New paper sculpture gifted to St Mary’s Music School

Scotland’s National Music School has today received the gift of a paper sculpture from Edinburgh’s Anonymous Sculptor whose works have intrigued the literary and arts world at home and internationally since the first one appeared in 2011.

Her works normally centre around the theme of “enlightenment” which remind people that poetry, literature, art, film and music all play an essential part in Edinburgh as a forward looking European city. The enlightenment value of democracy of opportunity is embodied in the Old Royal High, which was built to educate pupils who wished to excel, regardless of their background.

The sculptor, whose identity has remained a secret except that she is female, sent her latest work of art to St Mary’s Music School for the first day of the new school year.  In her accompanying note addressed to “the current and future pupils of St Mary’s Music School”, the mystery artist revealed that the sculpture is her way of showing support for the cause for making the Old Royal High school the new home for St Mary’s Music School. Like all her other work, the latest sculpture is made from old books and this one depicts a musician on stage who is playing a cello surrounded by flying musical notes.

This is the first time the sculptor has gifted one of her exquisite pieces to music; intricate and delicate, the sculpture stands at 37cms high.

The first sculpture appeared in Edinburgh in 2011 as a gift for The Scottish Poetry Library and it proved an inspirational intervention in support of Libraries, Museums and Galleries at a time of proposed library closures and cutbacks. Other sculptures have been gifted to cultural institutions and the people of the City of Edinburgh, including the National Library of Scotland, the Filmhouse, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, the Central Library, Scottish Poetry Library, National Museum of Scotland and the Writers’ Museum.

In her note to the school, the sculptor said:

“What makes a place, in this case a city, this city, special?  The question of what we do with our buildings has to be key.  It is no secret that I think the arts matter, the buildings as well as the contents.

“The Old Royal High School was designed and built with enlightenment and education in mind, with a hope for the future.

“As St Mary’s Music School, that legacy would continue.  In the heart of the city, up on the hill, a centre of musical excellence would speak of the importance of music and music education to every child’s life”.

The sculpture arrived at the school in a box and was opened by Dr Kenneth Taylor, Headteacher, accompanied by Max Carsley, Head Pupil and an excited group of pupils.

The planning appeal by the hotel group who want to use the building for a luxury hotel will begin in a couple of weeks.