The council commissioned that?

Damian McCarney

Local authorities. The phrase sounds so impersonal, dreary almost. The thought of an exhibition of art commissioned and acquired by local authorities over the last 30 years sounds about as engaging as daytime telly. Heading along to 30 Years | Artists | Places, an exhibition split between Johnston Central Library and Townhall Cavan, the Celt braced himself for conformist art, respectful portraits of long-gone cathaoirleachs sporting chains of office and reverential statues of our former overlords.
Its billing as a “major” exhibition sounded fairly empty, but in fairness to curator, Laois arts officer Muireann Ní Chonaill, she has gathered a fabulous collection, which certainly meets the promise.
The exhibition was based on the premise of selecting an artwork from each of the State’s 30 councils to give a flavour of the range of commissions, and presumably to help give the public a chance to see the work bought on their behalf. The display is dominated by paintings, but also includes some photography, sculptures and documentary works.

Subversive
Some of the artworks are surprisingly subversive such as, ‘I Suppose The Grant Is Out Of The Question’ by Clones native Constance Short (a sign that says just that), and Theo McNab’s ‘Ireland 1972’, which depicts a suffocating blackening of the tricolour - a reaction to Bloody Sunday? Maybe the influence of the church? Who knows, but I suppose McNab was hoping that the viewer would decide for themselves what’s causing the menacing tide to encroach on our sense of national pride.
In terms of landscapes Gary Robinson’s ‘Constant’ and Seán Cotter’s ‘Nightfall’ strike similarly somber autumnal notes, of beauty and loss.
On a more bonkers note we have the sinister micro-dolls trapped in bottles by Vanessa Donoso López and Seán Lynch’s ‘Beuys’ (pictured above), effectively a peat briquette sandwich. Winner of the completely zany creation however is the ‘The Snail Chronicles (Bedtime)’ by Alice Maher. The Tipperary artist fed vegetable dyes to some live snails and let them smear an inky trail across the surface of her work. The tie-dye result is surprisingly beautiful (I hope the artist shelled out for a few lettuces in reward), it’s just a shame Maher undermined the snails’ great work by drawing siamese twins joined at the hair over it.
On a local note Jane McCormack’s collaboration with poet Tom Conaty ‘Swim’ is intriguing, while David Stephen’s tender video portrayal of Raymond Ovens, who lives on the Cavan Fermanagh border is quite simply stunning.
The Celt’s favourite artwork however is ‘Howling Dogs’ by Antrim artist John Kindness. Two curvacious, colourful creatures, with mosaic hydes and incidentally are not that dog-like at all, seemingly give a silent walrus roar. Kindness has cleverly used the opening of a large sea shell for one figure’s maw. God knows what it’s all about but it suggests a pride in individuality and an unconfined love of life - a heaven-bound howl of joy. Okay, well I say unconfined but for some reason it’s been cruelly cordoned off with red-rope! Do they think they’ll escape?

Surprised

Another reason to howl I suppose is the fact that no matter what art was produced, some tax/rate-payers will fume, ‘What a waste of money!’ You may well come to that conclusion, but give it a go, you might be surprised.

For this reviewer, not only does 30 Years | Artists | Places provide a spell binding way to spend an hour or so, but it reminds us that individuals are behind the heavy doors of local authorities, and while we can gripe and moan about potholes, but they’re not doing a bad job when it comes to supporting the arts, and the results are anything but impersonal.