The Moving and the Static Radical: Re-imaginings in the Works of Daniel Reeves and Helen MacAlister

This chapter examines a number of oppositional voices from the Highlands of Scotland and the way that hybrid art forms including word-image collaborations and instances of genre contestant discontinuities can question and resist outworn clichés, commodification and commercial hegemonic promotional stereotypes. Fredric Jameson introduces the discussion detailing the essential features of a culture of resistance. Not all of the artists under consideration belong to the Highlands: the essay includes analysis of the work of Daniel Reeves from the United States, Helen MacAlister from Edinburgh and Calum Colvin from Glasgow as well as Highland-born artists like Charles Avery, but they have all been moved to create works of remarkable originality through their relationship with the Highlands. In the experimental film work of Reeves, we are confronted by the effect of the Highland coastal environment on his creative development as he dramatically projects a small world metaphor onto the landscape to stunning and original impact. In contrast to these moving images of Reeves, MacAlister’s insistently static word-image pieces represent a determination to restore the forgotten voices of the subjugated. She searches for signs, superstitions, sayings which penetrate to another, almost forgotten Scottish Gaelic culture. Other artists – especially Colvin and Avery – imagine counter-worlds that provide penetrating satirical lenses on contemporary Highland society.