The Big Fish

 Posted by on January 26, 2019
Jan 262019
 

The Fish of Belfast
The Big Fish also called The Salmon of Knowledge is a printed ceramic mosaic sculpture by John Kindness. The 33-foot long statue was constructed in 1999 and installed on Donegall Quay in Belfast, near the Lagan Lookout and Custom House.

The Big Fish’s image regularly appears on tourism material related to Belfast and Northern Ireland.

The Big Fish of Belfast *The Big Fish = Belfast *The Big Fish of BelfastThe outer skin of the fish consists of ceramic tiles decorated with texts and images relating to the history of Belfast. According to the Belfast City Council, each scale “tells a story about the city”. Material from Tudor times to present day newspaper headlines are included along with contributions from Belfast school children (including a soldier and an Ulster Fry). The Ulster Museum provided the primary source of historic images, while local schools/day centers located along the line of the River Farset were approached to provide drawings for the fish.

The Big Fish of BelfastThe Big Fish contains a time capsule storing information, images, and poetry on the City.

John Kindness (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1951) is an Irish artist working a range of media including sculpture and painting.  He attended the Belfast College of Art and now lives and works in London.

Spirit of Belfast

 Posted by on January 26, 2019
Jan 262019
 
Spirit of Belfast

Cornmarket Arthur Square The Spirit of Belfast was unveiled in September 2009, this large-scale steel structure sits in the Cornmarket, where a bandstand once stood. The four interlocking rings sit in the heart of the city center’s pedestrianized shopping area and are said to have been designed to reflect Belfast’s shipbuilding and linen industries. Created by Dan George, it has been given the name Onion Rings, by the ever humerous Irish citizens. Dan George was born in Lake George, New York and studied at the Arts Students League of New York and the Koning Academie in Antwerp. He says of this Continue Reading

The Joker’s Chair

 Posted by on October 15, 2018
Oct 152018
 
The Joker's Chair

Joker’s Chair – Dermot Morgan Memorial (2002) By Catherine Greene The Joker’s Chair was erected in the memory of the Irish writer, actor, satirist and comic Dermot Morgan (1952-1998), The inscription which accompanies this piece reads; ….and all the rest is laughter liberating laughter to be remembered Catherine Greene was born in Galway and studied at the National College of Art and Design from 1979-85.  Greene was approached by Dermot Morgan’s partner to create the memorial which was funded by RTÉ (Ireland’s National Television) and supported by Dublin City Council. A condition of the commission was that it should be Continue Reading

Éire by Jerome Connor

 Posted by on October 2, 2018
Oct 022018
 
Éire by Jerome Connor

Merrion Square Dublin, Ireland Éire by Jerome Connor  Jerome Connor (February 1874 – August 1943) was born in Coumduff, Annascaul, Ireland. He was the sixth and youngest son of Patrick and Margaret Connor. The family moved to Holyoake, Massachusetts in the 1890s. Jerome ran away from home and settled in New York. After trying many trades (foundry-man, professional prize fighter, machinist, sign painter, Japanese intelligence officer in Mexico, and stonecutter) he became a sculptor. His most notable sculptures are in Washington D.C.: statues of Robert Emmett (a cast of which is in Dublin) and Bishop John Carroll, and the Nuns of Continue Reading

Os Redeiros

 Posted by on March 20, 2015
Mar 202015
 
Os Redeiros

This striking and strong sculpture is by Ramon Conde and stands on the Gran Via  in Vigo Spain. Titled Os Redeiros it is of seven nude fisherman straining to pull in a net.  The city of Vigo is a major fishing port in Spain. Ramón Conde was born in Ourense Spain December 18, 1951, the son of a stone sculptor. In 1971 he joined the Faculty of Arts in Santiago. He has shown all over Europe and in the United States. Other public works include the Arc de Triomphe (Lugo), the monument to Alonso III de Fonseca (in the Cloister Continue Reading

Oscar Wilde

 Posted by on March 7, 2014
Mar 072014
 
Oscar Wilde

Merrion Square Dublin, Ireland This fun statue of Oscar Wilde, laying back without a care in the world is in Marrion Square, Dublin.  He is facing his boyhood home just across the street at 1 Merrion Square. Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde,  was born in nearby Westland Row in 1854. Wilde, who spent much of his adult life in England, is regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest literary figures. Until the late 1890s, owing to a gay affair which led to a prison sentence and disgrace, he was the darling of the upper classes, entertaining them with his considerable wit Continue Reading

Art under the waterfall

 Posted by on February 27, 2014
Feb 272014
 
Art under the waterfall

Blarney Castle – Rock Close Blarney County Cork, Ireland Puffballs from the Inside Out These ceramic pieces are by Michelle Maher.  Maher is a Ceramic Artist who lives and works in Castleknock, Dublin.  She graduated from N.U.I. Maynooth in 1996 with a Master’s degree, after studying English and History. According to her website:  My ceramic sculptures are an exploration of colour and texture.  Microscopic organisms often inspire my work and unusual plant forms and the science behind living things continues to fascinate me.  My passion is for large-scale sculptural work and my pieces are mostly for outdoor exhibition. Symmetry by Michelle Continue Reading

Bog Wood

 Posted by on February 26, 2014
Feb 262014
 
Bog Wood

Blarney Castle Blarney County Cork, Ireland Blarney Castle has a fabulous curator.  There is art work spread out throughout the grounds, and it is all so beautiful chosen for its particular site.  This piece is by artist Pieter Koning. The pice is actually a 7000 year old piece of bog oak and is titled Organic Growth. Pieter has done many pieces out of bog wood and according to his website: Bog Wood is found in the Irish bogs where it has been preserved for 5,000 years or more. There are three types of Bog Wood: Oak, Yew and Pine. The wood Continue Reading

Famine

 Posted by on February 23, 2014
Feb 232014
 
Famine

St. Stephen’s Green Dublin, Ireland There are many famine statues around Ireland, as well as the world, and this one is by Edward Delaney. Edward Delaney (1930–2009) was an Irish sculptor born in Claremorris in County Mayo in 1930. His best known works include the 1967 statue of Wolfe Tone and famine memorial at the northeastern corner of St Stephen’s Green in Dublin and the statue of Thomas Davis in College Green, opposite Trinity College Dublin. These are both examples of lost-wax bronze castings, his main technique during the 1960s and early 1970s. Delaney attended the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and, supported by the Irish Arts Council, studied casting in Germany. He represented Ireland at Continue Reading

Famine

 Posted by on February 22, 2014
Feb 222014
 
Famine

Custom House Quay Dublin. Ireland This breathtaking group of statues is titled “Famine” and is by Rowan Gillespie. The accompanying plaque reads ” Unveiled by Her Excellency President Robinson – Commissioned and Donated to the people of Ireland by Norma Smurfit 29th May 1997″ “A procession fraught with most striking and most melancholy interest, wending its painful and mournful way along the whole line of the river to where the beautiful pile of the Custom house is distinguishable in the far distance……” Irish Quarterly Review, 1854 This location is a particularly appropriate and historic as one of the first voyages Continue Reading

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