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Irish Arts Review
In the Mind's EyeIrish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 25, No. 4 (Winter, 2008), p. 148Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20493430 .
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~CATLOUE
National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide (rivised ed) Scala Publishers, London, 2008
pp 300, full col. ills, p/b
?14.95 ISBN: 978 1 85759 510 9
Readability: *****
Reference: *****
Design & Durability: *****
Quality of Plates: *****
This is a revised edition of the 2002 guide,
divided up into chapters on the various national schools, with separate chapters for the Yeats Collection, Greek and Russian
_ painting, the Decorative Arts, and slotted K ~ into one chapter, Watercolours, Drawings
_ and Prints. It is very straightforward, the format being a colour illustration, basic
information as to size and the like, and a
short simple commentary. There are a num
ber of double-page spreads. There is an
index of artists but that is as far as the refer
ence section extends: no list of illustrations,
no bibliography (either on individual paint ings or in general), no index of works, and
for that matter, no introduction to any of
the different Schools. This is very basic
stuff, no harm in that at all, but it is a pity
that the illustrations are distinctly variable.
In The Mind's Eye OPW/Dept. of Finance and Personnel, Dublin, 2008
pp. 88, 40 mainly col. ills, p/b
E5.00 ISBN: 0-7557-7611-9
Readability: * * * * *
Reference: *****
Design & Durability: *****
Quality of Plates: *****
This is the catalogue of the OPW's tour
ing show which this year is themed on
Realism, and so is representational and, regrettably, rather bland and predictable. It is useful to see work by the rarely exhib
ited Romeo C Toogood who spent his career at the Belfast College of Art until
he died in 1966 and who influenced gen
erations of Ulster artists. It is also useful to
see a featured artist like Colin Davidson
who goes well beyond the literal. Each
artist gets one or two images, plus a page
on which there is a very short CV, and
brief comment by the artist if still alive.
No list of plates. No bibliographies.
The Nurses' Home: The Mater Hospital College of Nursing, Mater Campus Hospital Development Ltd,
unpaginated, H/B, copiously illus. in col &
BIW, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9552388-5-7
Readability: *****
Reference: *****
Design & Durability: *****
Quality of Plates: *****
Basically this small hardback is a docu
mentation, by the photographer Michael Durand, of the old Mater Hospital School of Nursing. It contains a short historical
essay on the hospital by Sr Eugene Nolan
RSM, and a short essay on the photo
graphs by Doireann Wallace. There is also
an accompanying CD of images. This is a
signed limited edition of 500. No list of
illustrations.
Ground Up Fiona Woods (ed)
Clare County Council Arts Office, Clare, 2008
pp 204, full col. & b/w ills, h/b
E15.00 ISBN: 978-0-9541870-3-3
Readability: *****
Reference: *****
Design & Durability: * * * * *
Quality of Plates: *****
This is a very welcome publication. In
essence it is a photographic record of the
three phases of the Ground Up project, an
experimental programming of contempo rary public art in the rural areas of County
Clare, which took place between 2003 and
2007. Each phase is introduced by a con
textual essay, followed by each artist being
allocated a short description of his or her
project plus one or more photographs. There is also accompanying documenta tion on a CD. The book is readable, its
themes particularly pertinent, and a major
effort has gone into trying to produce a
design that is radically different from the
usual catalogue format. One has to
applaud this attempt at inventiveness, though the unusual shape means that pho
tographic images are often pulled out of
shape, thus causing one to wonder about
the effectiveness of documentary images. Images are often left unlabelled, and there is no reference material in the actual book,
and no list of illustrations or bibliography for example. The proofing could have been rather better and material is often
repeated two or three times in different essays. But on balance this is an admirable
effort, and every art library should have it.
Perfopuerto Sarah McAvera & Alexander Del Re (eds)
Catalyst Arts/PerfoPuerto, Belfast, 2008
Unpaginated, full b/w ills, p/b
Free (except for p&p) ISBN: 978-0-9549082-2-5
Readability: *****
Reference: *****
Design & Durability: *****
Quality of Plates: *****
Catalyst Arts is a not-for-profit alternative space in Belfast which is run by volunteer artists. This short book documents PerfoPuerto - a group of performance art organisers based in Chile - during their residence at the Catalyst Arts Gallery in 2007. The publication covers their group exhibition as well as a two-art work ses
sion with local artists. For groups like Catalyst who have little money, publica tions are difficult, and it shows in the
cheap paper and the glued - as opposed to
stitched - spine. Documenting perform ances is another headache, and notorious
ly difficult to do. Ballet and modern dance have the same problem. This publication tries hard, alternating between photo graphic images and various forms of story
boarding. There are two short background essays, and brief descriptions of the work
sessions. No list of plates and no CVs. N
BRIAN McAVERA is an art critic.
1 48 |IRISH ARTS REVIEW WINTER 2008
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.140 on Tue, 10 Jun 2014 22:36:38 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
