|
compiled by Eimear McKeith
McGonagle to leave City Arts Centre / art,
autism and genius / Santa Fe again (January 9, 2004)
Declan McGonagle moves on, again
In a surprising new-year press release from
the City Arts Centre, Dublin, it has been revealed that the Director
there, Declan McGonagle, will leave the organisation to take up
a new position as Chair of Art and Design and Director of 'CREATED',
a new research centre, at the University of Ulster in Belfast.
He has, however, been invited to join the Board of the City Arts
Centre and will continue to be involved in various projects.
McGonogle will take up his new position after
the completion of the two year Civil Arts Inquiry. The Inquiry
is due to be finished in late Febraury, in time for a major conference
in the first week of March 2004 which will launch the new organisational
and programming model for the City Arts Centre.
The Chairperson and Board of the City Arts Centre
have also just announced the final completion of the sale of the
Moss Street building. The proceeds from this and the 30% increase
they have received in Arts Council funding for 2004, will help
with the implementation of the stategic plan that will arise from
the Civil Arts Inquiry.
Art and autism
Michael Fitzgerald, professor of child and
adolescent psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and a leading
specialist in autism, revealed today in an interview on RTÉ
Radio 1's Morning Ireland, that a number of famous figures
may have had Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.
Having studied the biographies of people as
diverse as Socrates, Charles Darwin, W.B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll,
Eamon de Valera and Andy Warhol, and having compared them with
his patients, Prof. Fitzgerald has come to the conclusion that
they all exhibited characteristics of the disorder.
|
Andy Warhol may have
suffered from Asperger's Syndrome. Image held here.
|
Asperger's Syndrome is difficult to diagnose
because those with the condition tend to be of high intelligence
and to have good speech - symptoms are generally passed off as
eccentricity. People with Asperger's Syndrome often exhibit poor
social skills, finding it difficult to interact normally with
others. They develop obsessive interests and use strict routines
to organise their experience of the world. Sufferers tend to take
all language literally and to be pedantic about language usage.
However, those with the condition are usually exceptionally bright
and creative with a vivid imagination, and this perhaps explains
the predominance of the disorder in such significant and high
profile figures. ( Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, two scientific
geniuses, have previously been linked to Asperger's Syndrome).
As Fitzgerald said, "Asperger's Syndrome
provides a plus - it makes people more creative. " According
to Fitzgerald, Warhol may have had the condition, considering
his unusual behaviour, strange relationships and his distinctive
art. "He was a massive collector of articles, but didn't
even take them out of the packaging - his house was like a mausoleum
- and he had...difficulties at school."
Fitzgerald has published his findings in a
new book entitled On Autism and Creativity: Is There a Link
Between Autism in Men and Exceptional Ability?
Another O'Keefe Painting Stolen
There seems to be a trend developing in Santa
Fe, New Mexico, for stealing paintings by Georgia O'Keefe. (See
Art News, Dec 18). A painting was
stolen from the Georiga O'Keefe Museum early on Thursday but was
quickly recovered. The security guard who reported the theft is
now being considered a suspect.
The guard phoned the police at 2 a.m. to report
the theft both of a painting valued at $500,000 and of $14,000
cash. Some damage had been done to electrical equipment in the
gallery. However, on investigation, the painting and the money
were recovered, and police began to suspect that the guard may
have been involved. Deputy Chief Eric Johnson would not identify
the painting in question and has refused to give details about
the case.
This is the second O'Keefe painting in a month
to have been stolen in Santa Fe. On December 17, 2003, O'Keefe's
Special Number 21 ( Palo Duro Canyon) was stolen from the
nearby Museum of Fine Arts. This painting has not yet been recovered.
Most recent news items:
• Filling the void: more on the World Trade Centre designs (January 8, 2004)
• More on EU art / NIMBY syndrome hits public sculpture (January 7, 2004)
• Luas blues / hunger for art (January 6, 2004)
• EU art / unfreezing a landscape (January 5, 2004)
For a full list of news items, click here.
Latest reader
feedback:
News item 603
I have to say I agree with Circa. I have been working on a projec...
News item 624
The idea of exhibiting a group of objects bought on eBay, though ...
News item 617
It'd be interesting to see how many visitors attended the gallery...
News item 603
re. Comment 2 - most people who get turned down for grants have t...
News item 603
'sour grapes aside, what are culture ireland up to?' i think we n...
News item 606
hang on a minute... surely the feller who won the prize at art st...
News item 603
As someone who received a grant from Culture Ireland this year, f...
News item 602
try and make work that doesn't topple over in future!...
Do you have an opinion on this news item? If so, please click
here for our comments form.
| No reader feedback so far - awaiting your input! |
Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 2
Back
to top of page
|
