The Glasgow School of Art

John Smith
'Lecture and Screening' watch video

Over the past three decades John Smith has developed a body of work that deftly subverts the perceived boundaries between truth and fiction. Drawing on the raw material of everyday life, his meticulously crafted  films rework and transform reality, playfully exploring and exposing the power of cinematic language.

The lecture includes excerpts from the following films;

Om, 4 min, 1986
Gargantuan, 1 min, 1992
The Girl Chewing Gum, 12 min, 1976
Blight, 14 min, 1996
Worst Case Scenario, 18 min, 2001-3 
Pyramids/Skunk, 16 min, 2006/7

John Smith's film, video and installation works have been shown in cinemas, art galleries and on television around the world and awarded major prizes at many international film festivals. Recent exhibitions include one-person shows at Peer Gallery (London), Uppsala Art Museum (Sweden), Pallas Projects (Dublin), Royal College of Art Galleries (London), Tanya Leighton Gallery (Berlin), Sala Diaz Gallery (Texas), Ikon Gallery (Birmingham) and Kunstmuseum Magdeburg (Germany). Major group shows include 'Has The Film Already Started?', Tate Britain (2011-12), Berlin Biennial (2010), 'The Talent Show', Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and MoMA PS1, New York (2010), Venice Biennale (2007), 'A Century of Artists' Film in Britain', Tate Britain (2004), 'Live in Your Head: Concept and Experiment in Britain 1965-75', Whitechapel Gallery, London (2000) and 'The British Art Show', UK touring exhibition (1984). John Smith's work has been profiled through retrospectives at film festivals in Oberhausen, Cork, Tampere, Uppsala, Bristol, Regensburg and La Rochelle.

Hosted by The School of Fine Art, The Friday Event Lecture Series is The Glasgow School of Art's flagship public lecture series, and brings major international speakers (including artists, architects, designers, historians and cultural theorists) to the city of Glasgow.