Gordon Munro

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Biography

Gordon Munro's research interests examine the human condition, most recently developments in genetic engineering have provided a rich source of enquiry. In particular, landmark breakthroughs such as the mapping of the human genome, the cloning of animals and the creation of genetically modified foods.

After taking part in a workshop led by Simon Beeson that looked at contemporary reinterpretations of Friedrich Froebel's Kindergarten Gifts he was inspired to make a version of the 27 block cube and invite other artists to arrange or respond to the blocks. This led to a two year collaborative project involving artists from Germany and Scotland which was exhibited at the Royal Society of British Sculptors, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Heinsberg Kunstverein, Germany. This linked to his own sculpture with the endless permutations of the blocks mirroring the human genome and the different responses to the sculpture by the artists celebrating their individuality and becoming a form of self portraiture by the participants.

Froebel's play blocks influenced generations of creative thinkers and have been cited as a factor in the artwork of groups such as the Constructivists, the Bauhaus and DeStijl. Similarly influenced is modern architecture, especially the work of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. Froebel's philosophy of learning through interaction with material and form echoes Munro's own belief in the value of the physicality of making at a time when technologies move society further from manual activities.