The Visual Artists’ News Sheet issue 1 January – February 2013 Published by Visual Artists Ireland Ealaíontóirí Radharcacha Éire
Image by Michael Holly, 2012
The lab, brought to you by Dublin City Council, presents
miCk wilson
some songs are sung slower Preview on 17th January 2013, 6 – 8pm Exhibition runs 18th January – 9 March
Dublin City Council is also pleased to announce: new artists’ residential studio opportunities at Albert College Park, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 See www.albertcottages.com for details The lab T: Foley Street, Dublin 1 T: 01 222 5455 E: artsoffice@dublincity.ie H: Monday – Friday, 10am – 6pm Saturday 10am – 5pm w: www.thelab.ie
4
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
Introduction
Contents
Positivity is one of our editorial watchwords, but our predominantly sunny disposition is tempered with an awareness of the severity of challenges that now face the visual arts sector. While it's too early to comment in detail on the exact effects of various budgetary and policy decisions, it’s certain that over the coming months the ingenuity and perseverance of artists and art workers will be tested more and more. One of this publication’s enduring concerns is offering accounts of artists and art workers who have developed successful strategies for both remaining creatively productive and making a living. As a window into an artist’s creativity, notebooks are hard to beat and, in this issue, John Gayer discusses ‘The Artist Notebook Project 2012’, recently on show at the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. Looking at how artists’ radical ideas and ambitions can become manifest in the world, Brenda Moore McCann profiles Michelanglo Pistoletto’s Cittadellarte in Piedmont, Italy that fuses research and practice in the arts and social sciences. Closer to home, Jennie Moran profiles her collaborative art / architecture project with architect Laura Harty, for older people's housing in Naas, Co Kildare, supported by the Arts Council's Art / Architecture scheme. Lisa Fingleton discusses her commitment to “participation, process and partnership” as the fundamental values and ideas that have directed her practice and career path. Automony and independence are timely issues, as both funders and recipients find themselves under pressure. This is a subject considered in Jonathan Carroll’s report on a discussion entitled Autonomous Practices, Autonomous Objects, Autonomous Institutions. Equally relevant is Claire Powers’s article A Structural Necessity? which considers the increasing dependence of arts organisations on internship programmes. Looking at what supports remain available to artists, we celebrate the work of the Goethe-Institut in fostering intercultural exchange between Ireland and Germany. Columnist Emily Mark FitzGerald considers the challenges facing the implementation of philanthropic based supports for the arts “…with experienced Irish arts fundraisers in short supply and limited native training opportunities available”. There can be no doubt that global economics, politics, conflicts, trade and migration effect us all – directly or indirectly; articles on the work of photographer Anthony Haughey and installation / video artist Adrian O’Connell address issues of migration and ‘Fortress Europe’. An interesting comparative take on the commemoration of Ireland’s independence can be drawn from an interview with Zineb Sedira, in which the artist discusses her current RHA exhibition, which focuses on the documentation of Algeria’s War of Independence. There is, of course, more: thought provoking columns by Treasa O'Brien and Chris Clarke; residency reports from Siobhan Macdonald and Linda Shevlin; a reflection on 21 years of public art commissioning in Donegal by Public Art Manager for Donegal County Council, Terre Duffy; a report on the seminar On Conflict, Memory and Commemoration by Dorothy Hunter; a regional focus on Clare; the Critique section; Opportunities, News and the Roundup.
1. Cover Image. Machteld van Buren, Lady Germany, 2012, collage on paper, 140 x 100cm. 5. Roundup. Recent exhibitions and projects of note. 5. Column. Emily Mark Fitzgerald. Philanthropy and the Arts. 6. Column. Chris Clarke. After the Fact. 7. Column. Treasa O'Brien. Knowing Me, Knowing You. 8. News. The latest developments in the visual arts sector. 9. Regional Profile. Visual arts resources and activity in Clare. 13. Policy. A Structural Necessity? Claire Power considers the issue of internships. 14. International Profile. Collective Citadel. Brenda Moore McCann profiles Cittadellarte in Piedmont. 15. Institution Profile. Go Where There is No Path. Mechtild Manus, the new Director of the Goethe- Institut Ireland talks about intercultural exchange and the Institut’s upcoming programme. 16. Art in the Public Realm: Profile. Home as Universe. Jennie Moran profiles her collaborative art / architecture project with architect Laura Harty, for older people's housing in Naas, Co Kildare. 17. Debate. Autonomy or Not to Be? Jonathan Carroll reports on ‘Autonomous Practices, Autonomous Objects, Autonomous Institutions’, a debate held at the NCAD Gallery, Dublin (6 Nov 2012). 18. Residency. Unpredictable Rhythms of the Earth. Siobhan Macdonald reports on her residency at the historical seismic observatory of Emil Wiechert in Gottingen, Germany. 19. Critique. Reviews of recent exhibitions, events, publications and projects. 23. Project Profile. Fighting Amnesia. Zineb Sedira discusses her exhibition ‘Becoming Independent’ at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. 24. Art in the Public Realm: Profile. From Landscape to Artscape. Terre Duffy, Public Art Manager for Donegal County Council, reflects on 21 years of public art commissioning in the county. 25. Career Development. Participation, Process & Partnership. Lisa Fingleton discusses the fundamental values and ideas that have directed her career path. 26. How is it Made? Testing the Limits. Art critic Marianne O’Kane Boal talks to Adrian O’Connell, about the his recent exhibition 'Off Limits' at Platform Arts, Belfast 27. Seminar. Who Speaks on Whose Behalf? Dorothy Hunter reports on the seminar ‘On Conflict, Memory and Commemoration’, held at Belfast Exposed on 31 Oct 2012. 28. Opportunities. All the latest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions. 30. Project Profile. I've Got a Notebook (and I know how to use it). John Gayer discusses the 'Artist Notebook Project 2012', at the McKenna Gallery, Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. 31. How is it Made? Migration & Transformation. Anthony Haughey discusses 'Citizen', his cross-border exhibition, shown at Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda and Millennium Court Gallery, Portadown. 33. Art in the Public Realm: Roundup. Public art commissions, site-specific works, socially-engaged practices and other forms of art outside the gallery. 34. Residency. Roam Home to a Dome. Linda Shevlin reports on her residency at the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim. 35. Regional Contact. Processes of Change. VAI Northern Ireland Manager Feargal O'Malley discusses recent public art projects and commissions.
Membership Form Name: Address:
Telephone:
Email:
Membership CATEGORY o Professional* * To qualify as a Professional member you must meet a minimum of
Production:
o
Associate
THREE of the below criteria.
Publications Manager: Jason Oakley; Assistant Editor / Layout: Lily Power; News: Niamh Looney; Roundup: Siobhan Mooney; Opportunities: Niamh Looney / Siobhan Mooney; Proofing: Anne Henrichsen; Invoicing: Bernadette Beecher.
Degree or Diploma from a recognised third level college. o o One-person show (including time based events) in a recognised gallery or exhibition space. o Participation in an exhibition/visual art event which was selected by a jury in which professional artists or recognised curators participated. o Work purchased by Government, local authority, museum or corporate client. o Work commissioned by Government, local authority, museum or corporate client. o Have been awarded a bursary, residency, materials grant or otherwise grant aided the Arts Council/Arts Council of Northern Ireland or other funding body. o Have been awarded tax-exempt status by the Revenue Commissioners, or are on schedule D as a self-employed artist in Northern Ireland.
Contributors: Emily Mark Fitzgerald, Chris Clarke, Treasa O'Brien, Trudi van der Elsen, Fiona Woods, Mary Hawkes, Amanda Dunsmore, Sonia Schorman, Tomas O’Maoldomhnaigh, Marianne Slevin, Siobhan Mulcahy, Claire Power, Brenda Moore McCann, Mechtild Manus, Jennie Moran, Jonathan Carroll, Siobhan Macdonald, Mary Catherine Nolan, Logan Sisley, Alissa Kleist, Roisin Russell Sarah Lincoln, Eileen Hutton, Caroline Hancock, Zineb Sedira, Terre Duffy, Adrian O’Connell, Dorothy Hunter, John Gayer, Anthony Haughey, Linda Shevlin, Feargal O'Malley. Contact Visual Artists Ireland, Ground Floor, Central Hotel Chambers, 7–9 Dame Court, Dublin 2
Membership Fees
T: 353(0)1 672 9488 F: 00353(0) 1 672 9482 E: info@visualartists.ie www.visualartists.ie
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Board of Directors
Standard €50 / Concessions €25
Standard £44 / Concessions £22
Liam Sharkey (Chair), Maoiliosa Reynolds, Roger Bennett, Susan MacWilliam, Linda Shevlin, Fergus
Discounted Direct Debit Rates
Discounted Standing Order Rates
Martin, Niamh McCann, Donall Curtin.
Standard €48 / Concessions €24
Standard £43 / Concessions £20
Europe & Rest of World
Britain
CEO / Director: Noel Kelly. Office Manager /Administrator: Bernadette Beecher.
Standard (no concession) €70
Standard (no concession)
Publications Manager: Jason Oakley. Assistant Editor: Lily Power.
Staff
Advocacy Programme Officer: Alex Davis. Education / Professional Development Officer: Monica Flynn. Payments accepted by cheque, credit / debit card, cash, postal order., paypal
Professional Development Assistant: Ruth Hynes. Information / Communications Officer: Niamh Looney.
Additional Memberships
Publications Assistant: Siobhan Mooney. Listings Editor / Membership Assistant: Adrian Colwell.
Please tick below if you wish to avail of the following o STUDENT PACK FREE for students and recent graduates o IVARO The Irish Visual Artists Rights Organisation (FREE to all) o IAA CARD International Association of Art museum and gallery discount card (professional members only). We require a passport photo – please send to our postal address. An an additional fee of €5 / £4.50 applies Visual Artists Ireland Ground Floor, Central Hotel Chambers, 7- 9 Dame Court, Dublin 2 T: 01 6729488 F: 01 6729482 E: info@visualartists.ie W: www.visualartists.ie
Membership Manager: Valerie Earley. Book-keeping: Dina Mulchrone. Administrative Assistant: Ruth O'Hagan. Northern Ireland Manager: Feargal O'Malley. The views expressed in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, do not necessarily reflect those of the Editors, Editorial Panel or Visual Artists Irelands’ Board of Directors. Visual Artists Ireland is the registered trading name of The Sculptors’ Society of Ireland. Registered Company No. 126424.
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
COLUMN
Emily Mark Fitzgerald Philanthropy and the Arts
5
Roundup
Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork. The event, the seventh in an annual series,
Secretly, we thirst for reality
IT NEVER RAINS...
was presented in association with Quiet Music Ensemble and St Anne’s Church.
We leave behind a year marked by seismic changes to arts and cultural provision in Ireland. With proposed – and realised – amalgamations in National Cultural Institutions (NCI), moves to centralise control and diminish the arms’ length principle, and highly public controversies over the coherence of the government’s cultural policy, it seems likely the coming months will bring further volatility and cuts to the sector. Increasingly, organisations have set their sights on growing private arts philanthropy – via individual giving, corporate sponsorship and foundation appeals – as one method of gaining further stability and a heightened degree of selfdetermination. Such ambitions are matched by the government’s scramble to supplement dwindling public coffers. In October 2012, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht sponsored the seminar Philanthropy and the Arts, where Minister Jimmy Deenihan affirmed that encouraging private philanthropy remains an important dimension of the Department’s arts strategy. Although he sought to reassure organisations that success in fundraising would not negatively impact their state allocations, it seems clear that private philanthropy has been earmarked to lessen dependency on central funding, as well as diversify organisational resources. Indeed 2012 saw the launch of several new initiatives to grow Irish arts philanthropy and professional development practice – some independent and others centrally managed. 15 arts organisations were selected in June to take part in a training and mentoring programme delivered through a partnership between Business to Arts and the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Centre, focused on ‘capacity building’ with top management and board members. Meanwhile a separate initiative – the RAISE Project – has been developed by the Arts Council to provide fundraising training for eight organisations via the consultancy 2into3 and Kingsley Aikins of Networking Matters. A major component of this project involves hiring six senior fundraising executives for a two-year period, charged with meeting (or exceeding) each organisation’s philanthropic target of €250,000. The arts are but one player in the government’s push for private philanthropy across the non-profit sector at large – which includes direct initiatives like the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising, and indirect ones like ‘The Gathering’ – and they face challenges both shared with other non-profits and unique to their own circumstances and structure. Some are beyond the sole influence of the arts sector itself: economic instability, a relatively small pool of potential prospects, the absence of an established ‘culture of giving’ amongst high-net-worth individuals and the lack of favourable tax incentives all pose significant challenges to the development of Irish private philanthropy. The notion that individuals should assume a larger share of support to areas like education and the arts has raised valid concerns about dilution of state responsibility and the potential negative consequences of donor influence. Development techniques imported from other cultural contexts (particularly the US) have often failed to apprehend both infrastructural and psychological barriers to giving in Ireland, with experienced Irish arts fundraisers in short supply and limited native training opportunities available. Moreover, efforts to improve access to information and new research on the sector have met with recent disappointments. In June, the Irish INKEx initiative – an online database (modeled on US / UK’s Guidestar) providing a public gateway to details of charities’ financial information and performance – collapsed over funding shortfalls. This mirrors the failure by government to enact reporting guidelines contained within the Charities Act, itself finally passed in 2009 after years of glacial development. Similarly, the Centre for Nonprofit Management at Trinity College Dublin, a key independent source for research on the non-profit sector, has had to restrict its activities due to diminished resources. Whilst research reports continue to be generated by other organisations and consultancies, these vary considerably in quality and objectivity. If the distinctly un-glamorous subjects of reporting and sharing information are not substantially addressed, organisations and donors will continue to be stymied by gaps in knowledge, transparency and accountability. Nevertheless, the renewed focus on promoting arts philanthropy bears great potential for improving management fundamentals with clear benefit for fundraising efforts and beyond. These include articulating a clear case for support, and promoting a broad-based strategy that favours long-term relationship building over more risky, volatile and expensive forms of fundraising like special events (the method unfortunately preferred by many non-profits with less developed fundraising programmes). Coaching boards to be ready and willing to answer the philanthropic call is another needed transformation. While it’s unlikely that Irish organisations will ever move to the US model, where individual financial contribution is an expected pre-requisite of board membership, board members are (or should be) links to a larger network of potential donors and supporters, and encouraged to actively take part in development planning and gift solicitation. Essentially, a shift towards long-term sustainability, planning, and donor cultivation and stewardship – towards endowment and investment over crisis-and-response – will ideally characterise the future of Irish arts fundraising. Will a vigorous climate of private arts philanthropy ever fully emerge in Ireland? It’s certainly possible – given the wealth of Irish arts offerings, dynamism of its organisations and practitioners and resources yet untapped – but it will only be achieved through a combination of infrastructural improvements, a substantial shift in the culture of giving, and through the hard work and expanded ability of arts organisations themselves.
‘Sonic Vigil 7’ comprised “a marathon of new and improvised music, sound art, live electronics, installations and more”. The participating artists included Quiet Music Ensemble, Harry Moore, Katie O’Looney, Karen Power, Jesse Ronneau, Tony Langlois, Paul Hegarty and Anthony Kelly, and Tobias Schmitt.
Cecilia Danell, work from 'Secretly we Thirst for Reality'
The vigil featured Ireland’s unique experimental music group, Quiet Music Ensemble, who gave world premieres of eight new pieces by up-and-coming composers from Ireland, Scotland and the USA: Andrea Bonino, Francis Heery,
Vanessa Donoso Lopez
of emerging artists with a monetary
‘It Never Rains To Everybody’s Taste’, by Vanessa Donoso López, was held at Queen Street Studios gallery, Belfast (1 Nov – 1 Dec). The works in the show explored themes of play and culture, in relation to the concepts of transitional phenomena and objecthood – concepts used by the psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. The press release explained that, “through play, Donoso López creates transitional objects while exploring how extreme alterations of context can modify the understanding, content and
award and a solo exhibition at Wexford
perception of transitional phenomena”.
Alexander Hunter, Donal Mac Erlaine, Rachel Ni Chuinn, Robin Parmar, Conal Ryan and Charlie Sdraulig. www.quietmusicensemble.com www.gruenrekorder.de
Cecilia Danell Mutare Animam 2012.
Cecilia Danell was the recipient of the
ALBERT, ERNEST & THE TITANIC
2011 Emerging Visual Artist Award, a partnership initiative between the Arts Council, Wexford County Council and Wexford Arts Centre. The initiative recognises and supports the development
www.queenstreetstudios.net
Arts Centre.
AN ARTIST, THE STUDIO
Danell’s show at Wexford Arts Centre ‘Secretly, we thirst for reality’ (27 Nov – 24 Dec) presented film works, paintings and mixed media pieces
Jamie Murphy Southampton
exploring themes of landscape and the
The Copper House Gallery, Dublin
built environment, paired with an
recently held ‘Albert, Ernest & the Titanic’
interest in the unconscious. As the press
by Jamie Murphy (15 – 27 Nov). The
release noted, the artists interest in
exhibition
psychology,
on
Murphy’s book about the story of
disengagement from the self along with
Abraham ‘Albert’ Mishellany and Ernest
Jung’s theory of archetypes and how
Corbin, the printers onboard the Titanic.
unresolved
Jamie Murphy gave a talk and
was
focused
tensions
manifest
in
behaviour.
featured
images
from
presentation on the making and binding www.wexfordartscentre.ie
of the book, also titled Albert, Ernest & the Titanic.
Breaking the line
www.thecopperhousegallery.com
WHAT YOU ARE I AM TOO
Gerard Garvey, HotStr8actn, 2012
‘Breaking the Line’, Galway-based 126 Gallery’s annual graduate exhibition, featured the work of graduates from
Ryan Moffett, The Elders Say it is Forbidden
The Golden Thread Project Space, Belfast presented the group show ‘What you are,
Galway and Mayo Institute of Technology
I am too’ (1 – 24 Nov). Artists featured in
and Limerick School of Art and Design.
the exhibition included Amy Brooks, Ian
The artists featured in the exhibition
Charlesworth, Annabel Frearson, Davy
include Lotte Bender, Declan Casey,
Mahon and Ryan Moffett. ‘What You Are,
Gerard Garvey and Barry Mc Hugh. The
I Am Too’ explored the subjects of threat,
press release for the show stressed that
vulnerability and anonymity in the
“these
are
context of collective behaviour, social
showcasing their new work to a wider
interaction and the performance and
audience, and in doing so breaking a line
concealment of identity.
emerging
graduates
of demarcation between the institutional and the mainstream”.
As the press release noted, audiences were challenged to “consider our
www.126.ie
simultaneous state of being perceived as potentially dangerous and in danger”.
SONIC VIGIL 7 The sound art event ‘Sonic Vigil 7’, curated by Mick O’Shea and Danny McCarthy, took place on 24 Nov at St
The exhibition was curated by Ben Crothers and Kim McAleese. www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
John Beattie An Artist, The Studio, and all the rest…
The RHA,, Dublin recently exhibited John Beattie’s video installation An Artist, The Studio, and all the rest… (15 Nov – 21 Dec). The show took the form of two HD film projections with sound produced and directed by John Beattie over a period from 2006 – 2012. The films explored the relationship between traditional academic ideas and contemporary approaches to art making. As part of the research for this work, Beattie worked with Thomas Ryan – a past president of the RHA – founding a master / apprentice collaboration. One film is shot in Ryan’s studio and mediates on the craft and methodologies employed by an artist working in the academic vein. For the second film, Beattie quotes Gustav Courbet’s The Artist’s Studio (1854 – 55) and staged a recreation of the work in the RHA’s Great Hall, populating the image with contemporary Irish cultural figures. www.rhagallery.ie
FRACTAL Irish visual artist Camilla Fanning recently joined the FRACTAL tour, to create a video animation piece in collaboration with composer Sebastian Adams for his work Tweet Piece #2. The projects tour started in the CFCP Dublin on 9 Nov and travelled on to Cork, Mayo and Belfast. Adams's composition combined acoustic and digital sound,
6
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
COLUMN
Roundup
Chris Clarke
with overlaid voices, and explored ideas
of sorts. But it is only the bones of a
about the ubiquity of the social network
carpet. It is the provisory, absurd nature,
After the Fact
and its impact. Fanning’s animation
and endless capacity for re-configuration
comprised digital collage of found and
of Marie Lieb’s rugs which provides the
made images referencing popular web
starting point for a floor based sculpture
culture. As the press release noted, “In a
by Isabel Nolan”.
frenetic world bombarded by data our In his opening remarks before the Cork Film Festival’s tribute to Paddy Jolley
musings of a thousand souls… it can get
(November 11, Triskel Christchurch), Festival Director Mick Hannigan commented
noisy”.
Fellowship of the Faithless
www.cmcireland.wordpress.com
that, while a number of writers have discussed Jolley’s work in the context of gallery (including Cork). Claimed by contemporary art criticism, his position as a filmmaker
HIBERNATION
www.isabelnolan.com
mind is colonised by the uninvited
exhibitions, there had been little reflection on his contribution to film festivals
January – February 2013
DUGGAN @ LCGA
tends to be overlooked. Some of this reticence may be explained by Jolley’s approach to film: the absence of narrative, a fixation on visual detail and the hermetic insularity of his settings. In The Drowning Room (2000), made with the American artist Reynold
Julie Miller disributing her work in Belfast
Reynolds, Jolley shows a domestic space completely submerged in water. However, the inhabitants refuse to respond to their environment, nonchalantly sitting around a dinner table or reading through sheets of paper even as these dissolve in their hands. No reason is given for their complacency, despite the suffocating effect that the film’s scenario and soundtrack has on the viewer. Rather, they continue their everyday activities, oblivious to the flecks of fish entrails that float away from their mouths, or the condiments seeping away from a kitchen sink. Much like Burn
Brian Duggan's installation at Limerick City Gallery
‘They have tried everything to keep us from riding... but in the end we always
(2001), also made with Reynolds, where the scorched and singed interior appears to
win’, a survey of recent works by Brian
be no more than a slight inconvenience, the inhabitants are resigned to the
Duggan, was held at the Limerick City
situation. A man reads the newspaper, casually patting out the flames on his sleeve,
Gallery (11 Oct – 23 Nov). The press
annoyed but never truly fearful. There is only one moment that hints at a wider
release stated “…problems, crisis' and
narrative, when an actor douses both himself and a sleeping woman, ignites and
mistakes, the inherent risks of choosing
immolates them, and then crashes through into the sitting room. Ultimately, his
an activity or choosing inactivity, are an
actions remain obscure, perhaps even to himself.
ongoing focus for his projects”. The
Compared to Reynolds, whose more recent Secrets Trilogy (2008 – 2010) emphasises ideas of sexual voyeurism and experimentation while retaining some of
exhibition featured 23 full-size swings, hung from the wooden rafters of the
the initial ambiguities of these early collaborations, Jolley pursues a more rigorously
gallery, constructed from 300meters of
narrow path: the film serves primarily to explore the site, usually that of a disaster,
rope, that gallery visitors could make use
as it succumbs to the effects of deterioration and decay. Here After (2004, with Inger
of. Alongside this piece, Duggan
Lise Hansen and Rebecca Trost) posits an abandoned apartment that ‘comes to life’
presented two new digital video
of its own volition – mattresses curl and move, wallpaper peels, and an endless
installations and a sculpture of the
barrage of furniture tumbles through the ceiling – while his final work, Freeze
Travertine marble, four different types of
glistening patina of frost on bicycle wheels, tables and doorframes. Jolley is not
porcelain, Kilkenny limestone, steel and
alone in his fixation on the aftermath – one might think of artists such as Clare
spectrum glass.
Langan or even Desperate Optimists as exploring similar terrain – but, within the much as the gallery may choose to show a long-form narrative film but generally
and art”. www.pssquared.org/J.Miller.php www.makingsomethingsmallhappen.wordpress.com
‘Hibernation’, the winter group exhibition at the Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin (8 Nov – 11 Jan), featured both gallery and guest artists, along with a selection of secondary market works. Works in the show dated from the 1960s to the present day and include works on paper, collage, photography, sculpture and painting. The artists featured included Katherine Boucher Beug, Colin Davidson RUA, Jason Ellis, Sean Hillen, Stephen Lawlor, Hughie O’Donoghue RA, Patrick O’Reilly, Amelia Stein RHA, Donald Teskey RHA, Joseph Walsh, Angela Fewer, Miseon Lee, Ed Miliano, Nest Design, Stephanie Row, John Beech, William Crozier HRHA, Alan Davie, Alex Katz, Patrick Scott HRHA and Michael van Ofen. www.oliversearsgallery.com
WE
MUSEUM OF EVERYDAY ART
Fukushima power plant, made up
(2012), tracks through an icicle-encrusted building in Finland, luxuriating over the
context of cinema (and the film festival is primarily a place of feature filmmaking,
PS2 Belfast presented ‘Fellowship of the Faithless’, an exhibition of artists books by Julie Miller (5 – 15 Dec). Miller works with the format of pamphets, that often mimic the format of the kind of publications laid of public perusal on back tables in churchs, her titles including A Love of Baking; Good Intentions; A Perfect Gift. The show utilised elements of installation and performance, interior design and ritual. As the press release noted, “orn in Northern Ireland, where Christian beliefs are still fundamentally anchored, Miller investigates how forms of religion shapes society, speech, politics
Alex Katz, Sebastian & Isca
www.gallery.limerick.ie
TRANCE & TRANSFER
allows its audience to drift in and out, at a time of their choosing), the parallel might be with the last 10 minutes of a disaster movie. Perhaps the closest comparison is Jim Ricks, from 'Museum of Everyday Art'
with a latecomer walking into Lars von Trier’s Melancholia just in time to see the meteor strike or Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point and its conclusion of multiple explosions
The exhibition‘Museum of Everyday Art’
(a sequence that Jolley seems to allude to at points in both Seven Days ‘Til Sunday [1998, with Reynolds] and Fall [2008]). In fact, it is this prioritisation of space over time – or, rather the space as subjected to time – that might explain why contemporary art writers have embraced Jolley. Hannigan mentioned an exhibition he’d previously seen in Portugal, where The Drowning Room was screened on all four walls of the space with an additional overhead projector beaming footage into a basin below; this too seems an appropriate format for Jolley’s work. The immersive, impenetrable enclosure of the film’s setting is not merely replicated in the installation; it is the logic of the film itself. Even the actions of the inhabitants are subjected to the interior’s (and the film’s) suffocating atmosphere. As Nicolas de Oliveira and Nicola Oxley point out, in their 2012 publication Patrick Jolley: All That Falls, “the device of slow-motion, gently animating their catatonic reality, leaves them stranded between an inactive past and an unproductive present.” This inertia is not merely a formal technique, it infects the protagonists of Snakes (2009), where the titular serpents intertwine and move through the clothing of a prone man, and Sitting Room (2012), where a seated individual watches the gradual rise of tepid water until it eventually overwhelms and swallows him. In both cases, they’ve surrendered to the inevitability of the elements, unwilling to react or respond to their respective predicaments. And, like The Drowning Room, one might try to permeate the narrative, to understand how and why this situation has occurred, or why the inhabitants seem so blissfully unconcerned, only to find that all passages are sealed. The viewer is left to submerge himself in the environment and follow the lead of the setting’s occupants. After all, nothing really happens here, or rather, it already has.
by artist / curator Jim Ricks was held at Claire McLaughlin, work from 'Trace & Transfer'
‘Trace & Transfer’ by Claire McLaughlin was shown at The Higher Bridges Gallery, Co Fermanagh (9 – 24 Nov) The press release noted that “themes of the passage of time and memory have long been important in her work". The exhibition was in part inspired by family memorabilia, including letterbooks kept by the artist’s great-grandfather, Richard Herbert, when he owned the landmark Enniskillen pub, Blakes of the Hollow.
Tactic, Cork (28 Nov – 8 Dec). For this project, Ricks curated a selection of
'We', Catalyst Arts publicity image
‘We’, a group show at Catalyst Arts, Belfast (16 Nov – 7 Dec), featured works by local, national and international artists exploring issues surrounding identity through various mediums. The artists featured in the show were: Craig Cox, Kevin Gaffney, Cecilia Giménez, Anthony Luvera, Brian J Morrison and Artur Zmijewski. www.catalystarts.org.uk
objects deemed to be ‘art’ loaned from local people and collected two weeks prior to the opening of the show. As the press release outlined Ricks work was “essentially
a
‘residency’
that
is
collaborative, curatorial, research-based and well… fixated on the everyday conceptions of art, essentially asking the public to define art or answer: ‘What is art to you?’” www.tactic-art.info/museum-of-everyday-art
www.fermanagh.gov.uk
UNMADE
BIOPHOTOLOGIA
Future Perfect
Isabel Nolan’s exhibition of new
‘Biophotologia’ was an exhibition of
Curated by Jim Ricks, ‘Future Perfect’ at
sculptural works, ‘Unmade’, was shown
works by Photographer Pablo Roja, held
the Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane
at the Goethe Institut’s Return Gallery,
at the Conway Institute, UCD as part of
(6 – 16 Dec) was a project that brought
Dublin (15 Nov – 21 Dec). The works
the Dublin City of Science Festival 2012
together works by artists created in
drew
Prinzhorn
(23 – 30 Nov). ‘Biophotologia’ explored
response to a brief addressing the subject
Collection in Heidelberg, Germany. As
the interplay between science and art.
of the future, idealism, the modernist
the press release noted, “In 1894, a
The images in the show aimed to portray
project,
“the imaginative process shared by both
philosophical, aesthetic and historical
inspiration
the
resident of a psychiatric hospital in Heidelberg, Germany tore up her bed clothes. Just two extant photographs document the results of Marie Lieb’s strange actions… by placing the torn textiles onto the floor, she made a carpet
disciplines where the conventional frontiers between them can no longer be detected”. www.biophotologia.com
utopia
from
political,
viewpoints. The featured artists included: Asylumarchive, Gemma Browne, Fiona Chambers, Carol Anne Connolly, Paul Doherty, Mark Durkan, John Gayer, Raine
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
COLUMN
7 Roundup
Treasa O'Brien
Hozier Byrne, Moze Jacobs, Myra Jago,
discount shops. As the press release
Bartosz Kolata, Eoin Mac Lochlainn,
explained, the artists' brief was to be “as
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Shelly McDonnell, Ian McInerney,
innovative as possible, to push the
Caroline McNally, Lorraine Neeson,
boundaries of their usual practice and
Bláthnaid Ní Mhurchú, Thomas O’Brien,
push the potential of the materials and
Tadhg Ó Cuirrín, Peter O’Kennedy, Ethna
media for their artwork”. The artists
O’Regan, Fergus O’Neill, Lynda Phelan,
included in the show were: Angela Mc
Ben Sloat, Chris Timms, Chanelle
Donagh, Emmet Kierans, Felicity Clear,
Walshe, and Lee Welch.
Aisling Conroy, Emma Hogan, Joby
I recently participated in a conference called ‘The Future State of Ireland’ on cultural responses to the crisis in the Republic of Ireland. I learned there that the state is
www.therealjimricks.com
actually called Eire, that there has not been a crisis and that – although it has been declared a republic on three occasions – it is not one. The conference itself took
Nicky Hooper, Deirdre Hayden, Anne
AS YOU ARE WE
Hendrick, Claire Mc Cluskey, Daria
place outside of the state, in London. I was there to talk about something that does
Privalko, Joe Stanley, Margaret O’Brien,
not exist and how I might film it.
Lucinda Jacobs, Julie Merriman, Michelle
As much as it sounds like a conference inspired by Flann O’Brien, it transpired
Considine, Claire Halpin, Jennette
to be a grounded and inspiring opportunity to examine our past more than our
Donnelly, Beth O’Halloran, Louise Butler,
future with the help of artists, writers, academics and other cultural practitioners,
Mary Noonan, Paul Mac Cormaic. Maree
living inside and outside the island. Organised by Derval Tubridy and Stephanie Feeney – respectively, diasporic scholars of literature and art – it took place in Goldsmiths College in London, over the weekend 17 – 18 November, immediately following 14N, the European Day of Action (that Ireland did not participate in) and coinciding with demonstrations in Ireland marking the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died after being denied an abortion in Galway, and told that Ireland was “a Catholic country”. The conference provided a testing ground for my own film-inprogress, Too Good to Resist, which I presented with writer / researcher Mary Jane O’Leary. The premise (or provocation) of this documentary essay film asks why there are no mass movements of popular resistance in Ireland, as in other countries undergoing similar structural adjustment. Why are we complaining and telling each other to stay positive instead of organising for change? One of our interviewees, Mark Garavan, proposes that this is in the Irish psyche, like the weather: “It’s awful; nothing works, they’re all corrupt, but sure, what can you do about it?!” We presented our film in the context of social documentary made in Ireland since the
Hickey, Blath Ni Mhurchu, Bennie Reilly,
Hensey, Jane Fogarty, Andrew Carson, Cecilia Danell, Eoin Mac Lochlainn,
Louise Rice, Sparing Partners
‘As You Are We’, an exhibition of new glass works and drawings by Louise Rice, was held at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre (16 – 30 Nov). The theme of the show
Cecillia Bullo, Jennifer Cunningham, Kate Murphy, Mary Fitzgerald, Ian-John Coughlan, Madeleine Hellier, Myra Jago & Kate Stitt www.talbotgallery.com
was described as “existence as encounter – with the self, and with others”. The
Last Days of Gravity
project was developed over the course of
Sarah Pierce, ‘Towards a Newer Laocoön’ installation view
a three-part project that included archival materials from the Irish Film Institute’s Irish Film Archives, the NIVAL collection at NCAD, and the latest chapter of her on-going work, The Question Would be the Answer to the Question, Are you happy? As the press release noted, the exhibition “reflects Pierce’s interest in ways of organising, from student government to the civil rights movement”. www.themetropolitancomplex.com www.ncad.ie
the Leitrim County Council-funded artist residency at the Leitrim Sculpture
DOUBLE Wieczorek
Centre. www.leitrimsculpturecentre.ie
RESTLESS SPACES
1940s (especially Peter Lennon’s 1968 Rocky Road to Dublin) and tested our methodology and possible reasons for the fatalism in Ireland on a very engaged and
Enda O’Donoghue, Reno
critical audience. The visual artists presenting were Kennedy Browne, Anthony Haughey and Liz
Limerick City Gallery of Art, recently
Burns. Kennedy Browne did an impeccable double act, showing a single-screen
showed ‘The Last Days of Gravity’ (30
version of How Capital Moves, and relating the process of making that work; Anthony
Nov – Dec), a solo show by Enda
Haughey presented some of his key relational and photographic works and Liz
O’Donoghue. As the press release noted,
Burns described the collaborative project 'Troubling Ireland', in which the
O’Donoghues imagery is drawn from
'Fragments’, an exhibition by Irish artist
aforementioned artists participated – the project will take the form of an exhibition
photographs sourced from the interet
Ian Wieczorek, was shown in the
and the artists paintings are “the result of
Corridor Gallery of the School of Design,
a process which is highly analytical and
University of Leeds, UK (20 – 31 Nov
methodical and yet inviting of errors,
2012). These recent renderings in oil on
misalignments and glitches”.
canvas of ‘found’ low resolution images
in Limerick City Gallery of Art in late 2013. Luke Gibbons mentioned the prolificacy of apocalyptic and dystopian visions in recent Irish narrative films, and the rise of crime fiction as a genre in literature as cultural phenomena arising from the “bloody financial ritual that no longer makes sense,” aka The Bailout.
Michelle Considine ‘Restless Spaces, Fragile Traces’
Talbot Gallery and Studios, Dublin
Fintan O’Toole announced that Ireland had finally achieved Home Rule, but
recently hosted the exhibition ‘Restless
with Germany rather than Britain. His speech unpicked the history and concept of
Spaces, Fragile Traces’ by Michelle
a republic in Eire and suggested how we might achieve one. His presentation was
Considine (8 Nov – 1 Dec). The press
peppered with poetic insights into the Irish character such as the propensity for pessimistic optimism: if you break your leg, “sure aren’t you lucky you didn’t break the other one”. Shame was also a recurring theme. O’Toole – adding to the group therapy feeling that the conference sometimes had – proposed that we might be suffering from survivor trauma. We are post-famine, post-colonial, post-civil war and now post-Tiger – this could explain why people might not protest: because they feel ashamed. To paraphrase O’Toole, if you bought a piece of decking you feel as guilty as a banker who has squandered millions of other people’s money. Writer and journalist Elaine Byrne described the pilot project she helped facilitate, 'We The Citizens', which trialed a model of deliberative democracy, in 2011. The resulting outcomes showed that people felt more empowered after the process of consultation and that opinions changed after evidence was presented and discussion was had. Byrne compared the culture of corruption in Ireland to that of
implications of contemporary visual
Between Tides
vernacular.” Wieczorek also recently exhibited the exhibition of paintings
series of work, Considine focuses on the
‘trace’ at the Market Place Arts Centre,
elements, including occurrences such as
Armagh, NI (4 Oct – 2 Nov 2012). www.ianwieczorek.com
the Aurora Borealis, volcanoes, land rifts, mountains, geysers or, simply, the effect
How to? Be included in The Roundup
of the changing light on the land. Working in different formats, she strives to create a strong visual dynamic to emphasise the mass of the subject matter.
■■
An element of the surreal is also touched upon in her work, expressing almost otherworldly or romanticised versions of the land and skies”. www.michelleconsidine.com
Linda Ruttelynck, Wanderer
Taylor Galleries, Dublin presented 'Between Tides', an exhibition of new work by Flemish artist Linda Ruttelynck
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
that were only appreciated for their contribution to Irish society once they had left
(22 Nov – 8 Dec). In 2004 Ruttelynck was Arts Foundation at Ballycastle, Co Mayo
The effect of emigration featured in most of the papers at the conference and
and this show featured a series of digital
the closing discussion on the role of the diaspora put focus more directly on London.
prints based on the shoreline of North
As emigration rises, the diaspora have been called upon, with the idea of a diasporic
Mayo. www.taylorgalleries.ie
vote. It seems those that are left are disempowered, fearsome of protest and in denial
there is no more utopia in Ireland: romantic Ireland is either too good or has it too good to call for change.
lily@visualartists.ie
■■
Text details / press release
should include: venue name,
location, dates and a brief
description of the work / event.
■■
Inclusion is not guaranteed,
but we aim to give everyone
a fair chance.
■■
Our criteria is primarily to
ensure that the roundup
section has a good regional
spread and represents a diversity of forms of practice,
of how bad things really are. As a paddy in London, it prompted me to think that live in it without having to live in it – perhaps in Hackney, Sydney or Boston. For
Email text & images to
awarded a fellowship at the Ballinglen
it.
perhaps we might finally found a republic outside of the island, so I could finally
harvested from the internet “explore
release highlighted how, “through a new
an alcoholic in denial, and the broader culture of impunity as akin to enablers of alcoholics, who turn a blind eye. She read a litany of names of Irish exiles and ex-pats
www.gallery.limerick.ie
Ian Wieczorek ,Double-Ian, 50 x 60cm, oil on canvas
Paul MacCormaic Self Portrait Cherub 2012
The following show at Talbot Gallery and Studios, Dublin was ‘Fast Moving Consumer Goods’ (6 – 22 Dec) . For this exhibition, 40 artists were invited to create a work using stock items from
A Newer Laocoön
‘Towards a Newer Laocoön’, a solo
stages in their careers.
exhibition by Sarah Pierce commissioned
■■
Priority is given to events
by the Irish Film Institute (IFI) in
taking place within Ireland,
collaboration with NCAD Gallery, was
but do let us know if you are
shown at the NCAD Gallery (5 Oct – 7
taking part in a significant
Nov 2012). For the show, Pierce exhibited
international event.
from a range of artists at all
8
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
VAI News
News Writing Award Winner Visual Artists Ireland and Dublin City Arts Office are pleased to announce Joanne Laws as the recipient of the 2012 Annual Visual Art Writing Award. The award was first launched in 2011 and has been devised as a developmental opportunity for writers, as part of Dublin City Council Arts Office and Visual Artists Ireland’s commitment to encouraging and supporting critical dialogue around contemporary visual arts practices. For the 2012 award, applicants were asked to propose a thematic article looking at how the visual arts might respond to the upcoming ‘decade of commemorations’ taking place in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Joanne’s article is scheduled to appear in the March / April edition of the Visual Artists' News Sheet. Joanne will receive editorial support and mentoring from VAI and an honorarium from Dublin City Council Arts Office of €800 – comprising a €500 commission to write for the March / April of The Visual Artists News Sheet and a €300 commission to write a short essay as part of the LAB’s 2012 / 2013 programme.
Parallax Art Fair
programming engages audiences in
lery features work from IMMA’s collec-
It has come to the attention of Visual
meaningful ways while fostering the
tion as part of its national programme.
Artists Ireland that some of our members
institution’s relationship to its commu-
This is meeting one of the objectives of
have recently been contacted by the
nity. Each year, over 100 artists and cura-
the Department's ACCESS scheme of
Parallax Art Fair, London, looking to sell
tors are in residence at ISCP and approxi-
bringing the arts to the regions of Ireland.
them a space at their fair in 2013. Our
mately 10,000 individuals attend ISCP’s
I wish this facility and all the arts com-
members were informed that their con-
public programs.
munity here in the Midlands every suc-
tact details had been provided by Visual
Twice a year, in May and November,
cess now and in the future. You certainly
Artists Ireland. VAI would like to con-
ISCP hosts the four-day-long 'Exhibition
have the infrastructure now to foster the
firm that we are not familiar with this art
Open Studios', presenting work by the 35
creative artists of tomorrow”.
fair, have no connection to it and have
ISCP artists and curators in residence,
not provided the organisers of the fair
accompanied by live performances,
with any of our members contact details.
panel discussions and exhibitions.
VAI strongly advises artists to verify all
During 'Exhibition Open Studios', resi-
RBS ENTERPRISING U
details and terms and conditions of
dents present recent projects, work-in-
For Northern Ireland / UK Artists: The
opportunities to their own satisfaction
progress, site-specific installations and
RBS Enterprising U is a nationwide busi-
before forwarding artwork, monies or
their archives to over 2,000 professionals
ness plan competition hosted by Find
documentation, or signing contracts.
and art enthusiasts from New York and
Invest Grow (FIG) and sponsored by the
beyond.
RBS Group. The competition is open to
www.iscp-nyc.org www.brianduggan.net
BLOCK T Gradute award winner
www.athloneartandheritage.ie/luan-gallery
Aine Macken
On 13 Nov 2012, Visual Artists Ireland held its first ‘Show and Tell’ evening.
any student or graduate (of up to five
BLOCK T have announced Jonah King as
years) who has an idea that needs invest-
the winner of this years 2012 Emerging
ment to help kick-start the business. At
Graduate Award. Jonah will receive a free
Show and Tell
Organised by Listings Editor and Membership Assistant, Adrian Colwell, the event was a relaxed informal evening of fast-paced, bite-size presentations by nine Visual Artists Ireland members held at our office.
the final event, up to 10 finalists will
studio for three months and will have
BURREN POSTGRAD DAY
access to all of BLOCK T’s facilities as
BCA will co-ordinate the first Postgraduate
well as its membership benefits. He will
Portfolio Day Ireland at The Lab, Foley
also be invited to take part in LINK
Street, Dublin on Thursday 31 January
Culturefest 2013 where he will have the
2013, with an emphasis on studio based
opportunity to showcase his work as
courses in fine art and residencies for fine
well as take part in our International
artists. This event will provide a platform
Arts & Culture Budget 2013 Minister Deenihan has confirmed that €60.7 million will be allocated for the Arts Council for 2013. This is a cut of 4% from 2012 funding which was €63.24 million. Minister Deenihan has confirmed that this amount will be allocated from current, capital and European Presidency funding. At the time of writing, Visual Artists Ireland is awaiting more clarification on this, especially with regard to the European Presidency funding. Minister Deenihan commented: “The total allocation to the Arts Council for 2013 will be €60.7 million. This is the maximum possible funding that I can allocate to the Arts Council for next year, and is below the average reduction that I have had to apply across the board in my Department. “Arts Council-supported organisations are a significant source of employment across the country. I anticipate this level of funding will continue to underpin this employment in the arts sector.” The Film Tax Relief Scheme will be extended to 2020. Minister Deenihan commented: ”This is very good news. The extension of this scheme will give a great deal of certainty to the Irish audiovisual sector to the end of this decade. Moving to a tax credit model will be a significant change, but there is an extended lead in period to the new arrangements to enable the sector to adapt. “This year alone a number of significant productions are filming in Ireland including Vikings, with an spend in Ireland of €25 million, and Ripper Street with a spend of almost €11 million. The extension of the scheme is important for Ireland, for both the jobs that are supported by this sector and our location as a place for film and audiovisual investment.”
Exchange Program. Jonah King (born
for potential postgraduate applicants to
1985, Ireland) recently graduated from
have their portfolios reviewed by faculty
the National College of Art and Design,
from a wide variety of art schools. These
Dublin, with a First Honors BFA in Fine
are advisory interviews at which poten-
Lochlainn, Conor Gallagher, Shane
Art Media. He achieved the highest grade
tial students gain valuable feedback on
Finan, Cian Donnelly, Amanda Coogan,
point average across all faculties in his
their work, and advice on their suitabili-
graduating year. His Visual Culture
ty for postgraduate programmes.
series of innovative exhibitions and pub-
Speaking at the official opening,
www.ahg.gov.ie
lic programs both on- and off-site. ISCP’s
Minister Deenihan said, “It is fitting that
Thesis: Tricksters! Non-Oppositional Dissent
Attendees may be encouraged to
In Contemporary Art was commended. He
apply, but offers are not made on the day
has also studied at Central Saint Martins,
as normal application procedures apply.
London and Emily Carr University of Art
The participating colleges and universi-
and Design in Vancouver.
ties benefit from connecting directly www.kingjonah.com www.blockt.ie
with a large body of highly-motivated potential applicants in a cost effective way. Additionally, we are inviting organi-
DUGGAN FOR ISCP RESIDENCY The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York has selected visual artist Brian Duggan into its program for a minimum of three months during its 2013 / 2014 activities.
sations from across Ireland who provide Residency opportunities for artists, as well as support agencies for artists
have the opportunity to pitch for investment to a room full of high net worth individuals and active investors who are looking to mentor and fund student and recent graduate start-up businesses. Students and recent graduates are given the chance to win cash prizes from £5,000 to £25,000 to help start their company. Deadline 19 Jul 2013. www.enterprisingu.com
BIG LOTTERY FUND 19 groups across Northern Ireland have been awarded grants totalling £141,000 from the Big Lottery Fund and Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Culture for All programme. This small grants funding programme enables communities to
Amanda Coogan
The members who presented were: Alan Phelan, Ciara McMahon, Eoin Mac
Rory Tangney and Aine Macken. The content of the presentations varied, with some artists giving an overview of their practice while others focused on one project / exhibition. Amanda Coogan chose to use the format of the presentations to create a performance piece.
play a part in Derry~Londonderry City of Culture 2013. Application forms and guidance notes are available to download now at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/northernireland
including VAI and the Arts Council. The event will be open to emerging artists from across Ireland and the UK.
WARHOL AT THE MAC Northern Ireland’s first Andy Warhol
The International Studio and
Ciara McMahon
show is one of the highlights of the fifth
The format of the presentations was
nonprofit, residency-based contempo-
LUAN GALLERY
Artist Rooms tour. Artist Rooms is an
unusual in that each presentation con-
rary art institution for emerging to mid-
On 29 Nov 2012, Jimmy Deenihan TD,
important public collection of interna-
sisted of 10 slides, which advanced auto-
career artists and curators from around
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the
tional contemporary art, shared across
matically after 30 seconds, giving each
the world. Founded in 1994, ISCP has
Gaeltacht officially opened the Luan
the UK through a unique collaboration
speaker an equal amount of time to talk.
hosted over 1,300 artists and curators
Gallery, in Athlone, Co Westmeath. Luan
between the Art Fund, Tate and National
Five minutes in total. It forced each
from more than 55 countries, including
Gallery is the first purpose-built and
Galleries of Scotland. The collection will
speaker to be as concise as possible and
the United States. In 2008, ISCP moved
modern visual gallery to be opened in
travel to 16 venues in 2013, 10 of which
not to spend too long on one subject.
from Manhattan to East Williamsburg,
the country in over three years. It was
are joining the tour for the first time.
Overall, there was a comfortable atmos-
Brooklyn to the former factory of the
designed by Keith Williams Architects,
Artist Rooms exhibitions have already
phere and a very positive response to the
Sackett
Lithography
who also designed the Wexford Opera
been seen by 21 million people, and, by
presentations, with some attendees eager
Company, an 18,000 square-foot build-
House. The refurbishment and exten-
the end of its fifth tour, over 50 venues
to book their place for the next evening.
sion, costing in excess of €3m com-
will have exhibited works from the col-
The Show and Tell evening is part of
menced in 2010 with the assistance of
lection. Warhol will be at The MAC,
a new initiative at VAI where we will
ties to 35 studios, an exhibition gallery
capital funding of €650,000 from the
Belfast from 7 February – 28 April 2013.
host special events for members to take
and a project space. To advance its core
Department of Arts, Heritage and the
part in, giving them the opportunity to
mission of supporting artists in produc-
Gaeltacht’s Access 11 scheme, €1.45m
network and share ideas. Information on
ing and exhibiting a wide range of con-
from the Border Midland and Western
the next members’ event, to take place in
temporary, often experimental, artistic
Regional Assembly and the balance pro-
Jan 2013, will be advertised via our
approaches, ISCP annually presents a
vided by Athlone Town Council.
Ebulletin in due course.
Curatorial Program (ISCP) is a leading
&
Wilhelms
ing constructed in 1901. This move expanded ISCP's facili-
the inaugural exhibition here at the gal-
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
9
Visual Arts Resources and Activities: Clare Ennistymon Courthouse
Fiona Woods The decision to live and practice rurally has
When I first moved to Clare I did feel isolated
impacted on every aspect of my work, and on the
as an artist, so it was very important to find ways to
kinds of connections that I have needed to make in
associate with and work alongside other artists.
order to sustain and challenge myself as an artist.
Over the years, I have been involved in a number of
When I first moved to north Clare in the 1990s
collective projects, including the development of
there was no public gallery space, so I chose early
the Courthouse Studios in the 1990s, the
on to orient my practice largely towards the public
establishment of the Ground Up Artists’ Collective
domain. Because of where I found myself, it was
in 2005 and most recently as part of Outrider
natural that I should begin to think about rural
Artists (Outriders for short). This is an association
contexts as a particular type of cultural and public sphere. This led me to think at length about the space of art, and the paradoxes and contradictions that come into being when that space is opened up in an unexpected place, and tries to assemble a public. At that time, the idea of rural situations and communities as sites and audiences for art was not Sarah Lundy, Untitled, 2012
Machteld van Buren, Lady Germany Germany, 2012, collage on paper, 140 x 100 cm
much discussed. There were very few national or international examples to draw on, so those of us
The Courthouse Gallery, which is part of the
an animal has been superimposed. Great Britain is
who were exploring this area, both theoretically
Courthouse Studios and Gallery, is an integral part
portrayed with a number of horses’ heads, which
and through the practice of making or curating,
of the cultural life of Ennistymon and North Clare,
form part of the landscape. The awkward
began to situate our ‘local’ practices within a trans-
an area with a dynamic and burgeoning community
juxtaposition of these figures suggests that the UK
local context, through emails dialogues with one
of artists, poets and musicians.
is not only struggling with its position within the
another. As a result, I have developed strong
The building, a late Georgian Courthouse
EU, but is also divided by internal strife. Germany
working links with projects and organisations in
dating from 1790, was first developed as artist
appears to be a bird of prey – not the traditional
the UK, Australia, Sweden and the US. These links
studios in 1997, with support from the Arts
eagle, but a vulture. The juggling acts which these
Council. It was subsequently redeveloped and
circus animals have to perform to keep themselves
converted to its present form with the aid of Access
going are indicative of how each nation functions.
Funding received from the Department of the Arts
But just how the stunts work is not entirely clear.
and support from Clare County Council. We
Eight poets, four Irish and four Dutch, were
opened the doors in 2007 as the Courthouse Studios
invited to offer an interpretation of these images.
and Gallery, comprising five multidisciplinary
The Irish poets taking part in this project are Jo
artists studios, a sound recording studio, a main art
Slade, Frank Golden, Jessie Lendennie and Patrick
gallery and a smaller upstairs gallery space. The
Chapman. The Dutch poets are Arnoud van
building has been sympathetically converted to its
Adrichem, Martin Reints, Lieke Marsman and Peter
present use by architect John O’Reilly and retains
van Lier. Salmon Poetry, based in Co Clare, will
much of its original fabric as well as its original
publish a booklet of this project in an English
scale and form, which includes interesting
edition. The work will be exhibited both in Ireland
architectural features such as the original Georgian
and the Netherlands.
windows and fanlight.
exhibition by Sarah Lundy (www.sarahellenlundy.
local, national and international artists, focusing
com), ‘=± EQUATION ±=', will run concurrently.
mainly on emerging artists, with the exhibitions
Lundy is a visual artist and curator based in County
changing on a monthly basis. The exhibitions are
Clare. She has exhibited in selected group
largely selected through an annual open call
exhibitions nationally. Her practice mediates
process, and the programme includes some regular
purely formalist concerns and contemporary
annual exhibitions co-organised with local interest
conceptualism. Through the use of moving image,
groups. We also host special events such as music,
assemblage of quotidian objects and ephemeral
performance, poetry readings and lectures from
performance materials, the works endeavour to
the North Clare Historical Society. In this way, the
negotiate provocative arrangement and question
gallery attracts a local, national and even an
autonomy in the face of homogenisation. The
international audience.
aesthetic is post-minimalist with a focus on
This first exhibition of 2013 will be ‘Circus
audience for, rurally-based art projects is relatively tiny in Ireland, but is huge on a global scale. Later this year I will co-curate a screening of artist films
Netherlands (www.machteldvanburen.nl) will
interesting range of work from national and
show eight large collages that illustrate how the
international artists including: paintings by
struggle for survival is being waged in various
Leonard Graham and Daniel McKeon; photography
European countries. This project reflects on the
by Niall Kerrigan, Patrick McHugh and John Cullen;
tensions and uncertainties that exist in the present-
mixed media by Jim Ricks and Andrew Salomene;
day European Union which, although it is presented
and local artists from the FETAC and the New Line
under the banner of a common flag, has always
Studios. An open call for submissions will be sent
been a patchwork of independent nations. The
out at the end of this month for our new programme
current crisis has made it clear that a ‘United States
after July 2013. Trudi van der Elsen is the Curator / Co-ordinator
prospect than political union.
at Ennistymon Courthouse.
The collages explore this idea. Most of the countries are depicted as an animal: the body consists of a map onto which the realistic head of
www.ennistymoncourthousegallery.blogspot.ie
years ago we began to formalise these get-togethers, describing them as Episodes with performative and public aspects. Each Episode is different: sometimes people gather for food and discussion around a chosen topic; sometimes they take the form of artist and curator residencies hosted by one or more of the Outrider Artists; sometimes an Episode will involve one or more of us travelling to or initiating a national or international event. It’s a very loose structure and is always guided by the principle of friendship. There are no power trips or jockeying for position, which is a very refreshing way of working with other people. Earlier this year, Outriders received funding from Clare Arts Office for myself and Maria Kerin to travel to a symposium in Lithuania that focused research trip, Outriders will host an international
Economies symposium. I have also been invited by
event in 2013 supported by the European Union
Littoral Arts Trust (UK) to work as an artist
and Clare Arts Office. Serde from Latvia, MoKS
alongside the local community of Sion Mills in Co
from Estonia and Nuno Sacramento from the
Tyrone, looking strategically at a future for the
Scottish Sculpture Workshop will spend a week in
village.
residence at Mrua Studios in Ennistymon, where they will conduct a series of public workshops focusing on sound art, on the politics and practicalities of wild foods and on trans-local exchange. On another front, I’m also privileged to be working with Hilary Murray, Curator-in-Residence at Rua Red Arts Centre in Tallaght. We are developing ideas for a new work that I will make for exhibition there in 2013, drawing on Hilary’s interest in modularity as an aspect of twenty-firstcentury art practice. Because of where I am based, and the impact that has had on the way that I practice, my work has developed an episodic or modular character, and this will be reflected in the work that I make for Rua Red. Living and working rurally has never been financially rewarding, but it has allowed me to explore aspects of art and publicness that I would not have been exposed to otherwise. I am currently participating in City(Re)Searches, an EU funded project to inquire into the public value of culture in this time of crisis. This project takes place across four cities – Cork, Kaunas, Rotterdam and Derry / Londonderry, where the next four-day research action event will take place in February 2013. This is another opportunity to work alongside artists and thinkers whose work I admire. In that regard, I have certainly been very lucky.
of Europe’ is still a long way off. In the future, further disintegration is perhaps a more likely
support and feedback on our work. A couple of
coincide with the third Australian Creative Rural
relationship to the notion of identity. Our programme up until July includes an
meeting informally over a number of years for peer
on residencies in remote areas. Arising out of that
eloquent paradoxes of form and function, and their
poetry and images. Machteld van Buren from the
praxis. Seven of us, based in North Clare, had been
for an exhibition at Swan Hill in Victoria, to
In the Red Couch Gallery upstairs, an
The Courthouse Gallery exhibits work by
Europe’, an international collaboration featuring
are essential for me because the interest in, and
that has developed through an idea of friendship as
Fiona Woods is a visual artist based in Clare. Her Fiona Woods, Research Action #1, 2012
practice includes making, writing, curating and teaching. She is an Assistant Lecturer at Limerick School of Art and Design.
10
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
REGIONAL PROFILE: CLARE
The Burren College
Amanda Dunsmore I moved to rural East Count Clare from Belfast’s
Marginalisation,
Springfield road 10 years ago. The two-year
Discrimination, Alone, Cautious, Discrete, Survival,
transitional period provided enjoyable visual
Acceptance, Denial, Rejection, Loss, Recognition,
differences: urban streets for country lanes, a drafty
Awareness, Inclusion, Punched, Kicked, Opposite,
city-centre shared studio, for a kitchen table and a
Married,
laptop. I lost the bicycle and gained the vital
Disenfranchised, Homophobic, Ageing, Rights,
artistic rural equivalent – the car.
Out, Support, Gender, Identity, Integrate, Embrace,
It is a fact that, as artists, we often find ourselves in some unusual places and situations.
The Burren College of Art Gallery Space
Newtown Castle
Parents,
Prejudice,
Safe,
Exclusion,
Holding,
Grief,
True, Authentic, Balance, Accept, Coping, Resilience, Friends, Freedom, Rejection, OPEN."
Last summer, for instance, I spent 10 days
I’m assisting Sean – who I met recently – with
encouraging groups of people from Attnang-
a newly formed advocacy group, whose first
Puchheim – the Austrian equivalent of Limerick
meeting happened in November 2012. Now that I
Junction – to ‘stick their heads in things’ during the
am trying to engage with the older LGBT
Festival of Regions. The series, ‘Head in a Whole Woman’ and the subsequent ‘Others Have Their
community, my artistic process has taken on elements of detective work. Slowly, I am making
Burren College of Art (BCA) is an independent
Joseph Beuys’ expression “everyone is an
Head’, started in June 2008, when I found a deep
progress. One helpful approach I have adopted is to
fine art college offering an alternative art education
artist” summarises his theory of creativity, which
hole in a rural road and, at that time, it seemed that
start every meeting by giving a small gift. I bring
to Irish and international artists. During the
we aim to reflect. The college provides knowledge-
putting my head into it was the best thing to do.
handmade biscuits (they’re delicious, if I say so
academic year, the intimate college community of
transfer courses to fulfil the demand for creative
When selecting a location, I found or dug a hole
myself) to each meeting. OPEN residency business
40 – 50 artists comprises postgraduate students,
education in other university disciplines, including
and put my head in it. I like the simple bizarreness
cards are attached to the top. Word is slowly
undergraduate semester-abroad students and
the Executive MBA and the Hardiman Scholarhip
of this action. The resultant artworks are documents
spreading and, just by being, I am making the
artists-in-residence, while the summer months are
programme of PhDs in all the Colleges of NUI
of performance, and live work was never the
invisible visible.
alive with interdisciplinary summer schools,
Galway. Bringing together medical researchers,
intention. They depict the body discarded, to deal
20 years ago it was illegal to be homosexual in
faculty-led groups and week-long workshops.
mathematicians,
biochemists,
with the reality of the location. The head protected
Ireland and I’m finding that within parts of the
Commitment to the development of the individual
computer scientists, linguistics researchers and
(or decapitated) is engaged in a subterranean
community it is still very much underground. Just
and a strong sense of community is the unifying
humanities scholars in the art studio is enhancing
encounter. The absurdity of the action offers an
being allowed to attend an OUTWEST disco took
force.
our creative community in ways that could hardly
opportunity to investigate a diverse range of
me six weeks of emails. The OUTWEST disco
Providing time, space and inspiration for
have been foreseen a few years ago. These courses
representations. The resulting documents are
(where I met Sean) is a regular opportunity for
artists in the unique Burren landscape was the
in experiential learning are centred on the post-
visual metaphors applicable to contemporary
LGBT individuals to meet and it proved an
college’s founding principle. Students benefit from
Deleuzian idea of ‘creative difference’, considered
social and political issues, but also to more personal
interesting situation to find myself in. I tried to get
generous, individual studio spaces (4 x 4m), a
an alternative to the Modernist concept of
and literal interpretations. The 150 people who
older gay men to talk to me, (encouraging them
student to staff ratio of eight to one, a vibrant
creativity.
took part in the action will never think about
with biscuits) to try and find out if they lived in the
hedges, drains, musical instruments or cement
area. They were supremely patient and curious
mixers in the same way.
about my research. It was great fun but, seven
programme of visiting artists and a faculty of
philosophers,
BCA has been a centre for conferences since it
practicing artists, each with their own national and
opened, with the Burren Spring Conference and
international profile. The reflective art practice
the Brehon Law School having become landmarks
I am currently Artist in Residence with
months into the residency, this was the first chance
encouraged on campus is balanced with regular
of the Irish year. The landscape theory and art
Galway’s Older LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
I had to meet older LGBTs. For some, this is the only
trips to galleries in Dublin, London and Berlin,
criticism conferences organised with the American
Transgender) community. In my current project,
chance they have to be relaxed and uninhibited in
ensuring students are keep abreast of international
art historian James Elkins led to significant
OPEN, I’m spending a year researching and
public. They had travelled from all over Ireland.
publications and extended the range of the college’s
engaging with the older LGBT people in
Older LGBT people in Irish society are doubly
contemporary art practice. BCA offers a PhD in Studio Art, MFA in Studio
commitment. Now, the college’s Centre for
neighbouring County Galway. One of the aims of
invisible. They are older and they are LGBT. They
Art and a Post Baccalaureate degree, which are
Audacious Conversations uses the power of the
this residency is to reach out to this group, who
are accustomed to being in hiding. Last month I
accredited by the National University of Ireland,
Burren
creative
have lived through dramatic changes in Irish
spent two unsuccessful days looking for a
Galway and offered in association with the Royal
methodologies to enable significant and difficult
society, and to negotiate an artwork which comes
transgender B&B in Cliften. So it seems, unusually,
College of Art, London and the School of the Art
dialogues to happen in a non-traditional context. A
from the engagement around their lives and
that I’m doing a residency with a group of people
Institute of Chicago, which provide mentors.
series of discussions on climate change will begin
experiences.
that I can’t find.
Founded in 1994 by Michael Hawkes-Greene
location
combined
with
with an international gathering in the college in
The residency was launched in April at the Gort Family Resource Centre. That day I introduced
Amanda Dunsmore is a visual artist based in
The BCA Gallery – a large purpose built space
myself and the residency with an informal
County Clare and is Course Coordinator /
opened in 2004 – hosts student and external shows
performance involving 46 text-based silver
Lecturer in Sculpture and Combined Media at
place remains at the core of the learning experience
throughout the year. The MFA graduate exhibition
balloons. Each balloon depicted one of the
the Limerick School of Art & Design, LIT.
here and is reflected in course offerings that include
in April is the highlight of the college year. The
following words from the Visible Lives report,
an Art and Ecology summer school and new MA
Burren Annual, generously supported by Clare
identifying the experiences and needs of older
and MFA programmes in Art and Ecology coming
County Council Arts Office, takes place between
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in
on stream in 2013.
August and September each year. With an invited
Ireland: "Pathologised, Criminalised, Stigmatisation,
and myself, this independent college draws on the tradition of reflective learning of the Brehon and Bardic schools of the Sixth Century. Immersion in
February 2013.
BCA is often compared to the legendary Black
curator, the exhibition presents internationally
Mountain College in the US because it offers an
significant artists both to the summer audience of
alternative, artist-led model of art education.
visitors to the Burren and to the incoming students
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, former Rector of
at the beginning of each academic year. Guest
the Royal College of Art, accurately summed up
curators have included Maoliosa Boyle of Void
our teaching philosophy:
(Derry), Josephine Kelliher of Rubicon Gallery
“Burren College of Art offers teaching and
(Dublin), Jerome O Drisceoil of The Green On Red
learning in the ways they should be offered:
(Dublin), Alice Correira of Gimpel Fils (London)
through structure when you need it, inspiration
and Jon Bewley of Locus+ (Newcastle).
when you don’t and above all through encouraging
Newtown Castle, at the heart of the campus,
students to find their own voices. It is a remarkable
acts as a beacon on the Burren horizon connecting
institution.”
the contemporary Burren College of Art with its
This student-centred approach is enabled by
educational heritage. The college, open year round,
our commitment to maintaining an appropriate
welcomes artists to visit and engage with its
scale and to providing each artist with physical
creative community.
www.headinahole.blogspot.ie www.lit.ie/dunsmore
Attnung-Putnang Choir in Fire Station Drain, all images courtesy of Amanda Dunsmore
and mental space, and time for individual growth. In an era of rationalisation, soaring student to staff
Mary Hawkes-Green is President of the Burren
ratios and the loss of dedicated studio spaces in
College of Art
public art education, BCA focuses on individual creativity and community spirit.
www.burrencollege.ie Still from 'Others Have Their Heads'
Still from the 'OPEN' launch
Still from 'Head in a Whole Woman'
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
11
REGIONAL PROFILE: CLARE
Inis Artists
Marianne Slevin
InIs Artists, which formed 10 years ago, are a
disabilities and is a qualified trainer, working
group of artists who show together in various
regularly with groups from the Brothers of Charity,
venues around Clare and the rest of the country.
the Dulick Enterprise Centre and HSE Mental
The group comprises 15 artists, all working and
Health Association. As a painter and photographer,
living in the county.
his work examines the patterns of light on fields,
Each artist is encouraged to work in whatever
rock and water particular to the region.
medium they choose and the size of the painting
Beirnie Ballarin was born in the US but
and the subject is a matter of personal choice. We
currently lives in Co Clare. Ballarin is self-taught
have members who work in oil, acrylic, pastel,
and works largely in acrylic and watercolour,
charcoal and a mix of these mediums. The subjects
focusing on the expression of colour.
range from animals to landscapes and also include
Mimi Kern studied art at Tyler School of Fine
some abstracts, portraits and figurative pieces.
Arts in Philadelphia. She works primarily in oils.
Though subjects do vary, most of the group
Her work includes interpretations of the Clare
concentrate on the ever-changing landscape of
landscape both natural and built, while reflecting
Ireland with its soft colours and beckoning vistas.
her interest in the human face and form.
The group is limited to 15 members and
Tom Daly is an artist from Limerick. He creates
includes professional artists, those with other
seascapes, landscapes and still lifes using oils,
careers and retired people, and also accommodates
acrylic and watercolours.
artists with disabilities. Membership is by election
Gerardine O’Leary draws inspiration from the
only, which takes place at our AGM. Aspiring
rugged seascapes and landscapes along the western
members must offer their work for inspection by
seaboard and the islands of West Cork, capturing
the committee at that time. Membership is only
the mood and beauty of local scenes.
available when someone retires from the group.
James Slevin Voyage to Crab Island, 2012
Margaret Ray, formerly the secretary of the
In the short span of its existence, Inis Artists
Limerick Art Society (one the oldest art societies in
have exhibited in many locations including Glór
Ireland), is a prominent seascape and equine artist.
(Ennis), the Heritage Centre (Adare), Friarsgate
She is also a member of the Market Artists Group.
Marianne Slevin, Mycelium Maps, 2011
Marianne Slevin, bamboo installation as part of 'Vulnerable', 2012
Myself and my artist husband James Slevin live
couple of years. The exhibition was called
(Killmallock), libraries in Killarney, Limerick,
Sonia Schorman is originally from Dublin
with our two children in a cottage in Doolin, Co
‘Vulnerable’, and it took up most of our house. I
Tralee, Galway, Cork and several venues nearer
and has lived for 26 years in Wicklow and Clare. A
Clare. 12 years ago, I stayed for several weeks in
was really pleased with the response to the work.
home. Sales have been steady even in this difficult
late-comer to painting, she works largely in oils,
this cottage while I was finishing my Masters in
Hopefully, James will have an exhibition here
economic climate.
focusing on the ever-changing colours of the Irish
European Fine Art. It was such an inspiring place
soon. In his own art practice, he carves wooden
landscape.
The group also travel to exhibit work and this
that I made most of the work for my final MA show
sculptures for specific occasions and does
coming year is already well-filled, with members
Angela Meere has been painting for many
during this time. The rugged landscape drew me
photography, though with a shortage of funds he
exhibiting in Kilmallock, Adare, Clonmel,
years and enjoys working with all mediums, in
here, but finding so much art being made in the
has been focusing more on the latter. James is
Charleville, Mitchelstown and Galway. We also
particular oils and pastels. Ideas for her paintings
local area turned it into a kind of Utopian dream.
originally from London and working in such a
have two permanent exhibitions at the moment –
stem primarily from the Clare coast and
While out walking one day, I stumbled across an
rural place has been challenging, but he has been
one in Skycourt Shopping Centre in Shannon and
countryside.
Art College in the middle of the Burren. Another
inventive and courageous with his practice here in
day, the Courthouse Studios in Ennistymon were
Clare. For example, this summer, he kayaked out to
having their open studios and artist talks.
Crab Island to document the landscape and his
the other at the Elm Park Shopping Centre in
Inis Artists are developing and adapting to
Ennis. Individual members also offer workshops in
today’s economic climate. Our purpose is to bring
certain venues throughout the year.
art into the small towns around Munster and the
When I returned from living in Spain seven
experiences living on a tiny Island of rock by
The following are details of some of our
West. We support ourselves as artists by our group
years later, I brought my family with me. The
himself for a month. Unfortunately, after three
members: Tomás O’Maoldomhnaigh, born in
efforts and always welcome feedback and
culture and creativity we found in North Clare has
days, the coast guards came and took him off the
Limerick, is a professional portrait and landscape
suggestions, especially on new venues where we
held us here for the last five years. A huge number
Island, saying that it was a bird sanctuary. So, after
artist. He has had many solo exhibitions around
might exhibit.
of artists and artists groups are based in Clare,
months of planning and preparation he was back
including Ground Up Artists Collective, Outrider
on dry land feeling somewhat deflated. Since then,
Artists and the Altruism Movement. The
James has done up an old Russian motorcycle with
Courthouse Gallery is a core venue for artists, as is
sidecar so that he and his camera equipment can
the Blue Frog in Ennistymon, where we have both
reach out of the way places to make his art.
Ireland and has illustrated a best selling book, The Book of Clare. His paintings have been sold to the
Sonia Schorman and Tomas
United States, Europe, Africa and Australia. He now
O’Maoldomhnaigh
lives and works as a full time artist and illustrator
www.inisartists.com
in his adopted County Clare.
had exhibitions. In fact, local artists are opening up
Currently, I am working on drawings, large
Alan Shoosmith co-ordinates the Clare Arts
their own galleries and alternative spaces, breaking
unstretched canvases and altered found objects
Office Embrace Programme for people with
the boundaries between art and life. I think it is the
and books. I also make ephemeral art and
best place I have found in the world to make art.
interventions in the local environment. We are
To become recognised and renowned as an
currently doing a collaborative project in the
artist outside of Clare is another story. I am not
community that Clare Arts Office have kindly
saying that it is impossible but it is very difficult.
given us money towards. It is going to be a kind of
What would help artists get recognised here is for
physical Twitter, because, after all, the Internet is
somebody to review their exhibitions and for a
great, but only when the local community is cared
curator to do studio visits. Both James and I,
for too. So, for now, while trying to establish my
alongside many artists here, use the Internet as our
career further, I will pile on the woolly jumpers
primary way of connecting with the rest of the
and remember to buy another couple of hoppers of
world. We use websites, blogs, Google+ and more,
turf next year to avoid hyperthermia and to
though sluggish Internet connection can make
continue my practice in Clare.
this a painfully slow process. Faster connection Members of Inis Artists
and funding towards broadband would be a great
Marianne Slevin is an artist, writer and activist
help.
living in Doolin, Co Clare. She often works
For three seasons we opened our home up as a
directly within the community on self-initiated
gallery, but this proved quite disheartening as we
projects, creating a space for art within everyday
had so few visitors. The few people that did venture
contexts. She is currently showing work in
in, however, made it worth the effort. This year, we
several alternative spaces and group exhibitions
decided to put our energy and time into making art
in Clare.
and occasionally having an exhibition of new work instead of being open all of the time. In October, I had an exhibition examining genderMaureen McMahon, Chickens, oils
Tomas O'Maoldomhnaigh, Gravity Gravity, charcoal
based issues, a theme I have been working on for a
12
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
REgIonAl PRoFIlE: ClARE
January – February 2013
professional development training & events 2013
Clare County Council Arts office
for more information or to register visit: northern ireland http://visualartists.org.uk/services/professionaldevelopment/current republic of ireland http://visualartists.ie/education/register-for-our-events/
IMMA workshop for children at the Burren College of Art
MoKs workshop in Mooste, image by John griznick
since County Clare’s first Arts Development Plan
The award-winning Tulla Stables Studios
in 2000, Clare County Council has aimed to
currently houses six artists. Each artist is facilitated
recognise the role of individual artists and to assist
with their own unit and use of a kiln. Working
them in creating new work, to affirm the creation
with Ennis Town Council and the Ennis Chamber
of work by artists through quality support and
of Commerce, the Arts Office has established EASI
promotion, and to create greater opportunities for
(the Ennis Access to Spaces Initiative) in which
artists and the public to interact.
vacant commercial and retail units are used for
Much has changed since those aims were
cultural activities.
articulated, but over the years the Arts Office of
Aside from these very public methods of
Clare County Council has continued to pursue
support, the Arts Office works on an ongoing basis
them, working with local visual arts groups and
with individual artists to assist them in creating
individual artists to devise sustainable support for
new work or publicising their works. We provide
the visual arts in the county.
assistance towards artist materials, catalogues and
The Arts Office directly programmes three
travel, as well as the provision of artist residencies
small galleries in the county: Scariff Library (East
at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig.
Clare), the Foyer of the County Museum (Ennis)
Training for visual artists has also been provided in
and the new gallery at Cultúrlann Sweeney, Kilkee
the area of website development and photography
(West Clare). In addition, the local authority
of artworks. These events also allow for, and indeed
supports the dynamic Courthouse Gallery and
encourage, networking between artists. The Arts
Studios in Ennistymon through annual financial
Office supports these networks in terms of
assistance and by serving on the gallery selection
disseminating information, exemplified in the
committee. The Burren College of Art is also
recently established South Clare Visual Artists
supported annually to produce an independently
Network.
curated contemporary exhibition known as the
Through the Ground Up commissioning pro-
Burren Annual. In 2012, Maoloisa Daly, Director of
gramme, the Ground Up Artists Collective has
the Void Gallery, Derry curated the ninth Burren
emerged (GUAC). With over a dozen members, and
Annual exhibition by eight Derry artists in the
with their emphasis on contemporary visual arts
beautiful gallery space.
in a rural context, the ethos of the group remains
Engagement with the public is also a key aim
very close to the original ethos of the Ground Up
of the local authority’s visual arts programme. The
commissioning programme (www.groundupar-
Artist in School scheme, which has run over a
tists.com).
10-year period, is currently being reviewed by a
Outrider Artists in North Clare is another
core group of visual artists, who are making
group that the Arts Office works closely with.
recommendations that will assist the scheme to
Artists from MoKs in Estonia and SERDE in Latvia
develop, whilst ensuring that both artists and
will visit this group of artists in North Clare in May
schools have a quality arts experience. In 2012, the
2013 to work with them on the theme ‘The Future
Arts Office supported an exhibition at the Burren
is Domestic’. This visit is taking place as part of the
College of Art devised in conjunction with IMMA,
Arts Council’s participation in the Cultural
which was aimed specifically at children. An
Programme to mark Ireland’s Presidency of the
education programme for local primary schools,
Council of the European Union and is supported
facilitated by IMMA, accompanied the exhibition
by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the
and provided a positive engagement for local
Gaeltacht.
children. The Arts Office is also supporting the
Clare Arts Office is heartened by the quality of
development of outreach programmes from the
artists in the county and their determination to
Limerick School of Art and Design, destined to
develop and in many cases excel at their arts
begin in September in North Clare, which will
practice, despite the current difficult times. These
enable students to pursue third level courses in art
artists are an inspiration to the Arts Office and not
in their local area.
only provide the rationale for ongoing supports
Visual artists are also very involved in our
but provide the impetus to the Arts Office to face
Arts and Health and Arts and Disability
current challenges in a creative, engaging and
Programmes. Long term residencies are in place in
artistic manner that is of benefit to the artists, the
St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis and in the Raheen Day
public and to us all.
Care Centre in Tuamgraney. Over 25 groups who work with disabled people participate in the
Siobhan Mulcahy is the Arts Officer for Clare
Embrace scheme, in which artists conduct
County Council.
workshops throughout the county for people with disabilities. This culminates in an annual exhibition in Glor, the main gallery in Ennis.
repUblic of ireland repU DuBlIn & MEATH MEATH
norThern ireland norT BElFA FAssT
follow-up session. projects & proposals: eilis lavelle & helen carey Jan (tbc) (Half day, 3 – 4 hours). @VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 8 places. Cost: ˆ 70 / ˆ 35 (VAI Members). Follow up session intended as an opportunity to meet and hear about each others work development following previous clinic in Nov 2012 with Helen, Eilis and peer group.
projects & proposals: marianne o'Kane boal Feb 2013 (Date & venue tba) 10 places. Cost: £40 / £20 (VAI Members). This session will look at the proposal and application process in detail, exploring the strategic skills required to ensure that your submission is seriously considered.
working with public galleries meath: aoife ruane & artist In partnership with Meath County Council Arts Office Tues 12 Feb (9.00 – 21.00) @ Toradh Gallery, Dunshaughlin, Meath 22 places. Cost: Free. This talk is designed to give artists the confidence and knowledge to build strong relationships with curators and get the most out of their experience when working with public galleries. peer critique studio Visits: Kati Kivinen Wed 13 & Thurs 14 Feb Cost: ˆ 80 / ˆ 45 (VAI Members). 10 places. An opportunity for artists to have one-to-one feedback on their work from Kati Kivinen, a Helsinkibased art historian and curator. writing the artist's statement and cV: Kerry mccall Thurs 18 April (10.30 – 16.30) 10 places. Cost: ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI Members) @VAI Dame Court, Dublin 2 gallery installation skills Traditional media: gillian fitzpatrick Spring 2013 (Date tba). gallery installation skills digital media: angela halliday Wed 1 May (10.30 – 16.30) 10 Places. Cost: ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI Members) @VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 accounts, Taxation & ros with gaby smyth Thurs 6 June 2013 (Half day 3–4 hours) 10 places. Cost: ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI members) @VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 health & safety for Visual artists Spring 2013. Details to be announced art & law ii Spring 2013. Further details to be announced. The artists as curator Autumn 2013. Details to be announced. preparing proposals Autumn 2013. Details to be announced
community focused arts project planning: conor shields In partnership with Belfast Exposed Fri 15 Feb (10.30 – 13.30) @ Belfast Exposed. 20 places. Practical session aimed at artists and community activists working collaboratively. facilitation skills for artists working with groups: niamh o'connor In partnership with Belfast Exposed Thurs 7 Feb (10.30 – 4.30) @ Belfast Exposed. 10 places. Cost: £40 / £20 (VAI / BX members). Theory and practice of running a community arts workshop. peer critique studio Visits: Kati Kivinen Fri 15 Feb. (10.30 – 16.30) 10 places. Cost: £40 / £20 (VAI Members). An opportunity for artists to have one-to-one feedback on their work from Kati Kivinen, a Helsinki based art historian and curator. writing about Your work, cV & statement May 2013. Details to be announced. presentation skills Spring 2013 Details to be announced. presenting Yourself and Your work Autumn 2013. Details to be announced. preparing proposals Autumn 2013. Details to be announced. insurance for Visual artists: o’driscoll o’neill Autumn 2013. Details to be announced. The artist as curator Autumn 2013. Details to be announced.
Upcoming Topics Subject to interest, there will also be sessions on the following topics in either Dublin or Belfast: Project Management for the Visual Arts; Documenting your Work; Artists Agreements & The Artists Charter; Practical Legal; Copyright & Your Work; Legacy Planning. To express interest in particular training topics please get in touch with us or alternatively register your interest online see our training registration page and click on ‘Tell us about your Professional Development Needs'. www.visualartists.ie/education-2/current-programme/ p Tnership wiTh par hV Vai Visual Artists Ireland works in partnership with a range of organisations at regional level. We welcome approaches and expressions of interest from artist studios, galleries and local authority arts officers who might wish to partner on future events including: workshops, talks, seminars and Visual Artists Ireland information clinics. Partnerships work best where topics and needs are mutually agreed and where programming can continue on an annual basis in response to local needs, contexts and synergies. arTisTs & TUTors panel p Visual Artists Ireland has an ongoing open submission process for artists and arts professionals interested in being part of an available panel of tutors contributing to the VAI Professional Development Training Programme. For details go to our training registration page and click on ‘Register for the PDT Artists Panel’. Monica Flynn / Professional Development, Visual Artists Ireland, Central Hotel Chambers., 7–9 Dame Court, Dublin 2 T: +353 (0)1 672 9488 E: monica@visualartists.ie www.facebook.com/VAIProfessionalDevelopment www.visualartists.org.uk www.visualartists.ie www.printedproject.com www.thecommonroom.net @VisArtsIreland
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
13
POLICY
A Structural Necessity? Claire Power considers the increasing reliance of visual arts organisations on interernships, and reports on the findings of and issues aired by a recently-formed discussion group on the subject. Writing an article on the current debate about internships is daunting, especially when you wear an institutional hat, purport to represent the views of a wider group and acknowledge that most galleries / institutions play a role in the dilemma. There are a broad range of viewpoints on internships and this article is intended to serve as a starting point, to highlight key issues and stimulate further debate. I aim to highlight new initiatives and current debates at a timely point when unpaid internships are becoming more common for a new generation of young arts workers. In reviewing the literature that has been written on the subject, mainly by UK research and policy bodies, one statement struck a chord with me, as having some truth: “... the deployment of unpaid interns is fast becoming in many cases a structural necessity for companies and organisations. There is a suspicion that interns and volunteers may be de facto masking the collapse of the European cultural sector, hiding the exodus of the public resources from such activities and thus preventing the general public from perceiving the unsustainability of the situation.”1 It’s a polemical statement that offers a strong point of view. Are internships becoming ‘structural’ in the arts? And, if so, what does this mean in the medium term? How we will plan for the future? Interns are already an established part of the infrastructure. On one hand they prop up the sector, enabling growth and ambition and, on the other, they falsify a situation that may or not be sustainable in the face of reduced public spending. Within this landscape of free labour and economy of exchange, it is vital that both arts organisations and interns are aware of their obligations and rights. Focus Group As with every big debate, there will be the small, practical steps to achieving change. In September 2012, a small group of people working in the arts came together at Visual Artists Ireland to listen and interrogate some of the key issues and current debates on internships in the arts in Ireland. This group comprised Jim Ricks (artist), Gina O’Kelly (Irish Museums Association), Bernadette Beecher (Visual Artists Ireland) and myself (Temple Bar Gallery + Studios). At our meeting, a number of important issues were raised, including legal ones, for both the intern and employer. To start with, there is no single definitive, legal description of what an internship means either in Ireland or England. Artquest, a resource body for artists in the UK, ask, “With no legal definition of an internship how can interns and visual arts organisations ensure quality experiences and stay within the law?”2 Gina O’Kelly circulated some literature from the Arts Council of England, demonstrating that there are some clear distinctions on what constitutes an internship. This is set out in a policy document entitled Internships in the Arts: a Guide for Arts Organisations (2011). It differentiates an internship from, for example, voluntary work, a student placement, an apprenticeship, a traineeship, work experience or what is offered within a university or educational strand.3 The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) also differentiates between internships and JobBridge (an Irish government initiative), the employment of close relatives and those who meet the Industrial Training Act requirements. Their guidleines state that all interns have the right to a safe working environment, and to adequate breaks and holidays. The National Employment Rights Authority defines an employee as “a person of any age who has entered into, or works or has worked under a contract of employment”.4 Thus, the terms of an internship must reflect both the intern’s work experience to date and the nature of the work being carried out. The concept of internships began with careers that were traditionally deemed desirable or had good earning potential eg law or medicine.5 Ultimately, the attraction of a good internship remains the same. It should offer valuable learning experience, professional development and networking opportunities that will either lead to paid employment or help to further the intern’s career in a tangible way. From the discussion within our small group at VAI, it became clear that there was a lack of awareness among arts organisation and interns as to how these rights apply. Without definitive, industryspecific guidelines, both arts organisations and the interns occupy vulnerable positions.
What can we learn from UK debates & policies?
interns ranging from a recruitment practice that is fair, open and
Over the last decade, the debate on internships in the UK has really
transparent, a written contract and the presence of a line manager to
fired up, as the culture of unpaid internships becomes increasingly
ensure there is adequate insurance cover employers for public
familiar. The “I’ve paid my dues, this is something that everyone has
liability.10 Arts organisations and cultural leaders can also offer
to go through” sentiment remains commonplace, but is becoming
valuable support to interns through regular appraisal and mentoring
problematic as the rise of the unpaid internship coincides with a
in the longer term to help guide them through the early stages of
decade of reduced public spending in the arts.6 This situation proffers
their career.
two questions: How realistic is a career in the arts and creative sector for new graduates in the field? And what future-focus do we need?
Intern Culture
Many of the same ideological positions played out on a large scale in
In May 2012, Artquest published Intern Culture, a literature review of
UK cultural debate were mirrored within our own small focus group.
23 reports, guidelines and policy documents published since 2008. It
These include shared concerns about job replacement, social mobility
offers six principles to follow in order to build high-quality
and barriers to a creative career because of a individual’s ability to pay
internships.11 For the launch of the report, Artquest chaired a debate
expenses like travel costs, the erosion of junior level or trainee
at the Showroom, London during the exhibition, ‘The Grand Domestic
positions within the arts and exploitative internships. The group also
Revolution GOES ON’, on 17 October, encouraging artists, arts
recognised that a cultural shift will not happen overnight and for
professionals and representatives of art organisations to share their
now we would be best placed to advocate for and to consider
experience and their opinions on Intern Culture. The debate makes
collectively with the wider sector, a series of policies or guidelines. It
worthwhile reading and highlights can be found on Twitter with
is vital that employers in the arts sector are fully aware of their legal
#internculture. The discussion raised the pertinent question, “How
obligations in this area and interns are aware of their rights.
can we define, as sector, what we want internships to be?” As representatives of the arts and cultural sector in Ireland, we need to
What is the measure of a good internship?
consider this question too.12
The Arts Council of England Guidelines describe a successful
The Carrot Workers Collective is another interesting point of
internship, as being “mutually beneficial and well-planned… for both
reference in the current debate and occupies an activist position.
individuals interested in a career in the arts and arts organisations”.
They are an open group based in London, concerned with the issue of
Underpinning their thinking is a strategic aim to “make sure that
free labour in the cultural and creative sectors. On their blog (www.
working in the arts is seen as a sustainable, long-term career for
carrotworkers.wordpress.com) they provoke discussion on free labour
people of all backgrounds”. The emphasis on “sustainability” and
and unpaid internships through organised action and platforms such
“long-term” careers being of utmost relevance here, as increasing
as the Cuts Cafe London, stating that the “ability to live in the absence
numbers of new graduates join a highly competitive field of work.
of the wage in the internship sets up a series of expectations around
There is the very valid argument that in recent years unpaid
non-wage labour that infiltrate the entirety of productive relations”.
internships have replaced low paid entry-level positions across the
There is a risk now that internships are becoming structural, so
arts. Dr Emily Mark Fitzgerald, of the University College Dublin
that interns are in fact propping up the gap between the ambitions of
School of Arts History and Cultural Policy, spoke passionately on this
the sector and reduced public spending. The opening provocation –
subject in a short presentation at the Visual Art Workers Forum in
that internships may mask the collapse of the European cultural
2012.
sector and prevent the general public perceiving the unsustainability
Clearly, there is much more to question and to try and resolve.
of the situation – is extreme. There is a strong and resilient arts sector
There has been an increase in the number of arts courses offered in
in Ireland and the show will go on; or at least it has done so far. There
Ireland and universities and educational institutes also face a
are new realities and pressures facing all arts organisations in the face
dilemma. One solution was put forward by the young people of
of reduced public spending. Within this new situation, internships
Ireland in the ‘Being Young and Irish’ report, an on going consultation
and the promise of philanthropy fill a widening gap.
with President Michael D Higgins. It calls for “the creation of a
What unites the arts sector and makes it strong are the dedicated
graduate employment scheme based on relevant skills (not
people involved, and interns are a key part of our current and future
JobBridge)”.7 Currently, what we have in Ireland, operating alongside
workforce. In our small focus group, we concluded that it is time to
JobBridge, is the Employer Job Incentive Scheme (PRSI). This
think about agreeing on shared values in order to define internships
employment initiative programme from the Irish Government
and come up with a set of policy guidelines. In the medium term, the
exempts employers from liability to pay their share of PRSI and is
guidelines will ensure that arts organisations are all fully aware of
open to companies who create new and additional jobs. It would be
their legal obligations in offering internships and will also inform
good to see this initiative taken a few steps further or progression of
potential interns about how to seek out high-quality experiences. For
JobBridge to incentivise longer-term job creation in the creative and
the longer term, it would be advisable to have more joined-up
cultural sector for recent graduates or the newly unemployed.
thinking between government departments for public expenditure,
Perhaps an initiative like the recently announced Arts Council
social protection, jobs and innovation along with cultural policy
of England Creative Employment Programme would be worth
makers to nurture new talent among the future workforce for a
considering by government and policy stakeholders here.8 This
vibrant creative and cultural sector. Let’s start the ball rolling.
scheme is designed to support up to 6,500 paid internships, preapprenticeships and apprenticeships for young people aged 16 – 24
Claire Power is the Development Manager at Temple Bar
and is expected to begin in 2013. Its precise purpose is to help combat
Gallery + Studios.
unpaid internships within arts organisations and to help young people find entry-level positions in the arts and cultural sector. The Arts Council of England guidelines set out the responsibilities employers have when offering an internship. In the ‘Guidelines to Arts Organisations’, the intern is accorded “worker” status.9 The result is that, by this definition, the majority of interns will most likely be classified as a worker for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act. Any individual with worker status is also protected by all other legislation relating to employees, including working time regulations, health and safety laws and rules around statutory sick pay. A six-point checklist for creative and cultural employers taking on interns includes a numbered list of employer responsibilities to
Notes 1. Carrot Workers’ Collective, ‘One Free Labour, Enforced Education and Precarity: an initial reflection’, 2009, carrotworkers.wordpress.com/on-free-labour 2. Artquest / Current Projects / Intern Culture 3. Arts Council of England, Creative and Culture Skills: Internships in the Arts: A Guide for Arts Organisations 4. www.employmentrights.ie 5. Artquest / Current Projects / Intern Culture 6. Carrot Workers’ Collective blog, ‘counter guide to free labour’ 7. The Irish Times 8. www.artscouncil.org.uk, past funding programmes 9. Arts Council of England, Creative and Culture Skills: Internships in the Arts: A Guide for Arts Organisations, 7 10. Ibid, 12 – 13 11. www.artquest.org.uk/articles/view/intern_culture 12. From Intern Culture live debate twitter feed live, Wednesday 17 October 2012
14
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
International profile
Ufficio Moda (Fashion Office), Cittadellarte / Pistoletto Foundation, 2009, image by Enrico Amici
Cittadellarte / Pistoletto Foundation, overview, image by Enrico Amici
Collective Citadel Brenda Moore-McCann profiles the Pistoletto Foundation / Cittadellarte, Piedmont, Italy. Love Difference, Cittadellarte / Pistoletto Foundation, 2010, image by Enrico Amici
becomes the connective tissue through which each unit operates, all
these with a larger womb-like circle at the centre. Paradise, in this
dedicated to the transformation of society through an interdisciplinary
context it should be emphasised, is a completely secular idea and
network of creative projects, discussions and workshops: dialogue
comes from the ancient Persian word, meaning a ‘protected garden’
My visit to the Pistoletto Foundation / Cittadellarte in the city of
rather than revolution. The term ‘Cittadellarte’ is another metaphor
and referring to external dangers on the outside. The first small circle
Biella in Piedmont, Italy, in August 2012 was stimulated by a long-
for its activities being a composite of the Italian words for ‘citadel’
can be identified as the symbol of the 'First Paradise' at the dawn of
standing interest in the Arte Povera movement founded by a group of
and ‘city’, the former a closed, protective environment, the latter
time when man and nature were integrated with, for example,
Italian artists in the 1960s, of which Michelangelo Pistoletto was a
open, unpredictable and dynamic. Cittadellarte, therefore, takes the
botanical gardens producing herbs to prevent disease. The second
leading figure. This, coupled with reading about the Foundation,
premise that there is no alternative, for the moment, to the dominance
smaller circle, the Second Paradise, represents the current phase of
made a visit irresistible, as it seemed so far removed from the usual
of the capitalist system and ideology worldwide, so the best way of
humanity, when man developed sophisticated technology to such a
institution dedicated to the work and achievements of a single artist.
attempting to transform society is to actively engage with all players.
degree that this artificial paradise has become completely separated
(The Foundation, however, does contain a museum dedicated to
This necessarily requires absorption of diverse opinions, contradiction
from nature. The large central circle represents the planet Earth and
Pistoletto’s seminal works and other Arte Povera artists.) Rather, it
and ambiquity, qualities that are also an inherent part of art and life.
the 'Third Paradise', one yet to be achieved, in which man and nature
appeared to be a communal centre with the declared aim of answering
Pistoletto was not the only artist from the 1960s generation to
become reintegrated. If the aim of transforming societies is to be
the question: How can art and the artist be relevant to contemporary
think in this way. Many artists around the world sought ways to
achieved, there must be a move away from rampant consumerism
society? This is a question that has been explored in diverse ways by
break through the stranglehold of the Modernist dogma of
and individualism, and a shift of emphasis towards the spiritual well-
many artists since the 1960s. I was curious to see how Pistoletto, the
universality, autonomy and the apolitical that informed Western
being of individual societies. Lamark’s theory of change is invoked
driving force behind Cittadellarte, and others, were attempting to
thinking. This inevitably brought the artist away from the isolation
here in which change through macro-adaptation happens in parallel
answer it, particularly in light of the devastating economic and
of the studio and into the public sphere (the polis) where political
with change through micro-adaptation, rather than Darwinian
political crisis affecting Europe and the globalised world.
and historical events became part of art. Allied to this was a renewed
change based on the survival of the fittest.
"The Imagination leads to a universe of possibilities." Michelangelo Pistoletto
The concepts that inform Cittadellarte came out of Pistoletto’s
relationship with the spectator who now became a participant. The
The ‘Third Paradise / Re-Birth Day’ project takes as its starting
10 years of teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, where his
foundational project of Cittadellarte was UNIDEE (University of
point prophesies, at different times that the world would end on a
brief was to overhaul the educational system. From the beginning of
Ideas), a residency programme in which multidisciplinary groups
particular day. The latest is prophesied for 21 December 2012. This,
his career, he took the view that artistic creation should not be
meet to discuss views on a variety of subjects and propose creative
the date of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, and
limited to a self-referential system but could interact effectively with
projects. In many ways, it could be argued, this was the realisation of
associated with longer daylight hours, has from time immemorial
other sectors of society. The manifesto for this vision was Progetto
Joseph Beuys’ dream of the Free International University for Creativity
been associated with rituals around the rebirth of the world.
Arte / Art Project (1994) when Pistoletto organised “conversations” in
Cittadellarte proposes to create a global artwork beginning on this
multiple workshops on the subject of the artist’s role in society,
and Interdisciplinary Research, which he wanted to situate in Dublin in 1974.1 UNIDEE has partners all over the world including: the
which took place in Munich, Tokyo, London, Milan and Biella. The
Scottish Council; the Arts Council, England; Injuve, Instituto de la
and on the web, in a series of creative activities by artists, individuals
latter, where Pistoletto was born in 1933, became the practical
Juventud, Madrid; Inlaks Foundation, New Delhi; Ermenegildo Zegna
realisation, and laboratory, for the above approach, when he purchased
Group, Biella; Illy, Trieste; Hangar, Barcelona; Saint Foundation, New
and groups inspired by the concept of change and rebirth. To engage in the project see the website www.rebirth-day.org.2 Some of those
a former mill on the River Cervo in 1991. In Medieval times, Biella
York; Sipeas, SRL, Turin.
published on the web will be selected by an international committee to
day, when people are called upon to meet in streets all over the world
was at the centre of the prosperous textile industry of northern Italy.
One of the latest projects in Cittadellarte, which provided the
form part of an exhibition by Pistoletto at the Louvre called ‘Year One-
By 1998, the mill had been converted into the Pistoletto Foundation
title for this article, may be of interest to some Irish artists: ‘The Third
Paradise on Earth’ in the spring of 2013 and will however continue in
/ Cittadellarte, a non-profit organisation supported by the Region of
Paradise / Re-Birth Day’. This project came out of the 2003 Bush / Blair
various forms throughout 2013. This project represents a new form of
Piedmont. The activity of interweaving threads to make fabric
invasion of Iraq – a pre-emptive war. Pistoletto, like many, was
public art on a global scale that attempts to create relationships
became an apt metaphor for the activities of the new institution.
appalled by this action but also by the fact that millions of citizens in
between art, science and technology which have the potential to open
The structure of Cittadellarte was based on Pistoletto’s artistic
democratically elected countries (including the United States, Britain
up new areas of interaction and commitment at ground level across
use of the division of mirrors to multiply reflections to infinity,
and Ireland) who demonstrated against such a war, were ignored. The
society.
coupled with the concept of biological cell division. Both lead to
implications for the ‘voice of the people’, the foundation of democratic
multiplication through division called condivisione in Italian,
principles, were serious. For Pistoletto, this “first global vote” was, in
Brenda Moore-McCann is an art historian / critic, author and
meaning ‘dividing with’ or 'sharing.’ All these concepts are manifested
essence, a plea for a profound change in the lip service paid to
adjunct lecturer at the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin
in Cittadellarte through a central cell unit devoted to art, which is
democratic ideals in Western society.
where she teaches a humanities module 'Perception in Medicine and Art' to first and fourth year medical students.
subdivided into a series of other cell units called uffizi (offices) which
Drawing on the symbolic function of art, he developed a new
are accessible to different sectors of society: education, politics,
symbol to address the issue. Taking the mathematical symbol for
economics, spirituality, architecture, fashion, nutrition. Art, therefore,
infinity, composed of two intertwined circles, he made a synthesis of
Notes 1. D Walker, Modern Art in Ireland, 1997, Lilliput Press, Dublin, 108. 2. rebith-day@cittadellarte.it
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
15
Institution profile photographs of the Prinzhorn collection in Heidelberg. For The Return space, we invited the three curators – Jonathan Carroll, Georgina Jackson and Mark Gary – to develop exhibitions with emerging artists from Germany and Ireland. Often these exhibitions express some relationship or are inspired by the respective country. For instance, Özlem Günyol and Mustafa Kunt looked at the Natural History Museum just across Merrion Square for their piece The Dead Zoo. When The Return was founded in 2002, it made sense to create a space for emerging artists. Meanwhile, there seem to be a number of art spaces with that mission. At the same time, a number of non-profit galleries are struggling to keep up their work. It is too early for me to draw any conclusions but I am not sure whether I would prefer to support young curators across Ireland who want to collaborate with emerging German artists and to help in the development of new art spaces. There are half finished buildings in the city, large empty lots, ghost estates. All these places could become venues for art, performances and temporary landscape architecture. Together with our partners in the art world, we could aspire to live up to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s maxim: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Gerhard Richter, Betty, 1991 offset print on lightweight card, with a layer of nitrocellulose varnish, mounted on plastic, framed and behind glass, 97.1 x 66.2cm. (c) Gerhard Richter 2012
Mechtild Manus, Dublin
Go Where There is No Path Mechtild Manus, the new Director of the Goethe-Institut Ireland, talks to Jason Oakley, VAI’s publication manager, about intercultural exchange, supports for artists and the institut's upcoming visual art programme in relation to ireland’s eu presidency. Jason Oakley: Can you tell me a little about your background and what attracted you to this position? And what was your knowledge of the visual arts in Ireland prior to taking up the post? Mechtild Manus: After many years working in North America, I wanted to move back to Europe. I've always loved Ireland and the Irish, since I came here first for a vacation about 10 years ago. From what I read in the papers, I thought that the transformation the country is undergoing must be a superb battleground for the arts. Also, let me be frank about another thing: after eight years in freezing Montréal I was looking forward to mild winters and to doing my daily run all year round instead of switching in winter to swimming indoors. Honestly, I didn’t know a thing about contemporary Irish art. My whole knowledge of the arts in Ireland was about literature, theatre and dance. That changed at the last Documenta (13) in Kassel this summer when I had a chance to marvel at Gerard Byrne’s stimulating multi-screen installation in the large ballroom of Hotel Hessenland – a fragmented filmic collage featuring a theatrical discussion amongst a bunch of surrealists about sex. Also, in my first three months in Dublin I explored galleries and museums, spoke to curators, including the curators of The Return, our own gallery, and I had great conversations with people at the National College of Art and Design. Some Irish art struck me as really beautiful, for example Alice Maher’s works at the Glucksman and at IMMA. My own background is more in the performing arts and I am fascinated by the crossover taking place right now between performing and visual arts, something we can see, for example, in the works of Tino Sehgal, a German artist who will come to IMMA in the spring. JO: My understanding of the mission of the Goethe-Institut in Ireland, is to foster cultural cooperation between Germany and Ireland – and that it’s a ‘two way street’ as it were… MM: You are absolutely right. Our aim is to work in two ways, to Ireland and to Germany. We always aim at transcultural crossfertilization. When we invite German designer Van Bo Le-Mentzel to NCAD, we want him to bring something back to Germany and to his artistic environment. It is all give and take, inspiring each other. In the visual arts that means that we try to include in a show an opportunity for exchange. This can take the form of an artist’s talk, a workshop or an intervention in a public space. JO: What kind of contacts and links is the Goethe-Institut interested in forming with the visual arts sector in Ireland? MM: We don’t look for the isolated single event, for the flash in the pan without any repercussions. Rather, we prefer to build up long-term relationships, develop certain topics that evolve slowly into common themes. It’s like those notebooks we carry around, fill with observations and spill coffee on the pages of, as we read and reread what they have
to say about emerging projects. We also continuously evaluate partners and trends and are eager to open up to new players and venues in the field. Here is another thing about the Goethe-Institut: directors come and go, but the local staff, in our case the fabulous Barbara Ebert, remain as indispensable sources of information and advise. Also, the visual arts division at the Goethe-Institut’s headquarters in Munich follows the latest developments on the German arts scene and provides us with detailed information. The division draws on the support of an independent advisory body made up of well-known figures from the visual arts scene in Germany. In order to support a project, the Goethe-Institut must be involved in its planning and development from the initial stages, so that we can actively help to shape its content. By no means can we provide lastminute financial assistance for art projects organised without having consulted us when the project was planned. JO: What kind of information and support does the GoetheInstitut offer individual Irish professional artists about residencies along with exhibition, educational, networking opportunities etc in Germany? MM: Anyone who is seeking any form of exchange with Germany should consider the Goethe-Institut as a resource for information, advice and assistance. They can contact us in person. They can also use our library and our digital resources (www.goethe.de/visualarts). On this website you will find information about current trends, art institutions, art schools and curators. We encourage curators and art institutions who want to present artists from Germany to apply for funds at the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) (www.ifa.de). IFA also offers a wide range of exhibitions that can be presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut. A good example for this being the Rosemarie Trockel show at the RHA Gallery. Finally, artists can apply for residencies at various institutions, for instance at Schloss Solitude (www.akademie-solitude.de). All of these websites have English sections and application forms in English. However, we will be more than happy to help with any applications. JO: The Return Gallery at the institute is widely appreciated in Dublin and beyond as a unique space. Could you outline some of the thinking behind this project? MM: I was absolutely amazed by the crowds of young people who flocked to the opening of Isabel Nolan’s exhibition ‘Unmade’ at The Return. Certainly, Isabel Nolan already has made a name for herself, as has the curator Vaari Claffey, and there were a lot of their students at the opening. But even now, at regular opening times, I see visitors every day in this tiny gallery, looking at the delicate installation inspired by
JO: Could you tell me about some of the major visual arts projects and exhibitions the Goethe-Institut Dublin has lined up for 2013? And some of the key ways they address the Goethe’s intercultural exchange agenda? MM: The Irish EU-Presidency as well as 'The Gathering' are unique chances to bring within a couple of months four extraordinary exhibitions of contemporary German and Irish art to Ireland. The RHA kicks off on 10 January with works on paper by Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke from the collection of the Kunstmuseum in Krefeld. The Crawford Gallery in Cork follows on 12 April, where the exhibition ‘False Optimism’ brings together German and Irish artists who are based in Berlin. They oppose the Berlin art hype with the rather disillusioning but perhaps objectively true title ‘False Optimism’. Jointly curated by Joep van Liefland of Autocenter and Peter Murray of the Crawford Art Gallery, this large scale exhibition will showcase the work of fourteen artists: four of whom are Irish and have chosen the German capital as their place of residence and creation. The same day IMMA opens the performance This Situation by German artist Tino Sehgal and a few days later, on 18 April, IMMA launches a significant and unique project: the exhibition ‘I KNOW YOU’ with 27 graduates of the world famous Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. In connection with these exhibitions, NCAD is planning an interdisciplinary symposium exploring the philosophical and political meaning of art institutions today. ‘I KNOW YOU’ is jointly curated by Rachael Thomas, Head of Exhibitions at IMMA, artist Tobias Rehberger, and architect Nikolaus Hirsch, rectors of the Städelschule. With only 190 students, it is one of the smallest yet best known European Art schools. More than 70% of the students and many of the 12 professors come from abroad to this school, which was established through a foundation created by Frankfurt citizen Johann Friedrich Städel in 1817. With ‘I KNOW YOU’, the curators want to highlight Frankfurt as a financial and cultural hub and define capital not only financially but also culturally. Personally, I find this exhibition most fitting for the Irish EU-Presidency. Europe is more than the European Central Bank in Frankfurt: it is a cultural community. In these dire times more than ever, we have to collaborate in Europe and the exhibition does foster collaboration in a really unique artistic way. The curators invited the participating artists to relate with their work to a partner. This can be a fellow artist, a cook, a broker or even an object. Timothy Furley, for instance, chose the Cologne-based science fiction author Mark von Schlegell. I heard that they are going to give a rock concert together. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of performative events by the artists in the course of the exhibition, which runs until 7 July. Last but not least, Tino Sehgal will stage – alongside performers from Germany and Ireland – his work This Situation, which recently toured with the support of the Goethe-Institut from Belgrade to Kolkata. The piece will run with German and Irish performers at Earlsfort Terrace from 12 April – 24 May. I am really looking forward to all these exciting events. I am genuinely surprised by the huge interest of Irish art institutions in German contemporary art and I am extremely grateful for the amazing opportunities that these institutions offer the Goethe-Institut. Together, we do not only make art and design from Germany better known in Ireland, but we can foster long lasting collaborations between individual artists, as well as between institutions such as NCAD and Städelschule. www.goethe.de/ins/ie
16
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
Art in the public realm: profile
Jenny Moran Everything that ever happened is here, 2012
Jenny Moran, Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us, 2012
Jenny Moran, Despicably Utilitarian, 2012
Home as Universe
domestic heritage to the public, especially after a physically and
Jennie Moran profiles her collaborative art / architecture project with architect Laura Harty, for older people's housing in naas, Co Kildare.
strangers. It seemed to me that the laws of hospitality are pretty much
emotionally demanding relocation. I kept thinking about hospitality during this project. People looking for information are more than
In April 2009, I crossed paths with a woman called Margharita Solon
things. Some things can be transported, others cannot. Like the house
and heard of her plans to set up a new kind of housing for older people
and the way it has influenced the occupant. For instance, a dweller
in Naas, Co Kildare. It was to comprise 53 self-contained apartments in
might have become accustomed to bathing in the late afternoon
and around an empty convent in the centre of the town. Named
because of the type of sunlight that was sent in through their bathroom
McAuley Place, it would house a cultural venue and café, and lie
window at such an hour. This is unlikely to be the case in the next
adjacent to a community centre. All parts would be open to the public.
house. Silence and noise will be different. The distance a person will
Prospective tenants had to be over 65, be able to live independently and
travel into the house before they remove their coat will change. This is
be residing in Naas or thereabouts. I got to thinking about these tenants
where the architect’s focus lay. She wanted to understand and describe
and how 53 homes would soon be closing down and moving into
the setting, which frames, directs and positions the experience of the
another building. This was intended to be their final move: the lifts in
home. The task was to move the immovable. Scale was often mentioned
McAuley Place were designed to accommodate coffins. I felt that this
as a tool.
moment of enormous collective bravery should be marked in some
The movable things were my territory. I concentrated on
way. I thought about all the layers of history within these 53 homes,
possessions and atmosphere. These are some of the devices with which
momentarily accessible in the disruption of the move, like dust raised,
the dweller can influence the home. Possessions are objects used to
soon to be swept away. To me, there was an urgency in collecting some
re-orient ones self. They are how we can resist displacement. ‘These are
of this important history dust.
my place mats. This must be my dining room.’ In the case of McAuley
I visited Margharita Solon and discussed the possibility of creating
Place, the new apartments were usually smaller than the tenant’s
some sort of archive: a way of making the history from the tenants’
previous home. This meant that most tenants had to filter their
previous homes present at McAuley Place. Following this, I approached
possessions somewhat. Items secured their inclusion by being either
architect, Laura Harty – having seen her and a colleague give a
indispensable or of sentimental value. The sentimental objects are
presentation at an Irish Architecture Foundation Pecha Kucha event –
interesting because, when one chooses to leave behind a landmark,
about accommodation for older people from the perspective of two
that place or experience is no longer physically represented and
architects. We went to Naas together and continued our conversation
permission is given to begin forgetting it. A narrative is reconstructed
from there, with a view to developing a project together. We were
or edited slightly.
subsequently awarded funding from the Engaging with Architecture
The word ‘atmosphere’ describes the air surrounding a thing or
Scheme and Kildare Arts Service. This is a relatively new award funded
the tone or feeling of a place. I wondered if there was a connection
by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Arts,
between the two meanings – that the air surrounding a thing (the thing
Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under the Government Policy on
here referring to the dweller) could affect the tone or feeling in a place
Architecture Implementation Programme 2009 – 2015. The scheme
(the place being the home). I thought back to my grandmother’s house
aims to enhance and extend the public’s experience of and engagement
and how it would only function with her in it. Without her it was
with architecture. Laura and I applied as an architect / artist
dreadful, regardless of how many fires were lit, meals cooked or other
collaboration after an initial research period where we identified or
perfectly pleasant people were present. Atmosphere is movable and
respective tasks and roles. Our application focused on the architecture
must travel with the person like a portable, external soul.
of the home.
Next, I decided to consult a scientist. NUI Maynooth microbiologist,
Laura and I were both interested in the idea of the home as
Kevin Kavanagh, received me graciously, furnished me with Petri
primary universe: a place that might shield us from the elements, from
dishes and incubated samples taken from new and old homes so that I
danger and from the public; a potential site for restoration and
could watch spores develop under a microscope. I discovered that the
intimacy, where the body is inclined to stay still; a place where we
air in a home is different when the occupant is present. I also discovered
might accumulate the debris of minor and major excursions, dream
a whole new language that I could use to articulate the idea. This was
about them, awake and asleep. But also a place to leave. A springboard.
also a response to Laura’s suggestion that scale be used to move
For some, the exit is more pleasing than the entrance / re-entrance. A place men come out of.1 In particular, it was the task of transporting the
immovable things. Although I am quite sure she was referring to the
home that interested us both. What happens when you move a
about particles.
act of reproducing something on a smaller scale, it got me thinking
universe from one place to another? One of the first things we
The home is a tricky site. The factors that make it fascinating also
discovered was that the home is made up of movable and immovable
make it very fortress-like. We don’t want to present our private
reversed. Let us say no to who or what turns up.2 We only visited homes when we were invited, and where possible we would be the hosts. Initially, we wrote a letter to each of the prospective tenants, introducing ourselves and the project, which we followed up with an invitation to supper in McAuley Place. We each made a cake and whoever was interested came along. I liked this dynamic and decided to try and maintain it. Shortly after this, the Convent Tea Rooms opened in McAuley Place: the café open to tenants and the public. I decided to work there occasionally to keep up my role as host and also to become familiar to the place and with the place. It also meant nice wide-open potential for informal exchanges in doorways etc. Everything was recorded and taken to our respective workplaces to be processed. It seemed appropriate that this archive (which is about the home) be comfortably re-housed in a home. So the information gathered is spread across a group of objects, which can function in a domestic setting. There is a series of soap sculptures, Despicably Utilitarian, which references some unremarkable parts of houses that are usually experienced through touch.3 Let the soap clean the hands that do the touching. We have a limited edition series of napkins screen printed with images from our research and have printed our publication on heavy gauge plastic bags. The very thing that renders these bags so undesirable works very well for us. They possess a life of their own and a longevity that suits the long-term dissemination of information very well. The longer they hang around, the better. There are also some cumbersome sculptural responses – a mirrored double pendulum entitled Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us and a film of spores growing called Everything that ever happened is here.4 Both of which, I trust, will find their audience. Whenever an artist brings their practice to a new place, there is an onus to represent that practice as sincerely as possible. It is a shame to sweeten it or water it down. I feel that we stood our ground here and didn’t really add anything that didn’t belong. The main benefit to the McAuley Place tenants was the awareness that we raised about the complex everyday architecture of the home: in particular, the highlighting of an otherwise unmarked historical moment. A group of people spent more than a year frantically pursuing momentary billows of dust from dismantled primary universes. That is, perhaps, interesting to watch. Jennie Moran is an artist based in Dublin. Notes 1. Pierre Bourdieu, ‘The World Reversed’, The Logic of Practice, Stanford University Press, 1980, 282. In this case study of the Kabyle house, Bourdieu identifies the different roles of male and female inhabitants within a group of Berbers. It is not the gender analysis, but the energy behind the different attitudes to the home, that I identified with, especially in terms of the ‘movement outwards’ or turning of ones back on the house. 2. Jacques Derrida, De l’hospitalité, Calmann-Lévy, 1997. According to the law of hospitality, unconditional welcome must be offered to the new arrival. However, we were not entitled to such concessions. 3. The term ‘Despicably Utilitarian’ comes from an essay by Jean Sebastian Marcoux entitled 'The Refurbishment of Memory', included in Home Possessions, ed Daniel Miller, Berg, 2001 4. Lyric taken from the Talking Heads song, Once in a Lifetime, 1981
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
17
debate
Autonomy or Not to Be? Jonathan Carroll reports on ‘Autonomous Practices, Autonomous Objects, Autonomous Institutions’ a debate hosted on 6 November 2012 in the conText of SARAH PIERCE'S SHOW ‘Towards a newer Laocoön’, at THE NCAD Gallery, Dublin (4 Oct – 7 Nov 2012). Cultural confinement takes place when a curator imposes his own limits on an art exhibition, rather than asking an artist to set his limits. Artists are expected to fit into fraudulent categories. Some artists imagine they’ve got a hold on this apparatus, which in fact has got a hold of them. As a result, they end up supporting a cultural prison that is out of their control. Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is. Museums, like asylums and jails, have wards and cells –
Art is autonomous; it’s there for its own human sake, sufficient to its own human self, but this doesn’t seal it off from society or history. What its autonomy does mean is that it serves humanity on its own terms, ie by providing aesthetic value or quality. Clement Greenberg, Homemade Aesthetics, 1971
We think that if politics is the art of the possible, as the saying goes, then we need political art to open this up, this ‘possible’ or to multiply this possibility. So the appearance of an avant-garde, autonomous artist expressing a deep insight without inquiries, without knowledge of the world, with no connection with science, that is certainly out. An aesthetics of proof: a conversation between Bruno Latour and Francis Halsall on art and inquiry EPD: Society and Space, 2012.
in other words, neutral rooms called ‘galleries’. Robert Smithson, Cultural Confinement, Documenta 5 catalogue, 1972 and Artforum, October 1972.
Rather than attempting an exhaustive definition of what autonomy might mean in various artworld contexts, I’ve chosen to preface this article with the three quotations posted on the MA Art in the Contemporary World (the hosts for this event) website (www.acw.ie) that were offered for consideration in advance of the discussion ‘Autonomous Practices, Autonomous Objects, Autonomous Institutions’.1 From what are rather subtle and nuanced takes on the ideas of artistic freedom and independence, we can distil a basic understanding of autonomy as simply being the opposite of interference from outside forces – specifically art institutions and curators – as expounded by Robert Smithson. Moreover, as Greenburg and Smithson suggest, total autonomy is something of an impossibility – art making and showing is bound up with economic, social and power relations like all other human activities. Latour invites to us question whether the prospect of autonomous art is entirely desirable, if it suggests the rather outré idea of an isolationist avant-garde. ‘Autonomous Practices, Autonomous Objects, Autonomous Institutions’ was certainly an ambitious event, and one that foregrounded complexity. As the title signalled, the discussion spanned art practices and institutional frameworks, fused with a focus on art objects. In terms of speakers, we heard from a variety of individual and collective viewpoints; and in terms of the discussion’s identity and function, boundaries were interestingly blurred. The talk could be regarded as a performative component of Sarah Pierce’s exhibition ‘Towards a Newer Laocoön’ as well as serving as a more conventional stand-alone seminar hosted in the context of an educational institution for the benefit of both students and an interested public. Pierce’s show, within which this event was nested, was itself multi-layered and featured several elements, including: archival material from the Irish Film Institute’s archives dating from 1959 – 1979;2 an installation of the actual friezes and sculptures damaged during student protests at the college in 1969, including the iconic Laocoön; related documents from the NIVAL collection at NCAD; and a new work from Pierce, which is part of her ongoing project, The Question Would be the Answer to the Question, Are you happy? Pierce’s choreographing of this discussion event within the context of her exhibition was consistent with her ongoing concern: presenting work that combines the results of archival research into examples of activism, protest and political organisation with various forms of collective activity initiated by the artist. These actions can take the form of a workshop or discussion, which are sparked by the viewing of some archival materials, including films, from what Pierce calls her ‘personal canon’, which she returns to again and again.3 The relevance of Pierce’s focus on debate and protest is of course very topical, with ongoing handwringing in Ireland about our apparent apathy around issues of recession, austerity and the financial crisis – in comparison to the visible anger shown by the Greeks – as well as the cuts to funding for the arts and re-introduction of student fees. Pierce’s practice manages to maintain a certain critical distance from direct action while provoking – for want of a better way to put it – a sense of guilt or obligation to get out and actually protest in the ‘real’ world. This is typified in her performance of Any Questions? – a work in which the artist faces an audience and subverts convention by commencing proceedings with the challenge “any questions ?”4 Overall, there is often a more-than-subtle suggestion in Pierce’s work that she wants us to reflect on how complacent we can be about the rights we now have, that were once fought for so dearly.
This event opened conventionally enough, with presentations from invited speakers – thirteen in all, who were restricted to five minutes each to outline their take on either autonomous practices, objects or institutions – before questions could be taken. The participants included: Vaari Claffey, Basic Space, Adrian Duncan, Rebecca O’Dwyer, Paul Ennis, Declan Long, Francis Halsall, Seamus Nolan, Ruth E Lyons, Isabel Nolan, Garrett Phelan and Oonagh Young. Disappointingly but not really surprisingly, these presentations, by their necessarily brief time-span, left the audience to do the lion’s share of the work to match the accounts of individual art practices, projects and ideas to the specifics of a discussion about autonomy. And at ‘question time’, what followed was the inevitable deathly silence from the audience – all too common in public seminars and discussions – while all present waited for anyone to think up a question or observation that could relate to the proceeding contributions. While the participants offered alternating arguments for and against “autonomy in aesthetic, artistic and cultural practices”, a notable absence from some of the speakers’ presentations was an elaboration on whether they favoured or dis-favoured autonomy out of choice or necessity. The decision to set up a gallery, in the case of Oonagh Young, was a conscious decision to provide something that she noticed was absent in what was on offer elsewhere in the artworld. Likewise, Adrian Duncan of Paper Visual Art journal, and his collaborators, saw a need for a particular kind of writing on art and providing it (initially) in printed form. But what of the curators? (Represented here by Vaari Claffey.) Would they rather work within an institution? And how would this really affect what they can or cannot do? Amongst the artists who spoke, Ruth E Lyons presented an interesting insight into an experiment in autonomy or ‘islandism’ whereby she had initiated an artist’s residency, entitled Aerial Blue on an uninhabited island off the coast of Mayo. The participants of this residency were asked to construct “an island state of mind”.5 Isabel Nolan addressed the art-making process and the issue of the art object’s autonomy. Nolan spoke eloquently about her art practice and pointedly about the power of the art object to limit our capacity to know. The art object can be beyond understanding and, specifically, her own work used objects “not exhausted by metaphor”, nor found objects, but rather constructions infused with her own idiosyncratic meanings. Nolan also admitted a frustration that it seemed all of the panellists and audience members seemed to have a different understanding of the basic concept of autonomy. Writer and researcher Rebecca O’Dywer began her contribution by saying that the premise of the autonomy of artists and institutions was not even a valid question and that it is was naive to even debate it. However, one could and must assert the fundamental autonomous character of the art object. O’Dywer reflected that “good art is always autonomous: it sets its own standards and resists consumption – otherwise it is simply entertainment, or some breed of ineffective benevolence. By autonomous I mean adhering to some form of selfgoverning principle, by and on its own terms”.6 Nolan and O’Dwyer’s lines of thinking made me reflect on how many artists were historically not autonomous. A basic example would be the work produced by Michelangelo, the famously reluctant painter of the Sistine Chapel. Arguably, his best work was produced despite his preferred interest in sculpture. But I was also thinking about How German is it?, a 2009 Artforum review by Benjamin Buchloh of the
exhibition ‘Art of Two Germanys / Cold War Cultures’ in Artforum International.7 Buchloch noted that “the exhibition confronted its spectators... not only with the famous dialectic that all documents of culture serve at the same times as documents of barbarity, but also with a fundamental contradiction that has bedevilled art historians and their methodologies at least since the rise of social and contextualist art history: Is the work of art primarily an object of history (ie a document) or primarily an object of the relative autonomy of artistic production and reception? And what laws, if any, does it follow first and last?”8 More pointedly, this show included works by those who risked and lost everything to pursue their work in the unapologetic company of “opportunists who gained everything by flattering a repressive state apparatus”.9 Returning my thoughts to the talk, Pierce had cleverly organised the speakers and audience in a circle of chairs within the exhibition space itself. The thinking behind this orchestration of the space and personnel was in line with her ongoing interest in the notion of ‘being student’ – a state of immediacy, urgency, excitement and engagement. This in itself could be taken as a comment on autonomy, specifically as a strategy to defer or interrupt a notion of autonomy as a kind of fixed outsider position, but rather as an actively and energetically engaged one. With this particular notion of ‘being student’ in mind, I found that the most critically engaging part of the discussion came from the Basic Space representatives – a group of students who manage an open creative space for NCAD students (www.basicspacedublin.wordpress. com). When provoked by my rather cruel suggestion that they were not the best example of autonomy – existing in a cold warehouse and worried about insurance while not having the responsibilities associated with running a gallery (or ones finances for that matter) – managed to defend their position and update us on their present status, where they function as an entity independent of a specific venue. The two students (just graduated the previous evening they tell us) returned us to the fundamentals of how the ‘struggle’ is manifested now, rather than reflecting nostalgically on revolutions past. I left this event with the hope that the Basic Space group has more ambitions regarding autonomy than just getting raw ‘space’, as its name implies, by maybe taking over a properly-resourced facility like the NCAD gallery. I don’t mean this in a simplistic ‘revolutionary’ way, but in reference to what has been achieved by other art schools; one such example being the Städelschule Frankfurt, which not only runs an internationally renowned exhibition / project space called Portikus but provides a space and covers the costs for current students of the school to exhibit in .10 Jonathan Carroll Notes 1. www.acw.ie/2012/10/autonomous-practices-autonomous-objects-autonomous-institutions 2. The Irish Film Institute (funded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme) commissioned Pierce to make a project working with their archives 3. www.themetropolitancomplex.com 4. Performance by Kevin Atherton, 1979, performed by Sarah Pierce as part of ‘If I Can’t Dance’, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 2009. 5. www.ruth.ie 6. www.rebeccaodwyer.wordpress.com 7. Artforum International, Summer 2009 XLVII, no10 8 Ibid, 296 9 Ibid, 296 10. The space is at present called Solalanotte, see www.solalanotte.org but has had numerous names according to who is curating the space. It is located on Oppenheimerstr. 34a Frankfurt.See also www. portikus.de
18
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
RESIDENCY
Seisometer and drawings, Seismic Observatory of Emil Wiechert
Smoking technique performed on drawings for The Dock, image by Siobhan McDonald
Abandoned Dakota DC3 aircraft, Iceland, 2011, image by Siobhan McDonald
Big Bang, circa 1920, courtesy of the Seismic Observatory of Emil Wiechert
Unpredictable Rhythms of the Earth SIOBHAN MACDONALD REPORTS ON HER RESIDENCY EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING WORKING AT THE HISTORICAL SEISMIC OBSERVATORY OF EMIL WIECHERT IN GOTTINGEN, GERMANY, DURING AUGUST 2012, AND HOW THIS HAS INFORMED HER ONGOING PRACTICE. “Before electronics, seismographs used to be elaborate constructions of balanced levers, as poised and focused and skeletal as a praying mantis, that translated the relative displacement of a weight and the casing from which it was suspended into the oscillations of a beak-like pen across the moving surface of a roll of smoked paper; thus an earthquake in Chile or China could inscribe itself into the scientific record by displacing grains of soot a world away. Perhaps an artist, decades later, will transpose the fragile roll into a context that licences new interpretations of its obscure earth-script.” Tim Robinson, writing on Siobhan McDonald’s work on the occasion of her solo exhibition, ‘Seism’
Much of my research over the past three years has been developed in Iceland, where I have studied the diverse volcanic and glacial environments of the southern region. Following a self-initiated residency in Iceland in 2010, I took part in a formal residency at the Association of Icelandic Visual Artists (SIM), Reykjavik, in 2011, where I spent a month making art in an abandoned aircraft at the foot of a volcano in Iceland. This got me thinking about how to record the ephemeral occurrences of the earth’s rhythms and their fluctuating nature. To satisfy my curiosity on how to understand the deep structure of the earth, I jumped at the chance to do a residency at the Historical Seismic Observatory of Emil Wiechert in Gottingen, Germany, in August 2012. Funded by the Arts Council’s Travel and Training Award, I embarked on the fellowship just weeks before my solo show ‘Seism’ at The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon (7 September – 27 October 2012). The story of the Historical Seismic Observatory of Emil Wiechert, which is nestled away in an old forest, is an interesting one, and a great example of how a group of tenacious and philanthropic individuals managed to preserve and restore an important observatory, handcrafted instruments and the memory of an exceptional era before computerisation. All of the seismometers on site have been working continuously for more than 100 years. The University of Gottingen decided to abandon this institution and to scrap the historic pieces. In response to this, a small group of citizens and scientists decided to form a federation to buy the place and keep it in operation. Founded in 2005, the federation is called Wiechert’sche Erdbebenwarte Gottingen. Wolfgang Brunk is an outstanding individual and was my main point of contact in organising the trip. In time I met most of the members of the Federation (Udo Wedeken and Wolfgang Beisert to name but two) who were all gracious hosts. I was the first person to use the instruments in an artistic context and they didn’t know quite what to make of me at first!
My aim was to try and figure out certain earth processes and how
The aliveness of being in the countryside so close to installing my
they influence the geological evolution of our planet, making visible
exhibition enabled me to make the site-specific piece for Gallery 1 at
the invisible based on observations of the physical world as it slices
the Dock. The observatory proved a superb location to contemplate
through millennia. My practice employs an interdisciplinary approach
geological time. It is perched on a lush hilltop called ‘Measurement
and manifests in many forms including painting, drawing, photography
Valley’, where geo-scientists have spent over 100 years trying to figure
and collaborative-based projects. I am interested in the changeable
out the nature of the earth’s movements. There is an inscription over
nature of landmass, historical events and their interconnection to
the door of the vault that reads: “The trembling rock brings knowledge
human experience. This was an exceptional time for me, as I got to
from afar”. I felt this echoed the values of the numerous scholars in
work in what is possibly the oldest observatory in operation in the
their endeavours to understand the phenomenon of the earth’s activity.
world. It was not a residency in the traditional sense of the word, more
Every day I worked on the ground of the forest; this setting allowed me
of a designated time where I was invited to learn certain ancient
to completely utilise the environment, which bore witness to the
techniques.
explosions and inventions of its former years. The work I made for The
I found out about the Historical Seismic Observatory of Emil
Dock comprised tree resin from the surrounding forest and elements of
Wiechert purely by chance at a meeting in 2010 with Tom Blake,
the smoking process, which I tried to push to reveal the full possibilities
Director of the Irish National Seismic Network and seismologist at the
of their nature. I also made a series of pieces exhibited subsequently in
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). Blake introduced me to
November at Taylor Galleries, Dublin.
an immense collection of Jesuit seismograms from the early 1900s,
This residency has given me an opportunity to reflect on my
which had been buried in the Antiquities Department of DIAS on
practice, learn new skills and to integrate recent research with some of
Merrion Square. The surfaces of the drawings are covered in layers of
the new ways in which I find myself working. My current projects seek
soot. I was interested in using this ancient process in a series of
to open a space to take us beyond our immediate surroundings, and to
paintings I was making, which were based on the primordial state of
consider the larger context in which the earth exists. In the early 1900s,
chaos that is contained in the moment of explosion.
the Jesuits in Ireland were documenting vibrations of the earth by
As it turns out, the Historical Seismic Observatory of Emil
hand, and I want to understand what they were really doing in greater
Wiechert is the only remaining place in the world reproducing this
detail. My feeling is that they were uncovering much more than the
virtually forgotten and undocumented practice. Very specific
unpredictable rhythms of the earth, and I am currently working on
techniques, using kerosene, are required to blacken the recording paper
projects with a composer to render these notations into musical scores.
so that a glass prism can scratch out traces of the line and signature of
Alongside this, I have been awarded one of the Artist in Residence
the earthquake. During the residency, this traditional process was
positions at UCD, 2012 – 2013, and throughout this time will be further
passed on to me so I could then develop contemporary artworks. In the
expanding on the projects I began back in Iceland and producing work
short time I was there I tried to grasp at the vital elements of this
for a solo exhibition in 2013.
ancient knowledge. Through this process, I was pulling in so many things: light, fire, the earth and god knows what else. It was not by chance that I became astutely aware, in my drawings, of the tension between randomness and control, between accident and intention. The seismometer was built by human hands, but the drawings it creates are independent of it, made by the movement of the earth. It seems to me that the scribbled line – a record of the earth’s movement – is also a measure and symbol of the general mutability of nature. Seismograms are objective scientific data but also function as images of change or catastrophe; they transmit information but, within their patterns and structures, it is as if they represent a mystical notation of the rhythms of the earth’s past, present and imminent future.
Siobhan McDonald predominately works with paint, sound and drawing to explore processes of entropy and geological time. She has recently exhibited at VUE, Taylor Galleries and The Dock. www.siobhanmcdonald.com
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
Critique Supplement Edition 9 January / February 2013
Una Sealy 'A Piano in the Kitchen and other stories' Draíocht, Co Dublin 23 November 2012 – 23 February 2013 ISBN 978-0-9571721-2-8. In large, bold print, placed prominently on the back cover of the catalogue, this ISBN reinforces the promise made in the title of the exhibition of Una Sealy’s work from the past six years or so. The artist is going to tell us stories. The notion that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is not new, and in many ways underpins much representational work. In such pieces, the title hints at or even encapsulates the story, and small details within the painting help to round out the narrative.
in her hands – one of Sealy’s more successful depictions of this part of the body. Here again we can ask ourselves questions: Where is she going? What is she getting away from? Why has she so few possessions to take with her? But where are the other stories? Of the twentynine pieces on show, at least six can be categorised as portraits. It is true that the titles of some of these pieces (Writer [2010]; Actor [2011]; Critic and Horse [2011]) give the viewer a character, but to construct our story we need a little bit more – an action, a context. In pieces such as Dear Life (2010), Thinking of Home (2010), Other People’s Children (2010), we have characters, certainly, but the background details (the pot of flowers in Thinking of Home, the roll of Sellotape in the fruit bowl in Other People’s Children) are not plot elements, and there is no action. All the people in these works are simply looking – crossly – in the direction of the viewer, giving the paintings a feeling of tableaux. Any collection of short stories by the same author will probably, intentionally or not, have recurring themes and motifs and, in a number of Sealy’s pieces, the viewer can find these: windows and doors, people inside looking out, the blue railing which appears in Away from Here (2010), Remembering (2012) and Cousins (2011). These recurring elements support the notion that Sealy’s work is autobiographical and suggest that what we have here is a series of snapshots from a family album around which stories can be woven. Around a quarter of the works are landscapes; ironically, some of these are the most successful pieces in this exhibition. Sealy’s more recent paintings, Up at the Allotments (2012), Beach Walk Evening (2010) and Alley to the Sea (2012) all share a quiet confidence. The palette is muted, strong and harmonious, and the viewer is drawn in by the play of light and shade. This is not an exhibition of two halves, it’s an exhibition of many pieces. There are stories, portraits, landscapes and nudes. There are paintings which show an artist in supreme control of her palette and her brushwork (Sean [2011]) and pieces which make you question this. The sense of disproportion that is present in all the ‘narrative’ pieces more often than not distracts, and the anatomical inaccuracy can jar. 'A Piano in the Kitchen and other stories' lacks coherence. It does not do what it says on the tin. The underlying organisational principle, the basis on which the pieces in the exhibition were chosen and are presented, is impossible to discern. This is a pity, as Sealy’s work has the possibility to reach a wide audience and to bring them into a world where representational art goes well beyond mere
Una Sealy, Remembering, 2012, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm
representation. A smaller selection of works, more In ‘A Piano in the Kitchen and other stories’,
judiciously chosen and grouped, and more
the clearest example is Neighbours (2011). Here, a
accessible information (titles, prices, etc, beside the
man and a woman sit on either side of a bed. The
works) would go a long way towards achieving
bedlinen is rumpled, they are not looking at each
this.
other. She is wearing a garment which could be a dress or a nightdress, though her hair is still coiffed
Mary Catherine Nolan is an artist and writer
and her studs are still in her ears. He is in jeans and
with a background in linguistics, and is
open-necked shirt, his lower right arm resting
interested in the relationship between these
limply on his lap. There are signs of untidiness:
two forms.
papers on the floor, a mug on the bedside table. All the material is there to allow the viewer tell themselves a story, as they have been led to expect. Away from Here (2010) shows a woman seated in a chair, a small case beside her. She is looking out Una Sealy, Alley to the Sea, 2012, oil on canvas, 120 x 120 cm
Una Sealy, End of Days, 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 cm
of a window and the tension in her face is reflected
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet CRiTiqUe SUPPLemeNT
January – February 2013
Rachel Gomme 'The Memory of Yarn' R Space, Lisburn 10 November – 22 December 2012
Phil Collins 'This Unfortunate Thing Between Us' Void, Derry 13 November 2012 – 11 January 2013
Knitting is an activity that isn’t fixed to one
subtlety of the first phase is disrupted by the bright
location; it can be done on a train or in a waiting
colours of the second.
room, while watching television or listening to
The process of making work over time is also
music, alone or with a group of friends. It also
made apparent in Knitting a Rothko. As the title
requires patience, especially for the beginner, and
implies, row by row Gomme is creating the image
traditionally it has been passed down from
of a red and black painting by Mark Rothko. A type
generation to generation, predominantly by
of artwork associated with museums and other
women. There are therefore analogies in the
large public spaces is thus recreated in a medium
practice and language of knitting that provide
associated with the domestic sphere. The work is
scope to explore aspects of memory, storytelling
being made over a series of public performances;
and the passage of time. The double meaning of the
after each it is then exhibited in its ‘unfinished’
word ‘yarn’ provides two possible readings of the
state. The work was further expanded in Lisburn
exhibition title, ‘The Memory of Yarn’.
during a performance at the opening of the
Rachel Gomme furnished the R Space gallery
exhibition. While knitted garments are generally
with artwork and documentation that reflect her
small in scale, tailored to the measurements of the
interest in the social and temporal aspects of
human body, Knitting a Rothko is at the more
knitting. She makes what she calls “performance
monumental scale of Rothko’s paintings, which
knitting” – creating works in public spaces at a
are frequently over two metres high. As the work
time when knitting is less visible than it once was,
progresses it will became unwieldy to manage, an
despite a resurgence of interest in recent times.
aspect that will change the performance over time.
The most engaging work in the exhibition is
Meanwhile, the piece on the wall can appear
A Year of Waiting. Over the course of a year, Gomme
without
knitted the work each time she waited for public
unfinished or in the process of being unravelled.
transport. Time spent waiting for trains and buses
contextual
information
as
either
The process of marking time and movement
was measured out in rows of stitches, creating a
evident in A Year of Waiting is also present in Ravel:
visual diary. Each period of waiting is marked by a
Knitting a Row. Gomme walked through one of
different coloured yarn. The long, thin product of
Chester’s historic Rows – elevated covered
this endeavour resembles a scarf stretched to
walkways – knitting a line of yarn into which she
unfeasible proportions. The work is pinned to the
incorporated objects from local shops and passers-
wall and annotated with the times and locations of
by. She therefore created a type of map documenting
each stage of its creation. Nine months into the
the path of her journey, yet the resulting work is
project, the work in progress was stolen; Gomme
less evocative and fails to convey the sense of
decided to remake it over the course of a year, with
performance or the life of the street that might be
the first nine months knitted in muted colours and
expected.
the final three months in vibrant shades. The
Aside from the objects in the gallery, a projection of videos documenting performances provided context for the objects on display. A number of events provided another dimension to the exhibition – the opening performance, knitting workshops and a dance piece choreographed by Gomme for the Age of Stage Seniors Dance Group. Visitors were welcome to add to a collaborative piece created by the participants of one workshop. Fashioned from materials ranging from film strip to plastic bags to wire, it was attempt to bring a sense of activity to the gallery. This was consistent with the exploration of the process of knitting, its analogies with the marking of time and its potential as performance, rather than the tradition of producing finely crafted objects. Logan Sisley is exhibitions Curator at the Hugh Lane Gallery.
Phil Collins, intallation shot from 'TUTBU TV', 2012, image by Paola Bernadelli
the outside world seemed so much brighter after
Lastly, in Experience Three, the winning
watching over two hours of Phil Collins’s current
bidder will have the satisfaction of telling a family
exhibition, ‘This Unfortunate Thing Between Us’,
member how much they hate him / her on their
in Void’s two dimly lit subterranean galleries. Both
deathbed.
spaces have been converted into supremely kitsch
The bidding begins and a winner will be
sitting rooms with miss-matched furniture, near-
revealed on the next broadcast of TUTBU TV,
identical props, flowery carpets and blue / orange
(shown in Gallery Two), which proves to be
or yellow / green walls illuminated by the glow of
simultaneously hilarious and tragic. We see the
video projectors. The lack of daylight lends the
chosen winners – real people who called in and
rooms a nocturnal aura and, inadvertently, time
paid for their chance to appear on TUTBU TV and
stands still here. It permanently feels like 3am, like
to “smash the screen, climb inside, feel something”
everyone has gone to bed and you should be asleep
– participate in their chosen experiences. The anti-
but are uncomfortably awake.
climax and unfulfilled cravings are highlighted by
In this near liminal state you can enter the
the pathetic and un-sensational interrogation
world of TUTBU (This Unfortunate Thing Between
scene, the limp, un-exciting and sexless porn
Us) TV, “the future of teleshopping”, Collins’s brand
experience shot from the waist up and the dead-
new alternative telesales universe performed
pan answer given by the death-bed scene winner
during a two-day period in September 2011 in
who, when enthusiastically asked what it is like to
Berlin and subsequently broadcast live on a German
die, states, “Great. Now I know what to expect”. The
TV network.
objet petit a is never fully obtained; TUTBU TV’s
The videos follow a typical telesales arc – a
The experiences are not shocking and neither
top presenters, pushy sales demonstrations and
is the idea of selling them. The on-screen worlds we
callers phoning in to declare their interest. On sale,
inhabit are obsessed with sharing, discussing and
however, are not goods or objects. No longer
marketing some of our deepest darkest desires and
satisfied with the endless barrage of products,
taboos. ‘This Unfortunate Thing Between Us’
contemporary viewers now want to satisfy their
acutely acknowledges our consumer culture, the
desires by buying ‘real’ experiences.
seduction of escape and alternative realities and
And what do TUTBU TV’s (German) viewers
the promise of a better, more fulfilled existence.
desire to experience most? Interrogation, porn and
Collins seems to relish the superficiality of
death. Viewers pay ˆ 9.99 – with a 20% discount for
telesales and, as in past works such as soy mi madre
students, unwaged and elderly callers – for the
(2008), which used the format of Latin American
opportunity to bid for a place on the next night’s
telenovelas,
broadcast, where three lucky winners can take part
particularities of the format he has adopted /
in the experience of their choice.
hijacked to create a sense of reality that is at once
The projection in Gallery One shows TUTBU TV’s presenters demonstrating the ‘experiences’. To
Rachel Gomme, Knitting a Rothko, 2012
virtual limbo loops on.
slightly dismal theme tune, tacky décor, over-the-
he
utilises
the
nuances
and
believable, but also acknowledges its own artificiality.
sell Experience One they re-enact a Stasi
Kate Bush, in the 2005 publication yeah…you,
interrogation, especially attractive to former East
baby, you, speaks of a trade-off in Collins’s work, an
Germans who miss the feeling of constant
edge of cruelty; while he gives he also takes. This is
government observation, occasional interrogation
not cruelty but merely reflects the reality of a
and general distrust.
commodified society: “…experiences don’t come
Experience Two promises one winner the
cheap… only death is free”. The contestants on
role of their choice in a real Victorian porno.
TUTBU TV participated according to their own
Following
hysterical
free will, lured by the silver screen but also by the
confessions of their own masturbation fantasies,
promise of an experience, of being someone. As
the
unsurprisingly
one of the presenters exclaims, “Everyone knows
unconvincing Austen-esque storyline, is performed.
that to be watched is to possess value”. Phil Collins,
The
intentionally
more than anyone, is aware of the value of the
overshadowed by, and utterly out of sync with, the
spectacle and has managed to seduce us yet again.
porn
the
presenters’
scene,
voiced-over
with plotline
near
its is
full-on shots of graphic sex and the highly detailed
Rachel Gomme, A Year of Waiting, 2012
close-ups of carnal action performed by Captain
Alissa Kleist lives and works in Belfast. She is a
Herington, Lady Jane, Eleanor and Thomas, and
visual artist, Co-Director of Catalyst Arts and a
seems as disconnected from reality as the porn
member of artist collective PRIME.
actors must feel from their ‘lovers’.
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet CRiTique SuppLeMeNT
January – February 2013
Jenny Keane 'Abluo and the Lick Drawings' Siamsa Tíre, Kerry 2 November –1 December 2012
'Tangible Seconds' Monster Truck, Dublin 16 Novmber – 12 December 2012
Graduate art shows offer a rewarding experience
slab covered in wallpaper becomes an emblem of
to the patient visitor. Amidst the maze of art
the debris of history, displayed casually as a
college buildings, the visitor is bound to encounter
curiosity.
a number of gems, so inviting a selection of former
Also concerned with the latent potential of
students to re-show their works some months later
simple materials is Rory Mullen’s Decline and Fall Fall,
in a different context seems a sure-fire way to spark
which takes the form of a makeshift room,
interest. Curator Jennie Taylor says that this
employing mostly cardboard to create a bedsit
‘re-show’ feature was important for ‘Tangible
space that viewers are invited to explore. This
Seconds’, and allowed the artists to engage with the
compact space is permeated by a sense of life, from
process in a new way.
the microwave door swinging open to the TV
Monster Truck Gallery somewhat resembles a
screen running a cooking show that features the
compressed college building. With its stairway,
artist himself. Customised drawings and books
nooks and crannies it seems an appropriate context
lend individual character to the room. We feel that
for a show serving as a stepping stone, bridging the
we have invaded a personal space, vacated only
gap between the graduate show and a ‘real world’
momentarily. Out of the materiality of the
gallery. The theme of ‘Tangible Seconds’ is relatively
constructed room surges an emotive response to a
broad – an interrogation into representations of
place and time which may never really have
the past in the present; the disciplines are varied
existed.
and reflect the diverse approaches to the investigation at hand.
Like Jake Bourke, Barbara H Larkin uses technology to reference the past, through the
Jenny Keane, still from Abluo, 2012
Jake Bourke’s Act Three is most easily viewed
evocative media of the slideshow. Larkin adapts
from outside the gallery. Once inside, a crudely
snapshots of found past realities to conjure new,
Beautiful and stylised women dominate Jenny
blood gradually gathering on the glossy bathroom
contextualised scenarios. By layering scenes with
Keane's Siamsa Tíre show, 'Abluo and the Lick
tiles; the two large screens that display these works
traces of others, Larkin questions the veracity of
Drawings'. The environments conjured through
are close to cinematic in scale. Certainly the
from an initial performance and a subsequent
our memories. The layered images allude to the
these works are sanitised and bare with the colour
production of the images is of a high quality, most
installation composed of materials, video and
complexity of the human mind, where diverse
white proliferating throughout many of the pieces.
easily identifiable with cinema, yet the two screens
sounds from that performance, Act Three considers
memories sometimes weave together to form a
On one of the screens, in a video installation called
are positioned at awkward angles to one another
the futility of trying to successfully communicate
tangled past. Larkin’s works are a visual treat and
Abluo, a pale lady's French-manicured hand drapes
and, while both projections appear to be details of
exude a vibrancy and warmth, as well as being
elegantly over the side of a bathtub, while the
the same drama, the audience is uncomfortably
conceptually compelling.
adjoining screen details a gold-plated bathtub foot,
placed to view them side by side. Moreover, there
Oisin Vink’s contribution considers the ability modern
assembled partition turns its back on us, allowing only glimpses of the space enclosed. Emerging
and recreate experience. We cannot fully access this work on a physical level, nor can we fully
sitting atop an expanse of pristine white bathroom
are subtle continuity disturbances between the
left with is a reassemblage of various components,
of
the
tiles. This 'clean' atmosphere does not persist
two screens: the audio is out of synch with the
which contributed to the initial performance. A
developments of time into a small space on flat
beyond a quick glance, as shades of the uncanny
image of the dripping blood, which appears to drip
screens. In this case, three screens envelope the
unfold and reveal themselves in myriad ways
in an inconsistent manner between the two screens;
partition, are testament to the laborious process
viewer, exploring representations of sexuality over
within this work and others on show. Disquieting
sporadic and subtle hand twitches are discernible
associated with this work.
three distinct eras in modern history. This multiple
displays of the gruesome against these 'pure' spaces
from the otherwise moribund woman; the pool of
screen set up immerses the viewer in the work,
underpin and add tension to the works in this
blood on the floor of the bathroom expands and
stretching our attention between projections.
exhibition.
recedes of its own accord, certainly at odds with the
grasp the action from which it evolved. All we are
soundscape and working clothes, hung on the
Aine Belton also explores the notion of capturing a past action through material remnants
technology
to
compress
‘Tangible Seconds’ resonates with a sense of
The Lick Drawings comprise eight large
energy and activity, from the initial aural greeting
drawings on paper, which use spare and sinewy
These breaks with the typically linear
rubber, Belton created a circular drawing on the
of Bourke’s labour-heavy soundscape and Larkin’s
strokes to render in a dispassionate manner the
language of cinema prove the most effective
gallery wall, which was then erased, as far as
briskly clicking projector through to the contained
various expressions of monstrosity embodied by
moments in the exhibition. A specific narrative has
possible, within a timeframe. The rubbings and
vitality of Mullen’s bedsit. Representation of time
female protagonists in horror films. The works’
been stilled within the screens of Abluo, yet the
drawing tools still on the floor attest to the action
passed is considered as a concept embodied by the
individual titles, such as Dracula and Psycho,
understanding persists that this pause is allowing
works themselves, as well as by the time elapsed
reference precisely the source image for the
another sense of the action to emerge. There are
continuity after the opening night, as rubbings
since they were first shown and by this repetitive
respective works. Each of the drawings have had
other troubling yet exciting moments for visitors
continue to drop intermittently to the floor.
cycle of time as they are re-shown in a new
saliva and blood repeatedly worked into them, to
to the show, when occurrences in the space
context.
create severely stressed patches on the surface. As
puncture the fiction of the works on display and
with an air of solemnity and importance. Sitting
audience members, we are confronted by a potent
meld in with the gallery's surroundings. At roughly
Room Henge references archaeological history in
Roisin Russell is a writer based in Dublin. Her
confluence of horrors: the trauma of the image
five-minute intervals, the lights illuminating the
miniature, drawing it into a contemporary context
writing has featured in Paper Visual Art Journal
alongside the presence of actual body fluids within
Lick Drawings fade for a period of time. This
and imbuing the objects with a meaning beyond
and Circa online.
the works. This emotional and literal approach to
intervention suggests that these images are
the images heightens certain implications that
alternative cinematic closures, or openings, yet
surround the generation of these female stereotypes
this interruption also shocks us in a non-rational
in horror films. Keane's particular approach implies
way. Faint blood-coloured marks are decipherable
that the images have the potential to make an
on the wall around the Psycho drawing, while a
impact upon the real and that the fusion of violence
gathering of chewed-up paper on the floor beneath
and passion evident in the screen-grabs are
it charges the atmosphere with a sense of skittish
characteristics that are no less diluted in our 'real
foreboding. Is the licker in the space? And who is
world'. Through these drawings, an attempt is
dimming the lights?
in Undone, Doing, which remains as a vestige of her opening night performance. Using graphite and a
of the performance and in a sense ensure its
Helen O’Dea’s works infuses humble materials
their material form. With Flocked Concrete Slab, a
Barbara H Larkin, Resurrection Double, 2012
stream of liquid entering it.
made to prise open this typified representation of
It is moments such as these that are most
women in the horror genre and in so doing subvert,
vivid in suggesting a disquieting crossover between
or reclaim, this depiction.
the space of the cinematic imaginary with our
By isolating scenes from films, the 'Lick
equally passionate living world. Here, we imagine
Drawings' divorce us from the context of these
a deviant other threatening to overwhelm the
images. Any form of completion or reconciliation
dominant cleanliness and order of the exhibition
which the narrative may offer us is denied. This
– as a tongue begins to subvert an image, or a
same refusal of closure is apparent in the Abluo
lighting change casts unexpected darkness over a
video installation. The action within this work is
series of drawings.
dominated by the pale and manicured woman who appears static, yet provides the audio throughout the entire exhibition, as a steady stream of blood drips loudly from her otherwise-clean hand. The Helen O'Dea, Hanging Rock Rock, 2012
Jake Bourke, Act Three, 2012
Rory Mullen, Decline and Fall
second screen in the installation depicts a pool of
Sarah Lincoln is an artist based in Waterford.
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet Critique Supplement
January – February 2013
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ART HANDLING
Engage Art Studios Members 'Latency' Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar 2 – 24 November 2012
FOR ALL THE
WS F D H H I G AG T K S D Y I O R B T A
TRANSPORT AND ART HANDLING SERVICES YOU’VE BEEN
G F A I D F W V
H U Q P V A P C G
SEARCHING FOR:
F U E WZ E D T I O I P O X A WQ A I F
E B B M E J K B EWM Y AQ C E A W E F Y E X E AG T U I M A S S
HANGING INSTALLATION AIR FREIGHT OCEAN FREIGHT CRATE MAKING (COMMERCIAL / MUSEUM STANDARD) TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED TRUCKS
Cecilia Danell, work from the exhibition 'Latency'
COLLECTION AND DELIVERY
As Michaële Cutaya, the curator of ‘Latency’, explained in the press release, “there are different ways to approach the notion of latency, whether as something existing but not yet manifest, lying dormant until suitable circumstances develop, or as the time-lapse between a stimulus and its response. All quite suggestive in regard to the artist’s studio with its fascinating potential.” Proposing that the members of Engage Art Studios’ publicly respond to the notion of latency – its meaning to them and significance to their practice – Cutaya sought to reveal this hidden component of artistic practice. Typically, exhibited artworks are evidence of a resolution or at least a temporary solution in an artist’s practice. In this way, most exhibitions are highlight reels of sorts, rather than a day-to-day reflection or an embodiment of studio operations. In the case of ‘Latency’, the focus was explicitly to disclose each artist's iterative ongoing process and praxis. The second floor gallery of the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar is spacious yet pleasingly segmented by multiple windows and doorways. These divisions provided the necessary visual pauses to enable the viewer to better absorb the broad spectrum of works on show – 23 artworks created by 17 artists. Nonetheless, certain shared concerns arose amongst the diverse considerations of latency. If, in the latent, something exists but is not yet manifest, then what does an artist do with this time lapse between stimulus and response? How does an artist move from one resolved artwork to the next? For some artists in this exhibition, maintaining momentum manifested itself through a process of creating multiples – exploring a single idea in the same form over and over again. Angela O’Brien, in 36 Steps, displayed a series of small square images depicting architectural components, structures and buildings that were selectively painted over, effaced, sometimes reversed, worked and reworked. Each image was placed to create a grid, a systematic ordering, an assessment of a studio enquiry. Tadhg O’Cuirrin, with There’s Much in the Window but Nothing in the Room, created a series of three images made from silver reflective window tint and glass. As I approached the work sitting on the window sill, not only could I see myself and the room reflected in the tint, but could look through scratched out, eye-like holes to observe the street below. These objects existed mostly in the latent moment and were only fully realised when the viewer was reflected in the surface and engaged with the work. Both Tim Acheson and Roisin Coyle with their respective works Untitled (Red Deer, Lough Nahillion, Connemara) and Tanks, presented the multiple through repetitive imagery in their video projections. In Untitled, two bucks are locked in a
stubbornly ferocious fight to gain territory. Again. Again. Again. They struggle like tortured dancers. Similarly, with Tanks, the viewer watches several looped seconds of a foggy animation that shows a body ascending an exterior staircase of a tower, the accompanying sound element a haunting metal ting. Both videos’ unrelenting repetitions call to mind the phrase ‘practice makes permanent’ and both convey a sense of frustration in trying to visually articulate an intangible idea existing just beyond reach. Working to actualise the latent, Cecilia Danell explored a single concept through multiple media. Hide Hide (no. 1) comprised hundreds of paperclips hooked delicately through white tulle netting draped over a wooden stool. Hide (no.1) tracing is a drawing of this layered chain-mail-like structure, or perhaps the sculpture is the drawing in three dimensions. Regardless, both works embody a graceful obsessiveness indicative of a dedicated studio practice. In Ruby Wallis’s video projection Turlough Swim 1, the viewer watches a pair of hands hover above and dip below the surface of the water. During this navigation of the turlough or ‘disappearing lake’, the viewer catches glimpses of surrounding hills on a bright clear day and listens to lapping water layered against raspy yet measured breath escaping, presumably through a snorkel. For Wallis, latency within artistic practice seems to be an experiential exploration and there is a calmness that is characteristic of being present in the moment. But what about the moments when there is little to no evidence of development in the studio? When the next iteration of practice is inaccessible, intangible, locked away in the subconscious, where it cooks like a cake in the oven? It is not ready until its ready. Surely, if the artist has restricted access to this moment, the audience has even less. Maybe individual artist statements, a group statement or an introduction to the curation of this exhibition located on site, would have provided yet more entry points into the complex and varied responses of Engage Studio members’ notions of latency. In societies that assess worth based on achievement and accomplishment, highly polished final products and neatly packaged concepts, it is critical to acknowledge the moment of vulnerability in practice, the unresolved and the seemingly unproductive moments in the studio. A challenging exhibition, ‘Latency’ was certainly this necessary acknowledgement. Eileen Hutton is an environmentally-based artist who recently exhibited with Sram Part Project in NYC. She is a member of the Education Committee of Burrenbeo Trust and is an associate lecturer at Peck School of the Arts.
THROUGHOUT IRELAND ART TECHNICIANS
C N A H S
F A L T F D T
O I W R G K M I C
R A A P S A A F S P G N F L
V Z O Y A G Z A K H R P A J F E O D
R T F B D A K A M S A G S A Z P H A O A C S A D A G P J T T V O Y WD A V T W H D F P
F A D A Y A G A A A A A R P F A A A A L O A A I
A A F H F P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T W T A M
Q Y U WA T F S A M S D H A S A S E A R S A A S A F C R A G AWA A N L A A P H A G A A C T E M A G A T A S H N H MC D A S J P Y C A T O R S D C V A L A R R F O AO S
D S E S T S C T L A G E J T H F P A A D A E A U A I L S K T
P A F C K R A I P G F A C L R Y S I A MW E A N E A M P F O S T R A J K I M A F T K D OW MC S T E O C D N G F D D Z I A
WWW.MAURICEWARD-ARTHANDLING.COM E: MOVINGART@MAURICEWARD.COM UNIT J10, SWORDS BUSINESS PARK, SWORDS, CO. DUBLIN. T: +353 1 840 9099
I J I Q B U E N O S A I R E S A I S N A E L A A O A C F H Y R
G U K Y M A S E Y A A T T A S C F K A G H A F M W M A A G T H M
A F L E L Z T A J S H Y J L A J D D V A A F H E L S I N K I C N
T K D A Z O A A S Z H G L A F Y W I F T D O V K C T C A A F A B G
A L Z Z S E G I A A A L O E R A S T S A F L H I J A L Y J C L H A
Y M M N I B W N G H H L P A
V J O A F D F K S T B I V B
K H A H A D R D B E C T B W
G N K S H E S K A V A N L X
N K A Q F WG H O A P U UA I G H TD A T D SF F H I SD X Z V BN R W H CW Z S A CR M U N EQ O N G ZX F A I WJ Y R N QS O P G EG A E T OP S AWCV R T E WA U Y U O P KA R UWMC Z I ER D V C A E R I N G JA I N S T A L L A T I O C QW E V Q B N Z AB Q L K MN S A T R S I X E R Y L M E Z C SE P O K Y R CMC A BL W A S Z I R U S U RC N R A I F Z L P A RM A V Z T J F V A T A I R S G F W A H S T GA A F A S Z F L T A AA Z A R A G E A P A AB A A A E A A H A Y AA J Q R F I U D Y Y O I A Z A S A G A S P JA E I G H T A H A A FH B O X E D A R T A VD A M A P AWHMG ZH Z C P D J S A T A GA A S O KWA G D A HF W I A U A D H T R Y J A N R Z R L A G F MC C R N D T I A A Z VD D A C A Z N E W Y OR S O H B V WA R A AS G A V R H O Y A S P I H S F Z A M A B Z EB E A R A N C E A A AR A J A P M A G AW FA A M E T A V A C S MG P F C C R N A A A AJ OW A F A A I D H AA WD O L H B H J V I A E S S Y D N E Y T KD AM F S WC G PL S H P I F AG
F R J H T E M P E R A T U R E C O N T R O L L E D T R U C K A G O F D G A A K K A R A S V A M O A P S V
G Y Y A K I U I D V U R GM B O V N V L X A O K E R Z X R T F Q K E X E M K Y R T A K G U R F T A A A R Y A D H A T I P A K S J G K I A A X R A D A T A Z A OO F A H Z WR G Z B A I O A C P A D R E Z T A A
J L L P L F H K L D S D F I D U B L I NWN O D S G N E WO Y M N J N I C D I E S Z F Z O E R C G L Z W L L E O I P R U L U L I L S L S M S A P E V A E P S K J A S C E N C J H S O C D T R D U J R Y O B C I Y T R Y U H J K L O T Q I X Z MN X D N HW T R T V X Z X A R I P O A U I O Z N OG H T E N A T MD U S N E D A R P A G D F W E WQ L D H Q S D V C E T U T S D G C I L O U Y T WS S R E E C O K J F V Y C N P W S B A F A J S N T Z A Y U R Z R S A A Z F G A I A K H I G C A A M K Y T A C A L O T A A B I A B A C H A F A H J O Z J A T A C N Q F H L F B A A H CM A O I M A A A P F C N A A F S A M R D A A B T C T L O I L O N P J N E A R P M A H O A A L T D V G A C A A E A G H C S A Z E P A E A D P A H B A M N A A T H P T AG I P A M A K H J R R D L D S A N R D A L V P A E A I F D F T J H K Z WR H C R NM J S KW T Z Y F N P DM A F K I H S A
C X O E D V G U O Q P Z
C U S F M H O A Y
J F Y O T S P
K U A C A
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
23
project profile
Fighting Amnesia CURATOR CAROLINE HANCOCK TALKS TO ZINEB SEDIRA ABOUT HER UPCOMING EXHIBITION ‘BECOMING INDEPENDENT’ AT THE ROYAL HIBERNIAN ACADEMY, DUBLIN (10 JANuary – 31 MARCH 2013) – for which she has worked collaboratively with ALGERIAN ARTIST Amina Menia – and the development of a residency programme in Algiers.
Zineb Sedira, Image Keepers, 2010, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Kamel Mennou
Caroline Hancock: In 2010 you were the recipient of a prize given in France by SAM Art Projects (www.samartprojects.org), which enabled the production of your work Image Keepers, now on show here in the RHA. Introduce us to this work… Zineb Sedira: Mohamed Kouaci (1922 – 1996) was the main (if not the only) official photographer for the Temporary Government for the Republic of Algeria (GPRA) and subsequently for the free Algerian state, working for the Ministry of Information. From the late 1950s until the Algerian Independence from French rule in 1962, the GPRA was based in Tunis. To this day, his photographs and negatives are stored in his widow’s flat in Algiers. For posterity, this archive of historical documentary importance and of significant artistic interest urgently needs to be preserved and recorded using scientific preservation and indexing methods. Kouaci’s work has yet not been the subject of a substantial publication or exhibition in Algeria. The copyright on his images is regularly violated or ignored. I decided to make a multi-screen video installation in order to raise consciousness about this body of work. Image Keepers is a portrait of his widow Safia Kouaci and the archive, homage to this militant couple and their story, and finally a glimpse at Algerian history through the photographs. CH: What struck you particularly about Mohamed Kouaci’s work? ZS: Kouaci photographed all the significant events during the war and the first three decades of the young independent country. His angle is different to that of the French or other Western photographers and his work is still very much unknown despite Safia Kouaci’s efforts. CH: The notion of ‘keeping’ seems very significant in your work – you have often insisted that you want your works to fight amnesia. Do you think that you have been successful in this? ZS: My work often revolves around the crucial necessities of memory and transmission in society. The passage of knowledge, stories and history to future generations is in no way fixed. This fragility fascinates me: the truth for one person might be erroneous or mistaken to another. Ageing might tend to distort information. By making Image Keepers, I have partly collected and archived a slice of history. Its absolute exactitude is debatable, of course. I have recorded footage, a trace of Mohamed Kouaci, via Safia Kouaci. Nevertheless, so far the archive is no closer to being professionally preserved. The call is still open. CH: You worked with the artist Amina Menia on Image Keepers, who interviews Safia Kouaci in the film and also presents works at the RHA. How did you start working together? ZS: I met Amina Menia in Algiers in 2008 and we instantly became friends. I was drawn to her personality and to her artistic practice, which is also based on memory. Menia is one of the only Algerian artists who works site-specifically; her interests lie primarily in space, urbanism and architecture. Her initial background is not in fine arts but in design. She introduced me to Kouaci’s photographs and then to his widow. We talked about how to help towards the preservation of this family archive. To raise its visibility I proposed to make a video
Zineb Sedira, Image Keepers, 2010, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Kamel Mennou
installation on the subject and asked Amina to collaborate on the shoot and with the research. Since she lives in Algiers and knows the family, she has a deep understanding and direct experience of past and present situations. CH: You have already exhibited in Dublin in 2006 when Saphir (2006) was shown at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. Can you remind us about this work? ZS: This was a two-screen projection funded and commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and the Photographer’s Gallery in London. The first character is an Algerian man who walks around the port of Algiers, with no apparent purpose, silently watching the ferries. The second is an older woman, daughter of the pieds noirs or ‘black feet’, a term for European settlers who left Algeria after its independence. She inhabits the Safir Hotel, one of the grand landmarks of French colonial Algiers, built in 1930. Gazing out to sea from its balconies, before withdrawing to the faded grandeur of its lobbies and halls, the woman not only echoes the man’s restless movement but also reinforces a wider sense of languor, inertia and enclosure. Although both characters circle within their own separate but parallel worlds, their paths often appear to intersect but without any denouement or conclusion. The Hotel Safir is linked to the history of the War of Independence, since many negotiations occurred there. CH: The RHA exhibition occurs during the 100-year commemoration of the Dublin Lock Out, which kicks off a series of events relating to Irish independence. Algeria also marked 50 years of Independence in 2012. What are your views on commemorations and the other processes bound up the notions of ‘becoming independent’? ZS: The Algerian War of Independence (1954 – 1962), and what followed, severely disrupted the society and economy established by the colonial system. In addition to the physical destruction, the sudden exodus of French settlers deprived the country of most of its managers, civil servants, engineers, teachers, physicians and skilled workers, leaving the new society in a shambles. With such a start, Algeria had little chance to progress healthily – the ‘Black Decade’ – the 1990s and early 2000s – is an example of the ‘bad seed’. I, personally, have not witnessed any of the commemorations this year, either in London, where I live, in France or in Algeria. But there have been countless articles, events and exhibitions. While Algeria commemorated independence, France was ‘commemorating’ the loss of Algeria and the mass exodus back to France. There are still many unresolved issues and gaping wounds, due to lack of open public debate. CH: Could you summarise the current Algerian art scene? ZS: It is still very slow to develop, but it has great potential. The Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MAMA) in Algiers opened a few years ago in a fantastic restored Neo-Mauresque building in the city centre.1 Due to the lack of local exhibition opportunities and platforms for artists, the contemporary art world is not as developed as it should be. The profession of curator is very rare. Local artists need to leave to exhibit their work or travel to residencies for
Zineb Sedira, Image Keepers installation shot
visibility. The artists from the diaspora still get the most international exposure and the Maghreb (the countries in North Africa) in general has not received as much attention as the Middle East in recent years. It is also really important that artists and curators come to Algeria. Only through local and international exchanges will this scene flourish. CH: Tell me about your self-initiated residency project, the Artists Residency in Algiers (aria)?2 ZS: Having spent a lot of time listening and talking to my friends and colleagues in Algeria, I decided about a year ago to create aria, a private initiative that provides a platform for exchange. The core principle is to invite artists to come to Algeria; they discover the city and contribute to workshops, talks at the School of Fine Arts and so forth. Our most recent guest was Alfredo Jaar. aria is connected to other residencies outside Algiers in places such as London, Florence, Tétouan (Morocco) etc. We are about to curate an online exhibition featuring Algerian artists for ArteEast. CH: I understand that you are making work for MarseilleProvence 2013, the European Capital of Culture. What other plans do you have for 2013? ZS: I have concentrated on various activities in and around the port of Marseille (Grand Port Maritime) and am planning two new works. One of them focuses on Baudelaire’s photographic archive of the port. He was a ‘boat spotter’, obsessively collecting images of the arrivals and departures of all types of boats. He soon became a ‘collected collector’ and I have interviewed Hélène Detaille, the current keeper of his archive. I am also interested in this city as a bustling commercial hub and, in particular, in the St Louis sugar industry. The raw material originally arrived from India then from Mexico and Brazil. Today it comes from Brazil, Mauritius, Zambia, the West Indies, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Guyana, Swaziland and Réunion. This will be a geological, geographic, historic portrait of provenances. Zineb Sedira lives and works between London, Paris, and Algiers. Caroline Hancock is an independent curator and writer based in Paris. The RHA exhibition has been made possible through the support of Petroceltic. Additional support has been received from Institut Francais as a contribution to Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Cultural Programme. www.zinebsedira.com www.carolinehancock.com
Notes 1. www.mama-dz.com 2. www.ariaresidencyalgiers.wordpress.com
24
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
Art in the public realm: Profile
From Landscape to Artscape TERRE DUFFY, PUBLIC ART MANAGER FOR DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL, REFLECTS ON 21 YEARS YEARS OF PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONING IN DONEGAL.
Lock Morris, Polestar, 2006, image by Paul McGuckian
Redmoon Chicago and Abigail O'Brien, Oatfield, 2009, image by Paul McGuckian
2012 marks 21years of commissioning public art by Donegal County Council and we are currently presenting a retrospective exhibition in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny (4 December 2012 – 8 February 2013) to celebrate and review this legacy. I have been working as Public Art Manager for Donegal County Council since 2004, which up until recently was a great time for cultural development in the county. The Public Art Office is part of the Cultural Services Department, which also includes the Regional Cultural Centre, the County Museum, the Archive Service, the Heritage Service and Public Libraries. For three years, when there was a lot of commissioning happening, I was fortunate to have a Public Art Assistant, Declan Sheehan. However, like many other great staff members in the Cultural Services Department, his contract was not renewed due to the public service embargo on recruitment. Our vision for the council’s public art programme continues to be one of supporting and encouraging original, artistically ambitious and high quality public art, aspiring to international standards of innovation, imagination, excellence, contemporary arts practice and value for money across all art form disciplines. We aim to champion work that impacts, charges, animates and connects with the public or the local community. This can be a challenging brief when working in a public service context. 1991 was the year of Donegal County Council’s first public art commission – a beautiful sculpture of two figures by the late Fred Conlon, sited in a small housing estate in Ballyshannon. In 1995, four years later, the Council established a public art working group – one of the first of its kind in Ireland – which continues to have overall responsibility for the public art programme. In 1999 a public art policy for the county was adopted. In late 2004, after leaving the role of Arts Officer in lovely Leitrim to relocate to the Northwest with my husband and new born little boy, I was delighted to be appointed Public Art Manager and set about managing Donegal County Council’s expanding public art programme, revising policy and developing a co-ordinated public art strategy. Donegal County Council has become been known for its varied and flexible approach to the commissioning process, for both temporary and permanent projects. Commissions have been drawn
from a range of arts disciplines, including visual arts, the performing arts, community arts, landscape design, architecture, music, pyrotechnics, theatre and literature. New, original artwork, created specifically for the local context, has always been encouraged. The public art website (www.donegalpublicart.ie) won a design award in 2007 and was re-designed this year to coincide with the 21-year celebrations. It is a comprehensive documentation of all commissions to date and has details of our works in progress. Like ones children, it would be difficult and unfair to pick a favourite. All the projects have been different. Breaking the mould can be challenging but I still believe that a generic or formulaic approach to commissioning will not serve every project; thus a varied and flexible approach to commissioning has always been encouraged and supported. Donegal County Council is particularly regarded for its residency model of commissioning – where commissioned artists spend time in the county and can truly engage with the subject matter and Donegal people. Originality is an essential factor in quality public art and Donegal County Council has been determined to create the necessary environment that supports the most ambitious artistic vision and creative thinking. ‘Lovely Weather: Art and Climate Change’ (2010 – 2013) was one of our most ambitious commissions, both in terms of the complexity of the subject matter and the scale of the commissions.1 This project was delivered in partnership with The Regional Cultural Centre and Leonardo OLATS.2 After a major international competition, five yearlong residencies were awarded, which culminated with a major exhibition, publication and conference. The completion of a 45-minute documentary, entitled Lovely Weather, by the artist Maria Mulhall, is pending. Commissioning public art does not mean merely providing the public with the most obvious and fixed solution, for this would preclude the possibility of truly innovative art. It involves a process of dialogue and expanding horizons, in the sense that people cannot express a desire for that which they have not yet experienced. However, the fear of controversory has too often been an inhibiting factor in the commissioning process. The pressure to play it safe, to do what has been done before or not to rock the boat, can seem overwhelming and can impact negatively on the vision and ambition
of a project. Donegal County Council believe that an effective public art work does not patronise or placate its public and the instantly popular option must be balanced against the desire to ‘raise the bar’ and the demands of enduring quality, creativity and professionalism. Since 2007, Donegal County Council has been delivering public art based on the County Development Board’s philosophy of co-ordination and integration of services for all government departments and state agencies that can avail of the Per Cent for Art scheme. This model of delivery is unique nationally and, although challenging, it tries to provide a strategic inter-agency approach for the delivery of the Per Cent for Art scheme in the county, with the best use of resources and the development of synergies. An example of this approach in action is Donegal County Council Public Art Office’s delivery of the Percent for Art commission arising from the construction of the N56 Mountain Top to Illistrin Road Realignment Project, on behalf of the National Roads Authority, Donegal, in 2009, for which we devised a brief focussing on the Oatfield Sweet Factory in Letterkenny that was due to celebrate its eightieth anniversary. We were very heartened by the NRA’s openness to commissioning multi-disciplinary temporary works addressing a local context and site, rather than a literal interaction with the roadside. The artists selected for this project were the Redmoon Theatre Company from Chicago and visual artist and photographer, Abigail O’Brien. Redmoon Theatre worked in residence with a number of local primary schools in Letterkenny; the result was an amazing installation in the Regional Cultural Centre with a supporting education programme, a documentary exhibition at the County Museum and an exquisite photography exhibition and limited edition book by Abigail O’ Brien. Like ‘Lovely Weather’, this project shows the strength of working in partnership with other agencies to create results that are always more than the sum of their individual parts. So what's next? Change has undoubtly come with the economic downturn, including the loss of a significant number of staff in the cultural services section of Donegal County Council. But change can also be positive. The new reality has encouraged us to look again at our work. We have just launched 'Making Shapes 2, Public Art 2013 – 2017', a document setting out the Council’s public art commissioning strategy and ambitions. We are still committed to the residency model of delivery and also have in the pipeline a number of specific projects addressing subjects such as the Donegal diaspora and Bundoran’s surf culture and industry. The Public Art Office also has aspirations to embark on its most ambitious project to date. From our research, we are aware that culture, heritage and landscape are the primary reasons for overseas visits to Ireland. Being cognisant of this, and building on our reputation for culture, landscape and contemporary arts and architecture, Donegal County Council’s public art programme is seeking to establish an ambitious flagship cultural tourism project using the working title ‘ArtScape Donegal @ Ards Forest Park’ in partnerhsip with Coillte Teoranta, the Irish Forestry Board. Set in Ards Forest Park in West Donegal, ‘Artscape’ will be an outdoor interactive gallery showcasing the best of modern and contemporary architectural and landscape interventions, set in Donegal’s most dramatic landscape along the magnificent and comprehensive series of mapped walks and trails already in the park. We are keen to build on the resource already there to provide an additional flagship cultural tourism resource in Donegal. Through ‘ArtScape Donegal @ Ards Forest Park’, we aim to maximise the economic benefits of culture, whilst still providing the audience with the most amazing work and an opportunity for the artists to respond to and deliver work in a very special county. At the opening of the ‘21 years of Pubic Art in Donegal’ exhibition, the mayor of Donegal reiterated that Donegal County Council “still values creativity, imagination and expression, still believes that the arts generate growth and tourism, still believes that the arts enhance our reputation and still and, most importantly, believes that the arts enrich our lives”. Hopefully these values will never change. Terry Duffy is Public Art Manager at Donegal County Council. She will soon relocate to Istanbul to undertake a PhD on the 'creative economy' with NUI Galway. Notes 1. www.deonegalpublicart.ie/dpa_lovelyweather 2. www.olats.org
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
25
career development
Participation, Process & Partnership LISA FINGLETON DISCUSSES THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUES AND IDEAS THAT HAVE influenced HER CAREER PATH and practice.
Lisa Fingleton, 'Memory Through Media'
Lisa Fingleton, 'Memory Through Media', images courtesy of the artist
This article explores my professional journey since graduating from the National College of Art and Design in 2005 and reflects, specifically, upon the three essential principles that underpin my work – participation, process and partnership. These concepts have been central to how I have sustained my practice over the years, both creatively and organisationally. Prior to studying fine art, I had trained and worked as a community and youth worker. From 1994 – 1995, I undertook the Postgraduate Diploma in Community and Youth work at NUI Maynooth, which included a three-month community arts placement in Edinburgh. Following this, up until 2000, I worked in various youth and community jobs in Ireland and abroad. My experience of community work is that it is a practice and process very much focused on social change, collective action and participation. While I certainly went to art-college to explore my own creativity, I remained committed to finding ways of bringing about social change through art. Participation In the first year after I graduated from NCAD, I took part in over 20 group shows in Ireland and abroad. However, I felt I was running from exhibition to exhibition in a bit of a tailspin. While this flattered my ego, I couldn’t block the nagging questions in my head. Who am I doing this for? Who are my audience? Who am I trying to reach? I loved having my own work professionally presented in the context of the white-walled gallery but felt that there was something absent. I missed working with communities and especially people who don’t traditionally have access to the arts. Maybe it had something do with the fact that I felt very privileged to be the first person in my extended family to have an arts education. Whatever the reason, I was certain that I wanted to share the creative experience with others. I quickly found myself back working collaboratively in the community context, but this time as an artist and filmmaker. Within months of graduating, I was commissioned by Laois County Council to take part in the 2005 Laois Artist Symposium – I saw the notice for this opportunity on the VAI e-bulletin and submitted a proposal that included a rationale and budget. Five artists, including myself, were selected. I developed a project that involved interviewing over 90 people about their favourite place in the world. I really enjoyed chatting with people, explaining how the camera worked and letting them see themselves on camera, sometimes for the first time. The screenings seemed to have an extra energy because the people present were not just ‘the audience’ but engaged participants. I gained a lot of confidence from that project and also felt that I became physically stronger from hauling around a relatively big camera and tripod on my back for three weeks.
group and by the end the filming was an integral part of the process. During 2008, I also got the opportunity to participate in The European Social Documentary Film Programme (ESODOC). Through this six-month programme, I got the chance to work with filmmakers from all over the world, which proved invaluable. A Travel Award from the Arts Council helped towards costs. In 2010, the Integrated Rural Development Company (IRD), Duhallow, North Cork invited me to facilitate a Leader-funded media project with their SAOI network of active retirement groups in the area. Most people had no experience, even with still digital cameras, and I was to lead them through the process of making their own films from start to finish. There were 17 people in the group and I don’t think any of us could have guessed how rewarding that process would be. None of us could have predicted the level of camaraderie and friendship that would develop, nor the wonderful creative output. With co-facilitator Rena Blake, we negotiated everything together with the group. Participants started by creating short films that were shot in a day and then one longer film that developed over three months. They made five films over the year and a half. We organised a number of screenings as part of Bealtaine, which hundreds of people attended. We shared the films during transnational visits to Finland, Poland and the UK. The Grundvig Programme funded this element of the project. Even through the project officially ended in May 2012, IRD Duhallow has a dissemination strategy in place. Participants regularly travel to local schools, nursing homes and community projects to screen and discuss the films. To me this is a great example of real and meaningful audience participation. The films are also available on YouTube and have enabled the Duhallow diaspora to comment and engage with the films.
Lisa Fingleton, still from Inspired
Looking back, I can see how many participative projects flowed from there. I became the filmmaker in residence with Kerry, Cork and Limerick County Councils from 2006 – 2007. The position was advertised in Film Ireland and formal interviews were held in Cork. To my knowledge, this was a once-off cross-county collaboration, though I continued to work a lot with the Kerry County Council Arts Office after the first residency. A small number of projects were pre-scheduled, but I predominantly worked in a self-directed way. I designed programmes and projects in consultation with communities, schools and artists with the support of the arts officers. I found it was a really steep learning curve for me, as I had had no formal film training at the time except what I had picked up from art college. I remember having an awful nightmare the night before I delivered my first workshop – I had forgotten everything I thought I knew and woke up in a cold sweat. Thankfully it was just a bad dream! In 2008 and 2009 I developed projects for the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, the Model, the Crawford and the Irish Film Institute, which were all about engaging artists and communities with digital film. For instance, in the 'Changing Face' project, I worked with 60 teenagers in Cork to make their own screen tests, which were exhibited alongside Warhol’s screen tests in the Lewis Glucksman Gallery. I enjoyed the fact that people could really engage with the creative process and create their own artworks / films. Process Many of the projects up to then were short-term and funding-led. I wanted to work on a longer-term process. From 2007 – 2008 I worked with Ireland’s only lesbian choir, Mná Mná, on a musical / film project called Outside I’m Singing. Initially we had no funding, though Cork City Council did give us a grant later in the process. We quickly realised we couldn’t pay for the use of copyrighted music, so we decided that the choir would write their own musical. This became the central focus of the film. It was an amazing process to witness. Under the expert guidance of musical director Evelyn Quinlan, the choir wrote a musical and had two sell out shows, as well as standing ovations! The final film was presented as a five-part installation of the same name, at the 2009 Claremorris Open Exhibition. I was delighted to be awarded the Emerging Artist Award that year. I also received the Patronage Award from Laois County Council, which I used to fund the project. The Crawford Gallery, Cork hosted the screening for participants, friends and family, which was of course the most special evening. This was a very important project for me. I felt it was a very positive experience for everyone involved. In the beginning, many of the women were rightfully dubious about being involved in the filming process. Indeed, I was very wary myself, afraid that it would ruin the intimacy of the group. Everything was negotiated with the
Partnership While participation and process are essential, I also feel that building partnerships is vital. Now, when I am approached to do a project, I always ask myself: who else could we involve in this project? This is important not just for financial reasons but also because in broadens the impact of the project and enables it to reach a bigger audience. In 2009, I set up a project called the Happy Artist, to support a variety of creative projects in North Kerry. With the assistance of an Arts Council Bursary Award I was able to collaborate with a vast range of groups who otherwise might not have had access to creative opportunities. One animation project involved a partnership between different agencies in Listowel, including: Listowel Writers Week, Xistence youth café, two secondary schools, the local cinema and the arts centre. In 2011, I was commissioned by Kerry County Council to make a film called Inspired about Kerry artists. This would not have been possible without the additional support of the Leader programme. Following this, Joe Murphy at St Johns Theatre Listowel agreed to host an evening around the theme of inspiration. Poets, artists and musicians all contributed to a memorable evening. Instead of just being an online video project, it became the focus for real community events. In summer 2012, I was asked to do a project with Kerry Library supported by Kerry Arts Office. I worked with eight teenagers to create a film called For the Love of Reading with over 20 library users. We worked in partnership with Kerry Film Festival and the film was screened in Siamsa Tire in Tralee. In prioritising issues of participation, process and partnership across my practice, I feel fortunate in arriving at a place where I often reach across a number of sectors for support: art, community and film. Where possible, I feel it is really important to collaborate and build bridges between different contexts. As a final point, I feel it is important to mention that the organisation and funding of these projects has required a great deal of administrative time. For most grant and award opportunities I’ve had to prepare detailed applications. I reckon that each application takes at least one week when it is done properly. It feels a bit like gambling. Do I cancel other things and take the risk that it might pay off? The good thing about doing an application is that it helps to formulate my thinking. It helps to develop ideas that otherwise might never come to fruition and it also gives me the chance to have my work assessed by a panel of experts. I am currently doing a Masters in Documentary Film in Goldsmiths College, University of London. I look forward to seeing where this will take me in the future. Lisa Fingleton is an artist and filmmaker based in Kerry. www.lisafingleton.com
26
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
HOW IS IT MADE?
Adrian O'Connell 'Off Limits' installation view, image courtesy of artist
Adrian O'Connell 'Off Limits' installation view (detail), image by Jason Higgins
Testing the Limits ART CRITIC MARIANNE O’KANE BOAL TALKS TO ADRIAN O’CONNELL ABOUT THE CONCEPTUAL AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES INVOLVED IN HIS RECENT EXHIBITION ‘OFF LIMITS’ AT PLATFORM ARTS, BELFAST (19 OCTober – 8 NOVember 2012). Marianne O’Kane Boal: ‘Off Limits’ gives the impression that a substantial degree of preparatory work was involved in its creation – interviews, negotiating content and permissions, securing objects with associated relevance and incorporating various elements that push the boundaries of art-making. Is this research and development phase fundamental to the final work or merely administrative? Adrian O’Connell: The research and development phase of ‘OffLimits’ was very important, especially when engaging and working with individual people or organisations that for the most part placed very little importance on art, contemporary or otherwise. The concept I was exploring – human rights and segregation – drew attention to this and was the key to opening up a channel of communication that led to numerous meetings and discussions before any filming took place. My previous works and exhibitions have played an important role at these meetings, in building trust and establishing my character and artistic intent. The Northern Ireland Centre for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM), in particular, was fully behind the project, and gave it their complete support. Their stamp of approval and personal involvement opened doors to the various ethnic minority groups in the city. NICEM also provided me with interpreters and a space at their city offices to film the work. The NICEM team and the majority of the participants in the video attended the opening of the exhibition, turning the evening into a multicultural event. Their response to the finished work was fantastic. MO'KB: None of your work in ‘Off Limits’ touches the floor, only the feet of your audience. Why have you kept this installation in its entirety off the ground? Is the ground further evidence of an area that is ‘off limits’? AO’C: For me, the viewer, on entering the space, becomes part of the work; having nothing on the floor deters or distracts from the strategically-suspended video screens on the opposite side of the fence that divides the space in half. As one draws closer to view the video, a warning sign placed at eye level alerts you to the fact that the fence is electrified. The intention here is to toy with the viewer’s frame of mind and possibly heighten the experience as you stand at arms length to engage with the video. The participants within the video are both looking at and speaking directly to the viewer. At first the viewer may be somewhat confused about what is being recited, until what’s been said is heard and understood in their native language. To me, this completes the cycle, making the work whole, just as the pulsating electrical current that runs through the fence has to complete a cycle and wouldn’t work if it were not earthed to the building. MO'KB: In terms of your art production, the concept and process of making is central to the consequent artwork’s raison de être. It is almost as is if there is a contemporary revision of Duchamp’s ‘readymade’ in some of your installations. In other words, as Sol LeWitt commented, “The idea is the machine that makes the art”. Would you agree?1 AO’C: Yes I would. Ideally, the objects that I utilise need to have some unique characteristic on their own and when they are combined together in some manner they create a wholly new charged work. At times, my use of the object can be literal, where I’ve used a phone handset or multiple handsets to convey communication, but there is always another layer to the use of these materials: the history or the
aesthetic that comes with the object is a critical contributing factor giving substance to the work. MO'KB: In ‘Off Limits,’ you have created a sculptural construct, akin to a curtained chamber, composed of 12,000 keys. What is the relevance of this piece to the overall installation? AO’C: Each is individually cut – the same can be said of people. Everyone’s identity is individual, regardless of their race, colour or creed. I should say that I had reservations about using the key structure at Platform Arts, as it was initially constructed for a gallery with two adjoining yet separate spaces. I’m referring to my exhibition in Berlin, where the viewer, on entering, would first encounter the key structure with audio in gallery one, before proceeding to see the video installation in the second space.2 Overall, I feel the installation of the work in both Berlin and Belfast delivered a different experience for the viewer but, given that the video component of the work is re-shot for the city that the exhibition inhabits, I think the experience should indeed be different. MO'KB: Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum’s 1992 installation Untitled, at the Mario Flecha Gallery, London was a minimalist installation, almost exclusively conceived in white, which appeared relatively benign. However, six fine stainless steel wires created a barrier, which “threatened to trip, decapitate... the viewer with one small step.” What is the idea behind the use of electric wires in the gallery space in ‘Off Limits’?3 AO’C: The fencing used in ‘Off Limits’ is one normally used to control livestock. I found this to be of interest, given that all so-called democratic societies are controlled in some form or other, whether one likes to admit it on not. MO'KB: Which practitioners have inspired your work and influenced your practice – artists, writers, filmmakers, photographers etc? AO’C: I find that I respond spontaneously and rather intuitively to a diverse range of works and art practices. I try to analyse why I react to a work in a particular way. My appreciation of an artist’s work or, for that matter, an entire way of thinking, is not stable. It changes over time. More than ever, concept is of the utmost importance to me. It provides the substance or content that I require to realise a work. Inspiration comes in numerous forms and from all walks of life. Works by artists I am currently interested in usually have a strong conceptual connection regarding the human condition in a wider context. Works by artists like Shirin Neshat, Michal Rovner or Philippe Parreno, to name but a few, have been an influence. Parreno’s June 8, 1968, in particular, comes to mind, where he restages and films the train journey that transported the corpse of Robert Kennedy from New York to Washington DC. The film is an exceptional artwork that runs for several minutes and focuses on the mourners who respectfully look on as the train passes. In the making of the work, Parreno brought on board the same film crew or heads of departments that where involved in another major film work, Zidane: A Twenty-First Century Portrait, by Parreno and Douglas Gordon. MO'KB: You have been teaching at Dun Laoghaire for a decade now. How has your art practice informed your teaching? And how do you feel teaching has influenced your artwork? AO’C: To properly answer that question, I think it’s important to
Adrian O'Connell 'Off Limits' installation view, image courtesy of artist
understand that at no point during my own studentship at the University of Ulster did I consider teaching or lecturing as a career path. In fact, for all intents and purposes, I had set plans in motion to move to New York within a year or so of finishing my MFA in 2000. My brother had a successful construction firm there and, although I had no trade as such, I had a sculptural background and was no stranger to hard graft and labour. However, like all students after finishing college, getting my finances in order to make the move proved more challenging than expected. The lecturing position in sculpture presented itself at IADT so I applied for the position and the rest is history. To answer your question, from day one on the sculpture floor at IADT until now, I’ve always followed the working methodology that one should practice what one preaches. I feel this approach grounds and informs my teaching and equips me with the necessary understanding when tutoring students. Even the difficulties I’ve encountered or errors made within my studio practice inform my teaching, as lessons can be learned from mistakes made. On the flip side of the question, I have no doubt that the daily discussing and analysing of concepts and technical concerns that surround the development of a student’s progress, influence my practice in that I instinctively analyse everything I do. MO'KB: Installation can provide insight into a multi-layered theme or experience through its narrative threads, which might be difficult for other art modes to portray. As James Roberts has written, “There is a sense of installation having developed into an archaeology of the present as much as the past. Perhaps it is this attempt to try and understand the richness of the accumulated histories and narratives of the world that characterises the generation of artists working with installation now.” Over the past 15 years, you have frequently used installation to examine social, political and cultural events. Do you feel it is the best method of communicating complex contemporary themes?4 AO’C: Yes, very much so. Installation as a medium has always provided me with a platform to fully explore all aspects of a concept. I have, of course, experimented with other mediums, but, to my frustration, find that I always revert back to working in installation. I would even go as far as to say that when I work with video my approach is much the same as it is when making an installation. I’m interested in constructing the imagery, utilising the space within the frame, just as I would be when making an installation. I try and identify specific points of interest, on a critical level that is, which examine the layers within the work to heighten the viewer’s experience. With regard to the concepts I explore, I think it’s important to say that I am very aware of the lines I don’t wish to cross when examining the social, cultural or political. Although at times I question whether one can truly indiscriminately separate the personal from the political, given that the personal in all its complexity is impacted by the political, and that in turn can potentially effect the social discourse. Adrian O'Connell is an artist and filmmaker. He lectures in Fine Art at IADT Institute of Art Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire. Marianne O'Kane Boal is an art and architecture critic. She writes regularly for VAN, Irish Arts Review, Living Design, Perspective and Architecture Ireland. She is Curator of the Art Collection at Belfast Harbour. www.adrianoconnell.com Notes 1. Sol le Witt featured on Dataisnature, Tom Moody, 10 April 2007 2. Gate P Gallery, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, 2004 3. Art & Design Profle, no 30, 1993, installation by James Roberts, A Room With a View, 5 4. Ibid, 6
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
27
seminar
Who Speaks on Whose Behalf? Dorothy Hunter reports on the seminar ‘On Conflict, Memory and Commemoration’, held at Belfast Exposed on 31 October 2012.
Eugenie Dolberg, collaborative artist and photojournalist, making her presentation at 'On Conflict, Memory and Commemoration'
Belfast Exposed recently hosted a day of open discussion at a
saw young people create comical text and image montages that
in collaborative ways’. This workshop focused on the ethical and
seminar entitled ‘On Conflict, Memory and Commemoration’. This
explored participants’ notions of territory and space, which were
practical challenges of a community-based practice, which many of the
series of talks and workshops explored the placement of the artist and
subsequently used as images for Christmas cards sent to politicians.
participants could share experiences of as arts practitioners, curators
photographer within the community and within wider society, and the
Another covered each side of the Flax Street interface with an image of
and funding directors.
nature of work that navigates present and past conflict. Considering
the unseen street it obscures, becoming a façade of an unobstructed
the various ways that work created with or about others can transcend
path but for the telltale 'Road Closed' signs.
One problem discussed was the definition of community with regard to public-facing practice, and whether such a term was more
the documental and spectatorial, the seminar sought to question and
These actions encouraged participants to approach their
harmful than beneficial in this context. Groups working in collaboration
debate how work can be truly reflective and expressive of shared and
surroundings with a sense of play, where photography is used as a
should not be viewed as homogenous, but rather seen as individuals
individual contexts.
means of observation and separation from the everyday. Ambulatorio, a
with their own story. In so doing, people are not given titles that
The day commenced with three case studies of work that both
temporary artwork commissioned as a partnership between Draw
automatically define them as ‘other’.
directly and indirectly address conflict and political past. Paul Seawright
Down the Walls and Oscar Muñoz, similarly used photography as
Another issue debated was that often artists and galleries must
began with his perspective on the growth of sociopolitical photography
spatial installation, finding its completion in the interaction of its
anticipate and satisfy the social impact requirements of funders in
as a responsive medium within Northern Ireland, drawing from his
visitors. In this piece, aerial images of Belfast were encased under safety
ways that are difficult to quantify and sometimes irrelevant to the
experience as both a practising photographer and head of school at
glass and laid on the ground – as each person stepped on this walkway
work’s nature. The balancing of artist, participant and funder intention
Belfast’s art college. Considering why socio-political work by Northern
it broke into pieces, representing the fractured space of its site. Located
proves difficult to resolve; it was suggested that artists must simply
Irish photographers took so long to emerge, Seawright argues that this
between the two barriers of the Flax Street interface, Ambulatorio
consider their involvement with the collaborators after their project
was not a result of the cultural invalidation of photography as an art
opened up a no-man’s-land that had previously been isolated from the
ends, and recognise that beneficial social effects are part of the process,
form. Nor, as is often suggested, was photography disused through the
public, changing its context from separation to an interactive common
but should not necessarily be of direct focus.
inability to tackle such a subject in its immediacy: other artists have
ground.
Often the fluidity required to realise community-based arts
readily explored political issues in alternative visual media. Instead,
The third speaker of the session was Eugenie Dolberg, who spoke
workshops is seen to be at odds with the planning required for funding
Seawright suggests that Northern Irish photography could not establish
from her position as a collaborative artist and photojournalist. With
applications. As Eugenie Dolberg’s workshop emphasised the need to
itself because there was not enough means of supporting a photographic
the rise of conflict causing women’s rights to regress in Iraq, and severe
avoid an excessive checklist, the parallel necessity of keeping funders
community in the country. Photography galleries, journals and festivals
bias in information from governmental and military sources, Eugenie
updated and involved was noted. Whilst funding can impose restrictions
in Belfast constitute the supportive infrastructure found in Northern
sought to give a group of Iraqi women a more direct voice to talk about
on the realisation of projects, it should be recognised that it does not
Ireland today, and their establishment has resulted in the development
their lives. ‘Open Shutters Iraq’ presented the personal stories of nine
necessarily tie the project to a certain course of events, and that
of Belfast’s photography degree courses.
women through written and photographic essays. It was a project that
development through dialogue with participants should always be
Seawright went on to present the work of several graduates of BA
placed precedence on photography as “a language of emotions”.
encouraged.
Hons Photography at University of Ulster. Each photographer
Alongside practical photography workshops, Eugenie encouraged the
Lastly, we heard from Johnny Gailey’s group, reporting back from
demonstrated new approaches to issues implicit in Northern Irish
women to consider what the images evoked, in contrast to press
his workshop, which explored alternatives to mainstream funding.
society and politics, and Seawright was keen to stress the importance
photography, which often diminishes the individual. As a result, these
Johnny spoke of the unique effects of crowd-sourcing, such as early
of the underlying biographical and autobiographical threads that
women share contexts that are otherwise unrepresented by mainstream
audience development, and its gauging of public interest. Although
made each project so potent. The socio-political themes in the work of
media: one participant, for example, explored the resonance of the
not often a method that can generate substantial funds alone, it can be
Aisling Kane, Paddy Kelly and Joanne Mullins finds contemporary
decline of Baghdad’s cultural epicentre, and how it related to the need
instead be used to develop projects, obtain other funding, and begin the
relevance through connections to family and social relationships, and
to hold claim to mental space.
creative process.
removal through space and time. Each body of images displayed the
Eugenie spoke of the emotional written responses within the
The session ended with some additional points of action for those
necessity that the photographer’s subject not be treated as a disparate
project, and the importance of creation in the face of destruction. She
seeking to introduce collaborative practice to projects of their own. As
entity or context, but as a personal proximity to be explored.
also emphasised the need for fluidity in the format and subjects of
a practical step, it was emphasised that the documentation of workshops
Breandán Clarke of North Belfast Interface Network and Peter
community-based projects, working with and around limitations as
and project processes should go beyond physical outcomes: if we value
Richards of Golden Thread Gallery then spoke on collaboration across
they form. As conflict escalated and movement between Iraqi cities
these processes we should keep records for the future.
arts organisations, community groups, artists and individuals. Draw
became more restricted, each woman’s project developed to reflect
Another issue that arose was the need for consideration of absence
Down the Walls is a partnership between North Belfast Interface
their immediate reality, their memories and the repetitive historical
– not just in terms of a lack of public consciousness or media presence
Network, the Lower Shankill Community Association, Ardoyne
patterns they observed.
– but also of those missing from discussions on representation. As the
Women’s Group, Tar Isteach and Golden Thread Gallery. Built over the
Following a Q&A and short break, the seminar recommenced to a
exploration of conflict, memory and commemoration changes over
course of several years, Draw Down the Walls has used visual imaging
more conversational format. After three separate workshops that
time, and as we examine the questions surrounding its dialogical
techniques and a tongue-in-cheek approach to create arts projects for
explored the practical aspects of realising artistic projects, participants
issues, we must remain aware of who is not present to speak for
people based in interface areas, whilst at the same time creating “visual
reconvened to share the discussion’s outcomes and action plans. I
themselves.
pollen” to increase conversation and widen consciousness. One project
attended Anthony Luvera’s workshop, titled ‘Supporting artists working
Dorothy Hunter is an artist and writer based in Belfast.
28
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
Opportunities commissions COMMISSIONS Birdhill Tidy Village Committee invites submissions for a unique visual artwork on the roundabout at Birdhill. While the commissioning body has a broad outlook on proposals, for the purposes of clarity the preferred artwork should have permanency and a strong visual impact. The committee is very open to the scope of the Per Cent for Art scheme; however, due to our limited budget, we would like to commission a permanent visual artwork that will have a lasting meaning to present and future generations of Birdhill people. We would like artists to consider, in particular, the rural, agricultural nature of the locality. Budget: €15,000 Deadline 14 January 2012 Email sec@birdhilltidytowns.ie Web www.birdhilltidytowns.ie COMPETITIONS competitions
THE LITTLE MUSEUM The Little Museum of Dublin is running a competition that invites people to say what they love about Dublin. There is a €10,000 prize for the winning entry. The categories accepted will be film, animation, photography, graphic design, the written word, visual arts, music, Twitter. People can enter from all over the world, and the work will be judged by a panel of experts. The winning entries will be exhibited on billboards all over Dublin, and in the Little Museum of Dublin. The schedule of the competition is as follows: judging – 27 Jan – 14 Feb, public vote – 15 Feb – 1 Mar, announcement of winners – 2 Mar. Web www.littlemuseum.ie/uniquelydublin.
Sligo / EUROPE Network Sligo Arts Office, Kids’ Own
sions of the work you wish to enter. We will be notifying successful entrants in the next few weeks. All works are for sale (unless stated) after the competition has finished and subject to gallery commission. First prize is €250 cash and €250 of promotion including a full or part solo show, and advertising to promote this. Second prize is a €500 voucher for stone from Mckeon stone quarry. Third prize is a full set of tools from Gibson & Faulds worth around €250.
Publishing Partnership and The
Email dale@tools4stone.net
unique and exciting opportunity
Telephone 0863559988
work with children and young
Web www.gallery52.webs.com
European network alongside
invite applications from artists in County Sligo who wish to participate in a new pilot programme of peer learning and exchange, which is being delivered as part of Ireland’s EU presidency in 2013, called the Practice European Artists’ Network. The purpose of this programme is to develop and grow practice with children and young people within three localities across Europe. It provides a for three Sligo-based artists who people to be part of a new
Deadline 31 January
Estonian and Hungarian artists. The focus of this programme will be to share and explore practice, to encourage critical reflec-
NCAD 'ZINES To coincide with the Archizines Exhibition running at the NCAD Gallery, the Irish Architecture Foundation has launched a design competition in partnership with NCAD and sponsored by Plus Print. Teams from art, architecture, graphic design and curating are invited to develop a prototype archizine. Submissions to the competition will be assessed in Jan and the winning prototype will go into production. This inkind sponsorship prize is valued at approximately €1,000. The competition is open to all, for example: architects, designers, urbanists, graduates, students, artists, photographers, curators, editors, writers, etc. Submissions can come from one person or a team of people. The competition brief is now available to download from our website. Deadline 28 January
tion and understanding, and to work together to create a framework for ongoing dialogue through real and virtual communication with an emphasis on peer learning and exchange. The project will begin with a two-day meeting on 5 – 6 Feb at the Model, Sligo and will be followed by a series of online and local hub meetings, culminating in a presentation or critical debate showcasing practice and learning throughout the programme in June 2013. Artists wishing to apply must be available on the 5 and 6 Feb all day. To apply, please send the following to Kids’ Own by email or post. The expression of interest should include: why you are interested in this programme; areas that you would like to develop within your practice; the benefits of being part of a
Web www.architecturefoundation.ie EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS exhibitions & IRELAND
projects ireland
European network of artists working with children and young people as you see them. Your CV should include: information about your work – specifically the contexts you are currently working in – and your methodology for working with children
SIAMSA TIRE
Telephone 01 661 1000.
Siamsa Tire are this year calling
Deadline 26 January
Programme 2014.
Exhibitions
generally run for
four to six
for submissions for the Gallery
weeks in the three main galleries GALLERY 52 Gallery 52, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath is holding an open competition to help promote up and coming stone sculptors in Ireland. The idea of the sculpture competition is to see what is being done around the country by artists established or otherwise. We are open to all sculptors. There is no theme so any piece can be submitted, just email pictures, descriptions and dimen-
Model, Sligo, are delighted to
throughout the year. If you wish to be considered for the 2014 programme, please send a hard copy only of your proposal along with costings and a CV, addressed to the Director. Deadline 5pm 11 January Address Siamsa Tire, Town Park, Tralee, Co Kerry.
and young people. A selection of images to support your application is also welcome. This project is funded by the Arts Council through its EU Local Partnership Scheme and is delivered by Sligo Arts Service, in partnership
with
Kids’
Own
Publishing Partnership and the Model, Sligo. Address Kids Own, Carrigeens, Ballinful, Co Sligo Email info@kidsown.ie
BELFAST PHOTO FESTIVAL Submissions are now being accepted for Belfast Photo Festival’s ‘Open Exhibition’ under the broad theme ‘Spectacle.’ This will form an integral part of the 2013 programme, with a possible tour. Throughout history, ‘spectacles’ represent visually stimulating and enthralling trappings that continue to capture the attention of mankind, manifesting in many forms both natural and man-made. Our broad definition includes spectacle in otherness, suffering, death, beauty, decay and subjects that are enlivened by the act or process of photography itself, as well as our desire for the visually-enticing image, that moment which excites and exhilarates the viewer. Recognising that the idea of spectacle sits at the very heart of the identity and history photography, we invite photographers to submit photographic projects that interrogate, challenge and extend notions of visual spectacle. The second edition of Belfast Photo Festival aims to explore the manner in which photographers have photographed spectacles in their many forms, seizing the opportunity to record their intense visual impact, demonstrating the fundamental relationship between the spectacle, its viewer and photography itself. ‘Open Exhibition’ welcomes entries from professional, student and amateur photographers both nationally and internationally, and we are keen to support all disciplines of photographic practice. Web www.belfastphotofestival.com Deadline 31 March EXCEL The Excel Gallery is looking for submissions for exhibitions to take place in its gallery space from Apr 2013 – Mar 2014. The gallery welcomes innovative and challenging proposals from established artists and from artists who wish to present a debut exhibition. Group submissions are also welcome. Submissions should include eight slides (or a CD with six images) of recent or previous work, an arts-related CV, an exhibition proposal relating to the artist’s intention for the show. Submissions should be marked ‘Gallery Submission’ and posted to the below address. A floor plan of the gallery and further details about current exhibitions are available on the website. Contact Mary Sarsfield, Mary Alice O’Connor
Telephone 062 80520 Deadline 18 January Web www.tipperary-excel.com Address The Excel Gallery, Excel Centre, Mitchell Street, Tipperary Town, Co Tipperary CO N F R E N C E S / L E C T U R E S / courses / training / TALKS
workshops
F E McWILLIAM GALLERY Explore texture, line and abstraction with local artist Joanne Proctor. 16 Jan 7pm – 9pm. Fee: £6. Booking recommended. Further studies in texture, line and abstraction with local artist Joanne Proctor. 30 Jan 7pm – 9pm. Fee: £6. Booking recommended. Curator and writer Marianne O’Kane Boal will present a lecture on Deborah Brown’s work, focusing on the ‘Abstraction to Figuration’ exhibition of Deborah Brown’s sculptures and paintings at the F E McWilliam Gallery, 22 Feb 7.30pm – 9pm. Fee: £3. Booking is recommended. Web www.femcwilliam.com Address F E McWilliam Gallery & Studio, 200 Newry Road, Banbridge, County Down, BT32 3NB CATALYST EVENTS In conjunction with the 'O U T | T U O' exhibition (17 Jan – 7 Feb), Catalyst Arts will host a number of free art events. The first three workshops are aimed at providing artists in the early stages of their careers with information and skill-sets that will effectively structure their practice. Refreshments will be provided. All events are free. Goalsetting Workshop: Tue 22 Jan 12 – 3pm – personal planning, action plans and time management (including a talk from invited guest on the transition from student to artist). Artist Tools: Wed 23 Jan 12 – 4pm – PR and Marketing – professional aspects of being an artist (including a talk from an invited guest on the transportation and record keeping of artwork). Art Relationships: Thur 24 Jan 12pm – 4pm – networking and being active, information on funding and art organisations in Belfast (including a talk from invited guest on the art scene in Belfast).Participatory Performance Art Workshop: Thur 31 Jan 6pm – 7.30pm. (As numbers are limited, please email to reserve a place.) Clodagh Emoe will give a lecture on Psychic Sleep and Collective Thought Thur 7 Feb at 6pm. (As numbers are limited, please email to reserve a place.)
January – February 2013
Email catalystarts@gmail.com THERAPUTIC RENEWAL Work and personal lives, especially at this time of year, can be stressful. People in caring fields often do not prioritise their own mental health and physical wellbeing, leading to burnout or work stress and affecting their personal lives. This residential weekend in early February has been created with this in mind (1 – 3 Feb, 5pm Fri and 4pm Sun). It is facilitated by a qualified, experienced art therapist and a trained holistic body and meditation specialist in a peaceful organic ecology centre. The unwind begins on Friday. Saturday will provide time for reflection and relaxation in respectful silence, which will be facilitated in gentle un-pressured ways, using personal art expression, nature-based experiences, body movement, meditation and breathing sessions. After the final verbal integration sessions on Sunday, participants will take away many practices that will help them maintain their mental health. Please book by Jan 21. Total cost: €275. €100 deposit. Telephone 0404 61833 Address An Tairseach, Ecology Centre, Wicklow town ART THERAPY (17 Jan – 7 Mar). This will be the second series of experiential Thur evening workshops in art group therapy to be held in the centre of Dublin. Artistic activities and group dynamics are essential elements of this course. The continuity of the group and the rhythm of activity and rest help an inner process of healing. Personal discoveries are mirrored in the growth of the whole group. Email klaus.klier@yahoo.com Telephone 086 373 4662 BRONZE CASTING This three-day course at h2studios (18 – 20 Jan) is suitable for participants at all levels but will particularly suit those interested in small-scale metal working techniques. Over the three days, all aspects of small-scale foundry work will be covered, including modeling / wax work, mould making, bronze casting and finishing techniques. We will also look at alternative mould making materials including inexpensive rubber moulds. This course will include kiln and furnace building techniques and the participants
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
29
opportunities will get hands-on experience in
FUNDING/AWARDS/BURSARIES
making both. The emphasis of
funding / awards / bursaries
this course is small-scale foundry techniques but each participant will also come away with a small
ARTS COUNCIL BURSARYS
bronze piece. Cost: €285, which
The Arts Council provides
includes materials (not kiln and
Bursary Awards in order to assist
furnace) and tea / coffees. Place
individual artists in the develop-
secured by €50 deposit.
ment of their art practice. The
award emphasises the value and
hellehelsner@gmail.com
benefit to an artist’s development
Telephone
that is derived from a focused
0238849223 / 0863256689
period of engagement with their
Web
practice. Guidelines for each
www.h2studioart.com Address Harbour View, Kilbrittain, Co Cork
award are published on the available funding section on the website. The following awards are available: Visual Arts Bursary
CARMELITE CENTRE This course (5 Feb – 26 Mar. Eight consecutive Tue nights 6.30pm – 9.30pm) is an introduction to working with children through arts and is based on the belief that, when given the right environment, children instinctively know how to create while most adults need to re-learn how to do this. The training programme is for adults. If you are a parent, youth leader, social or health worker, teacher, child care worker or artist who wants to learn more about how to nurture, foster and develop your own creative potential, this training programme is for you. The programme costs €500. Concessions €350 (students, unemployed, part-time workers). Fee covers training, art materials, tea and coffee. Telephone 085 1532220 Email Jole@arttoheart.ie Web www.arttoheart.ie
Award, Architecture Bursary Award, Arts Participation Bursary Award, Dance Bursary Award, Film Bursary Award, Literature Bursary Award, Music Bursary Award, Theatre Bursary Award. Please note that applications will only be accepted through the Arts Council’s online services website. Applicants who have not previously used this system must register in advance of making an application. It is recommended that applicants allow five working days for registration prior to making an application. Web www.artscouncil.ie Deadline 5.30pm Thur 17 January ALLIANCE FRANCAISE After two successful Alliance Française Photography Award competitions, submissions are being sought again from artists working in Ireland with a particular interest in photography, for a new exhibition in spring 2013 inspired by the multi-use context of the exhibition space, which is also a café. Artists will be short-
Address
listed
Carmelite Centre, Aungier Street,
Advisory Panel at the Alliance
Dublin 2
by
the
Photography
Française and from this shortlist a winner will be selected.
ART THERAPY This series of Saturday art thera-
Submissions should include: five images of proposed artwork for
py workshops to be held in
exhibition submitted on an
Portlaoise are meant as a course
appropriate medium (paper,
to introduce art therapy to a
slides, CDs, DVDs etc), text
wider public. Based on a continu-
description of the proposed art-
DIGITAL BISCUIT As part of their Digital Biscuit event, the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland is launching its first Young Animators Award. Digital Biscuit is a series of 20 programmed talks and technology expositions over three days on the 24 – 26 of Jan 2013, in the Science Gallery, that will bring together global film industry leaders including directors David Yates (Harry Potter) and Pete Doctor (Toy Story). The rules are: Your animation must be between ten seconds and two minutes long; your animation must incorporate the ‘digital biscuit’ theme in some way – visually, verbally or conceptually. The judges are Jason Tammemagi (COSMO, Monster Animation), Joel Simon (Flickerpix Animations), Steve Woods (National Film School, Head of the SDGI Animation Committee). The winning animation will be premiered at Digital Biscuit to an audience of animators, directors, industry professional and film-loving public. The winner will also receive a day of mentoring at Academy Award Nominated Brown Bag Studios. Animations should be uploaded as a private video to YouTube or Vimeo and the link sent to admin@sdgi.ie with subject line “Animation Award Your Name”.
PR & MARKETING MANAGER Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre wishes to engage a creative and dynamic individual to develop, manage and implement Mermaid’s marketing and communication strategies. They will be answerable to the Artistic Director and work closely with the Box Office Manager and team to secure maximum ticket sales and profile for all events at Mermaid Arts Centre.
critical reflection, theatre text
Applications are now being
development and rehearsed /
invited for the Jon Schueler
invited readings.
Scholarship Visual Artist in
Contact Fionnuala Downes
in late Feb 2013. Post or email
Deadline 18 January
Email admin@mermaidartscentre.ie Telephone 01 272 4300
Interested artists and com-
Residence, with the first residen-
munity groups are invited to sub-
cy taking place in the summer of
mit an application form together
2013. The successful applicant
with any additional material that
will have the opportunity to
supports
application.
research, develop and produce
Applications will be reviewed by
work for three months in the
the studio team and two external
dedicated artist’s studio in a spec-
panelists. Shortlisted applicants
tacular setting overlooking the
will be invited to interview, either
Sound of Sleat, the place which
in Dublin or by telephone / Skype,
so inspired Schueler as an artist
the
applications to: Email
tunity to exhibit the work they produced within Sabhal Mòr and
info@commonground.ie
it is also hoped that a special
Address FAO studio 468, C/o Common
Closing date 6pm 7 January
Ground.
studio exchanges
by each of the artists who have
Web
been awarded the scholarship.
www.commonground.ie
Visit our website for more infor-
l.sisley@yahoo.co.uk or siob-
In late 2013, Studio 468 will celebrate its tenth year as a cultural
han@commonground.ie 5pm 1 February
Dublin area. To mark the begin-
Address
ning of this anniversary it will host a combination of inter-disci-
www.smo.uhi.ac.uk
15 Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8
plinary residencies, starting with a series of shorter research awards
SCHUELER SCHOLARSHIP
in 2013, followed by three long
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National
term residencies through 2014 –
Centre for Gaelic Language,
2015.
Culture and the Arts on Skye, is to become the host of a major new
are: Research Awards of six weeks
visual arts residency. The John
to three months, 2013 – Feb 2014,
Schueler Scholarship is a unique
that have the potential to build
partnership between Sabhal Mòr
the capacity of artists and com-
Ostaig in Scotland and the Jon
munities of interest and / or
Schueler Charitable Trust in New
place; Curious Conversations, a
York and will complement the
series of open talks and roundta-
existing programme at SMO,
CALL FOR FILMMAKER
ble events during 2013 and 2014
which is currently supported by
South Dublin County Council
where past and present Studio
Creative Scotland through their
and Tallaght Community Arts in
468 awardees and others will be
Creative Futures programme.
partnership with the Bluecoat
invited to reflect on and share
The scholarship will be offered
(Liverpool, UK) are seeking a
their experiences; Long Term
each year to a different artist, run-
filmmaker with web skills who is
Awards, which comprise a series
ning from 2013 – 2016. It was
interested in working in the con-
of three longer-term awards of
established to celebrate and
text of arts and disability. With
approximately
nine
remember the life, work and
funding support from the Arts
months, Apr 2014 – Dec 2015.
artistic influence of internation-
Council’s EU Local Partnership
(This open call will be made in
ally renowned artist and abstract
Scheme 2012, South Dublin
autumn 2013.) This is the first
expressionist
County Council Arts Office,
call for applications for the 468 X
Schueler (1916 – 1992), and in
Tallaght Community Arts and
10 Research awards only.
recognition of his special rela-
JOB VACANCIES
Deadline Web
The 468 X 10 award phases
JOB VACANCIES
mation. 7 January
Deadline
resource in Rialto and the wider
Exhibition’ will be mounted at ing a selection of work produced
01 7078766.
Email CELEBRATING 468 X 10
‘Schueler Scholarship Residency the end of the four years featur-
Telephone
RESIDENCIES residencies & andSTUDIO EXCHANGES
At the end of their residency, artists will be offered the oppor-
six
to
painter,
Jon
the Bluecoat in Liverpool are col-
Studio 468 acts as a working
tionship with the landscape and
laborating together on a transna-
space from which to engage
environment of the Sound of
tional arts project involving art-
locally. Resident artists or groups
Sleat.
ists with disabilities from the
are asked to propose, in their
It is open to international,
Blue Room (Liverpool) and Doors
application for the research
Scottish and UK artists working
ous group, they may provide a
work (max 200 words), artist’s CV
first-hand impression how art
and full contact details, up to five
group therapy works. There will
images of previous work. Our
be different themes for each
first award, in 2011, went to
to Elsewhere (Tallaght, Dublin)
award, how they will individual-
workshop. Workshops will be
Roseanne Lynch, followed by
groups. An application form
ly or collectively develop their
held in Jan and Feb, starting 12
Miriam O’Connor in 2012.
must be completed to apply for
arts practice within the local area,
Jan.
this position. The form can be
demonstrating a clear commit-
cultural@alliance-francaise.ie
found on the South Dublin Arts
ment to artistic outcomes in any
klaus.klier@yahoo.com
Address
website. No late applications may
art form. It is an opportunity to
Telephone
1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
be accepted. Candidates must be
test and develop arts participa-
086 373 4662
Deadline
available for interview on Jan 30
tion, thinking and practice. It
15 January
2013.
may include methods of collabo-
Deadline
rative art making that could
12pm January 16
include, but are not limited to: project research, workshops, discussions, invited / public events,
to the highest level of professional practice in a visual medium and with a particular interest in landscape and the environment. The scholarship will enable a visual artist to base themselves , for the summer / autumn months, in the Visual Arts Studio, within the Fàs Centre for the Creative and Cultural Industries at SMO, in a culturally rich and multi-disciplinary arts environment.
BEWARE! We strongly advise our readers to verify all details to their own satisfaction before forwarding art work, slides or monies etc.
30
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
Project profile
I've Got a Notebook (and I know how to use it) JOHN GAYER DISCUSSES THE ARTIST NOTEBOOK PROJECT 2012, COMMISSIONED BY AND SHOWN AT THE MCKENNA GALLERY, RIVERBANK ARTS CENTRE, NEWBRIDGE, CO KILDARE (12 – 19 OCTOBER) 2012.
Gráinne Tynan, One Day in Dublin, 2012
Installation view, 'Artists' Notebook Project', Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare., image by Vera McEvoy
Open calls often present tantalising opportunities to artists. Suddenly, they are presented with the possibility of finding a context for their artwork or a prospect so intriguing that it compels them to tackle something they’ve never considered or had the nerve to do. Such was the case with this year’s Artist Notebook Project, mounted by the Kildare County Arts Service. The call, which was issued near the beginning of April, invited artists working in all disciplines and at all levels to fill a standard sized notebook in a creative way. Only the height and width of the volume had to be respected. Otherwise, the book could be filled in any way imaginable. The payment of a modest €5 registration fee ensured that one A5 black hardcover moleskin sketchbook soon arrived via post for each participating artist. With the deadline almost half a year into the future, more than 100 individuals committed themselves to the project. Faced with 104 pristine blank pages, many of the participants must have had doubts about what they could accomplish and fretted over how their contribution might stack up against the others. For months, the culmination of the project stood as a large question mark, but when the exhibition finally came together in the Riverbank Art Centre’s McKenna Gallery, the results proved to be astonishing. In addition to displaying immense diversity in terms of creativity and content, the submissions also demonstrated a capacity for concentration, commitment and bravery. I was left wanting to know more about the project after visiting the exhibition, so I contacted Lucina Russell, Kildare County Arts Officer, and several artists who contributed to the project.1 While the idea for exhibiting artists’ sketchbooks goes back decades, if not longer, the idea of producing sketchbooks specifically for the purpose of building a collection that can be toured seems a much more recent development. Such works, like the ones donated as part of this project, blend aspects of impromptu sketchbooks with much more carefully devised one-of-a-kind artist books. Aware of this development, the Kildare County Arts Office first launched the Artist Notebook Project in 2011. Not knowing how it would be presented or even if people wanted to participate, they linked the exhibition dates to the second annual Kildare Readers Festival. The registration fee was set at €15 and about 50 people subscribed to the project. The 2012 presentation followed the reading room format developed for the first exhibition. The notebooks were ordered alphabetically by name and secured to tables with elasticised ribbons. Outside of several three-dimensional structures, which – due to their fragile nature – need to be housed in vitrines, the submissions remained fully accessible. Viewers could take a seat and examine any number of them in detail. Russell reports that the response from contributors and viewers was very positive. Contributions came from artists, amateur artists and non-artists with artistic inclinations from Ireland and abroad. Many spoke of how much they had enjoyed the process. For some, completing
the notebook was analogous to conquering stage fright. In several of the notebooks, contributors wrote: “I’ve got this notebook and I don’t know what to do with it”. One artist proposed that the notebooks pass through a selection process but Russell was wary of curation at this point. People had no idea what awaited them. The breadth of their own ideas surprised them. They found there was a lot to take. People manipulated the paper in various ways, treated the notebooks as diaries, and did collages. From some you get a sense of the maker’s personality. Tendencies among the participants and viewers can also be discovered. The notebooks submitted by some of the writers, for instance, were treated more like scrapbooks and visitors interested in writing tended to be drawn to the more literary works. Russell noted that participants also sometimes forgot what they had included (perhaps they had added something too personal) and then changed things. Passages deleted with Wite-out, for example, can be found among the pages. How and why people chose to participate and what they got out of the project proved fascinating. In an email, the Australian sculptor Carole Driver, wrote: “…it was good to feel part of a group working away in those marvellous Moleskins”. Though she has often documented organic minutiae for the purpose of developing sculpture, the process of producing a notebook of drawings enabled her to realise that an organic visual language was being extrapolated from the plant forms. For this experience Driver was grateful. The notebook forms an extension of her Phytomorphs series that will be shown in Alice Springs next year. She also continues to develop the vocabulary initiated through the notebook’s production.2 The day-to-day use of sketchbooks and journals attracted a number of people to the project but, unlike Carole Driver, Joan Stack wasn’t interested in “chronologically filling each page”.3 She is attracted to everyday materials and working in a multi-disciplinary manner and had, at the time of the project’s announcement, been making cardboard boxes for use in photography projects. This mindset soon enabled her to see the notebook as a container. She cut a recess into that modest block of paper and filled it with miniature boxes to create something evoking a ‘box of chocolates’. Vera McEvoy, who also has a close relationship with sketchbooks, recounts the excitement she first experienced and the difficulties that followed. The realisation that the finished book would not remain a personal filing cabinet for her ideas prevented her from working on it for about two months. Then, with her fears somewhat allayed, she decided to continue, aware that she might not hand it in. The panoply of fibre and printed elements in her work includes fold-out fabric panels and pages onto which images have been sewn.4 Paul Quast, on the other hand, an artist who normally avoids sketchbook use, chose to develop a 3D model for the sculpture Colossus Complex out of his copy. Though the model proved invaluable in calculating weight distributions and vital pressure points in order to
Joan Stack, Work in process, 2012
prevent structural failure, problems arose during the fabrication of the large work, which called for numerous modifications in the model. An additional set of adaptations also ensured that the model folds down to fit the notebook’s dimensions. Plans outlining the arduous process of research and development accompanied his submission.5 When questioned about the Artist Notebook Project’s future, Russell notes that it will be on display at the Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, from the 9 Jan – 2 Mar 2013 and that she hopes to line up other venues as well. Though libraries have shown interest in the project, an exhibition would necessitate invigilation, especially when it comes to children. The collection needs to be accessible, but also protected. Some of the works are fragile so finding the right balance is important. While visual artists, writers and film makers took part in the project this year, Russell would also like to get people doing dance, music and architecture to contribute. I believe this is a good strategy. Not only does it hold lots of potential for diverse creative expression, it will also expand the viewers’ sense of what a book can be. The fact that so many individuals responded to the call suggests the genre is worthy of greater attention. The idea obviously peaks people’s interest, something coincidentally highlighted by the great response Temple Bar Gallery + Studios’ Art Book Fair received upon its 2011 debut. Lucy McKenna, the Assistant Arts Administrator, believes this may be linked to Ireland’s literary tradition and close relationship to books, an influence that has spilled into the visual arts.6 Though the fair serves art book publishers, it also offers Irish and international artists – many of whom produce small editions of handmade books – the opportunity of finding a market for their work. As such, the two events are highly complementary. Each offers a unique perspective. With regard to the Artist Notebook Project, Russell has been impressed by the dedication and generosity shown by the participants, especially since many found it took much more time and effort than they had expected to complete the notebooks. The artist Paul Woods, who was minding the exhibition on the day of my visit, made another pertinent observation: “This is a very democratic project.” With this, I could only agree. John Gayer is a writer and artist based in Dublin. His writing has appeared in Art Papers, Circa, Espace Sculpture, Paper Visual Art Journal and Sculpture Magazine. His artwork has been included in group exhibitions at the Black Mariah, Cork and Visual Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow. Notes 1. Personal communication with the writer, 6 November 2012 2. Personal communication with the writer, 6 November 2012 3. Personal communication with the writer, 5 November 2012 4. Personal communication with the writer, 13 November 2012 5. Personal communication with the writer, 5 November 2012 6. Personal communication with the writer, 12 November 2012
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
31
HOW IS IT MADE?
Migration & Transformation Anthony haughey discusses 'citizen', his cross-border exhibition , which opens at Highlanes gallery, drogheda in february and millenium court gallery, portadown in april 2013.
Separation fence between North Africa and Europe
Paper boats launched near Mosney Reception Centre
Production still from Progress II, all images courtesy of Anthony Haughey
Walking past the Immigration Centre on Burgh Quay in Dublin recently, I saw a woman coming out of the entrance of the building. As I got nearer I noticed a small object in her hand. It was a perfectly folded paper boat, similar to the origami boats that young children learn to make, except this one was modeled from what looked like an immigration application form. The fragile object in her hand reminded me of the precarious boat journeys made by migrants in desperate attempts to reach Europe. Throughout last summer I received email alerts from migrant support groups monitoring the flow of traffic across the Mediterranean Sea. One of the main migration routes is from Libya in North Africa to Lampedusa: a small Italian island that migrants believe will give them a foothold in Europe. Every summer, hundreds of migrants drown attempting this journey in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats supplied by unscrupulous smugglers. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1,500 people drowned in the Mediterranean in 2011 alone.1 This fleeting encounter outside the Immigration Centre described was the starting point for designing this exhibition. I had been thinking about how to make this for some time: a culmination of research and artist projects from the last few years. Some of the individual works have been documented in a co-authored artist’s book, State, with German artist Susanne Bosch, which was published by Project Arts Centre in 2011. Most of the work has been exhibited widely outside of Ireland as individual works, but I was looking for an opportunity to do a larger solo show. I met with Aoife Ruane, Director of Highlanes Gallery and Jackie Barker, Director of Millennium Court Gallery in early 2011; both were incredibly supportive and enthusiastic about doing this show. The proximity of Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda to Mosney Reception Centre, where I had previously spent a considerable amount of time working with the residents is significant, as is moving the exhibition across the border, to both situate and displace the central concerns and questions raised by this exhibition. In the weeks leading up to the opening I am organising an event that will generate a sense of place and community. A group of people will gather on a beach near Mosney Reception Centre, where hundreds of naturalisation application forms will be folded into paper boats and launched into the Irish Sea – an act of solidarity for all migrants who have died attempting to cross the frontiers of Europe. This action will be filmed and later installed in Highlanes Gallery to dialogically connect the various elements of the show, which includes video installation, photographs and wall texts. At the close of the exhibition in Drogheda, there will be a further public action to symbolically cross the border into Northern Ireland leading to the opening of the second part of this exhibition in Millennium Court Gallery, Portadown. Ireland’s border is usually thought of in terms of nationalist / loyalist polarities. It has been historically marked with signs of conflict and sectarian division; this was the subject of an earlier work, Disputed Territory, in 2006. The border has been well documented and defined
culturally – in literature, art and film – but it is easy to forget that the border is also an international boundary. There are no fences or passport controls, instead a more pervasive and racialised form of surveillance is instrumentalised. For migrants, Ireland’s border is part of ‘Fortress Europe’ where they are subjected to European immigration policies. Borders and transnational migration has been a major theme of my art practice over the years. I continually return to this ongoing investigation of what Saskia Sassen describes as ‘informal citizenship’, where migrants contest the right to move freely across international borders in search of a better life. The movement of people across continents, seas and oceans is no longer fixed to a specific sense of place; we have moved from the ‘solid’ to the ‘fluid’ phase of modernity.2 Migrants exist in in-between states, attempting to negotiate citizenship with reluctant hosts. During Ireland’s economic boom I became interested in the country’s rapidly shifting demographic. For me, it was a very exciting time to be in Ireland, observing new and emerging identities and the potential for transcultural dialogues. I became deeply immersed in a series of collaborative projects with migrants who had left their countries of origin in the most urgent of circumstances, to escape violence and poverty. Millions of displaced migrants live precarious lives on the peripheries of cities, towns and villages; in harbors, derelict buildings or outdoors on hillsides and forests. The fortunate ones, who make it to a safe country, are housed by the state in temporary reception centres such as the former Butlin’s in Mosney, near Drogheda. I know several people who are still living in Mosney after five years. Mudiwa and her daughter have been residents for more than eight years. Giorgio Agamben describes these temporary spaces as “camps”, located within state boundaries and yet outside. The camp is a “space of exception” within and without national space, where rights afforded to citizens of the state are suspended.3 Compare this to the current era of globalisation where capital and consumer goods flow freely across international boundaries. The freedom afforded to international trading is not extended to people. Jacques Derrida observes how migrants are contained “…by filtering, choosing, and thus by excluding and doing violence. Injustice, a certain injustice, and even a certain perjury, begins right away, from the very threshold of the right to hospitality”.4 I have been interested in Derrida’s notion of hospitality since 2008, when I was working with the Global Migration Research Network – a growing collective of migrants from all over the world. Many arrived in Ireland as asylum seekers and refugees and are in the process of negotiating citizenship. We have collaborated to produce video installations, photographs, texts and performances. These transformative actions set out to dispel myths and reductive stereotyping surrounding transnational migration. Instead, migrants reclaim individual agency and participate as active ‘informal citizens’. In one of the video pieces, Progress ll, 11 individuals were invited to participate in the production of a dialogical video. Most of the group had
recently migrated to Ireland (North and South) from countries including Brazil, Nigeria, Somalia, Poland and the Czech Republic. The project generated a series of intersubjective encounters between the participants throughout the cultural production process and, later, between the participants and viewer when the video is installed in the gallery space. Following a virtual conversation facilitated through a blog, the participants were invited to perform a series of narratives around a dinner table.5 The constantly moving camera and microphone captures the dialogue. The guests are eloquently dressed, confident and articulate. One of the guests quotes from Heidegger: “He says that the language is your home.” The individual dialogues explore the in-between spaces and transcultural connections between home and host country. There is talk of loss, misunderstandings and confusion between cultures: the reality of everyday lived experience for migrants in their adopted country. In the completed video the dialogical encounter is extended and Derrida’s notion of hospitality is evoked. As gallery viewers watch the video they slowly realise that they are the subjects of discussion and therefore implicated in the conversation as host-country citizens in relation to the dreams and anxieties of the migrant dinner table guests. I will also include an earlier performative work, How to be a Model Citizen, first performed in Dublin Civic Offices in 2009. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to participate and test their knowledge of citizenship in Ireland. What I am interested in here is how power relations can be made visible and momentarily reversed through an act of transgression. A member of the Global Migration Research Network will facilitate this piece. Finally, a series of photographs produced at the ‘separation barrier’ between North Africa and Europe will frame the exhibition within the geography of ‘Fortress Europe’. Combined with various installation elements, Citizen will explore tensions between local and global migratory cultures. Anthony Haughey is an artist and lecturer. Recent exhibitions include Belfast Exposed Gallery, Helsinki Photography Biennale, New York Photography Festival, Crawford Art Gallery and the Korea Foundation in Seoul. www.anthonyhaughey.com Notes 1. UNHCR briefing notes "Mediterranean takes record as most deadly stretch of water for refugees and migrants in 2011", 31 January 31, 2011, www.unhcr.org 2. Z Bauman, Identity, 2004, Polity Press, Cambridge 3. G Agamben, (trans, D Heller-Roazen), Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, Stanford University Press 4. J Derrida in A Dufourmantelle, (trans, Rachel Bowlby) Of Hospitality, Jacques Derrida and Anne Dufourmantelle, Stanford University Press 5. To read the development stage of participants’ dialogues visit www.interfacefilming.blogspot.com
A networking, learning and social event for artists
Friday June 28th 2013
National College of Art and Design 100 Thomas St, Dublin 8
tickets will be available soon at www.visualartists.ie
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
33
Art in the Public Realm: Roundup
Art in the Public Realm public art commissions, site-specific works, socially-engaged practices, and other various forms of 'art outside the gallery'. Iascéalaíocht
Asylum Seekers (NICRAS) were asked to participate in a game of their making. After a grid was marked on the road and the net was strung across the gates of the interface, the game commenced. It lasted for two hours. The participants decided the rules and the teams.
Location: Balbriggan, County Dublin
writes, “It is part of a wider ongoing discussion
Unveiled: October 2012
around ideas of sovereignty and nationhood. Was it
Budget: €2500
always like this? Are ordinary people consistently
Project Partners: University Bielefeld, Germany
sold a lie for the benefit of a relatively small group
Description: This exhibition event took place
of people? It has the potential to establish a starting
at the Bielefeld University, Main Hall, Bielefeld,
point for a different discussion on Ireland. Is there
Germany in 29 – 30 October 2012. This work
a place for idealism? Is it a romantic notion? Is
was carried out by the 13 international female
idealism interchangeable with naivety? What
members of the Trailing Spouses Art Collective,
does it mean to be Irish? What is the relationship
which includes Irish-based artist Piia Rossi. The
between the economy and being Irish? While
production explored the positive and negative
the only discussion about Ireland to be heard is
aspects of repeatedly moving to a new country.
about the economy, this exhibition is concerned
The production space was transformed for two
with what is best about being Irish: creativity, self-
days into a domestic living space where visitors
reliance and community.
were able to spend time looking at artworks made
Title: Iascéalaíocht Artist: Ceara Conway Location: Paddy Jack's Pier, Leitir Meallain, Connemara, County Galway Commissioner: Galway County Council Arts Office, TULCA Project Partners: TULCA, Litir Meallain Heritage Centre Date Advertised: August 2011 Unveiled: November 2012 Budget: €6000 Description: On the night of the 17th of November, 10 traditional Curraghs took to the sea off the coast of Litir Meallain in County Galway, each carrying a storyteller or performer and a small crew of listeners. The artist was inspired by Eddie O Conghaile,a local folklorist and priest based in Tir an Fhia in Connemara, who spoke to her about remembering his father night fishing with his friends, telling stories in the boat. Ceara was interested in both the experiential and visual nature of this performance, which should feel magical and fun while imparting local knowledge, story and song in a very memorable setting. Listeners wrapped in blankets and darkness were treated to a variety of carefully selected local, national and international storytellers and performers. The performances were in Irish and English.
The long game
a year in the field
by collective members, talking with them about
Title: A Year in the Field
their experiences being a foreigner in Germany.
Artist: Christine Mackay
We wanted the visitor to feel at home, but also to
Commissioner: Fingal County Council Public
question the nature of home. How can one feel
Arts Office
‘at home’ knowing that it is (once again) only
Unveiled: October 2012
temporary? How does one engage in and find a
Description: Devised as a set of two publications
place in their new temporary community?
and a website, 'A Year in the Field' was developed in response to field work carried out on a wetland site at St Ita’s in Donabate, Co Dublin. Field-work PAD
totem
1. collates responses based on a series of activities
Title: Dig Where You Stand
– walking, collecting, digging, diagramming,
Artist: Sarah Lincoln
recording and talking. Field-work PAD 1. served as
Commissioner: South Tipperary Arts office
the prototype, from which an outline of Field-work
Budget: €17,000
PAD 11. emerged. Field-work PAD 11. functions as a
Project
playful nature study-guide, based on a series of 12
to us.
the dragon family Title: The Dragon Family Artist: Jim Collins Location: Balbriggan, County Dublin Commissioner: St George's National School, Balbriggan Commission Type: Per Cent for Art Date Advertised: February 2012 Unveiled: November 2012 Budget: €33,000 Description: This project made use of the established tradition and history of the school using the mascot / logo of the dragon. Academics /education is reflected in the form of a large open book that becomes the plinth for the dragon sculpture. The book and the dragons were constructed of laser-cut stainless steel with a red powder-coat on the dragons and brass on the lettering. A small dragon peers down from atop the book at the other small dragon on the ground, who looks up as if to say, "How does one get up there?" The message here is that children can rise in education and life through the book and by the
Title: The Long Game home is where the heart is
Location: North Howard Street, Belfast
Tipperary
County
Cashel Arts Festival and Cashel Public Library.
process, the artist engaged with a range of people afield. Over time, a complex habitat revealed itself
South
The Bolton Library in Cashel, Tipperary Excel,
of any ‘field’ system, by any person. Throughout this and community groups from the area and further
Partners:
Museum, The Workmen's Boatclub in Clonmel,
activities designed to prompt creative exploration
book.
Artist: Charlotte Bosanquet
dig where you stand
Description: 'Dig Where You Stand' developed Title: Totem
out of a curatorial residency which was initiated
Artist: Yvonne Cullinan
by South Tipperary Arts Office.
Commissioner: Mayo County Council
began in Spring 2012 with a series of readings /
Commission Type: Per Cent for Art
screening groups in unusual spaces throughout
Project Partners: Clúid Housing Association,
the area, including a boatclub, a lakeside and
Department of Environment, Community and
an ancient library. The ideas generated through
Local Government
these gatherings fed into an exhibition in the
Date Advertised: August 2011
South Tipperary County Museum, Clonmel over
Unveiled: November 2012
the Summer of 2012. The exhibition included
Budget: €13,500
new works by Bridget O' Gorman and Phillipa
Description: Totem is a public artwork resulting
Sutherland, alongside existing works by Susan
from a participatory public art project with the
Hiller and Uriel Orlow. Bridget O' Gorman's work
residents of a Clúid Association housing estate in
was subsequently exhibited during the Cashel Arts
County Mayo. All 15 families residing in the estate
Festival in November 2012.
The project
were involved in the development of the project – participating in interviews, workshops, temporary outdoor interventions, design meetings and
found sound (lost at sea)
installation of the resulting site-specific sculpture. The artwork is composed of 15 individual units, in stainless steel and resin, each pertaining to a household. Each unit ‘head’ contains a symbol / symbols of an individual household. Grouped together, the 15 units loosely follow the format of a butterfly nest and are also 'rooted' into the ground where they are sited – both design aspects reflecting the residents’ consideration of ‘home’. In essence, the piece is a response to the individual
Title: Found Sound (Lost at Sea)
households, the residents as a community of place,
Artist: Danny McCarthy
and the importance of 'home'.
Location: Cork city centre Unveiled: 11 January 2012
Commissioner: Upper Springfield Road Development Trust
romantic ireland: from the streets
Project Partners: Art Council Northern Ireland
Title: Romantic Ireland: From the Streets
Date Advertised: August 2012
Artist: Romansach Ireland Collective
Budget: €1500
Location: Anglo Irish Bank Headquarters, Nort
Description: 'The Long Game was a social
Wall Quay
engagement project, the result of five weeks of
Unveiled: March 17 2012
workshops culminating at a public event at the
Description:'Romantic Ireland: From The Streets'
North Howard Street interface. Groups of young
was an exhibition of artwork hung at Anglo Irish
people from cross-community projects and the
Title: Home is Where the HeART is
HQ in response to the role of Anglo Irish Bank in the
Northern Ireland Community of Refugees and
Artist: The Trailing Spouses Art Collective
financial crash. Collective member Oliver Phelan
Description: This work was created as a result of the artist’s interest in acoustic ecology and will commemorate the loss of the sound of the foghorn from Irish lighthouses and the Irish coast from 11 January 2011, when they ceased to sound. The installation is the sound of a foghorn, which will sound intermittently throughout the city centre throughout the day. The work was originally presented as part of 'Strange Attractor' exhibition / residency in the Crawford Gallery in 2011.
34
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
January – February 2013
RESIDENCY
Roam Home to a Dome
LINDA SHEVLIN REPORTS ON HER RESIDENCY AT THE ORGANIC CENTRE, ROSSINVER, CO LEITRIM, FACILITATED AS PART OF SPARK, LEITRIM COUNTY COUNCIL ARTS OFFICE’S NEW ARTIST IN THE WORKPLACE / BUSINESS INITIATIVE.
Linda Shevlin, still from Supernature, 2012
Linda Shevlin Supernature Production Still
Linda Shevlin, dome exterior
Linda Shevlin, Lunar Planting Experiment
Linda Shevlin, Lunar Planting Experiment
Linda Shevlin, Fibonnacci star
I have a confession to make. I’ve always struggled with organising my time and co-ordinating work / family commitments to allow myself to participate on residencies. The last time I got proactive about a residency was in 2010 when my partner Padraig Cunningham and myself were offered one in India. I became pregnant within weeks of the letter of offer arriving and responsibly decided to decline. Strangely enough, since my personal ‘situation’ has arguably become more complicated, I’ve made a concerted effort to re-address this imbalance in my practice. In July of 2012, Leitrim County Council Arts Office announced a new initiative entitled Spark, a partnership between the County Enterprise Board and Arts Office supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. The press release states that it “aims to introduce artists to new working environments and companies to collaborative and creative work practices”. Spark is not dissimilar to another extremely successful model of integrating artists within businesses: Art@Work in Co Roscommon. What connects these two residencies is Philip Delamere, former Roscommon Arts Officer, who moved to Leitrim Arts Office in 2010. Since establishing Art@Work in 2006, Philip has facilitated artists residency within banks, fire stations, hotels, mines, bakeries, cinemas and crèches to name but a few. I had recently completed the Art@Work residency, which ran concurrently with Spark from August – October, so for a very short period of time I was working full time on my art practice. Spark is almost like an evolution of Art@Work. The duration is longer, the budget is more substantial, the engagement with the business is more pronounced and collaboration is strongly encouraged.1 Initially, the Arts Office and the County Enterprise Board invited expressions of interest from businesses within the county. From these applications, two businesses were selected based on their suitability to the project. They were: the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon and the Organic Centre, Rossinver. After a national call to artists from all art forms, the Arts Office arranged site visits to the two participating businesses for all the artists who expressed an interested in applying. On the day of the site visits, Philip Delamere spent some time taking us through the application process. This residency differed from anything I’d ever applied for before as my proposed project had to take
on a two-pronged approach. Not only was I applying to work on a project for myself as an artist but I also had to propose a project where I was taking on the role of collaborator, working with the staff and students at the residency location. Of the two sites we visited, I was drawn to the Organic Centre (www.theorganiccentre.ie). The staff, the location, the reputation and the ethos of the centre made it a very attractive place for me to spend six months of my time. About two weeks after submitting my proposal, I got word that my project had been selected. Jo Holmwood, a theatre maker and writer, was selected to work with the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon. The Organic Centre in Rossinver is a leader in the field of innovative sustainable organic practices. From the site visit it also became apparent to me that they were interested in harnessing links with scientific practices through their recent application to become a Discover Science Centre. Around the time of writing this proposal, I had come across a book titled Supernature: A Natural History of the Supernatural (1973), written by Lyall Watson, a South African botanist, zoologist, biologist, anthropologist and ethnologist. He authored many 'new age’ books, Supernature being the most popular. Watson tried to make sense of natural and supernatural phenomena in biological terms. He was an eccentric character and, according to his obituary in the Guardian, was responsible for introducing the ‘psychic’ Uri Geller to British TV audiences. He was a radical thinker operating at the margins of accepted science. Supernature deals with mysterious and inexplicable natural phenomena and was acclaimed for its treatment of exotic and unexpected scientific facts and discoveries. Working with the staff of the Organic Centre, I proposed creating a pseudo-DIY laboratory to recreate these discoveries and experiments, exploring the many and often astounding ways in which nature manifests itself and adapts to its environment. Over the course of the residency, these events and activities will be continuously documented and compiled to create the main fabric of a film installation. The film will borrow from the visual language of the sci-fi genre, portraying a blurring of the lines between reality and fiction, science and nature.
The residency provides an artist’s fee and a materials budget to undertake both strands of the project: the artist’s strand and the collaborator’s strand. I used the collaborator’s materials budget to invest in the construction of a geodesic dome. The dome became an obsession; it infiltrated my work and my reading, and the geodesic domes creator, Buckminster Fuller, seemed to be everywhere. I couldn’t afford to buy one outright, but I sourced one from Polytunnels Ireland, a Galway based company, who were kind enough to ‘loan’ us the dome for a reduced fee for the duration of the project, with a view to the Organic Centre trying to source enough funds to pay the remainder and maintain it as a public, experimental space once my residency had been completed. The centre occupies a sprawling site with several polytunnels and a custom-built education centre that houses their yearlong FÁS course and all the administrative offices. Our ‘supernature lab’ has been constructed within close proximity to this main building. My studio is located in the old seed shed, a grass roofed timber building with a commanding view of the work being carried out around the centre. This is the space I use for writing, drawing and editing. As I write this, I am halfway through the residency. The first three months have been spent researching the activities and experiments we’d like to carry out in the lab, constructing the dome and writing the storyboard and shot list for the film. Using Supernature as a starting point, we’ve identified five experiments that are feasible to recreate. Over the next three months, the staff will be assisting me in creating these situations and I’ll be directing their actions to accommodate filming. I’ll be taking this material and representing it as a non-linear multi-screen installation, working with a small crew of four including myself. Peter Martin will be my Director of Photography. He’s a young, self- taught DoP based in Sligo. In my other life, to support my art practice, I work as a production manager for filmmakers, so I’ve made some contacts with young talent in the industry. One of the great things about this residency is that the fee has enabled me to engage other practitioners who are extremely skilled in their field. In the past I’ve always filmed and edited my own work. Although I will be taking some of the footage for this installation, the act of engaging someone else to work with me and the availability of time in the quiet environs of the Organic Centre, has made me employ a more traditional, certainly more organised, approach to filmmaking. I’ve always avoided writing any kind of script, storyboard or shot list for my work. It’s the old cliché of never having enough resources to do these things on your own time, but it’s so true. I think this change in methodology is what I’m really going to take away with me at the end of this residency, recognising how much taking time to mull over ideas can enhance the finished outcome. The residency is due for completion at the end of January 2013. The funders have requested that there be some final output, so the completed film will be screened in the dome. I’m confident that the film will also have a legacy beyond the residency and I’m particularly mindful that the work should transfer to a gallery or exhibition situation. Working with the management of the Organic Centre, we’re continuously reviewing and exploring ways in which the dome can remain onsite, and I hope the lab will act as the foundation for future projects there, exploring their relationship to science, design and technology. Leitrim Arts Office has been a pioneer in providing new and interesting models of cultural production and I think Spark will be an important addition to its expanding repertoire. It’s been an invaluable experience being involved in such a dynamic programme that is only in its infancy and I expect to see great things coming from this programme in the future. Linda Shevlin is an artist based in Co Roscommon and is a board member of Visual Artists Ireland. Spark is funded by Leitrim County Enterprise Board and Leitrim Arts Office, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. Special thanks also to Polytunnels Ireland for providing the geodesic dome. www.lindashevlin.com www.facebook.com/supernatureproject Note 1. I worked with the St John’s Heritage Group in Lecarrow on a project that aimed to re-connect the group with the landscape and archaeological sites they have strived to protect for so many years but rarely get the opportunity to engage with. This was achieved through a number of walks accompanied by the production of a series of maps that illustrate the journeys taken. The residency took place from August – October 2012. Art@Work is a residential programme organised and funded by Roscommon County Council Arts Office in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland. Artists are awarded the opportunity to spend a set period of time in an organisation in the county making artwork motivated by the environment, staff, materials and working practices of the company.
The Visual Artists’ News Sheet
35
January – February 2013
35
Forthcoming exhibitions at Droichead Arts Centre
regionAl ConTACT
Processes of Change VAi norThern irelAnd MAnAger, FeArgAl o'MAlley, disCusses soMe reCenT PubliC ArT ProJeCTs And CoMMissions I recently heard Peter Richards and Brendan Clarke
the natural landscape, could be easily adaptable to
speak about their experience of negotiating and
other locations and was more in line with a tourist
commissioning the Oscar Munoz project, Ambula-
board’s visitor experience planning than anything
torio, for the Cultural Olympiad, 2012. The full im-
else! What I will say in its favour is that the artwork
pact of the work commissioned for this event can
seemed to receive a generally positive response
only be fully understood in retrospect. Given that
from everyone in the close vicinity when I visited
several months have now passed and the legacy
and maybe that in itself is what the Cultural Olym-
baton has been handed on, I thought it would be
piad commissions were all about.
iN AssociAtio A Atio N with KildARe ARts oFFice Wednesday 9 January – Saturday 2 March 2013
a good time to reflect on some of the large-scale
I considered Oscar Munez’s Ambulatorio an ex-
works commissioned for the Cultural Olympiad
tension of the Draw Down the Walls project, and
and consider their importance and lasting impact.
the stand out commission from the Culture Olym-
Billed as the largest public art commission
piad. It aimed at real social engagement and was
ever undertaken in this country, Nest was an art
very pertinent to Northern Irish concerns, which
installation comprising over 2000 donated objects
I can’t say was the case for other projects commis-
each labeled with a personal story related to the
sioned. Draw Down the Walls is an ongoing col-
repective object. It culminated in a large musical
laboration between Golden Thread Gallery, North
performance by over 500 performers alongside the
Belfast Interface Network and the Lower Shankill
Ulster Youth Orchestra. The presentation of the ob-
Community Association designed to imagine a
jects took place in a large warehouse called T13, lo-
city without barriers; a long-term project that has
cated in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. I found that
utilised art as a primary engagement tool for com-
the visual manifestation of the installation lived
munity relations.
up to its promise, serving as an unusual census, a
I got the distinct feeling that this project could
smorgasbord of cultural remains. With so much
only have happened through mutual trust built up
on display, however, the experience was akin to
over a number years and through difficult social
browsing a large archeological dig, and any possi-
engagement work with the local community. It
ble suggestion of cultural narrative was lost on me.
was clear that those involved had listened to oppos-
But I can imagine that, in years to come, this docu-
ing views from both sides to come up with a work-
mented and published time capsule could be used
able creative solution. It was a remarkable piece of
as reference material in some way, in the study of
artwork in its own right: a temporary public inter-
post-conflict Northern Ireland and as a portrait of
vention within one of Belfast’s most contentious
the people living in this society.
interfaces at Crumlin Road / Flax Street. During the
The most visited commission, I would surmise,
month of July 2012, it balanced precariously on the
is likely to have been FLAGS by the celebrated Ger-
fault line between failure and success. Most impor-
man artist Hans Peter Kuhn, installed at Port Noffer,
tantly it demonstrated what is possible when you
Giant’s Causeway. FLAGS was co-commissioned by
have the full support of everybody around you and
the London 2012 festival and the Northern Ireland
the local knowledge and support to pull it off.
Tourist Board’s NI 2012 campaign, and presented
The process of change is inevitable and some-
by Third Space Gallery. The first and most nerve-
times slow; it takes an intervention like this, a so-
wrecking question the artist must have asked him-
cially engaged organisation like Golden Thread
self was how to compete with the natural phenom-
Gallery and a committed individual like Brendan
enon of the Giant’s Causeway.
Clarke to draw attention to some of the less pho-
From a distance, the work looked like a se-
togenic aspects of Northern Irish life and demon-
ries of randomly placed Post-it notes, secured to a
strate, by way of example, the importance of taking
large landscape photograph too close to an open
control of your environment and not the other way
window. On closer inspection, I soon realised that
around, in order to shine some light on it.
they were in fact manufactured metal flags, red on feargal@visualartists-ni.org
one side and yellow on the other, rotating freely
KRF1: Artist Notebook Project
in the wind. I felt this work, sited paradoxically in
still life RAPhAel hyNes Opening 6 March
VAI VAI VAI
Stockwell Street Drogheda County Louth T: 041 9833 946 W: www.droichead.com E: info@droichead.com
are you are you a are you a member? member? a member?
professional recognition equiptment & facilities hire peer to peer studio clinics discount scheme members' contact area
confidential advice VAN subscription ebulletin professional development help desk insurance
IAA card smartphone app Artelier at DAS allow us to Your active support and financialVAI contribution offer you the widest range of support services in the sector. IfYour you active appreciate ourand work and want to help usallow provide support financial contribution us to even andwidest more extensive services, offerbetter you the range of support services in the sector. support andwork financial allow to join today. IfYour you active appreciate our andcontribution want to help ususprovide offerbetter you theand widest range of support services in the sector. even more extensive services, To help us provide even better and more extensive services join today. join today: • visualartists.ie • visualartists-ni.org • +353 (0)1 672 9488
Sara Greavu Artlink Fort Dunree Residency
Sara Greavu, And your feet unable to find the ground, 2012
Winter 2012
visualartists.ie • visualartists-ni.org • +353 (0)1 672 9488 • visualartists.ie • visualartists-ni.org • +353 (0)1 672 9488
Annual Membership Rates Annual Rates Standard RateMembership €50 / £44 (48 / £40 by standing order) AnnualRate Membership €50 Rates Standard / £44 (professional or associate membership for artists living on the island of Ireland)
(€48 / £40 by standing order)
Concession Ratemembership for artists living €25 on / £22 £20 by standing order) professional or associate the(€24 island/ of Ireland (unwaged or studentsRate living on the island of Ireland) (this rate can/also availed of by of National Standard €50 £44be(48 / £40 bymembers standing order)
Concession Rate
Sculpture Factory,orArchitectural Association Ireland, Digital Arts Studios & Northern Ireland (professional associate membership forofartists living on the island €25 of/ Ireland) £22 (€24 / £20 by standing order) Visual Arts Forum)
unwaged or studentsRate living on the island of Ireland, and of the National Visual Arts Forum Concession €25members / £22 (€24 / £20 by standing order) (unwaged or students living on the island of Ireland) (this can(England, also be availed of by members of National International Rate €65rate / €70 Scotland & Wales /
Artlink Fort Dunree Inishowen Co. Donegal T: 074 93 63469 W: www.artlink.ie
Sculpture Factory, ArchitecturalRates Association of Ireland, Digital & Arts Studios & Northern Europe rest of world) International €65 England, ScotlandIreland & Wales Visual Arts Forum)
€70 rest of world
Friends' Rate €60 Rate to keep up to date through €65 / €70 (England, Scotlandin&our Wales / (forInternational non-artists & non-arts organisations the VAN and participate events) Europe & rest of world) (donations can also be made through the paypal button on our website)
Friends' Rate Friends' Rate
€60
€60 through the VAN and participate in our events for non-artists & non-arts organisations to keep up-to-date (for non-artists & non-arts organisations to keep up to date through the VAN and participate in our events) (donations can also be made through the paypal button on our website)
Visual Artists Ireland Central Hotel Chambers 7 – 9 Dame Court Dublin 2 +353 (0)1 672 9488 Visual Artists Ireland visualartists.ie Central Hotel Chambers visualartists-ni.org Visual Artists Ireland 7 – 9 Dame Court Central Hotel Chambers 7/9 Dame Court, Dublin 2 Dublin 2 +353 (0)1 672 9488 +353 (0)1 672 9488 visualartists.ie www.visualartists.ie visualartists-ni.org www.visualartists-ni.org
irish bronze Dedicated to the faithful reproduction of the sculptor’s vision
T: 01 454 2032 E: irishbronze@eircom.net W: www.irishbronze.ie
Willie Malone: casting sculpture for over two decades Kilmainham Art Foundry Ltd. t/a Irish Bronze, Inchicore Rd and Griffith College, Dublin 8
Corridor, oil on gesso panel, 36 x 24 inches, 2012
SCHOOLWORK members benefits
Rent cameras, projectors and other equipment at reduced rates.
BLAISE SMITH January 17 - March 2
Emmet Place | Cork | Ireland | +353 (0)21 4805042 Admission Free. Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm, Thursday 10am - 8pm. Closed Sundays & Bank Holidays. Guided Tours: guided visits for groups and schools see
www.crawfordartgallery.ie
become a member visualartists.ie
West Cork Arts Centre, North Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork. t: + 353 28 22090 e: info@westcorkartscentre.com www.westcorkartscentre.com
Arts Council of Northern Ireland Developing the arts in Northern Ireland
Mikala Dwyer Panto Collapsar 1 February - 7 March 2013 A solo exhibition by one of Australia’s most established and influential contemporary artists. Panto Collapsar includes an array of theatrically staged sculptures, totem-like structures and an extended wall painting.
Rita Duffy Arctic Circus This exhibition continues until Saturday 19 January 2013.
Arts Council of Northern Ireland, MacNeice House, 77 Malone Road, Belfast BT9 6AQ. T: +44 (28) 9038 5200. W: www.artscouncil-ni.org. E: info@artscouncil-ni.org
Image: Brendan Jamison, Green JCB bucket with holes. Arts Council Collection
Mikala Dwyer, Open Corner, wall painting, from the exhibition Panto Collapsar Collapsar, 2012
Mark Joyce New Works 15th February—13th April
Hindu Kush, Acrylic on Panel 2012
Holis Frampton Gloria! & Zorns Lemma 15th February—13th April
Copyright the Estate of Hollis Frampton, Courtesy of Marion Faller and Anthology Film Archives
Tues— Fri 10 am / 6pm Saturday 10 am /5pm, Closed Mondays
www.thedock.ie
available now in the App Store
VAI
Art Connect
Designed with visual artists, arts organisations, local authorities, curators, cultural practitioners, and the Irish public in mind, this free app lets you know whats going on all around the island of Ireland and internationally.
Developed by Mayo County Council Arts Office, CISNET, artist Aideen Barry and Visual Artists Ireland.
Arts & Disability Ireland and Fire Station Artists’ Studios Symposium on supporting visual artists with disabilities through residencies and peer mentoring. Venue: Glucksman Gallery, Cork Date: Thurs 28th Feb, 2013 Times: 10.30am – 5.30pm Free: lunch and coffee included
Speakers: Patrick Murphy (RHA), Garry Robson (Niet Normaal), Padraic Moore, Maureen Gilbert and Katherine Atkinson Artists presenting: Ruth LeGear, Noëmi Lakmaier, Hugh O’Donnell and Anna Berndtson For more info see adiarts.ie or firestation.ie. Advanced booking is essential, including access requirements: info@adiarts.ie or +353 1 8509002.
BA (HONOURS) CONTEMPORARY APPLIED ART (CERAMICS, GLASS, TEXTILES) APPLY VIA CAO DEADLINE FEB 1ST 2013 This exciting course at CIT Crawford College of Art and Design is a materials based course with a strong emphasis on developing innovative applications of making skills. For more information: www.cit.ie/course/CR210 Ceramic Piece (pictured) by Nuala O’Donovan
Ad copy.indd 1
10/12/2012 15:54
Bronze Art, Fine art Foundry
Heron, Alva Gallagher
Black Tulip, Eamonn Ceannt
The eight that soared, David O’Brien
Lough Boura sculpture trail, Elaine Griffin
Accept no compromise in the quality of your work, come work with the specialists.Best quality guaranteed everytime at competitive prices.
For your next project contact: David O’Brien or Ciaran Patterson Unit 3, Gaelic St, Dublin 3, Ireland. Tel: 353-1-8552452 Fax: 353-1-8552453 Email: bronzeartireland@hotmail.com Join us on Facebook
www.bronzeart.ie
Head of Department Department of Fine Art Email: ccad.enquiries@cit.ie
Postgraduate Portfolio day Ireland the lab, foley st, dublin 1 Thursday 31st January 2013 12 – 4pm
Final year students, recent graduates and artists interested in returning to postgraduate education or undertaking a residency can meet with faculty, have their portfolio reviewed in person and gain advice on admission to courses.
ParticiPating organisations: Burren College of Art Cardiff College of Art Crawford College of Art & Design Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology GradCAM Huston School of Film & Digital Media, NUI Galway Limerick School of Art & Design National College of Art & Design Royal College of Art, London University of Ulster ParticiPating residencies: Anam Cara Artist’s Retreat Cow House Studios
attendance is free and open to all. www.postgraduateportfoliodayireland.ie
RHA SPRING SEASON
Culturefox.ie is the definitive online guide to Irish cultural events, giving you complete information about cultural activities both here and abroad. To find out what’s on near you right now, visit Culturefox.ie on your computer or mobile phone.
Basil Blackshaw, The Gawky Cockerel, 1996, oil on canvas, 106 x 90cm, private collection
11 Jan – 24 Feb: 11 Jan – 24 Mar: 11 Jan – 24 Mar: 11 Jan – 24 Feb: 11 Jan – 28 Apr: 11 Jan – 28 Apr: 5 Mar – 28 Apr:
Basil Blackshaw: Blackshaw at 80 Polke & Richter: Works on Paper from the Kunstmuseen Krefeld Zineb Sidera & Amina Menia: Becoming Independent Justin Larkin: Untitled Vivienne Roche RHA: Spirit & Light Anita Groener: State Skin, An Artistic Atlas Admission Free
GALLAGHER GALLERY / 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2 +353 1 661 2558 / info@rhagallery.ie
Download the FREE App available now for:
iPhone | Android | Blackberry