If you're used to big empty spaces with a few scattered oils and a single incomprehensible sculpture called Problem Solving Part III or some such then the CIS Manchester Gallery comes as a shock.
With its ten themes, this is the car boot sale of galleries packed into a small area, the mirror of the on-site restaurant.
It begins well enough with 'Changing Views' and a personal favourite from John Harris in 1734, an engraving of the 'South west prospect of Manchester and Salford'. This shows the dreamy pre-industrial town, with orchards and market gardens off Deansgate and contrasts nicely with Lesley Young's 'Azar and Regina Waiting on the 10th Floor, Ancoats No 1' from 1987/8. It's never been easy for immigrants and these two young women sat in front of a view of Ancoats in manic post-industrial decline, underscores a sense of cold alienation the expanded city can all too easily provide.
The next theme is 'Attitude' which goes to the heart of Manchester and relates to the aforementioned work. The city has always had inbuilt tensions which have made it mouthy, bolshy and progressive and it's good to see an 'official' commemoration of this quality with a diverse mix of materials commemorating the Peterloo Massacre, the Anti-Corn Law League and the Pankhursts. These and others are placed incongruously but appropriately next to pop culture artefacts such as The Happy Mondays' 'Madchester Rave On' EP.
Ship canal
Nearby 'Pride' displays works such as a silverplated model of the Town Hall and an heroic sculpture of a Manchester Ship Canal navvy. By this time, on my visit, though, it was clear much of what was here would be better placed in a museum.
For instance, the industry which established Manchester in fame and notoriety, cotton, has been, as it should, given it's own space but it is pathetically small. In fact the art throughout, which is seldom of high standard, seems to support the artefacts rather than the other way round. This is one point of confusion.
It also becomes apparent how few real artists, up until recently, thought Manchester a suitable subject at all. A pursuit of romantic idyll or fable of medieval chivalry was more typical. But then fine art has always meandered up cul-de-sacs. In the 19th century this resulted in popularist and maudlin escapism, latterly it's given us obscure in-jokes for a limited and usually thick bunch of art snobs.
Out of this came the second point of confusion: reconciling the irreconcilable. Most of the audience in the gallery was elderly and seemed to favour escapism rather than in-jokes. 'Atmosphere' the most modern in mood of the themes graphically underlined the problem.
In 'One Foul Swoop' Adele Myers has projected live images from city centre CCTV onto the floor. This was very entertaining for the two old ladies and yours truly who sat down to watch as the different streets flickered by.
It was only on reading the accompanying text did it become clear that this was no harmless portrait of Manchester life but an expose of sinister surveillance systems, supported by a recording of squawking birds of prey. Myers is clearly trying to say that the cameras are like eagles waiting to swoop down in an indiscriminate way on criminal and innocent alike:
Out of place
Big Brother is watching you. This clever-and-ironic art college subplot didn't work in here. It's fair enough layering the meanings of the works in most areas of Manchester Art Gallery but here, specifically, it was out of place. Very few of the audience will expect it and very few will get it: it almost laughs at them.
Overall it's difficult to know what's going on in the Manchester Gallery. Is the cluttered room supposed to reflect the cluttered, hap-hazard city outside? Or perhaps it refers to the typically 19th century eclectic style of collection which made up the original galleries here.
Whatever it's trying to do and despite most of the themes containing something of interest, it comes down to this: the Manchester Gallery is trying to fit too much into too small a space and trying to please too broad an audience. By the time I left I could feel a migraine coming on so I had a sit down in the cool, understated elegance of Hopkin's new atrium.
Fortunately this did the trick allowing me to enjoy the rest of the Gallery.