Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Perth and Kinross Matters: Keep an open mind to unorthodox art

Frank To with his picture of a sickle on a copper plate created using gunpowder.
Frank To with his picture of a sickle on a copper plate created using gunpowder.

The old debate of what constitutes art has probably been around as long as man has attempted to capture his experience of the world in a visual way.

As the artistic endeavours of different generations has progressed one thing has become apparent — popular opinion often lags behind those at the cutting edge of innovative art.

When Van Gogh or Gauguin created their paintings they were met with apathy with their artistic talents only recognised after their lifetimes.

So perhaps in some cases it is only with the passing of time and fashion that an artist’s true significance can be agreed.

Without people willing to push the creative boundaries there would have been no progression from the simple representation of people, places and objects.

Pop art is now regarded as mainstream and has been assimilated into everyday life to such an extent that it is difficult to recognise the shock value it once had.

While the work of many acclaimed modern artists may seem unsettling and disturbing to the more conservative eye, their work plays a role in the refusal of the world of art to meekly accept the orthodox approach as the only true path.

In the spirit of pushing the boundaries Culture Perth and Kinross must be applauded for their Platform Festival – Perthshire’s Festival of Creativity — which is currently under way.

Among those given a stage for their work is Perth College UHI lecturer Frank To whose innovative approach to creating art has gained him a growing reputation.

Mixing gunpowder with oil paint and then igniting it brings an element of risk into the creative process.

An accomplished artist, the technique adds a new dimension to his pictures which are on display at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

Whatever your thoughts on the place of gunpowder in art, embrace the concept of experimentation behind the festival and judge with an open mind.