Livi Modern

Vettese, Sam; Devison, Nicholas

Abstract

Livi Modern is a multimedia exhibition by four artists, Nicholas Devison, Dawn McDowell, Simon Montgomery and Sam Vettese, who have created artwork inspired by their shared interest in the surviving modernism of Livingston’s new town. In the early 1960s, the planning of a completely new town in the Almond Valley, strategically located between Edinburgh and Glasgow, quickly became a reality according to the idealistic vision of its planners and architects.
The result was the creation of modern Radburn-planned neighbourhoods, Brutalist community buildings, concrete play areas, and shopping malls which were all connected as a network of small settlements in a vast parkland landscape. Over 50 years since its founding in 1962, Livingston’s modern identity has been diffused.
Yet, it still expresses a sense of place, despite all the contradictions of today’s real life cannibalizing of its modernist past. What remains of Scotland’s fourth new town has been captured and transformed by each artist’s interpretation of its Brutalist
buildings and spaces.

Citation

Vettese, S., & Devison, N. Livi Modern. [artefacts]. Exhibited at St Andrew's Church, Livingston. 15 June 2019 - 15 June 2019. (Unpublished)

• Exhibition Performance Type: Exhibition
• Start Date: Jun 15, 2019
• End Date: Jun 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 25, 2020
• Keywords: Livingston; new town; art; urban architecture; Scotland
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2588082
• Related Public URLs: http://architecturefringe.com/livi-modern