C100 News

above left: image of Michelle Rogers; courtesy Queen's University; above: John Gerrard: output from a 3D scan; courtesy the artist

Positive art at Queen's

Queen's University in Belfast has found a way of putting both women and art to the fore. An initiative of its Women's Forum and Gender Initiative, which works to improve the profile and position of women within the University, led to an international competition with a £20,000 prize.

The winning work is to be a painting by Newry-born artist Michelle Rogers. It will "depict a number of women striding forward into the light in a 15 ft by 6 ft painting which will be displayed at the heart of the University - in the Council Chamber in the Lanyon Building."

According to Rogers, "The idea for the painting came from the image of women coming out of the shadows. It was an idea that had struck me from the start - women coming forward together out of the shadows and claiming their place - not only their place in history but their place in the present and future."

Helen McAllister: shoe forms; courtesy Golden Fleece

Artists Fleeced

The winners of the spanking-new Golden Fleece Awards were announced on March 7. First prize of E15,000 went to Helen McAllister, for her embroidered shoe forms. Three runner-up awards of E2,000 were presented to Kathleen Holland, Ann Mulrooney and Clarissa Webb. The weaving department of the National College of Art and Design also received E2,000. The Awards were created through a fund bequeathed by Lillias Mitchell, to give financial support to students in areas of the 'traditional arts'.

 

Young pups for Pépinières

The two Irish MAP Programme Residency recipients this year are Ciara Moore, who will work in the Rethymnon Centre for Contemporary Art, Rethymnon, Greece and John Gerrard, who will spend nine months in the FutureLab in the Ars Electronica Centre in Linz, Austria. (See Gerrard image at top of page.)

The MAP Programme is organised by the Pépinières Européennes pour jeunes artistes. The FutureLab is one of the best-equipped labs in Europe in the area of human/computer interfaces and experimental 3D. Gerrard will be working on a new piece utilising the new technology of 3D portrait scanning - this piece is to be shown in his upcoming solo show in the Gallery of Photography, Dublin, 2003. It will also be (provisionally) in the Ars Electronica Festival.

 

The worst art space in Ireland...

Art and architecture: do you have an opinion? We have just launched a major new poll on recirca.com, asking for views on, among other things, which are the best and worst art spaces in Ireland. Let us know your thoughts here.

 

Image of Wasps' Factory; courtesy WASPS

So sting me

April 11 saw the opening of The Wasps' Factory, "Scotland's first purpose-built artists' studio complex" at 77 Hanson Street, Glasgow. It's spectacular; according to the press release it has:

Lots of different sources put money into the project, but the key element is Wasps itself (Workshops and Artists Studio Provision Scotland). It's in its 25th year, though it only became a charitable trust in 1993. Its primary aim is to purchase and upgrade properties for the arts, particularly the visual arts, in Scotland. It has a policy of working in the community and of enhancing access and availability at local level.

Wasps claims to be the only such organisation in the world. Its success may in part be due to the composition of its board of four trustees: all are drawn from the 'property profession'. So far they manage 14 properties around Scotland. More about Wasps from Alisonfullerton@waspsstudios.org.uk.

So why not here?

 

Show me the money: AIB art prize scoop

Katie Holten was announced as the winner of this years AIB art awards, at a special award ceremony which took place in the RHA on April 9. Holten takes home E20,000, and will be supported in her upcoming exhibition at the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, which nominated her for the award. The artist's work uses a variety of media resources, including video, sound and installation. Three runner-up prizes of E1500 were awarded to Carmel Cleary (nominated by Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford), Jim Vaughan (Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo), and Eva Rothschild (Project, Dublin).

 

Arts get major government boost

On April 10 the Republic's government endorsed the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon's five-year plan (2002-2006) and it apparently intends to finance it fully as well. By 2006 yearly central-government funding of the arts should have increased by two-thirds, to almost E80 million. It has to be hoped, of course, that the incoming government, just elected, doesn't do a rethink.

 

Dear Editor,

I would like to respond to Sarah Pierce's letter which appeared in the CIRCA 99 in reaction to my feature in CIRCA 98. Naturally Ms. Pierce has a vested interest in this review as it mentioned work from Arthouse, where she is the Artistic Director. I appreciate her comments. It is utterly important to have healthy debate, but I do not think Ms. Pierce actually engaged with the points I was raising in this particular review as a whole.

When I approached this review, two areas presented themselves for me as a reviewer, which I wanted to raise:

1. As the fashion for lens-based/sound-based work, or 'cross art', is becoming greater, I wanted to explore this area, as someone who, as I mentioned in my review, normally has a bias towards artists who choose to the medium of paint. I also wanted to ask questions on the technical aspects of artists who choose to work in these mediums, as I am beginning to be wary of artists who seem to have good ideas but very poor technical skills when it comes to lens-based work. The concept is becoming a dangerously thin reason for praise for this particular commentator.

2. The events of 9/11 (which at the time had not become a cliché of sorts) were pertinent in the global consciousness. I was intrigued that a number of exhibitions immediately prior to that date had been questioning fundamental societal issues which literally ignited thereafter, suggesting that artistic sensibility had a finger on the pulse, so to speak.

I decided to comment on Marks of Omission as it raised many important questions on both points. Ms. Pierce obviously 'omitted' to read between the lines of my review, in that my "nostalgia for painting" (I wasn't aware that painting had disappeared) as she wrote, presented itself when I viewed/heard work which was less than riveting. If Ms. Pierce had read my review closely, she would have noted that in conclusion, certain lens/sound work inspires me greatly. But I am not simply going to follow a vogue when it comes to lens/sound-based work, that it is worthy of comment simply because it is the latest trend. We can all have good ideas. We are not all artists.

Fortunately I have all my senses and therefore I am aware of the environment around me when I am approaching a sound-based piece, and therefore it is particularly important that curators make sure that if they are exhibiting work that relies on particular technology, it is up and running properly at all times. Which brings me to Ms. Pierce's last point.

Brian Conley's work may have been in a small light-sealed shed as she states, but to this reviewer it felt like a garden shed and unfortunately there were technical problems with the loop when I went to hear the work which triggered my frustration. Put simply, it was not turned on. The technology got in the way of my experience, and so it led me to wish for other forms of art. I think it is very important to do justice to the work of artists, and for the viewers that this type of work is highly maintained. You don't have to switch on a painting.

Yours sincerely,

Jane Humphries

 

It is very important when reviewing work in any medium to understand the terms we are using. There was no lens-based or len-based/sound-based work in Marks of Omission. There were no technical problems with Brian Conley's piece during the exhibition. The 8 minute loop included a minute of silence. This was explained on wall text next to the piece. Sometimes, if patient, instead of feeling like 'technology got in the way' we can experience something new.

Sarah Pierce

Reproduced from CIRCA 100, Summer 2002, pp. 9, 11, 13.

 

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