Martin Creed, Work No. 1059, 2011 (Scotsman Steps)
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Martin Creed Work No. 1059, 2011. New Commission for The Scotsman Steps Throughout its preparation, he was planning Work No. 1059.
Martin Creed’s Work No. 1059 was commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery as part of Creed’s solo exhibition Down Over Up which was presented at The Fruitmarket Gallery in the summer of 2010 and was one of the most popular exhibitions in the Gallery’s history. The exhibition brought together works united by the idea of stacking and progression in size, height and tone. There were graded lines of na
ils and cactus plants; stacks of chairs, tables, lego, planks and boxes; a recorded choir singing up and down the scale as the gallery lift rose and fell; and the central staircase was transformed into a synthesiser, with each tread sounding a different musical note. This last piece made manifest the extent to which the rest of the work in the exhibition was about going up and down steps. Creed talked about the exhibition as a whole in terms of a picture of growth; showing process, progress and things in movement. This piece, installed almost a year after the exhibition opened, speaks very clearly to it. The Scotsman Steps are an important part of Edinburgh’s cityscape: they link the Old and New Towns and have historically been considered as a road. Before restoration by Edinburgh World Heritage and Edinburgh City Council, they were extremely dilapidated, and vulnerable to misuse. The Fruitmarket Gallery suggested commissioning a public artwork for the Steps as part of the renovation, to help change the public perception of them, and to fulfill the Gallery’s mission to make contemporary art freely accessible, bringing it out of the gallery to engage people where they are. Martin Creed, with his smart response to public space, his ability to engage with materials and their surroundings, and his understanding of the creative possibilities embedded in the act of going up and down steps, seemed an obvious choice for the commission. From the beginning, he considered the Steps as a thoroughfare, proposing to resurface them with different and contrasting marbles from all over the world, eachstep and landing a different colour. The idea turns around a familiar material (though not onenormally associated with Edinburgh) used in a familiar way. It acts as a sampler, introducing 104 different marbles, putting the material as well as the visitor through its paces. Creed himself has described the work as a microcosm of the whole world – stepping on the different marble steps is like walking through the world. Work No. 1059, like the works shown in Down Over Up, is an exercise in adding andsubtracting by degrees. To make it, Creed started from nothing, and added something. The process of addition, though immensely complicated, involving architects, planners, engineers, stone cutters, builders etc, results in an intervention whose deceptive simplicity seems almost to take the addition away (though extravagantly marble and chromatically beautiful, the steps are still only steps, after all). Creed is a musician as much as an artist, and talks about his process more in terms of musicthan of art. He sees himself as the composer of his work, writing a score to which others – curators, technicians, viewers – bring their own interpretations. Music is an art form that makesitself as you listen to it, and this is important for Creed – there is often the sense that his work is making itself in front of you rather than letting you in on the tail end of a process mostly achieved in the studio. Work No. 1059, though architecturally a complex piece of stone work and engineeringthat took two years to plan and achieve, is an artwork that is made and remade every time a viewer walks up or down it. Martin Creed Work No. 1059, 2011
Commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery
Supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund for the Edinburgh Art Festival, Bloomberg, The Hope Scott Trust and the following generous individuals: Elizabeth Cowling, Sophie Crichton Stuart, Alistair and Susan Duff, Werner Keschner and Catherine Muirden, Jaap van Liere, George and Jacqui Morris, Barry Rosen in memory of Bruce Lentini and Dorothy Rosen, Robert and Nicky Wilson, Iwan and Manuela Wirth, The Zachs-Adam Family
And The Fruitmarket Gallery Board of Directors
Work No. 1059 was commissioned by The Fruitmarket Gallery as part of a refurbishment of the Scotsman Steps by the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust.
06/07/2016
We are hugely thankful to the lovely Art Scrubbers who cleaned some of our lovely steps. This intrepid duo have offered to clean all of the steps. Maybe some of you would like to help them?
Please be assured that they completed their assignment adhering to the following guidelines:
The marble was first swept to remove strong pigments, leafy greens, discarded newspapers, empty cans of lager, etc.
Vigorous scrubbing was kept to a minimum to avoid scratching the marble.
Where insects were encountered these were gently removed from the steps to a place where they could carry on with their lives.
In the case of stubborn stains, a poultice was applied using baking soda and water mixed to a thick paste.
While the poultice did its work, Creative Scotland was prayed to for funding.
Warning cones and hazard tape were used so that members of the public were not endangered by our operations.
Pools of water were not left on the marble as this could have ended up leaving a stain.
The marble was buffed to a shine with a chamois.
Members of the public addressing remarks to Kate Clayton and Gerry O'Brien, both of whom had been briefed about your work in general and Work no. 1059 in particular, were respectfully and cheerfully engaged with.
Dirty water was responsibly recycled.
Thanks guys, you're legends and we are happy to promote the great work of the Art Scrubbers. On behalf of public art everywhere we salute you!
Jonathan Jones in The Guardian on Martin Creed mentions the Scotsman Steps: I find his permanent installation of a coloured marble staircase in Edinburgh's Scotsman Steps a generous, modest masterpiece of contemporary public art.
Martin Creed Work No. 1059, has been shortlisted for another award, this time it is the The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland inaugural awards. See the 23 strong shortlist here. Winner announced on 20 June.
RIAS Announces Strong Scottish Shortlist for Inaugural RIAS Awards : RIAS
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) has announced a 23 strong shortlist for the inaugural RIAS Awards. The judging panel for this year included RIAS President Sholto Humphries, Dr Anne Lorne Gillies, Scottish singer, songwriter, broadcaster, author and academic, Robert Dye of Ro...
Another highlight of the year from Jonathan Jones in The Guardian - "a daring piece of public art"
The best shows, the biggest news – the year in art
From Ai Weiwei to Urs Fischer, Jonathan Jones looks back at 2011's biggest art world stories, and sets out essential dates for your 2012 diary in our Art Weekly annual roundup
The highlight of 2011 - "It’s been a triumphant year of spectacular museum openings and refurbishments, from Glasgow’s Riverside Museum to the Royal Museum and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. But to my mind there’s one much smaller piece of restoration that stands as a brilliant example of contemporary art and historic heritage hand in hand. Scottish artist Martin Creed’s cladding of the Scotsman Steps in coloured marble was fun, beautiful, utilitarian and unobtrusive: a piece of poetry where once there was only p**s and poverty." Thanks Moira, we love them too.
Review: 2011 Highlights - Scotland - Scotsman.com
FROM stepping out in style courtesy of Martin Creed’s rejuvenated Scotsman Steps to being bathed by a stranger, our writers reveal their personal cultural highlights of 2011
04/12/2011
Going between old and new towns? Stay out of the rain and snow (!) whilst enjoying the work of Martin Creed!
22/11/2011
Detours: Josie Long at Fruitmarket / The Scotsman Steps
On 16 August, Josie performed her second Detour against the backdrop of Ingrid Calame's intricate tracings at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Here she is responding in her own inimitable way to Ingrid's work. Josie is here seen taking a stroll up Martin Creed's...
20/11/2011
Out and about in Edinburgh today? Don't forget you can avoid the Fleshmarket Close rammy, North Bridge crush & Cockburn St mobs, and take a jaunt down or up Work No. 1059! Stop by The Fruitmarket Gallery too if you have time! Open 12-5pm
06/07/2016
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22/11/2011