I want to take a moment to tell you about an artist who has been exciting me so much over the past few years and whose work should be spread for everyone to enjoy, sharing is caring. So here’s to sharing my guilty pleasure with you; watch your step as you fall through the rabbit hole and welcome to the bizarre and wonderful world of Damien Flood’s artwork.
Flood graduated from IADT Dun Laoghaire in, (the college where I am still studying in my final year), but he has left us a few years passed now. Flood studied painting for four years in IADT before graduating with his degree in Fine Art in 2003 and continuing to produce numerous pieces of work. It was in these post-graduate years when I came to know Damien through a friend of my housemate where I used to live. He also agreed to submit a poster design proposal for a comedy film festival which I was putting on back in 2007. (Unfortunately conflicts of taste resulted in another design being chosen for the posters) Regardless, it was a true honour to have him produce a design specifically for something which I was involved in.
Since then he has gone on to do a Masters in Fine Art at NCAD and is exhibiting in galleries such as The White Room,
His works are mostly oil on canvas paintings and a lot of them beautiful feature female portraiture, mainly those from his 2006 collections. His tour de force abstract depictions of the human form, are often somewhat contorted into strange postures or having bizarre and almost vulgar facial expressions. But it is this vulgarity to some of his earlier paintings which I often find strangely irresistible, and clearly other people are also seeing this beauty in the Dali-esque brashness to his work. His art has been gradually changing in tone throughout the years, with his earlier works illustrating darker more malevolent themes compared to his more light-hearted recent works, some of which portray organic forms and plant-life. Back in 2007 he was creating a graphic novel / comic book called “Knocked up Nikki”; a humorous illustration of tales from the life of a perturbed girl living in the seaside town of
To see some more on this artist visit:
http://www.contemporaryirishpainting.com/html/home%20page.htm
http://www.contemporaryirishpainting.com/strange/temp.htm
http://www.whiteroom.ie/damien-flood
Words by Laura McGlynn
Images of Damien Flood artwork taken from the above websites
As mentioned in a previous post, the Road Records store recently closed its doors at last after struggling for a long time to keep their heads above water in financial situations. Based in a humble little shop on
What is important to note is that Road Records struggled for a long time before finally having to say no, we really can’t do this anymore. As such they incurred a lot of debts in their last months.
Next Saturday the 14th March there will be a benefit gig on in Andrew’s Lane to celebrate the selflessness and fighting support which Road Records showed over the years and particularly in their final days. Please come along and show your appreciation for their admirable unyielding encouragement.
Acts on the night include; Jape, The Jimmy Cake, Si Schroeder, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, and Road Record DJs and tickets are priced at €20 each, available from Tower Records, www.tickets.ie & WAV box office 1890 200 078. It’s not a huge donation to sacrifice considering their losses. This should be a great night of music and also a very nostalgic heart-felt goodbye to one of
Words by Laura McGlynn
Image courtesy of iLike.com
I've been doing studies lately on all of the new Web 2.0 tools like Twitter, Delicious, social networking sites and blogging etc for a project I'm doing in my New Media Technologies class.
Anyway, whilst I was browsing around the interweb for inspiration the other day, I found this really funny amateur video on youtube [from the crowd at wishood.com] of what supermarkets would be like if they turned 2.0, haha. It's hilarious and totally nerd-worthy, have a look.
For whatever reason, I feel the need to include something in this blog about Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series which has swept the world by storm. It’s astonishing to think that one woman who had a dream one night could turn that dream into a multi-million seller book deal. I’m currently half way through the third of the four books, Eclipse. So far it is possibly my favourite but I have heard that the final instalment; Breaking Dawn, is the pivotal cherry on the top.
But don’t get me wrong, these books although they are quite captivating are by no means literary works of art, far from it…Firstly, Meyer’s style of writing is enjoyable because it is so flippin’ easy to sail through it. These books may be quite heavy but they most certainly are not a heavy read. This is something I can appreciate as somebody who has a very low attention span. Secondly, could somebody get that woman a spell-check? Seriously. Little things like doubled words really pick holes in my involvement in the story (e.g. Edward was was sitting there as as he usually does). Three pages forward I’ll still be thinking about that annoying “was was” mistake. And there are lots more of these tiny flaws throughout. Also, what is it with her fascination with the word “chagrin”? Don’t lie, you noticed it too.
But fear not for I am only one voice and clearly I am outnumbered. A cult-like following has been established with numerous fan-sites and symposiums popping up all over the globe. It feels as though every single female hormonal teenager has been drugged into an Edward Cullen daze phase. I’m going to call them Edward…ians. What will happen to the boys who want to ask these Edwardian chicks out on dates and stuff, they will never be good enough for them, they will never be Edward Cullen. The stakes have been raised and it aint looking pretty for the young male population. Unless they happen to be stunning albino athlete kids whose parents couldn’t afford to pay for braces, they’re pretty much screwed.
I don’t feel like having made it onto the third book within three weeks was any sort of accomplishment. A friend of mine who introduced me to the Twilight dimension had already read the entire series and done a loop up as far as the 3rd book again on her second round, before I had finished the first. I won’t mention her name for sake of privacy (you know who you are) but well having spent days straight doing nothing but eating sleeping, reading and barely breathing, she got locked into this stuff so bad that she is now on a self-chosen Twilight rehabilitation programme. She has also given up any sort of general Twilight internet surfing and Twilight cast stalking for the 4 weeks of lent, and doing well, so far. It’s a nice break for the rest of us too, not having to endure her frantic and lengthy daily updates on the whereabouts of Rob Pattinson or whether or not Solomon Trimble is going to be cast as Sam in the coming films, or how much flights are to get to their next filming location and become a movie extra. God love her. Just imagine for a moment though, that this is just one person, there are a gazillion million other buzzing little Edwardians throughout the world perched on the edge of their seats as we speak, eagerly anticipating the next Twilight related outlet... their next fix.
It’s a bit like social smoking for me; I’m dancing on enemy lines. Any second now I could get sucked in too. But no such luck yet. Phew! I guess I won’t need to be tattooing the Cullen family crest onto my back any day soon. I’ll let you know if Breaking Dawn breaks me.
Words by Laura McGlynn
Image courtesy of fanpop.com
In
This is definitely an area which could benefit from some government consideration and intervention. IMRO has an average turnover of €38 million, but according to chair Keith Donald; 88% of fees collected go abroad with the rest being issued to
Donald states; “We collect for Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, just the same as the American societies collect for Christy Moore and Eleanor McEvoy,”… “One of our difficulties with the American collection societies is that under legislation brought in years ago, money from the corner store – the mom and pop store – isn’t collected. Unfortunately these stores kept getting bigger until they became supermarkets. So if you go into a Wal-Mart in the States and you hear music – nobody is collecting. Similarly they don’t collect from PBS television or from cinemas or pubs.”
It is pertinent in my opinion that the Irish Government should look into this as a case for concern and make the situation more equitable between
Words by Laura McGlynn
Image courtesy of imro.ie
Government support for the Irish music industry has always been a sore subject. That's no secret. Traditional music tends to be valued far more than Irish rock music or rock musicians in this country. Other areas of the arts are favoured by the State, and far more support is shown for them by the Arts Council and Government.
In
Years ago bands would be given the time to develop and blossom after their first few not-so-successful albums until they found their feet and started producing great albums. Nowadays there is no time or money for development like this.Irish contemporary musicians need to stay smart and think on their feet - the Irish music industry in particular is an unpredictable environment, partly because of this lack of support and stability.
Festivals, on the other hand, are a phenomenon which have done quite well out of Government funding strategies over the past few years. This would probably be partly because their success is more tangible than that of other events, with massive attendance rates.The Arts Council remain firm believers that arts events such as music festivals are something which should be nurtured despite the fall in the economy. They believe that especially during such harsh times as these, the arts are vitally necessary to the nation and should not be thought of as a luxury.
This year’s Arts Council budget is €75.7 million but the council say that they are not entirely happy with the allocation of funds planned out. In July last year the Arts Council granted over 900,000 to individual artists, including musicians. I fear this year they will not be capable of showing the same encouragement. Maurice Foley, Deputy Chair of the Arts Council says; “The inevitable cuts will jeopardise much of this investment. The public can expect fewer festivals, fewer exhibitions, less theatre and less music.”
Dunn dunn dunnnn
Words by Laura McGlynn
