Nathan Coley, a Glasgow-based artist, studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and was short listed for the Turner Prize in 2007.
He is known for his sculptural work, including his illuminated text There Will Be No Miracles Here, and The Lamp of Sacrifice, 286 miniature sculptures of places of worship.
He writes: "The Mackintosh Building changed my life.
"Passing through those heavy wooden doors (ART) and (School) was like entering another world - a place far away from the dark northern industrial city that Glasgow was in 1985. The‘Mack' taught me that there was another way to do things, that everything was possible. It's amazing when architecture can speak.
"What next?
"Without doubt, we should make every effort to rebuild the Mack. Imagine Scotland without it? Imagine the signal that would send to the world, that wonder, mystery and excellence are of no importance to us a nation.
"If the money can't be found, then it should be left a ruin - to shame us.
"Let's not forget that up until the first fire the building was being used and was alive - this was its greatest strength, and the reason why so many people are so upset.
"The architecture was teaching our kids how to be creative, how to look at the world afresh and to be inquisitive.
"What it will become once its rebuilt is an interesting question.
"Will it be 'true to the original', a ‘copy' of the original building or 'a fake'.
"I’d like to call on the Scottish Government and the National Galleries of Scotland to frame that discussion, to elevate the discourse and present it as a significant national issue.
"An international conference should be organised. Let's invite the world to help us. Let's ask the smartest minds to come up with a creative response to something so terrible."
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