The Joker’s Chair

 Posted by on October 15, 2018
Oct 152018
 

The Joker's ChairJoker’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 an allegorical piece rather than a representative image. Greene saw Dermot as being like the modern day seer who never feared to tell the truth, cleverly, searingly and with verve. This led her to the idea of the Shakespearean fool, who was always the closest to the throne and who never feared to tell the truth.

Underneath the seat, there is an eye, which Greene meant to represent the knowing eye. The balls on the top of the seat  are like the hat of the jester.

Jokers Chair Dublin Ireland

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

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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