"We glorify war as the sole hygiene....." Marinetti, Futurist manifesto.
The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow may be modest about its programme; all the more surprising then that one of the largest recent gatherings in the building has gone without mention in its October publicity. A seminar organised by Scottish Enterprise and the Ministry of Defence on Thursday 3rd October featured Anthony Ingram MP ( Minister of State for the Armed Forces), representatives from Nobel Industries, The Defence Export Services Organisation, Defence Supply Service, and representatives from the Glasgow Universities, mingling with Glasgows' would-be body bag suppliers and weapons makers. The Defence Diversification Agency exists to diffuse the expertise from Britains' defence laboratories into industry, and vice versa.
A session on "the inventor and the MOD" featured exemplary tales such as that of the man who invented a new hygienic non-piercing syringe, now used for mass innoculation procedures in the US and UK armies. Unfortunately the "percent for art" formula was not applied to this gathering; artists use of the building was strictly confined to the margins of CCA6 where Bill Drummonds' journey from Southampton to Dounreay traced oddly parallel lines of state structure.
When the CCA re-opened, many of us felt a bit puzzled: there seemed to be little extra functional space, and a corporate style atrium cafe which squeezed artists out. Even more startling was the news that this mismatch of environment to its expected uses was up for major architectural prizes.
Now it's clear that these reservations were due to our complete misunderstanding of the purpose of Lottery Revamps on arts structures. The hermetically sealed CCA5 makes a secure and confidential venue for any number of military-industrial encounters. Assorted nooks and spaces make for quiet discussion zones, and excellent service from the cafe sweetens each deal.
It's good to see the CCA devoting its soul to the necessary expenditure on future mayhem. But why leave artists out? If British Airways can commission a series of ethnic tailfins, think what contemporary artists could do with an F16. Defoliants have huge possibilities in Land Art. And a chic desert camouflage motif on the CCA cafe cups will convey an ideal zeitgeist punch this autumn. Why shouldn't artists get their hands on the incredible beauty latent in the apocalypses of tomorrow? Let's show we mean business when we talk about social inclusion!
remember...
YOU CAN"T HAVE McDONALDS WITHOUT McDONNELL DOUGLAS.