. . . walking
The Icon Art Walkin Temple Bar, Dublin, with its portraits of leading cultural figures, including Oscar Wilde, Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Eamon Dunphy. Hold on . . . Eamon Dunphy?
. . . going to
Kinsale Arts Week. An engaging programme includes War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo.
. . . watching
The Guard,written by John Michael McDonagh who, for now, will still be known as Martin's brother. The resulting odd couple caper featuring Don Cheadle and Brendan Glesson is "a very diverting exercise in applied filth and creative absurdity", according to The Irish Timescritic Donald Clarke.
. . . relaxing
In the Loft Bookshopon Abbey Street, Dublin. A mix of carefully selected new and secondhand bargains to choose from, in an oasis of calm, with good coffee and friendly, informed staff who are happy to chat. See the theloftbookshop.com for details of their midnight launch of A Dance with Dragons on Monday night, if youre into that sort of thing.
. . . planning
A visit to Elements: The Beauty of Chemistry, which opens at the Science Gallery, Dublin, on Thursday night. More science as art? The periodic table alone will offer great possibilities
. . . reading
Sebastian Barry’s On Canaan’s Side, which is published later this month. It’s interesting how much the cover has resonances of Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn. It screams “serious fiction for women”. Or rather, whispers it . . .
. . . playing
Time-sucking shoot-em-up Nova 2for iPhone and Android. The voice acting is cheesy, but otherwise it's a blast.
‘You get up in the morning with a pen and pencil and that’s it’
On Thursday, Neil Simon told us how he answers the question ‘how do you write a play?’
. . . getting arty for charity with ‘Plants vs Zombies’
In the 30-odd years of their existence, video-game graphics have evolved from blocks representing ping-pong bats to iconic images seared into our subconscious (and on to hipster T-shirts). Now these images are taking the next logical step, into galleries and auction houses.
In March next year, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will be holding an exhibition of over 80 pieces of video-game art, from the simple, familiar designs of Pac-Manand Donkey Kong, to the hellish art-deco images of Bioshock, the lush elegance of Flowerand the grandiose space-opera Mass Effect.
A summer auction is currently taking place of artwork from PopCap games. All proceeds go to the Starlight Children’s Foundation in the US and SpecialEffect in the UK, both non-profits for seriously ill and disabled children. The first three phases of the auction have finished, cumulatively earning over €2,000 from over 100 bids.
For the right price you, too, could have bought a 180cm by 180cm graffiti homage to PopCap's Bafta-nominated Plants vs Zombiesgame, created by the London-based urban artist ArtJaz.
Other previously sold items include masks and costumes based on PopCap characters, art set in wood based on PopCap games and an elaborate diorama of Plants vs Zombiesby Irish artist Mick Minogue, who has also created a new piece (now on sale), for the final wave of the auction, inspired by PopCap's Peggle games.
"To get inspired I got to play a lot of Peggle and Plants vs Zombies," says Minogue. "And how much more inspiration do you need than trying to stop zombies from reaching your back door and eating your brains, or shooting balls at orange pegs from a unicorn's head in a bubble?
“It’s the pop art for nerds, geeks and everyone in between,” he adds. “If you go to a gig to see your favourite band and after you buy their T-shirt, this shows the world that you’re a fan of that band. This is also true if you beat your highest score in your favourite video game, that you have played a thousand times: you would buy a unique piece of art memorabilia as a trophy of your awesomeness! And who knows? It might even be collectible.”
Time will tell.
The final date for the close of the PopCap auction is July 12th. For further information, including images and videos of the art, go to ebay.com/popcap. Joe Griffin