Landscape
Featuring work from Amy Kinlon, Gwen McHale and Diane Redington, all members of Daghda Mentoring Group.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
David Brancaleone
Among the issues discussed
was the role of the artist in work which is community or group based,
artist and audience collaborations, where the emphasis is on the
shared experience of participation as opposed to the more traditional
system of artist and product, for consumption by the viewer. These
art events or exchanges seek to open up art practice to a wider
audience while at the same time highlight or incorporate issues which
affect a larger group, not just that of the individual. One of the
many points raised at the talk was the relevance of these projects
and also the accessibility of the dialogues which surround them. Can
socially engaged art really affect change and how can equality
between artist and community be assured, avoiding a relationship in
which one side is exploited. Referencing Claire Bishop, in
highlighting the usually well placed intentions of most artists
who engage in social art, there was criticism of the diluting
effect much of social art can have on its own its own relevance.
Another observation made was the frequent collaborations between
artists, whose position in society is often seen as elitist and
therefore privileged, and communities from disadvantaged areas. This
of course problematic as it can prevent equality and raise questions
of authorship. David provided examples of artists who had engaged
successfully in collaboration.
The polarity between artists
who make and artists who facilitate was also mentioned, what
constitutes an art work. Is the solitary process of individual
practice redundant and is it an social engaged art mutually
exclusive? Of course, as pointed out by David at the talk, these
questions are subject to many interpretations. Dialogue, being the
crucial factor for the critical analysis of art practice.
The
talk was a interesting exchange of ideas and opinions on many of the
issues and work shown by David whose casual and inclusive approach to
the talk promoted and encouraged audience questions and
participation. Again we at FaberStudios would like to thank him and
all those who attended.
Contemporary
Art and The Social
Selected/Suggested Reading
'Participation (Documents of Contemporary Art)'
Claire Bishop
'Conversation Pieces: Community & Communication In Modern Art'Grant . H Kester
'Relational Aesthetics'Nicolas Bourriaud
'The Everyday (Documents of Contemporary Art)'Stephen Johnstone
Selected/Suggested Reading
'Participation (Documents of Contemporary Art)'
Claire Bishop
'Conversation Pieces: Community & Communication In Modern Art'Grant . H Kester
'Relational Aesthetics'Nicolas Bourriaud
'The Everyday (Documents of Contemporary Art)'Stephen Johnstone
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The
Good Hatchery
A
talk by artists Carl Giffney & Ruth Lyons
The Good Hatchery was founded in 2007 by five Sculpture graduates from The National College of Art and Design. Graduating in Dublin during the prosperous boom years, there was little chance of securing a studio space for anything less then you’re first born. So the group decided to focus on the finance aspect of art practice, or more to the point focus on how far one could get without any finance. The experiment to see if it could be done started with a search for a suitable space. Using the internet, they placed an ad on free cycle, looking for a suitable building to use as a studio. Eventually they received a genuine response from a woman in a rural part of Co. Offaly. They could have the building for free in exchange for them renovating it.
Both Carl and Ruth highlighted the importance of the internet in the success of The Good Hatchery. Although in an isolated part of the country, they still had the ability to stay connected with the art world in the larger cities. Everything used to build and renovate The Good Hatchery was sourced free and the work was done by themselves, using the internet again, to teach them the necessary construction skills. The pair mentioned the risk free element to the project. Because no one had invested any money and there were no overheads, if the project failed they would have only lost the time they put in.
Although initially five people were involved in the project, at the end of the first year three decided to leave. Now with just Ruth and Carl left, there was an opportunity to avail of the extra space left by the others departure. This led them to experiment with a residency program. Unsure of who would want to come to the middle of no where for four weeks they sent out a call for proposals. The fruition of this was they’re first residency ‘Sapphire Highway’. Three artists, Sinead Breathnach Cashell, Ronan Coughlan and Patrick Corcoran, were selected. The work produced engaged with the rural landscape and community in which the Good Hatchery is situated. The work exemplifies the freedom and spectrum of creative possibilities which the Good Hatchery offers. Work ranging from Cashell’s colourful and surreal inhabiting of ‘non spaces’ to Cocaran’s abandoned DVD’s, left to haunt the abandoned Briquette factory that is the subject of the film they hold. And Coughlin’s offer of a free day of labour for anyone who wanted it, ultimately became a humorous and futile effort to penetrate a closed rural community.
After building up an profile they began to be invited to curate exhibitions, one such exhibition was ‘Celestial Salt’ in which artists had to propose a piece of work that had previously be seen in a fine art context, but re-appropriate it in a rural landscape with no fine art infrastructure. The result was an impressive experiment in re-appropriation and re -evaluation of fine art interpretation. Raising questions about the fundamentals, such as why do artists create and would they make work even if it would never actually be seen. Isolated in rural landscapes, the art works are stripped back, free from the confines and contexts of fine art institutions, allowed to stand on their own. The absence of an audience transforms the works from art objects into abandoned artefacts lost in a wild expanse. This project and approach raises an interesting if not amusing notion. Concerning the geographical isolation of these art works, are they really more isolated then when they were shown in a fine art context. Arguably, galleries are equally as inaccessible as rural bog lands, if not physically, than psychologically, when we truly consider the demographic who visit them.
While it could have been seen as a risk, there is something tantalising about the idea of randomly coming across these art works. And one can only imagine the much debating among those who did and they’re, no doubt, endless and amusing theories of what and where these objects came from.
The Good Hatchery’s success is a result of resourcefulness and hard work. Both Ruth, Carl and the other founding members focus and determination has turned the Good Hatchery into impressive and enviable facility. It has also proven that contemporary art practice can flourish outside major cities, especially Dublin. In what sometimes can feel like a very centralised country, it is refreshing to have a creative space supporting emerging artists, that is free from the negative and often financial obstacles of more formal Fine Art Institutions.
The Good Hatchery was founded in 2007 by five Sculpture graduates from The National College of Art and Design. Graduating in Dublin during the prosperous boom years, there was little chance of securing a studio space for anything less then you’re first born. So the group decided to focus on the finance aspect of art practice, or more to the point focus on how far one could get without any finance. The experiment to see if it could be done started with a search for a suitable space. Using the internet, they placed an ad on free cycle, looking for a suitable building to use as a studio. Eventually they received a genuine response from a woman in a rural part of Co. Offaly. They could have the building for free in exchange for them renovating it.
Both Carl and Ruth highlighted the importance of the internet in the success of The Good Hatchery. Although in an isolated part of the country, they still had the ability to stay connected with the art world in the larger cities. Everything used to build and renovate The Good Hatchery was sourced free and the work was done by themselves, using the internet again, to teach them the necessary construction skills. The pair mentioned the risk free element to the project. Because no one had invested any money and there were no overheads, if the project failed they would have only lost the time they put in.
Although initially five people were involved in the project, at the end of the first year three decided to leave. Now with just Ruth and Carl left, there was an opportunity to avail of the extra space left by the others departure. This led them to experiment with a residency program. Unsure of who would want to come to the middle of no where for four weeks they sent out a call for proposals. The fruition of this was they’re first residency ‘Sapphire Highway’. Three artists, Sinead Breathnach Cashell, Ronan Coughlan and Patrick Corcoran, were selected. The work produced engaged with the rural landscape and community in which the Good Hatchery is situated. The work exemplifies the freedom and spectrum of creative possibilities which the Good Hatchery offers. Work ranging from Cashell’s colourful and surreal inhabiting of ‘non spaces’ to Cocaran’s abandoned DVD’s, left to haunt the abandoned Briquette factory that is the subject of the film they hold. And Coughlin’s offer of a free day of labour for anyone who wanted it, ultimately became a humorous and futile effort to penetrate a closed rural community.
After building up an profile they began to be invited to curate exhibitions, one such exhibition was ‘Celestial Salt’ in which artists had to propose a piece of work that had previously be seen in a fine art context, but re-appropriate it in a rural landscape with no fine art infrastructure. The result was an impressive experiment in re-appropriation and re -evaluation of fine art interpretation. Raising questions about the fundamentals, such as why do artists create and would they make work even if it would never actually be seen. Isolated in rural landscapes, the art works are stripped back, free from the confines and contexts of fine art institutions, allowed to stand on their own. The absence of an audience transforms the works from art objects into abandoned artefacts lost in a wild expanse. This project and approach raises an interesting if not amusing notion. Concerning the geographical isolation of these art works, are they really more isolated then when they were shown in a fine art context. Arguably, galleries are equally as inaccessible as rural bog lands, if not physically, than psychologically, when we truly consider the demographic who visit them.
While it could have been seen as a risk, there is something tantalising about the idea of randomly coming across these art works. And one can only imagine the much debating among those who did and they’re, no doubt, endless and amusing theories of what and where these objects came from.
The Good Hatchery’s success is a result of resourcefulness and hard work. Both Ruth, Carl and the other founding members focus and determination has turned the Good Hatchery into impressive and enviable facility. It has also proven that contemporary art practice can flourish outside major cities, especially Dublin. In what sometimes can feel like a very centralised country, it is refreshing to have a creative space supporting emerging artists, that is free from the negative and often financial obstacles of more formal Fine Art Institutions.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Michele Horrigan
Michele
Horrigan was educated at the University of Ulster, Belfast and the
Stadelschule,
Frankfurt.
In recent times she has exhibited in Frankfurter Kunstverein, Galway
Arts Centre, Limerick City Gallery of Art, RIAA Buenos Aires, the
Royal Academy of Art, Copenhagen and Ritter & Staiff,
Frankfurt.
Since 2006, she is also founder and curatorial director of Askeaton Contemporary Arts. Based in County Limerick, Ireland, the project annually commissions artists to produce new innovative projects in direct relationship to the town of Askeaton.
For her talk in Faber Studios, Horrigan spoke about recent video and photography projects. Horrigan also talked about Welcome to the Neighbourhood, Askeaton Contemporary Arts' annual project.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Fish Bowl
Faber Studios is presents it's opening exhibition entitled "Fishbowl" on the 21st January at 7.00pm. The show which will be opened by Mike Fox course leader of the LSAD sculpture and combined media department features new work by four recent graduates of Limerick school of art and Design (Clive Moloney, Sarah Bolger, Chris Boland and Stephen Neary) and will run for two weeks.
Faber Studios would like to thank Limerick City Council, Lise Ann Sheehan, LSAD, Jim Nolan, Don O Malley & Partners, Duggan Glass and Olio & Farina.
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