CIRCA 91: News bits
On the (Ormeau) Road
Shadow figures appeared in early December at the Old Gasworks Administrative Building on the Ormeau Road, Belfast. Through windows which have been taped since the 1970s, artists and actors, including Rita Duffy, Kiva McAvinchey and Lyric Studio Drama, enacted a repeated sequence of stories in shadow. The shadow characters, accompanied by an audio tape (on walkmans) of found sounds and narrative from the building, attracted a number of curious viewers--who were, as the title of the piece suggested, "On the Outside Looking In".
On the Inside Looking Out
Art thus broke out of the gallery and out of the Gasworks on the Ormeau Road--which is something New York art dealer Mary Boone might be interested in hearing. Boone, who shows Seán Scully and Mark Francis among others, spent a night in September in the slammer after being arrested and charged with unlawful distribution of ammunition and possession of an exposed rifle. Said items were part of an exhibition at Boone's gallery by sculptor Tom Sachs, who is known for using found materials which address consumer culture and violence. For this show, Sachs made two functional homemade guns and displayed them alongside a glass vase of live nine-millimeter cartridges. One can imagine 'Exhibit A' at the trial--a hand-decorated faux-Hermès bag with a live cartridge inside; at the exhibition, the bag was given to viewers to carry a bullet home as a souvenir. If convicted, Boone would have faced up to a year in jail and $2000 in fines, but charges were later dropped. (sources: New Art Examiner, Artnet)
Lock Up Your Sensation
Mary Boone saw her arrest as part of a political maneuver on the part of the "Giuliani witch hunt." In The New York Times she said, "I think it's more than a coincidence that I was arrested 24 hours before the Sensation show (at the Brooklyn Museum of Art) was to open. It's clear that they're trying to make a statement...They're trying to protect New York from its art." Whether or not Giuliani's threat to withdraw funding from the Brooklyn Museum will indeed "protect New York from its art"--or even procure the conservative vote for himself in the race for the Senate--remains to be seen. In any case, I was in New York for Sensation and I've never seen such attention and fuss and crowds for a show (particularly a show in the relatively unwealthy, unglamourous Brooklyn Museum); it just goes to show there's no such thing as bad publicity. For more, see Brian Kennedy's column.
Bad Publicity
No publicity, however, is bad publicity, and we would thus like to amend an erratum in the last issue. The byline for the Southeast review (CIRCA 90, p. 48) goes to Ronnie Fitzgerald--our abject apologies.
Write, see?
It's back: the Bursary in Visual Arts Criticism, supported by the two Arts Councils. Share your thoughts with CIRCA readers, with the help of a sizeable bursary. Click here for more information. Closing date is Meanwhile, take a look in this issue at Brian Hand's first contribution under this generous scheme.
Culture Lock
Contemporary artists and the cultural élite of Austria are considering a cultural boycott to protest the presence of Jörg Haider and his far-right Freedom Party in the Austrian government. The boycott would accompany the diplomatic freeze imposed by Vienna's EU partners. Certain artists have already left, and with Haider's open hostility toward left-wing artists--whom he has described as "pseudo-intellectual good-for-nothings, show-offs and layabouts who squat in houses and claim social security"--it's no wonder why. The big debate is, however, whether this kind of boycott would in fact have the effect of strengthening the right-wing government--especially considering the kind of right-wing art which has appeared in Austria before (see image and Brian Hand's article). (sources: Irish Times, Artnet).
More New Spaces
* The Armagh Theatre and Arts Centre, designed by Glenn Howells Architects at the Custard Factory in Birmingham, will begin its program in early March, with an official opening in May. Facilities include a 365-seat main auditorium, a 100-seat studio theatre, art studios, an art gallery, educational workshops, café bars and a restaurant. The building itself, we're told, promises to be a visual delight with a unique use of cast stone and interlocking spaces which cannot help but reflect a history of the site as a major pagan centre of power in Ireland for over 600 years.
* Draíocht, claimed to be Ireland's largest purpose-built arts centre, is scheduled to open this autumn in the Blanchardstown Centre near Dublin. Receiving a substantial boost of IR£250,000 from chief executive Stephen Vernon of Green Property plc., the 2,400 sq.m. centre will include a multi-purpose auditorium, rehearsal rooms, exhibition areas and a recording studio. The appointment of an outreach/education officer is also planned in order to attract the attention of the very youthful Greater Blanchardstown population to the visual and performing arts.
* The Cat and The Moon Gallery of Fine Irish Art and Craft have recently refurbished their premises and have opened an exhibition space in Castle Street, Sligo. Artists are invited to submit small works for solo exhibitions of print, sculpture and paintings. For more information, contact Martina Gillan on 071 43686.
Bigger board, more players, more fun
The CIRCA team is delighted to welcome two new members to its Board: Ken Langan, Registrar at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, and James Kerr, Director of the Context Gallery, Derry.
Lock Up Your Daughters - Project's back in town
The new Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar, Dublin, will open in June of 2000. Just a few more months to go for this long-awaited venue, which will kick off the summer with Somewhere Near Vada, a show curated by Jaki Irvine featuring a host of international artists and their work with the moving image. In the meantime, an Information Centre opened on the 31st of January in Unit 2, Temple Bar, offering info on the new facility, the upcoming exhibition, press publications and how to join the Project People scheme. Project's Information Centre is open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, or phone Callsave 1850 260027.
New Faces
Two key appointments will be leading Arthouse, Dublin, into the 21st century. Eileen Pearson, erstwhile General Manager of Magill Magazine and Project Manager of the very successful Whoseday Book in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation, has been appointed CEO. Tim Brennan takes over as Artistic Director, using his experience--as Artistic Leader of W139 gallery in Amsterdam and as Assistant Director of MA Fine Art Curating at Goldsmith's College, London--to inform an updated artistic programme at the 'house.
Gang of Five 2000
The five shortlisted artists for the IMMA Glen Dimplex Artists Award have been announced. They are sculptor and installation artist Maud Cotter, sculptor Petah Coyne, photographic and video artist Clare Langan, and film, video and photographic artists David Phillips and Paul Rowley. The exhibition of shortlisted artists opens at IMMA on 20 April; an award of IR£15,000 will be announced later in the year.
Gang of Nine
One of the gang of five, Maud Cotter, also happens to be in a new gang of nine. Aosdána, that exclusive affiliation of creative artists in Ireland, elected nine new members in December of last year. Other neophytes are Michael Davitt, Diarmuid Delargy, Willie Doherty, Theo Dorgan, Michael Harding, Michael Holohan, Michael Mulcahy and Jim Nolan.
Websights
Apparently it's called the Pravda look--though we hope it'll contain more truth than Pravda. Our new website is there, thanks to the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Dublin City University, the brain power and generous sponsorship-in-kind of VOLTA Digital Media, and much foostering besides. We will be bringing you news, listings, online projects, a searchable archive of back issues, CIRCA info, online articles (in English and as gaeilge), and, most importantly, forums for discussion and debate--so over to you.
Dig in!
And we are proud to host, as the first project on the new site, Tony Patrickson's Terminal Island II.
(News round-up compiled by Amy Jean Porter)
