He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.Īlthough Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Details: 0131-220 1260.Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

The power dwindles as you realise that to join in the wrecking would mean certain eviction, but for one mad, magic moment, this is definitely worth a look.Įlisabeth Mahoney Till 25 September. Like Lovecraft's tales, or any good spooky film, the effect of Nelson's work relies on a hefty suspension of disbelief: an artist has simply smashed up a space, but it's fun to let your imagination run away with you. Just as any domestic setting contains family memories, the walls of the Collective reveal, through gouging and scratches, traces of former artworks. Windows to the street have been screened off, allowing privacy and dereliction to collide.

There is a powerful domestic atmosphere, too: you enter the space, two living room-sized rooms, through a small door. It has the revolutionary vibe of blowing up the institution, destroying the Establishment, ruining the white cube of the gallery. Once you know that this is a precursor to what the builders will be doing, the magic diminishes somewhat - but it's the first encounter that matters. And yet it makes perfect sense, with the gallery about to close for major redevelopment.

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