RHA

So we had a wander to the Royal Hibernian Academy yesterday.
Wander being the small group of us who showed. Christmas causes so many disappearances in terms of attendance it really must be a magical time of year, no?

We're illustrators.... So the fine arts... aren't usually our calling - But I tried to keep an open mind.
"Okay" I thought to myself "So here we are, I'm going to a fine gallery to see art I'm not used to.." And to be honest, the prospect was quite exciting?

Unfortunately, in the end, I - and indeed, most of us, understood very little of what the art meant. It's hard to concentrate in a class group of people, constantly moving, but even then, I'm not sure if I'd have experienced more epiphanies  if I'd been alone... - A tour, perhaps, would have gone down well, but it wasn't something we had booked for.

It's unfortunate, that I feel fine art has lived up to the less complimentary comments about it after this experience, but I tried..

Above: Attempting Fine Art Appreication

The only thing that I took interest in was really Neil Carroll's work; paintings with odd but lovely geometrical shapes, nice colour and wonderful grounds -including acetate. That I took some inspiration from, having an interest in installations and playing with light, personally.


Now here's the good news; we also got a tour upstairs; to see the places where workshops took place, where their life drawing sessions are held and to learn about the studios - Every six months, a new artist takes up a residency in the RHA, working from one of the studios. Not only do you get lovely room for working and a central location, you also manage to mix more with other people - and other artists. It sounds fantastic. With these studios, and the Open competition each year, work depends on quality, rather than style, we were assured, interesting, and perhaps, something to shoot for.

We also learnt that in the new year, probably towards summer, there may be free life drawing lessons, to encourage students and younger artists into the RHA, I'm really hoping this happens - I'd love to have the opportunity to keep up with life drawing during the summer (And possibly onwards from there too - The future is an uncertainty right now!).

We also got to see some of PJ Lynch's work, drying, which of course, was awesome.


I'm toying with going back.
I do want to know what it means. It must mean something...

World Press Photo exhibition

It's been a while, hasn't it? I can only offer apologies and the excuse of life.

In order for this to run smoother, here's a little background on World Press Photo;

"World Press Photo is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary photography worldwide. We strive to generate wide public interest in and appreciation for the work of photographers and for the free exchange of information. [...] World Press Photo is run as an independent, non-profit organization with its office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where World Press Photo was founded in 1955."

So! Before I fell completely ill last week gone, I went to the 2013 World Press Photo exhibition in the CHQ (IFSC) here in Dublin. I wish I'd been able to write about it when I got home, honestly - all the emotions were fresh and raw, very raw.

Raw is a good word in general. This is an exhibition of photo-journalism (world renowned no less, with a new collection touring the world each year) from all over the globe. While this includes some fantastic animal photos and London Olympics pictures, it also contains images from Gaza, Syria and Afghanistan which I cannot describe better than "raw".
I wish I was talking about the file type.

 These photographs were the exhibition for me, you hear about it all on the news, but I have never felt so close to what is going on before.

Paul Hansen, Spot News, 1st Prize Singles

I stood on front of these pictures and I felt goosebumps and I felt tears. I felt shock, wonder and morbid curiosity.
I also wondered at the photographers/photojournalists themselves... What kind of a person takes photographs like these? How?

I also can't help but marvel at the beauty in some of these photographs. Even when the content is horrendous or disgusting, I still found myself enjoying some of these photographs aesthetically.
A certain Yeats quote comes to mind, these days it tends to be tossed around a lot, it's cheesy now, but I feel the gravity of these photographs counters any flippant use of it; "A terrible beauty is born".

Some of these photos are horrific but amazing. Truly, amazing.
If you can go see it, I highly recommend it, for a fiver it's well worth it. You can view it on the site, of course, but in the flesh it's something more - If there's a chance you can come see it, don't look yet. See it when you're standing on front of it.

It really needs to be seen. Not written about (bar as a recommendation to pay up that fiver Gladly)
- Please hurry, it closes the 22nd!!
[Following exhibitions will be in Italy, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Israel and The Netherlands]