Alan Currall
Encyclopedia
Alan Currall is a Scottish
artist.
Currall was born in Stoke-on-Trent
, Staffordshire
, England, and grew up in Staffordshire and Ayrshire
, Scotland
. Currall studied at the Glasgow School of Art
and since 2003 has been based in Glasgow
.
Much of Currall's work is video
-based, shot cheaply with a tripod-mounted camera, and features Currall himself. Message to My Best Friend is Currall apparently praising his best friend to the skies ("You've got a great record collection. The way you dress is cool but funky."). Other video works have seen him asking his parents for their advice on how best to survive such disasters as a shipwreck, a plane crash and nuclear war
, and reading his own will out loud.
In 2000, Currall produced Encyclopaedia with the support of the film and video umbrella. Encyclopaedia is a CD-ROM
encyclopaedia
with video clips by 'non-experts' who have influenced the artist in some way, such as his friends and family.
In 1998, Currall won the Richard Hough Bursary.
In 2003, Currall was shortlisted for the Beck's Futures
prize.
In 2004, Currall was one of five selected artists for the Jerwood Artists Platform.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
artist.
Currall was born in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England, and grew up in Staffordshire and Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Currall studied at the Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
and since 2003 has been based in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
Much of Currall's work is video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
-based, shot cheaply with a tripod-mounted camera, and features Currall himself. Message to My Best Friend is Currall apparently praising his best friend to the skies ("You've got a great record collection. The way you dress is cool but funky."). Other video works have seen him asking his parents for their advice on how best to survive such disasters as a shipwreck, a plane crash and nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, and reading his own will out loud.
In 2000, Currall produced Encyclopaedia with the support of the film and video umbrella. Encyclopaedia is a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
encyclopaedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
with video clips by 'non-experts' who have influenced the artist in some way, such as his friends and family.
In 1998, Currall won the Richard Hough Bursary.
In 2003, Currall was shortlisted for the Beck's Futures
Beck's Futures
Beck's Futures was a British art prize founded by London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and sponsored by Beck's beer given to contemporary artists....
prize.
In 2004, Currall was one of five selected artists for the Jerwood Artists Platform.