This may be my last blog inspired by my reading of Udo Weilacher's book. Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006) was a Scottish writer then 'concrete' poet and artist, best known perhaps for 'Little Sparta', the garden around his home near the Pentland Hills. He and his young family moved to Stoneypath (later renamed 'Little Sparta') in 1966, as their previous home north of Inverness had no water supply. Stoneypath was little better but did have one and a half hectares of bleak moorland. Finlay set about digging two ponds and Sue, his wife, dug out flower beds, weeded and planted the garden. The house was very basic and they had little money so the garden was developed gradually, initially with donated plants and cuttings, learning as they went along and adding garden structures such as windbreaks, paths trellises and walls. As a poet, Finlay added words; poems, quotes and aphorisms cut into stone or wood in addition to sculptural pieces. Some of these arose in response to experiences in the garden such as hearing the curlew or wind in the trees; others to classical literature or to the turmoil of the French revolution. Later he was commissioned to design outdoor spaces and sculpture elsewhere. Weilacher (p90) says 'the works which Finlay has realised throughout the world....increase our perceptive ability also in as far as our own cultural history is concerned'. Finlay was consciously rebelling against what he saw as a decline in cultural values- by which I assume he meant classical education and referencing. Indeed the renaming of 'Stoneypath' as 'Little Sparta' was apparently a direct response to conflict with the art establishment in Edinburgh -the 'Athens of the North'. His references were not all classical however; the capitals on the gateposts above look remarkably like hand grenades. Finlay started his artistic career as a Concrete Poet. I had to look up what this is and for those similarly ignorant, here is one of his as an example. Unfortunately I still don't understand the the difference between concrete and visual poetry which Finlay said was 'completely different'. Little Sparta is now (usually ) open to the public 4 afternoons a week over the summer months. I do plan to visit and make up my mind 'in person' and maybe I will find more meaning in the multiple words with a guide book in my hand. I start from a position however of disliking labels on visual art, or on clothing, though factual labels (discreetly) giving the name of a plant are always welcome! I first read about the garden in 'The Making of Place'. I found the classical referencing (emphasised by Hunt) a real bar to appreciation; it struck me as elitist and pretentious. Since then I have come across the official guide book, critiques and accounts by Weilacher and by others. The one I found most helpful was a YouTube video by the Tate galleries. In it, his son Alec, also a poet and artist, talks about how his parents created the garden together, and about his father's poetry. The (written) poems he said were minimal because the garden itself (the flowers, the fall of the light, the sounds) was part of them. The placement of each piece is therefore crucial. This is taking concrete poetry to a new level. Alec went on to say that the house and land had been gifted to his parents by his mother, Sue Finlay's family, and that in response his parents had created something for everyone, not simply to appreciate it as it is, but that 'anyone with even a small garden can think of it and experience it as a work of art' Little Sparta was clearly an intensely personal creation for Finlay, who suffered from agoraphobia. Though he could work in the garden he rarely went elsewhere. From that base he could write and design other gardens and installations. He is quoted as saying that one really has to understand the landscape before making a garden; the accounts of his wife and son however do not suggest any advance deliberations or a fixed overall plan for Little Sparta, more a willingness to respond and develop. Although Finlay composed the poetry, the lettering whether on stone or wood was executed by others; a collaboration. Little Sparta is not a sculpture garden, or simply a personal domestic space of retreat. It seems to me to be a piece of concrete nature poetry. I am looking forward to that visit. Campbell, J 'Ian Hamilton Finlay:The Concrete Poet as an Avant Gardener'. The Guardian, Manchester . Published online 16th November 2012
Finlay, S. 'The Planting of a Hillside Garden' New Arcadian Journal (No 61/62, 2007), also now on the Little Sparta website Hunt, J. D. The Making of Place: Modern and Contemporary Gardens. United Kingdom: Reaktion Books 2015 Tate Shots Ian Hamilton Finlay:Little Sparta. Youtube. Published on line 8th November 2012 Weilacher, U, "Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art". Birkhauser. Basel Berlin Boston 1999
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AuthorI am indulging my passion for ceramics by undertaking studies for an MA at UCLAN Archives
August 2021
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