Posts

Showing posts from December, 2011

Irish Graffiti, Is It Art?

Image
When I started researching for this article I was not sure which way it would go as I had not really thought much about is Graffiti art a valid means of expression. Some of its of course is just tagging hence like many I tarnished it all with the one brush. With the emergence of Banksy onto the British Art Scene many people have begun to see Graffiti art in a new light. Ireland has always had Graffiti artists working not only in urban areas but has peoples attitude to Graffiti changed? "New York is Killing Me" by ADW which only lasted a few days on Abbey Street Dublin   Graffiti can be and is a means for artists to get their work viewed by a mass audience that otherwise would not step foot into a gallery, until recently would not have been shown in many galleries across Ireland.  So what exactly has changed? for one graffiti has become more technically sound and have become more about what the artist wants to say rather than just a form of tagging, it has

Zin Taylor: Thoughts and Forms

Image
Our current Artist in Residence, Zin Taylor, will give a talk in The Model on his practice on Wednesday December 7th at 6pm. Zin has become known internationally for his elaborate installations encompassing elements of performance and sculpture along with drawing, printing, and video. Narration is an essential ingredient of much of Taylor’s multifaceted work, and his stories are often culled from the undergrowth of popular culture (more specifically underground music scenes) and contemporary art lore. Journalism, research, storytelling: not surprisingly, both the spoken word and the printed word figure prominently in Taylor’s practice and many of his installations have also been accompanied by publications and/or artist books. The talk, as much as it will be about his work, will traverse a wide variety of influence, anecdote and past history to arrive at the basic principle behind what it is Zin Taylor does – the development of thoughts about a subject in

Returning Georgia Hopkins

Image
“Returning” is an exhibition of works by local artist Georgia Hopkins. The paintings are atmospheric seascapes and landscapes inspired by the natural beauty of Cork and West Kerry. Artist’s Statement ‘Returning’  I chose ‘Returning’ as a title for a number of reasons. Initially it was a literal, working title, as I would be returning to the lovely Alliance FranÒ«aise de Cork gallery of my first solo exhibition. As I thought more about it however, this title resonated on a number of different levels. The very fact of having this exhibition necessitated my own returning: to the painting process, to the quietness of mind that that both allows & demands, and to my enduring source of inspiration, which is the wonder and beauty of the natural world. It is always a great pleasure to return to my inner connection with nature, to the universal energy, to the place in us all that makes us both unique in spirit yet connected with everything and everyone else. From anot

John Macormac Structure

Image
 Structure is John Macormac’s new solo exhibition of recent works on card, paper and wood. The title refers to the artist's interest in combining different elements and techniques to construct works that provoke a subjective sense of atmosphere, and a relationship of entities that coheres in the mind of the viewer. The artist combines collage, oil paint, acrylics, emulsion, ink, spray paint, conte crayon, chalk, felt tips, pencil and anything else that appeals. Found photographs and fragments of text can be included because of a personal sense of meaning, or purely as passages of visual ‘noise’. The work does not start with a finished image in mind. Rather it carries a sense of practical progression; each new area suggests the context and space for the next aspect of the piece. The artist will often work on several at a time. Pieces are often playful, while rough edges and accidents are encouraged. The work is in a constant state of evolution and reinvention. L