Stable IMMAGES - Studios 9 & 10

It seems like ages, but it was only two weeks ago that I went to IMMA to see the exhibition of first year IADT art students. The exhibition was the culmination of research and work they had been creating in response to being based at the Irish Museum of Modern Art since January.  In my previous post I had a look at some of the work that required darkness for exhibition (in Studio 5) and some of the work that was sited outside. As I said in that post, I was very impressed with the cohesiveness of the exhibition and maturity of the work. 

On entering these exhibition spaces, via Studio 9 the variety and scope of the work was immediately apparent.

There were two short animated videos on one monitor. This one used the images of a red hand and a red face to interact with specific surfaces in the architecture of IMMA.

There was quite a lot of research into IMMA's architecture in this series of drawings & photographs, but because there were no labels for individual works, I could only wonder if this was the research behind the blue scale model of IMMA hung on the wall in Studio 5 (I posted a picture of it last week).

I spoke to the artist who took these photographs of colourful, temporary interventions she had made on various IMMA walls.

This photographic installation referred to the Greek myth of Narcissus.

The works are self-portraits of the artist, distorted by photographing through smoke, water and other materials.

Apparently this artist intensively examined architectural spaces around IMMA before creating detailed temporary chalk on black board drawings.

This series of photo documentation of mirror and light experiments was intriguing.

And I wondered if these experiments were the background for this installation of plastic sheeting and blue threads? However, this I will not know as I only met a couple of the students, and hadn't asked about this piece at the time.

So my gripe about the show is regarding non-labelling and attibution. Although the artists involved were named at the entrance to the studios, a floor plan should have been available to answer simple questions of authorship. Otherwise, I was greatly impressed by the exhibition and look forward to seeing more work by these developing artists.

Stable IMMAGES 1 - Studio 5 & Grounds

On the weekend I went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) to check out the exhibition of work by the first year IADT Dún Laoghaire art students. These students had been based in IMMA studios since January and this final exhibition was a culmination of their research work in responding to that experience. The exhibition was spread over three studios and the grounds, so I will do another post to cover some more of the work. Studio 5 was darkened to accommodate all the works that needed to have a dark room for display. One of the first years, who was invigilating the studio, was very enthusiastic in discussing the work, the makers, and their inspirations so I got some great insight into the work. This first visible projection was created jointly by two women who were inspired by the statuary on the grounds of IMMA. It was a moving projection, so the image was constantly changing (so impossible to capture in a still image). 

I had met her previously, so I know this next moving projection was by Joanne Harold and she was inspired by the garden balustrades.

Another female art student created this sculptural video piece in response to the arches in the basement of IMMA.

 Unfortunately the pieces were not labelled, so the artists cannot be acknowledged by me, but this piece was in response to being aware of light reactions through the coloured acetate lettering in the main reception foyer of IMMA.

This piece is a carefully measured model of the IMMA building itself and treating the building as the artwork.

The artist here was creating a design for lighting in the extensive gardens at IMMA. 

I was struck by the maturity of the work and the coherency of the exhibition, though I was disappointed that there was no labelling of works or accompanying floor plan in order to acknowledge attribution (just a page of names and general location on the wall at the entrance).

 Though I did not see all the outdoor pieces, it was a gorgeous day and this woven branch work was unmissable!

Also, as I was leaving I saw this graffiti piece - painted plastic stretched between two trees.

Sword Story - Animation - Monoprints

Part of The Skipping Project  will include several short videos, which themselves include some animated footage. The first of these videos I have entitled Sword Story and it will include an animated girl carrying a sword superimposed on found military footage (eg, marching feet). So I did some cel drawings in pencil, but I decided I wanted the animated figure to be loose and sketchy instead of too fiddly as my pencil drawings are wont to be.

I decided on monoprints for cels -- the printing process would reverse my images and also the monoprinting process allows any number of "accidents" to take place. At first I was going to use a copper plate to paint on with alkyd (water based oil paint) but decided I could use a thin piece of plexi glass plastic as a plate, and then I could paint over the cel beneath.

I am working small, so it gives me another chance to make use of my pasta machine printer!

One of the printed cels with the original plate.

 The monoprinting process is fairly quick, especially on such a small scale. There are lots of unexpected results, where the paint is thicker and thinner, more faded, etc. Next step is preparing the cels in PhotoShop, applying a green screen and animating in front of found footage. Onward and upward!

Gnocchi!

A few weeks ago while in Carlow, I went to the fabulous restaurant "Mimosa Tapas & Wine Bar". Gnocchi was on the tapas menu, and we ordered some. My daughter absolutely loved them and was amazed to learn that I had made them before (though bizarrely not in her lifetime). I promised that the next time we had leftover mashed potatoes I would make gnocchi. Gnocchi are essentially a potato pasta. The ingredients are simple: mashed potato, egg, flour, pepper and nutmeg.

Mix the ingredients together. I have not measured anything. Spices are to taste, and the flour amount really is just according to how much mashed potato you have. I have only ever used one egg; I have only ever used leftover mash. Basically add flour so that it's a dough.

Roll dough into snakes on a floured surface.

Cut into shapes -- again I don't measure -- but these are about 1-1.5 cm. Dimple the shape with your finger and put on a floured plate.

Gnocchi are a dumpling pasta. Put in boiling water; they sink immediately but then rise to the surface when they are ready (a few seconds later).

Have a collander ready over a bowl and remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon.

Prepare an oven dish with some olive oil, and transfer gnocchi to it, shaking around a bit so that they get some olive oil on them. I always add a bit more olive oil over the top of the gnocchi and then some grated parmesan and ground pepper.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Serve with whatever you normally eat with any pasta. Last time I made gnocchi I served with melanzane alla parmesana, but bacon & broccoli & chilli peppers with pesto (in this case, wild garlic pesto) is one of my favourite pasta accompaniments. Delicious!

Wild Garlic Pesto

We thought it is normally not out till May, but my husband thought he saw some wild garlic by a roadside a few weeks ago, so this afternoon he and our daughter went for some shinrinyoku in Knocksink Woods in Enniskerry (unfortunately I am having foot problems so had to skip going for a walk). Sure enough, the forest floor has started greening with it. Lots of buds, so their season is at the beginnings.

Regardless, there were plenty of flowers, and all parts of this wild garlic plant are edible. The flowers are a sweet and subtle garlic, the stems and leaves are like a garlicky chive. The leaves would be a bit fibrous to eat on their own I think, but processed in a pesto they are absolutely fine.

I grated the parmesan and set aside, then looked in my cupboard for the nuts. I used brazil nuts and some pre-shelled unsalted pistacchios that I had. Normally I use unsalted cashews, but have also used walnuts in a pinch (a bit of a stronger, woodier flavour) and of course, the classic pine nuts. Whatever nuts are used should be unsalted so that the final flavour is not falsified.

After a quick rinse of the wild garlic, bend the leaves and stems to fit in the processor.

Add some grated parmesan and olive oil.

Whizz of course, adding more ingredients (depending on the size of your processsor).

Consistency of the finished pesto is entirely by preference. Amount of ingredients is entirely to one's own taste (i.e. -- if you love cheese, add more! if you want it to be really green, add more leaves, etc).

Mellifont Abbey & Monasterboice

During the Easter holidays, we took a family mini-road trip to the Boyne Valley area, and stayed in Drogheda for two nights. On our last day we headed slightly north of the city to see the beautiful Mellifont Abbey and Monasterboice. I had seen these sites before, in 1978, when visiting Ireland on holiday but have not had the chance to see them again since, so I was happy.

This would have been the gateway to the Abbey.

 I didn't remember Mellifont Abbey being such a large site.

The "lavabo" is the building where the monks would have washed up before meals.

Monasterboice, the cemetery and church dedicated to the obscure saint -- St. Buit -- contains two of the best examples of Irish high crosses. This is the larger of the two, and I am wondering if there has been some reconstruction as the base seems more eroded than the rest of it.

As you can see, it was also a gorgeous day - and a round tower to boot! (to Buit?)

There is also a very old sundial in the cemetery. Gorgeous!

Brú na Boinne

My 92 year old mother had never been to Newgrange, so another visit there was a necessity!

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brú na Boinne is a collection of ancient passage graves north of the Boyne River, i.e., an ancient cemetery. The largest of the passage graves are found at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. Newgrange and Knowth are accessible only via an impressive visitor centre, and the visitor must take the buses provided to the site in order to see them. It is a visit totally worth taking, but arrive early as tickets are limited and sold on a first-come first-serve basis. (The only way tickets can be reserved in advance are if you go on an officially organised tour.)

The entrance to Newgrange (above) is fronted by the most amazing megalith. 

The chief archaeologist at Knowth did not subscribe to Professor MJ O'Kelly's take on the quartz and river-rolled rocks found in front of the largest mound there. As can be seen below, the rocks were left as they were found at Knowth (below) in comparison to O'Kelly's speculative reconstruction design of Newgrange's facade.

The entrance megalith to Knowth isn't as impressive as that at Newgrange (though impressive nonetheless!) and unfortunately due to building in another historical era, the passage is not accessible as it is at Newgrange. 

Knowth is an amazing site, and I highly recommend that a visitor see both it and Newgrange, as there are different things about each that are unique. Knowth's mound is larger and has many satellite grave mounds beside it. Knowth alone holds 30% of all megalithic art found in Europe.

The large mound at Knowth has an impressive amount of visible decorated stones. Here are three!

Before heading back to our base in Drogheda, we stopped by Dowth, where we had never been. My Mum stayed napping in the car, which was just as well as the mound is surrounded by a flock of sheep and the resulting mine field of their droppings! But without other tourists this place is extra special -- this burial site pre-dates the pyramids and Stonehenge. The mound is quite large, with some evidence that there has been an internal collapse of some sort. Only a few of the megalithic kerbstones are visible but following their trajectory one can imagine the location of the others below ground level (raised by time's sediment).

Post passage grave builders at Knowth and on this site, built souterrains for food storage and for protection.

A souterrain at Knowth precludes development of the passage grave for visitors, but the souterrain at Dowth is in a different spot from its entrance. It is barred however (presumably for public safety as Dowth is an open site) but one can peek through the bars at the structure of the passage grave. Having been inside Newgrange, it is easy enough to imagine the end chambers to which this would lead.