to the CAP in its 50 year history came into force this year with subsidies being decoupled from production. Taxpayers’ money is being increasingly redirected towards agri-environmental initiatives such as species-rich habitat creation to redress declining bird populations. A range of new agri-environmental initiatives have been created in line with the Scottish Executive’s Forward Strategy for Agriculture. Our agricultural industry must recognise the need for change and take the opportunity to further satisfy the aspirations of an ever demanding customer base.
At Skateraw we are very much part
of this equation. I feel that our home and its environment could provide
a focus for art and its relationship
with farming and the landscape in 21st century Scotland and its relationship
with Europe. The landscape and seascape have many facets of geological,
historical, archaeological and ornithological significance but it is
also a thriving arable farm tucked between two industrial giants (Torness
and Lafarge). My love of the place stems from its transparency and I
hope it will provide inspiration to artists and the public alike. In
1787, Robert Burns noted in the diary of his tour of the Borders “Breakfast
next morning [22nd May] at Skateraw with Mr Lee a farmer of great note
who detains me till next morning”. My interest in helping Richard
to create a Scottish version of Gori’s Villa Celle has a great
deal to do with my love of Burns, the farmer poet. Richard’s archive
of his life in the world of contemporary art is of immense international
significance. It could form the cornerstone of what we are hoping to
create at Skateraw. Alex Massie wrote an article in Scotland on Sunday
recently entitled “Forgotten for a’ that”. I take
the liberty of lifting some relevant quotes:
“ a country is part defined by the aggregate of its cultural heritage”
“ there is something drastically wrong with a society that fails to safeguard
its cultural heritage”
“ failure to maintain irreplaceable artefacts is a shocking statement
of Philistinism”
“
those who forget the past are not just condemned to repeat their mistakes;
just as importantly they forget who they are themselves”.
I have offered Richard a newly completed insulated grain store for use in 2005 to celebrate his 75th Birthday. Richard deserves on-going recognition for his immense contribution to Scotland and the international art scene. Richard has invited many leading movers and shakers from Scottish Contemporary Arts scene, including many leading artists. We have been greatly encouraged by their reaction to Skateraw and its potential as a venue to create and show work of art. The grant recently awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board to make highlights of the collection available to a worldwide public online is testimony enough in promoting the significance of his archive. The heritage of Burns and the fate of the Demarco archive are intertwined. Both deserve due recognition and support from both the public and private sectors to ensure that they both stay in Scotland in secure environments and serve Scotland well for the benefit of future generations.
