Bobby Johnstone
Stramash, 2022
etching
52 x 72 cm
20 1/2 x 28 3/8 in
20 1/2 x 28 3/8 in
edition of 20
Courtesy of Glasgow Print Studio - Please note, this work is owned and printed by the artist. Such works may occasionally be unavailable at the time of purchase or enquiry.
This print was created in conjunction with the Glasgow Print Studio 50th Anniversary Here & Now Legacy Project. 'I thought it would be a good idea to try and engage...
This print was created in conjunction with the Glasgow Print Studio 50th Anniversary Here & Now Legacy Project. "I thought it would be a good idea to try and engage the Glasgow public with something that is so identifiable with the city. Having said that, I am sure there will be some who will be disengaged with the subject matter and have no affinity with it. For all its questionable status, there is no denying the passionate significance that a Celtic v Rangers football match, between two opposing cultural sides, has on the Glasgow psyche. And like many matches between city rivals, it is one which is recognised throughout the world."
"As a youngster growing up, football was the universal sport which excited us, and being the son of an Irish mother, and having strong family connections to Celtic football club, the spiritual bond was there from the beginning. I grew up alongside many friends who were Rangers supporters, and our rivalry was always of a temporary nature. The title of this work “Stramash”, was associated with the sports presenter Arthur Montford, who used it in many of his football commentaries to express bizarre football goalmouth incidents; this word has connotations with a shambles, confusion, chaos, disarray etc. I deliberately avoided using any colour. This was to reflect the game as I first experienced it on television, in pure black and white form; I feel that this helps retain a drama, which sometimes colour can negate."
Bobby Johnstone was born in Glasgow. From 1977 to 1981, he studied Fine Art (Painting) and trained at the Central School of Art and Design, and Goldsmiths’ College, London. Primarily figurative, his work has no thematic parameters, preferring to react and interpret situations and events that have occurred in his own lifetime, through personal experience, and also the unavoidable influence of film, television and the written word.
The Glasgow Print Studio has served him the opportunity to rediscover and explore his love for printmaking. It was his retirement from a full-time occupation of teaching, that enabled him to shift focus and rediscover himself as a printmaker, and to follow new aspirations.
The Glasgow Print Studio has proved to be a valuable source of inspiration, as it has given him a place to work, provided a variety printing presses and equipment, allied with the company of many diverse artists working in various formats, that serves to nurture his own skills and educate him. This is of enormous benefit to him, just being able to discuss and share their artistic journey and to commune with good humour.
"As a youngster growing up, football was the universal sport which excited us, and being the son of an Irish mother, and having strong family connections to Celtic football club, the spiritual bond was there from the beginning. I grew up alongside many friends who were Rangers supporters, and our rivalry was always of a temporary nature. The title of this work “Stramash”, was associated with the sports presenter Arthur Montford, who used it in many of his football commentaries to express bizarre football goalmouth incidents; this word has connotations with a shambles, confusion, chaos, disarray etc. I deliberately avoided using any colour. This was to reflect the game as I first experienced it on television, in pure black and white form; I feel that this helps retain a drama, which sometimes colour can negate."
Bobby Johnstone was born in Glasgow. From 1977 to 1981, he studied Fine Art (Painting) and trained at the Central School of Art and Design, and Goldsmiths’ College, London. Primarily figurative, his work has no thematic parameters, preferring to react and interpret situations and events that have occurred in his own lifetime, through personal experience, and also the unavoidable influence of film, television and the written word.
The Glasgow Print Studio has served him the opportunity to rediscover and explore his love for printmaking. It was his retirement from a full-time occupation of teaching, that enabled him to shift focus and rediscover himself as a printmaker, and to follow new aspirations.
The Glasgow Print Studio has proved to be a valuable source of inspiration, as it has given him a place to work, provided a variety printing presses and equipment, allied with the company of many diverse artists working in various formats, that serves to nurture his own skills and educate him. This is of enormous benefit to him, just being able to discuss and share their artistic journey and to commune with good humour.
