SF Bay Area heads up
Spidra Webster
as there ever was...
For anyone who's in easy travelling range of Berkeley, CA, you might want
to check out the UCBerkeley Art Museum. They're hosting an exhibit called
"When Time Began to Rant and Rage", which samples 20th century figurative
painting from Ireland (both ROI and Norn Iron). It's a remarkably strong
selection, in my opinion. Really shows how much the "blue chip canon" is
filtered through self-appointed arbiters of what Art is...
At the same time, the Pacific Film Archive has been showing Irish
films... The exhibit lasts through May 2, I think. Check the website at
www.bampfa.berkeley.edu
Spidra Webster
http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra
Brendan Heading
Spidra Webster <spamk...@no-nitrates.com> writes
>Hey folks. Doing my semi-annual check 'round SCI. Just as much trolling
>as there ever was...
Hi Spidra. Hope you're still alive and well, up thar in Emeryville.
--
Brendan Heading, Belfast, Northern Ireland
ICQ # 24010538
Experience is the salt of wisdom.
Spidra Webster
Still alive, but someone's poisoning my well. ;-)
Spidra Webster
http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra
Danielle Ni Dhighe
>Sample Title "The Queen's Own Scottish Borders observe the King of the
>Jews appearing behind Sean McGuigan's sheep...
And doing what to the sheep?
**************************************************************************
Danielle Ni Dhighe * morr...@morrigan.net * http://www.morrigan.net/
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller
**************************************************************************
Rose
>
> Hey folks. Doing my semi-annual check 'round SCI. Just as much trolling
> as there ever was...
>
> to check out the UCBerkeley Art Museum. They're hosting an exhibit called
> "When Time Began to Rant and Rage", which samples 20th century figurative
> painting from Ireland (both ROI and Norn Iron). It's a remarkably strong
> selection, in my opinion. Really shows how much the "blue chip canon" is
> filtered through self-appointed arbiters of what Art is...
>
> At the same time, the Pacific Film Archive has been showing Irish
> films... The exhibit lasts through May 2, I think. Check the website at
> www.bampfa.berkeley.edu
>
> Spidra Webster
> http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra
Hi! Nice to hear from you. I was wondering how you were doing and now
we hear from you. :-) So, how is everything? Looks like you're keeping
busy if the above is any indication.
Rose
GoldenArse
>>Jews appearing behind Sean McGuigan's sheep...
>
>And doing what to the sheep?
It was the "Coming of the Lord", Danielle.
GoldenArse
SCI Art Raconteur
If the message header does not end in "AOL", the poster is forging my name.
Art...@rts.sake
>In article <spamkiller-20...@209-239-201-178.oak.jps.net>,
>spamk...@no-nitrates.com (Spidra Webster) wrote:
>
> Really shows how much the "blue chip canon" is
> filtered through self-appointed arbiters of what Art is...
>
Eh?
Danielle Ni Dhighe
>>>Sample Title "The Queen's Own Scottish Borders observe the King of the
>>>Jews appearing behind Sean McGuigan's sheep...
>>
>>And doing what to the sheep?
>
>It was the "Coming of the Lord", Danielle.
There's an image I didn't need to have in my head.
Spidra Webster
show confirmed me in my belief that self-appointed arbiters determine who
will be in the "blue chip canon" of Art. I mean this:
There was plenty of fine, fine painting at this exhibit yet I had not
heard of a one of them. I was an art major in college and took plenty of
art history courses as well. When you get past the middle ages, Ireland
is never mentioned again in the coverage of visual art.
I don't think this happens only with Irish painters. I think that it's a
select group who decides what's hot and what's not. It happened in the
past and it continues today. My experience observing the art scene in L.A.
during the height of its frenzy in the late '80s was that being a hot shot
artist had to do more with who you knew, p r savvy, and who your agent was
than any actual technical or conceptual merit on the artist's part.
How many Irish folks in this ng can name an Irish painter of the 19th or
20th century? I'm genuinely curious.
Spidra Webster
http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra
Some Irish Guy
>How many Irish folks in this ng can name an Irish painter of the 19th or
>20th century? I'm genuinely curious.
Funnily enough, I regularly see articles around the place that mention
Jack B., mutter something about the Tory school etc., and then make
noises along the lines of " we are a verbal people"
--
Gerard
abardubh at wwa dot com
Read the Damn FAQ at http://www.muc.de/~cpm/irish-faq
fatherdes
spamk...@no-nitrates.com (Spidra Webster) wrote:
> Someone in earlier in this thread asked what I meant by saying that this
> show confirmed me in my belief that self-appointed arbiters determine who
> will be in the "blue chip canon" of Art. I mean this:
>
> There was plenty of fine, fine painting at this exhibit yet I had not
> heard of a one of them. I was an art major in college and took plenty of
> art history courses as well. When you get past the middle ages, Ireland
> is never mentioned again in the coverage of visual art.
>
> I don't think this happens only with Irish painters. I think that it's a
> select group who decides what's hot and what's not. It happened in the
> past and it continues today. My experience observing the art scene in L.A.
> during the height of its frenzy in the late '80s was that being a hot shot
> artist had to do more with who you knew, p r savvy, and who your agent was
> than any actual technical or conceptual merit on the artist's part.
>
> 20th century? I'm genuinely curious.
>
There was a small school of Irish artists which did reasonably well last
century and early 20th and a couple are very well known in Ireland still
because they had a very recognisable style:
Jack B. Yeats (the poet's brother) is the most famous (well his paintings are
the most expensive) and Paul Henry did some very easily recognised west of
Ireland landscapes. After that I can only remember 2 names: Hone (Nathanial?)
and Osborne (Walter?).
More recently the most well known are Robert Ballagh (mainly recognised from
stamp designs) and Loius Le Broquoy (spelling). There are others but they
are probably a bit obscure apart from the very famous Francis Bacon. he was
born here and brought up here for a while but he was very out of place (mad
paintings/openly gay) at the time and went to London or the family moved
there.
Des "I hope you don't mind nudes" Higgins
> Spidra Webster
> http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra
>
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Urmhumhan
>
>There was a small school of Irish artists which did reasonably well last
>century and early 20th and a couple are very well known in Ireland still
>because they had a very recognisable style:
>
>Jack B. Yeats (the poet's brother) is the most famous (well his paintings are
>the most expensive) and Paul Henry did some very easily recognised west of
>Ireland landscapes. After that I can only remember 2 names: Hone (Nathanial?)
>and Osborne (Walter?).
John B. Yeats ( the poet's Da) was also a painter, though a rather
unsuccessful ( i.e. lazy) one.
>More recently the most well known are Robert Ballagh (mainly recognised from
>stamp designs) and Loius Le Broquoy (spelling).
I thought Louis Le Brocquy was more famous for his 'Heads' series of portraits
of Beckett, Heaney etc. then for his spelling. I don't know if Jack Yeats'
spelling was as atrocious as his brother's, which supposedly lost him the
Professorship (or 'Proffesorship' as he spelt it in his letter of application)
of English in Trinity.
> There are others but they
>are probably a bit obscure apart from the very famous Francis Bacon. he was
>born here and brought up here for a while but he was very out of place (mad
>paintings/openly gay) at the time and went to London or the family moved
>there.
And now his workshop was moved back here. I think it's stretching it to call
him an Irish painter.
fatherdes
tpw...@acer.gen.tcd.ie (Urmhumhan) wrote:
> fatherdes <fath...@hotmail.com> wrote:
SNIP
> > There are others but they
> >are probably a bit obscure apart from the very famous Francis Bacon. he was
> >born here and brought up here for a while but he was very out of place (mad
> >paintings/openly gay) at the time and went to London or the family moved
> >there.
>
> And now his workshop was moved back here. I think it's stretching it to call
> him an Irish painter.
>
ok, how about an Irishman who painted?? Hmmm, maybe that stresses the
Irishness a bit far seeing as it was probably not very important to him being
Irish apart from having made him a mental wreck. That latter category could
also include Brendan Behan anyway. ok, then.....how about a painter who was
Irish? Hmm, same problem there really. Ok, how about Francis Bacon,
painter, born in Ireland? I'll go for that one then.
Des
Urmhumhan
>( about Francis Bacon )
>ok, how about an Irishman who painted?? Hmmm, maybe that stresses the
>Irishness a bit far seeing as it was probably not very important to him being
>Irish apart from having made him a mental wreck.
I don't think being born in Ireland made him a mental wreck; having an
abusive, domineering father probably did that.
> ok, then.....how about a painter who was Irish? Hmm, same problem there
> really. Ok, how about Francis Bacon, painter, born in Ireland? I'll go for
> that one then.
Oh alright then. I think we have to accept that we just don't have a great
tradition in painting.
Still, I'll take Jack B. Yeats over Bacon any day.
Spidra Webster
> Still, I'll take Jack B. Yeats over Bacon any day.
I like what I saw of his earlier stuff. The later examples he had were a
bit too abstract and messy for my tastes.
Spidra Webster
http://www.bayscenes.com/ind/spidra