The International Style of Dame Muriel Spark, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
This enchanting show unwraps the many layers of the author’s colourful life and prolific writing career, says Alison Parfitt
The grand hallway of the National Library of Scotland is now a striking pink, dotted with bold graphics of suitcases, jet planes and handbags, all inviting us to explore the International Style of Muriel Spark, the Scottish novelist, short story writer and poet who died in 2006. There are large billboards and neon lighting throughout the hall, and a huge photo of a smiling Spark, whose literary output lasted 70 years, surveys the scene from the stairs.
The show is part of Muriel Spark 100, a year-long programme of events to celebrate the centenary of the author’s birth, jointly organised by the National Library of Scotland and Creative Scotland. The exhibition curator, Colin McIlroy, has confidently catapulted Spark into contemporary culture with a punchy portrayal of this leading literary figure of the 20th century.
There are plenty of ways for visitors to engage with the exhibition – archive material, graphics, objects, film and touchscreen media all entertain and inform. The show is set around a series of displays, each presenting a place that Spark called home. Visitors see objects connected to Rome, Tuscany, London, New York and Edinburgh past, each a capsule of the writer’s creative output.
High drapes and lighting have transformed the tall gallery that houses the show into something more akin to a series of small theatres, each portraying Spark’s time in a different place. Suspending disbelief, I embarked on a journey through her past.
With its bright colours and a wealth of classic book covers plastering the walls, the exhibition design is striking. If the range of colours makes it seem like a candy-coated collection, there is no saccharine sweetness in the text. Typographers and mid-century graphic design enthusiasts will be tickled by the outsized book covers, which emphasise Spark’s output with gusto. Traditional black and white archive images are used in display backdrops, which are lifted by information laid over them.
A life in writing
The exhibition follows the themes of struggle, success, acclaim and stardom that were threaded throughout Spark’s life. Spotlit objects sit alongside multiple documents, each with a story that illuminates an element of the author’s life and writing. Her well-documented hoarding tendencies ensure there is no shortage of personal effects and ephemera in the archive, providing balance to what is an understandably text-heavy exhibition. The archive holds letters from royals, dignitaries, presidents, movie stars, literary peers, prime ministers and artists, offering a glimpse of her later life, far from her early days in Edinburgh. The author is present in the form of her favourite garments, which are displayed without fuss.
A small address book teases out the formidable contacts she fostered. There are envelopes featuring words crossed out and forwarding requests, signs of moves and changes. It reminded me of the efficiency of 20th-century communications as telegrams leap from the past to our disjointed digital present. Original manuscripts show the flow and steadiness of Spark’s handwriting and reflect her literary style: sparse and well paced, with each word carefully chosen and in the proper place. She had a particular taste for notebooks and a penchant for pens, which she would not use if they became sullied by another hand.
Exciting curation
A writing desk holds cards for feedback and I was invited to consider what had surprised me. I was surprised to learn that Spark checked into a private hospital to avoid distractions when she had work to finish. She chased life in all its forms, exploring cities and cultures, compressing and distilling stories from around the globe.
The writer was an acute observer of people and at the centre of multiple publishing and party scenes. But all the while she maintained her prolific output.
This exhibition feels like a high-end box of confectionary, with its candy-bright colours and rich descriptions, and I found it hard to shake the sense of gorging and excess. Yet the show does not shy away from Spark’s health and lifestyle challenges, including her struggles with diet pills.
How long do you need to spend at the show? That depends on your taste and appetite. I’d recommend moderation. There is a lot to see, but the library has an excellent cafe and cloakroom facilities, a well-stocked shop and a sense of welcome that means you could stay all day. It would be a treat to do so at this exhibition.
I left with a sense of having been challenged, with memories of stories that resonate personally and having been impressed by a curatorial approach that reflects the strong and familiar form of Spark’s writing.
Alison Parfitt is a curator, collections engagement, at High Life Highland
Main funder National Library of Scotland
Exhibition design Studio SP
Graphics Mackinnon Slater
Lighting design Lex Burnhams
Display cases Click Netherfield
Fitout Old School Fabrications
Graphics Mackinnon Slater
Multimedia Pixel Stag
Exhibition ends 13 May
The show is part of Muriel Spark 100, a year-long programme of events to celebrate the centenary of the author’s birth, jointly organised by the National Library of Scotland and Creative Scotland. The exhibition curator, Colin McIlroy, has confidently catapulted Spark into contemporary culture with a punchy portrayal of this leading literary figure of the 20th century.
There are plenty of ways for visitors to engage with the exhibition – archive material, graphics, objects, film and touchscreen media all entertain and inform. The show is set around a series of displays, each presenting a place that Spark called home. Visitors see objects connected to Rome, Tuscany, London, New York and Edinburgh past, each a capsule of the writer’s creative output.
High drapes and lighting have transformed the tall gallery that houses the show into something more akin to a series of small theatres, each portraying Spark’s time in a different place. Suspending disbelief, I embarked on a journey through her past.
With its bright colours and a wealth of classic book covers plastering the walls, the exhibition design is striking. If the range of colours makes it seem like a candy-coated collection, there is no saccharine sweetness in the text. Typographers and mid-century graphic design enthusiasts will be tickled by the outsized book covers, which emphasise Spark’s output with gusto. Traditional black and white archive images are used in display backdrops, which are lifted by information laid over them.
A life in writing
The exhibition follows the themes of struggle, success, acclaim and stardom that were threaded throughout Spark’s life. Spotlit objects sit alongside multiple documents, each with a story that illuminates an element of the author’s life and writing. Her well-documented hoarding tendencies ensure there is no shortage of personal effects and ephemera in the archive, providing balance to what is an understandably text-heavy exhibition. The archive holds letters from royals, dignitaries, presidents, movie stars, literary peers, prime ministers and artists, offering a glimpse of her later life, far from her early days in Edinburgh. The author is present in the form of her favourite garments, which are displayed without fuss.
A small address book teases out the formidable contacts she fostered. There are envelopes featuring words crossed out and forwarding requests, signs of moves and changes. It reminded me of the efficiency of 20th-century communications as telegrams leap from the past to our disjointed digital present. Original manuscripts show the flow and steadiness of Spark’s handwriting and reflect her literary style: sparse and well paced, with each word carefully chosen and in the proper place. She had a particular taste for notebooks and a penchant for pens, which she would not use if they became sullied by another hand.
Exciting curation
A writing desk holds cards for feedback and I was invited to consider what had surprised me. I was surprised to learn that Spark checked into a private hospital to avoid distractions when she had work to finish. She chased life in all its forms, exploring cities and cultures, compressing and distilling stories from around the globe.
The writer was an acute observer of people and at the centre of multiple publishing and party scenes. But all the while she maintained her prolific output.
This exhibition feels like a high-end box of confectionary, with its candy-bright colours and rich descriptions, and I found it hard to shake the sense of gorging and excess. Yet the show does not shy away from Spark’s health and lifestyle challenges, including her struggles with diet pills.
How long do you need to spend at the show? That depends on your taste and appetite. I’d recommend moderation. There is a lot to see, but the library has an excellent cafe and cloakroom facilities, a well-stocked shop and a sense of welcome that means you could stay all day. It would be a treat to do so at this exhibition.
I left with a sense of having been challenged, with memories of stories that resonate personally and having been impressed by a curatorial approach that reflects the strong and familiar form of Spark’s writing.
Alison Parfitt is a curator, collections engagement, at High Life Highland
Project data
Cost £44,500 Main funder National Library of Scotland
Exhibition design Studio SP
Graphics Mackinnon Slater
Lighting design Lex Burnhams
Display cases Click Netherfield
Fitout Old School Fabrications
Graphics Mackinnon Slater
Multimedia Pixel Stag
Exhibition ends 13 May