ArtScape: The furore over Michael O'Dea's portrait of Brian Meehan in this year's RHA Annual Exhibition is a salutary reminder that the humble portrait, that most staid of painterly genres, still has the ability to generate controversy, writes Aidan Dunne.
Meehan is serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of journalist Veronica Guerin. When English artist Marcus Harvey exhibited a giant portrait of the convicted murderer Myra Hindley, composed of the hand-prints of children, it was calculated to shock. Arguably the same could be said of some of Lucian Freud's naked portraits, in which the exposure of the sitter is surely designed to unsettle the viewer. But in O'Dea's case, it is the identity of the anonymous-looking sitter and, apparently, the sheer conventionality of the image, that caused controversy. What emerged from the controversy is a popular view of the portrait as an accolade and an honour, evoking images of dignitaries and businessmen, pillars of the community. The whole thrust of the work of Brian Maguire and Michael O'Dea, who both have a long involvement with the NCAD Portlaoise Prison Course, is recognition of a different kind, a recognition of a shared humanity, of sinners as well as saints, of voices and faces that were consigned to the margins or demonised. In itself, O'Dea's portrait image does nothing to either demonise or excuse its subject, but there is a perception that mere inclusion in the academy is in some sense a moral endorsement, and that it would be wrong for the artist to profit from the notoriety of the sitter. O'Dea acted to exclude the latter possibility by withdrawing the painting from sale.
Cronin gets in step
The Arts Council's restructuring continues with the appointment of Finola Cronin as dance specialist, writes Michael Seaver. The specialist position is a new external post, appointed through a tendering procedure and part of the Arts Policy Department operating under Seamus Crimmins. Dance and literature were the first positions to be put out to tender and the film specialist was advertised earlier this week.
With a history of antagonism and distrust between the Arts Council and the dance community, Cronin will play an important role in earning the trust of the dance sector and representing its concern to the council. Since returning to Ireland from Germany, where she was a dancer with the influential Pina Bausch Company, she has been dancer-in-residence at UCD Drama Department, served as chairwoman of the Association of Professional Dancers in Ireland and as a director for Irish Modern Dance Theatre. Though her appointment will be popular within the dance sector, confusion remains as to her exact role.
Working in the Arts Policy Department, she will "advise on the council's dance policy and the implementation of dance policy, on appraisal and evaluation and advice on quality of work". But there is concern that memos and meetings between a dance specialist and Arts Council staff are a poor substitute for the previous face-to-face relationship between artform officer and client.
Dance training, ballet performance, dance-in-education and support for independent artists are all in need of immediate attention and the hope is that, in the words of one choreographer, "Finola will be able to devote all her energies to developing dance's fragile ecosystem rather than getting trapped in bureaucracy".
Hynes sounds a warning
Concern for the future of the arts in Ireland remained paramount for theatre director Garry Hynes as she officially opened Listowel Writers' Week on Wednesday evening, writes Eileen Battersby. While paying tribute to the legacy of the late John B. Keane and his home-town festival, the Tony Award-winning artistic director of the Druid Theatre, speaking in her role as festival guest of honour, brought a serious note to the proceedings. She said "all the arts in Ireland are in crisis, with some organisations literally fighting to stay alive". Her message about the obligation of the Arts Council was clear. "A great gap has opened up between the arts community and the council. I know the council is aware of this and taking steps to address it. But it must be done urgently and coherently." The council, she warned, "has lost the confidence of the arts community". Well aware of Listowel's literary heritage, she referred to the Minister for Arts, John O'Donoghue, a Kerry man, who "knows as I know that the ordinary people of Ireland want to protect and provide for their culture and that, for them, their culture is an intensely passionate and local thing. As this festival testifies." Earlier, Hynes spoke of the importance of the artist, and emphasised that "however much we need to professionalise our structures and systems in the arts - and we do - we must never forget that it is the person and the place which drives all creative activity in the first place".
Musical treasure trove
It is not a well known fact the National Library is the repository of at least 20,000 music texts by Irish classical composers, primarily from the 18th and 19th century centuries. But a new project to catalogue and rehouse this treasure trove will do much to bring this material to a wider attention.
Following a report by pianist Una Hunt on the collections, the library has set up a Music Library Project under the direction of music librarian Emma Costello. At the launch, in the National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Una Hunt played rarely performed works by composers in the collection, including G. A. Osborne, Philip Cogan and W. V. Wallace.
Prof Harry White, president of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, said the archive would lead to a better understanding of the "development of art music in this country. The Music Library Project confirms the importance of music not only as an expression of nationalist culture in Ireland, but also as a primary marker of this country's identity as a European nation state".
It is envisaged that the collection will be searchable on the library's computerised database and that the compilation work will be finished this September.
Art in hospital
It's rare and refreshing to hear a positive health-related story: all sorts of interesting projects are being generated in a Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar. Since the hospital's art committee was set up in February, 2001, chaired by Dr Luke O'Donnell, various visual arts projects have taken place. The inaugural exhibition, in November, 2001, featured prints and paintings by Hughie O'Donoghue. An anonymous benefactor has since loaned the hospital 200 pieces of contemporary art, including Louis le Brocquy's Táin series, and work by Felim Egan, Michael Coleman and Michael Mulcahy. The Irish Museum of Modern Art also lent pieces for a temporary show.
In addition to work by well-known painters, the hospital has also had popular shows by local artists. The patients, staff and relatives of the Mayo Mental Health Services have had a group show; and the hospital staff currently have a show.
Funding is provided through sponsorship and local businesses; O'Donnell stresses that none of it comes from health authority sources.
The latest initiative for the summer will be Poetry in the Hospital. "We wrote to 20 Irish poets and asked them to choose their own favourite poem, and write it out longhand," O'Donnell explains. "They all said yes. We'll be framing them, along with a printed version of the poem and putting them in the more intimate spaces of the hospital, like waiting rooms." Among those taking part are Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Sean Lysaght, and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. The exhibition will be opened by poet Paul Durcan on July 16th.
Sculpture factory job
The National Sculpture Factory in Cork has a six-week residency on offer. The artist must, however, be based in Cork city or county. The residency involves a four-week period in the NSF studio, and two weeks doing research. The artist will have the opportunity to exhibit as part of ArtsFest, in November. The studio period will take place from either July 7th to August 4th, or September 29th to October 27th. Closing date for receipt of submissions is Friday, June 13th. Contact: Elma O'Donovan, Administrator, National Sculpture Factory, Albert Road, Cork. Telephone: 021-4314353; fax: 021-4313 247; e-mail: nsf@indigo.ie
Scholarship offer
The Blas Summer School of Irish Traditional Music and Dance, which takes place at the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick, in June, is making scholarships available to traditional music fans. The two-week event is attended by some of the country's foremost traditional musicians and dancers. The line up of tutors for Blas 2003 includes dancer Colin Dunne, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Karan Casey, Tommy Hayes, Brian Finnegan and Matt Cranitch, a recent recipient of the University College Cork "Hall of Fame" Award for 2003.
The scholarships, which have been donated by the Arts Offices of Limerick City Council, North Tipperary County Council, and Foras na Gaeilge, are open to players and dancers of all abilities. Stating why you are deserving of a bursary, applicants should write to: Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, director, Blas Summer School, Irish World Music Centre, Foundation Building, University of Limerick, Limerick. E-mail: orfhlaith.nibhriain@ul.ie. Blas website: www.ul.ie/~iwmc/Blas
O'Donoghue in demand
The work of Kilkenny-based artist Hughie O'Donoghue is to be marked by a major exhibition in Britain and a show in Ireland to coincide with the publication of a new book on his work. The Dublin exhibition takes place in the Rubicon Gallery from June 10th to 28th and a review of the artist's work is planned for London's Imperial War Museum (June 19th-September 7th) and in Manchester, where he was born, from September 27th until January.
The significance of the War Museum as a venue is that the artist has based the paintings on his father's wartime experience and travels. On Thursday, June 26th, at 6.30 p.m., the Royal Hibernian Academy will present a talk by Hughie O'Donoghue at the Gallagher Gallery followed by the launch of a book on the artist, published by Merrell Publishers. Admission by ticket only. For bookings, contact William Gallagher at 01-6612558 ext: 103.