Public Art

“So what separates the work artists do in the area of social interaction from the work of people doing similar things, but who don’t label themselves artists?

If the work is looked at from an aesthetic perspective, it can fail in social terms, but still function as art….

If the project is assessed for its effect in producing social change in the world beyond the event itself it can be seen as a failure.

But if the event is viewed as having created a space for people to discuss and learn more about a wide range of issues, it succeeded…"

You can be a failure while still being a success".

Catherine Harty

from script of video performance for Art in the Lifeworld,

Breaking Ground, February 2008

Sound and Light - Sons et Lumiere

A few years ago I went to an exhibition at the Pompidou and the experience has stayed with me ever since. In particular the piece, L’EXPÉDITION SCINTILLANTE, ACT 2, UNTITLED (LIGHT BOX), by Pierre Huyghe affected me deeply.

This was simply a double layered light box, with music and dry ice shown in a darkened space. It had the essential elements to reach out to each viewer/audience member and people moved reluctantly on from the room. It conjured other worlds elsewhere in fact and fiction.

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II

Photos by Marc Holden

Click on the image above to see full size view

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II

Photos by Calvin Jones

Click on the images above to see full size view

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II - We did it!

Photo by Marc Holden

Yes, indeed we did!

We had a great team. There were two boats carrying a total of 14 volunteers - 3 were documenting the spectacle using still and video cameras and 11 were torchbearers. Ashore, we had another still and video camera team with a driver to take them to pre-identified locations and we had 3 torchbearers ashore to light up key landmarks.

Myself, Chantelle Stewart & John Harrison had worked hard all day visiting the locations by land and by sea. The sping tides meant a very low - low water, so it took three attempts before we could do a walk through of all the locations. In the meantime we were back at the house putting together a plan, documenting it and getting ready for the team to assemble.

We had a team briefing at 4:30 pm , where I explained the concept for Epiphany , Chantelle then gave a brief introduction to sustainable public lighting and the actions of guerrilla lighting in Dublin, a detailed plan of the lighting design, which was presented very much like a play with different scenes, was given to everybody with the press release and then I went through all the safety considerations. People were assigned boats, everyone was given a buddy to work with and everyone was checked for lifejacket and personal torch.

We were at the pier at 5:15 and headed down to Church Strand in twilight. This is where it became magical. As darkness descended, we entered a different environment where you become sensitised to the sound and smell of the sea.

We took up our positions and were ready to go at 6pm. The cameras were having difficulty focussing, as the boats were only lit with domestic torches, we were reserving our main beams as much as we could because the battery lasts only 20 minutes.

Then Chantelle blew the first horn signaling to all of us to commence the first scene and turn on our torches, minutes later we got the signal to turn off the power and get ready for the next shot. And that is how we went from scene to scene , we had some small difficulty in communicating with the shore, but this was quickly remedied.

It all flowed in a very slow and measured manner. There was an undercurrent of nervousness that gave way to excitement that became more palpable as the shoot progressed. ... and then were done, we finished about 7:30pm and headed back to Baltimore pier.

Not all the torch batteries had been exhausted, so on the way back we lit each other up and became stars in our own private spectacle.

What a night - making soul memories. Thanks to everyone.

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II

Photo by Marc Holden

Photo by Calvin Jones

The Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II


Yesterday I teamed up with lighting designer Chantelle Stewart and a band of volunteer torchbearers, photographers and videographers to light an abandoned fishing boat at Church Strand, Baltimore, Co. Cork.

The Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II, which is lying beam on in the mud at Church Strand, Baltimore, was illuminated in a multi-coloured display symbolising the realisation of a moment of destiny – the vessel will never put to sea again, she will never fish again. The hopes and dreams of those who built her and fished her are dashed.

I pass these fishing boats every day and they are such a sad sight as they lie crippled in the mud, that I felt I had to do something to mark their demise, I got in touch with Chantelle and she immediately saw the potential for a strong visual display.

High powered torches and coloured filters were used to light the fishing boat in an exercise that required meticulous planning, taking into account weather, tides, sunset and moonrise. Volunteers were taken by RIB from the pier at Baltimore to Church Strand, where different lighting displays were directed at the stricken vessel. The Mulroy Bay II's final resting place, beneath the graveyard at Tullagh, added further pathos to the scene.

The decline of the fishing industry has had a huge cultural, social and economic impact on small communities such as Baltimore and this event touched a chord with many. The project got great support from the local community and there was no shortage of volunteers.

Stewart, from Ballybofey, Co Donegal but now working in Dublin, has been active in public lighting display for several years. Last Month she staged Guerrilla Lighting Dublin in the capital, speaking of this event she said ‘it's great to come out to Baltimore and help a community use lighting design to create something that speaks of the history of the people of Cork".

The Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II will be exhibited at the West Cork Arts Centre next Spring and online at http://sheelagh-na-gig.blogspot.com and www.guerrillalighting.net.

A big thank you to all involved!

High Dynamic Range Imaging

Taking good photographs in the dark at a distance over water is not easy. I discussed this with Marc Holden in advance of the epiphany shoot. He referred me to the technique of HDR and a great online tutorial by Trey Ratcliff

HDR is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of exposures (the range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDR is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.

This method was developed to produce a high dynamic range image from a set of photographs taken with a range of exposures.

http://www.flickr.com/people/vinjhed/

http://www.flickr.com/people/12034714@N02/

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=trey%20ratcliff%20hdr&w=all

You can see from the images above that HDR can capture distant, dark images very well. This technique is perfect for the epiphany shoot and I am looking forward to seeing the results.

Epiphany - Location Visit

We went out again today, to look at safety issues on the water.

We have an agreed route for getting past the boats and mooring lines safely, a landing point on the pontoon and an alternate platform if time and weather allow.

Each RIB will have a boat driver and assistant , each has navigation lights, high power torch and VHF.



Above is the alternate view


As well as illuminating the fishing boat we may also light this abandoned church which overlooks the bay


This shot was taken at high water. Note that the superstructure is very submerged. High Water on Saturday will be even higher as it is a Spring tide, so that is why we have the alternate view.

Epiphany - Update 1

I took a good long look at the external exigencies regarding the project and as a result have revised the timeline somewhat.

On 15th November High Water is at 18:21. These are spring tides with a height of 3.6 metres.

Sunset is at 16:28

Moonrise is at 17:47. This will be a waning gibbous moon 95% full.

On the basis of this information it would be much better to start at least an hour earlier. Get everyone in position in twilight. Do the shoot as soon as darkness falls and before the moon rises to high in the sky. The torchlights will primarily be directed in an Easterly direction, so too much moon light could affect the display. The rising moon will make for an easier RIB journey back to the pier.

Revised Plan:

Briefing & Safety Check at Lios na Si 16:oo
Board Ribs at Pier 17:00
Commence Illumination 18:00
Debrief at Lios na Si 19:30

Lastly but most importantly this is all weather dependent. At the moment weather for Saturday is not great, Front crossing Ireland late on Friday night giving F6 SW winds. There is an area of High Pressure to the South so at this early stage I am hoping that it will keep the weather at bay for another 24 hours.

Windguru is a great weather resource for this area. Check out the weblink or search for windguru and sherkin to find the nearest station.

Epiphany - The Plan

Its a green light for next weekend, and probably red and blue as well. I have spoken with all the main collaborators and we have a plan in place for next weekend.

We will do a site visit on the water next Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm to finalise torch positions and camera angles.

A briefing will be held at 6pm to ensure that everyone is aware of their role and the different parts each will play. Most important is the safety of everyone concerned, everyone will have a lifejacket and a buddy.

We have two RIBs each with a driver and an assistant to direct light. VHF on board

The ribs will take torchbearers and photographers/videographers to the illumination points.
One VHF for torchbearers.

On land we will have a liaison for shore based viewing/photographers who will also have a VHF. The best viewing point from land will be the road near the graveyard at Tullagh, which overlooks Church Strand.

It is not intended that there be a large viewing audience, but it is essential that good quality photographs and video are taken and that these activate conversation subsequently. Exposure to the press will be important in generating discussion.

Very importantly we will have a Feast of the Epiphany afterward so that we can relax after what will be a very exciting event for those involved. I am tingling already!

The whole event will not take more than half an hour from start to finish

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II - Scoping

These shots were taken today at dusk, with a basic digital camera so images are fairly poor. These are the places I consider most accessible /safest to access. If they are not suitable we will have to go to plan B.

The shot above is taken from the graveyard 180^ from the one below

Graveyard at Tullagh Baltimore

Mulroy Bay II from Graveyard Tullagh

Tullagh Graveyard

Tullagh church taken from the foreshore

Mulroy Bay II - this is the closest we can get on land - I like the angle of presentation.

This is slightly further away, but slightly more accessible.

Epiphany of the Mulroy Bay II

A temporary public spectacle, a collaborative project instigated by artist Sheelagh Broderick and lighting designer Chantelle Stewart of Guerrilla Lighting, with a team of volunteer torchbearers, photographers and videographers.

Abandoned fishing boats at Church Strand, Baltimore are iconographic landmarks of our past and our future.

Why an epiphany?

An epiphany is an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure: a revealing scene or moment symbolic of revelation or insight: it is a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something: an intuitive grasp of reality through an event usually simple and striking usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

An epiphany cannot be planned, this project is contingent on many factors: weather, tides, moonlight and torchlight.

Lyon Festival of Light

Photo source http://www.flickr.com/photos/zopeuse/78128992/in/set-1646974/

Lyon in France is host to an amazing Lighting Festival. Maybe we could learn something from their experience - I am particularly thinking about the regeneration of Limerick, which desperately needs some inspiration and hope.

As a city develops, it becomes necessary to design area-specific lighting plans including the adaptation of light to the rhythms of city life, the reduction of light pollution and in order to realise these aspirations, a bringing together of urban lighting expertise.

The Lyon region has all the necessary expertise relating to town lighting, from research, to material production, to lighting design. In September 2004, a training scheme was initiated in partnership with the AFE (Association Française de l'Eclairage, French Lighting Association), leading to the qualification of 'Outdoor Spaces Lighting Electrician'. The setting up of such a project with the French Department of Education is proof that Lyon sets a shining example - and not just in its lighting.

Public Art

This interactive installaton has x-factor appeal!

Marie Sester trained as an architect before diverting her interests to public art specifically with respect to transparency, visibility and access.

Her installation ACCESS combines all three interests. Using surveillance technology, a website, a robotic spotlight and an acoustic beam system, remote users can lock the spotlight onto unidentifed individuals in public space.

Sester says;'Some people will really hate it and run away, while others will just enjoy being under the light, but it’s my job to look at values and assess how you get access to information, and how we behave within those values. I want to look at things that we accept as a given, generation after generation, the things that make up a whole world, a whole system. ACCESS, with its embodiment of the pleasures and fears of authority, surveillance, and control, offers a good starting point'.

Guerrilla Lighting Dublin

Theresa Shibhan writes in light for Guerilla Lighting,

Glasgow 23rd November 2008.

Just this evening Guerilla Lighting lit up Smithfield and the Four Courts in Dublin as part of their campaign to promote sustainable architectural lighting. See the RTE News report here

Lighting events worldwide bring public art to where people are, they illuminate, spotlight, highlight, radiate, inspire and … often provoke.

Projects draw attention to our surroundings and associated understandings. They can imagine the world in a new light or reveal darkly hidden secrets. It can encompass public, private, internal and external spaces. The following links demonstrate the exciting breadth of lighting practices.

SwitchedOnLondon, 2008

LightsOnTampa, 2006

Lights in Alingsås, Sweden 2008

Paraeducation

Artist Sarah Pierce and curator Annie Fletcher hosted a paraeducation workshop at the National Sculpture Factory, Cork on June 21st this year. A disparate group assembled to talk, to share, to provoke and to stimulate debate.

This is an extract from Organising and Art Practice, which outlines what motivated Pierce & Fletcher.

'When artists strategically apply modes of practice or methodologies used by other fields such as social work, education, community organizing, etc. to their own work it is often to build certain relationships (social, economic, political) and/or to subvert others through what might be termed 'socially engaged' practice. In many ways, this transfer of technique is an unambiguous response to trends that emerge through the institutionalization of art and its marketability, as well as to established patterns of trade regarding the instrumentalization of artists under the welfare state and their subsequent disenfranchisement under neo-liberalism. The artist does not function outside of society, but under what terms the artist will/can/should function under is open to debate. What we do know is that artists often use modes of practice relevant to, or originating through other fields in their own work. At times this process might lead to misinterpretations or distortions. At others, it can lead to understanding and respect. Here, practice is an ongoing channel, a way to learn from and relate apparently disparate pursuits (art-work and social-work) in order to impart common concerns.

An important step in this process requires pausing and asking: What is the role of the artist? How can the artist act in a given situation? What is the artist's purpose? Much of the criticism surrounding art-work that models the types of interactions rooted in social-work (or community-work, or education) either faults a generic instrumentalizing of art, (which is sometimes but not always the case, especially in artist-led projects) or faults the artist through an assessment of their effect. Analysis of 'positive' effect habitually alleges that the artist is filling-in where social service providers, and thereby the state, have failed; and analysis of 'negative' effect usually lapses into a plea for artists to leave social-work 'to the professionals'. In each instance it is important to ascertain whether a particular discursive moment is looking closely at the project at hand or is speaking generally, and more importantly, whether it functions to further a dialogue between different models of social interaction or end one'.



"Organizing and Art Practice", The Paraeducation Department, eds. Sarah Pierce and Annie Fletcher, Interface:Belfast 2006. Also published in Tracer 2, Wittte de With/TENT:Rotterdam 2005.

Public Art

'Public art is not, according to my approach, art in the public space, but an art that institutes a public space, a space of common action among people'

Chantal Mouffe - Cork Caucus 2005

'She Changes', 2002, Porto, Portugal, Janet Echelman

Janet Echelman is a sculptor who shapes urban space. She transforms sites that are either unnoticed infrastructure that have faded from public memory, or iconic landmarks that are so overexposed they become almost invisible. At each location she considers the visual language and materials of the place, the historical ways of making things, and the current way that people move through the space. Using the physical environment to create living, breathing pieces, the work is often made of flexible, diaphanous materials that allow air currents to move and shape the sculptures. Passers-by are encouraged underneath or inside the sculpture's form, making them an active part of the piece rather than discreet viewers of it.

In an article in Newsweek regading controversy surrounding a public artwork for Phoenix, Arizona, she commented, 'It's good for art to make us think, to give us a shared experience that creates a dialogue, makes us talk to each other, including strangers'