- Murray Grigor
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Murray Grigor Born 1939
Inverness, ScotlandOccupation Film maker Years active 1967–present Spouse Barbara Grigor (1968–1994) Murray Grigor (born 1939) is a Scottish film maker, writer and exhibition curator. He has made over 50 films with a focus on arts and architecture documentaries.
Contents
Early life
Grigor was born in 1939 in Inverness, and graduated from St. Andrews University. He started his career at the BBC which he left in 1967 to become director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.[1] He married, in 1968, Barbara Grigor, neé Sternschein, a film maker and exhibition curator, with whom he had two daughters, Sarah, b 1970 and Phoebe, b 1972[2]
Career
Grigor made first film, the documentary Mackintosh, in 1968, about the then neglected Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. With photography by Eddie McConnell and Oscar Marzaroli, a haunting score by Frank Spedding and Bill Forsyth as editor. The film won five international awards and together with the Edinburgh Festival touring exhibition, curated by Andrew McLaren Young, did much to re-establish the reputation of the now renowned architect.
During the 1970s, Grigor wrote and directed several sponsored documentaries for Films of Scotland, most notably "Travelpass" with John Bett and Alex Norton, "Suilven Spring" with Bill Patterson and "Clydescope" on the tourist attractions around the River Clyde with Billy Connolly and innovative animations devised by his friend the artist John Byrne and brought to the screen by Donald Holwill. Connolly's original songs were augmented by the 'compleat musician' Ron Geesin and the great Irish actor Micheal Mac Liammoir read the picaresque send-up narration. This production with his partner Patrick Higson and the cameraman David Peat was such a fun experience that Grigor persuaded Billy Connolly to put up the money for a weekend foray to Ireland which resulted in "Big Banana Feet', inspired by "Don't Look Back - D.A. Pennebaker's film of Bob Dylan's UK tour.
Already during the 1970s, Grigor made arts and architecture as a focus of his filmmaking. He has made documentaries about many renowned American, British and Italian architects, including Robert Adam, John Lautner, Carlo Scarpa, Sir John Soane, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, Alexander "Greek" Thomson, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Grigor's documentaries on artists include "BLAST" on the Vorticists, 'E.P. Sculptor" on Eduardo Paolozzi in association with the Edinburgh Festival 1984 exhibition initiated by Barabra Grigor. "The Why?sman" brought together George Wyllie's play, "Day Down a Goldmine" with Bill Patterson and freely explored Glasgow's most popular artist, the creator of the much loved 'Straw Locomotive', and the "Paper Boat" - great public art inspired by his friend Joseph Beuys.
Grigor also worked on, and curated, art exhibitions. In 1976, for the opening exhibition of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, titled Man TransForms. For this Grigor was invited by the Austrian architect and designer Hans Hollein to direct film loops on aspects of design. He was awarded a US/UK Bicentennial Fellowship to research and write a feature length documentary film on Frank Lloyd Wright, which he finally made with David Peat as cameraman in 1981, with the architect's granddaughter providing the narration. "The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" received many awards including a 'Citation by the American Institute of Architects,' the first ever to have been awarded to a film-maker. In 1981, Murray Grigor, together with his wife Barbara, curated the provocative touring exhibition Scotch Myths questioning a Scotland portrayed by kitsch and stereotypes of fatigued romanticism. A documentary about this exhibition followed in 1982 for the opening of Channel 4, a British television channel. In 2008, Grigor produced seven film loops for the exhibition Between Earth and Heaven about the architecture of John Lautner, which coincided with the premiere of his documentary Infinite Space on the same subject.
Since the 1980s, Grigor widened his film focus to cover more international, and particularly American subjects, such as the 1986 landmark 8 part series Pride of Place with Robert A. M Stern for the American television channel PBS. In 1997, he directed the PBS series "The Face of Russia" with James Billington, the Librarian of Congress. "Contemporary Days" on the iBritish designers Robin and Lucienne Day for Design Onscreen of Denver Colorado, was premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival in February 2011.
Grigor also worked as film producer and writer. Together with his wife, he founded, in 1981, the film company Viz Ltd based in Inverkeiting, Scotland.[2][3] Grigor has also written screenplays for some of his films, and exhibition catalogues to accompany some of his exhibitions. He was co-author of "The Architects' Architect on.C.R Mackintosh with Richard Murphy and 'Sean Connery - Being a Scot" with Sir Sean Connery, published in 2008 and which is now published in 7 languages. .[4]
Appointments and awards
Grigor was director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival from 1967 to 1972, and its chairman from 1985 to 1990. He was director of Channel 4, a British TV channel, from 1995 to 1999. He was appointed, in 2007, as a member of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission.[5]
Grigor is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was the first film maker to be made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and the Royal Institute of British Architects. Grigor is Visiting Professor of Film Studies at the Anglia Ruskin University, from which he received, in 2010, an Honorary Doctor of Arts.[6]
Grigor was the first recipient of the Royal Television Society Reith Award. He has received a Citation of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects for his film Portrait of an Artist: the Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. His film E. P. Sculptor on the artist Eduardo Paolozzi won the Rodin Prize at the 1992 Paris Biennale. The film Nineveh on the Clyde on the architecture of Glasgow architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson won awards at Montréal and from Europa Nostra at Toblach, Italy.
Filmography
Grigor has directed the following films.[7][8][9]
Year Title Summary n.d. A sport for all seasons Film on sports in Scotland 1968 Mackintosh Documentary about 20th century Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1970 Fettes Documentary about activities and events at Fettes College, Edinburgh, including a visit by HM The Queen Mother 1972 GR Stein Refractories Documentary about the production, and uses, of refractory bricks 1972 Space and light Documentary about the newly built St. Peter's Seminary, Cardross, by Scottish architects firm Gillespie, Kidd and Coia 1973 Travelpass: it's just the ticket Promotional film for the Highland Board's "Rover" ticket 1974 Clydescope Documentary about the river Clyde, from Biggar to Brodick, with Scottish comedian Billy Connolly as guide 1974 Suilven spring Documentary about the Northwest of Scotland seen through the eyes of a young couple taking a Spring break 1975 Raised from stone Documentary about Scottish architectural styles 1975 The hand of Adam Documentary about 18th century Scottish architect Robert Adam 1975 Prospect of Scotland Documentary about Scottish industries in context with the country's history and tradition 1975 Steel upon the sward Documentary about works of the three sculptors Gerald Laing, Gavin Scobie and Andrew Mylius 1977 Cumbernauld hit A James-Bond type fiction film playing in the new town of Cumbernauld, and sponsored by the Cumbernauld Development Corporation; the film is an original take on the "promotional" films produced for Scotland's new towns during the 1970s. 1982 Scotch myths Documentary questening a Scotland portrayed by kitsch and stereotypes of fatigued romanticism; Murray Grigor produced this film together with his wife, Barbara Grigor, for the opening of Channel 4. 1982 Sean Connery's Edinburgh Documentary about Edinburgh presented by Scottish actor Sean Connery 1983 (Portrait of an artist:) The architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Documentary about 19th/20th century American architect Frank Lloyd Wright featuring the architect's granddaughter, the actress Anne Baxter 1984 Pride of place TV series documentary about American architecture 1987 Wyllie - Straw Loco Unedited film footage of the art installation "Straw Locomotive" by artist George Wyllie which signified the decline of heavy industry on the banks of the river Clyde 1988 Henry Moore and landscape TV documentary about 20th century English sculptor Henry Moore 1992 E. P. sculptor Documentary about, and with, 20th century Scottish sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi 1995 The architecture of Carlo Scarpa Documentary about 20th century Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, presented by Scottish architect Richard Murphy 1995 In search of clarity: The architecture of Gwathmey Siegel Documentary about 20th century American architects firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects 1998 The face of Russia TV mini-series 1999 Niniveh on the Clyde: the architecture of Alexander "Greek" Thomson Documentary about 19th century Scottish architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson 2003 Is mise an teanga (I am the tongue) Documentary about the Scottish language Gaelic and its contemporary poets 2005 Maggie's Centres Documentary about Maggie's Centres, cancer care centres in Britain, inspired by Maggie Keswick Jencks and built by celebrated architects 2005 Sir John Soane: an English architect, an American legacy Documentary about 18th century English architect Sir John Soane and his influence on 20th century American architects 2008 Infinite space: the architecture of John Lautner Documentary about 20th century American architect John Lautner 2008 Shattering boundaries: Grace Hartigan Documentary about 20th century American painter Grace Hartigan 2010 Space and light revisited Documentary about the now ruined St. Peter's Seminary, Cardross, which was already subject of a documentary by Grigor in 1972 Exhibitions
Grigor has curated, or contributed to, the following exhibitions.[10]
Year Title Place Notes 1981 Scotch myths: an exploration of scotchness Crawford Centre, University of St. Andrews, and Edinburgh International Festival about a Scotland portrayed by kitsch and stereotypes of fatigued romanticism; Murray Grigor curated this exhibition together with his wife Barbara; the Grigors also produced an exhibition catalogue, and film documentary on this subject under the same title. 1990 Scotland creates: 5000 years of art & design McLellan Galleries, Glasgow 1991 Seeds of change: a view of Scottish inventiveness Royal Museum of Scotland / National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh 1993 The Sixties Barbican Art Gallery, London References
- ^ [1] Biography for Murray Grigor on the website of the Anglia Ruskin University
- ^ a b [2] Obituary for Barbara Grigor in The Independent, 19 Oct 1994
- ^ [3] Entry for Viz Ltd. at the Companies House, the United Kingdom Registrar of Companies
- ^ [4] Event announcement for the book Being a Scot at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2011
- ^ [5] Biography of Murray Grigor on the website of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission
- ^ [6] Citation for Murray Grigor on the website of the Anglia Ruskin University
- ^ [7] Entries for Murray Grigor in the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- ^ [8] Entries for Murray Grigor in the online catalogue of the National Library for Scotland
- ^ [9] Entries for Murray Grigor at the online catalogue in the Scottish Screen Archive, National Library for Scotland
- ^ [10] Biography of Grigor on the website of www.heritageandidentity.co.uk
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Scottish documentary filmmakers
- Scottish film directors
- 1939 births
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