The Scottish national Gallery of Modern Art space is a bit tight but very cool.

The gallery is made up of two terrifically imposing buildings, Modern One and Two, set in lovely parklands. Made to impress 19^th high society, the buildings have precious little space inside to meet their original social mission of housing and providing medical care to ‘fatherless children.’

Modern 2 was originally the Dean Orphan Hospital. Later it became the Dean Gallery. Today, it’s the spiritual home of the wonderful Edinburgh local Eduardo Paolozzi. Widely known for his generous spontaneity, the sculptor gave much of his collection and his entire studio to the Gallery. The studio is a fascinating mess, covered in plaster models, industrial and computer waste, and the loft bed covered in magazines and books. Paolozzi also welded an enormous steel Vulcan, the handicapped and vulnerable Greek god, for the Gallery’s coffee shop atrium. It dwarfs the sponge cake eating clientele.

The parkland between the two Moderns has a few surprises. One is Anthony Gormley's man stuck chest deep the asphalt driveway of Modern 1. Skid marks run perilously close. Another is the pair of large light bulb signs that stand out against the monumental pillars and facade of the buildings and their elegant lawns: ‘Everything is Going to be Alright’ and ‘There will be no miracles here.’ In the cold winter rain the curling lawn and water sculpture in front of Modern One, which in the summer sun can make for a great walk and curious vistas, looked like a drenched serpent trying to slither into a misshaped pond.