The MacIntyre Theory of Art – Ian MacIntyre

The MacIntyre Theory of Art is a greatly anticipated large exhibition of Ian MacIntyre’s highly original paintings and prints at Wasps’ Patriothall Gallery in Stockbridge, Edinburgh for one week only from 12 of July. Please join the artist and guests at the gallery over the first two evenings (12 & 13 July) of the show’s run at 7pm for a fifteen-minute cantata, specially composed for the occasion by Max – the artist’s son – in which four singers and a pianist will perform in the main gallery. The words of the cantata ingeniously summarise the controversial theme of this show; an essay by the artist called, ‘Ian MacIntyre’s Theory of Art, revealed in a brief conversation.

Set in the very near future, Mickey, an old art-school friend, recognises Ian’s voice on the radio discussing the exhibition and arranges to meet him. Walking around the Edinburgh streets, they entertainingly recap on their own experiences of art but also the history of art itself. Mickey is puzzled by the current situation which he finds ‘confused and contradictory,’ and asks Ian, whom he says, ‘always had that mad-art stare,’ if he can make sense of it, ‘What’s good and what’s bad…. Do you know Ian?’ he asks.

The exhibition, with MacIntyre’s own ‘own style’, the highly original cantata composition and performance are a tour de force. The essay itself is incredible, eye-opening, radical, uncompromising, hard-hitting and certainly controversial. It sees beyond wealth and fame to analyse just what great art really is. The essay predicts that this exhibition will come to be known simply as ‘The MacIntyre Show’ – it could be right.