Art Shop

The official definition of public art is any visual artwork [sculpture, mosaic, mural, memorials and any other form whether it be functional or aesthetic only] that is located on a publicly accessible site should be considered public art. A very general meaning for a concept as broad and varying as, well, art. And to make it all-encompassing, public art also covers street performances such as, parades, street theatre, outdoor concerts – any sort of live performance. The scope of this article, however, is much more narrow and defined. Public art = structural artwork made by an artist with the intention of improving aesthetic environs or providing a functional gathering place.

Many of us have walked past, eaten lunch under or beside, thrown coins at, and completely ignored a whole array of public art. But not any more! Public art is a blossoming component of our built landscape that, in many cases, we can be involved in. Local governments and art organisations, depending on their public art policy or specific requirements, allow for community consultation on design and basic structure. The level of consultation, of course, depends on the function and placement of the piece being planned.

Arts organisations, museums and galleries that are involved in bringing art to the public, have stricter opinions on what constitutes public art and less scope for community consultation. Their goals are different. Developing and coordinating outdoor exhibitions, of one artwork or many, is vastly separated from local government acts that require their planning departments and private developers to make provision for art in future developments.

What I love about public art is that the artist often has space to create really big works! Works that can inspire and uplift by their sheer physical presence alone. We won’t like them all, but we’ll pay attention to the statements the work and the artist are trying to make.

Local government authorities around the world have development policies that require a percentage of a proposed development’s value to be spent on commissioning art. The art may be required to suit a particular location’s natural environment or heritage identity, or fit in with the cultural or tourism demands of the area. Public art can be temporary as in outdoor exhibitions and building wraps, or permanent such as fountains, memorials, roadside noise reducing barriers or street furniture.

The possibilities for public art continue to grow as many regions include Public Art Trails in their tourism plans. Guides, maps and booklets are being developed that outline and locate notable artworks in an area, and then targeted to local and international tourists. In Australia, there is a long history of Big Things on the tourist trail; things such as the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the Big Trout in Adaminaby and the Big Merino in Goulburn, plus the dozens of other Big Things dotted around the country. That’s not to say that all tourist-attracting public art needs to be big and garish. There’s quite a number of arty, culturally-aware and just plain interested people that like to take a step into an area’s local culture and get a feel for the people and lifestyle they are visiting.

For the ordinary person not so involved in the art or local government worlds, how do you go about getting, locating or recognising public art in your area?

Recognising is simple. As mentioned, public art is anything that is installed or erected that has either a purely aesthetic value or is functional, purposeful as well as being interesting to look at.

Locating the public art in your area ranges from easy to hard. Start with local parks, town squares and outside any museums, galleries or government buildings. Not all areas or towns are created equal when it comes to money to spend on art [which is why making public art a development requirement is such a good idea], but that doesn’t mean there won’t or can’t be any around. Schools, public buildings and large expanses of wall are great places for the odd mural or three. Businesses that have turned their signage into art forms are only limited by their imagination. Tourist information centres and historical landmarks may abound. Many reserves and former industrial sites are the locations of old equipment and structures that have been turned into a reminder of days gone by.

Holbrook, a town approximately halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, has gone “superstructure” with its public art and turned an old submarine, the HMAS Otway, into an historical and artistic statement. Closer to the New South Wales/Victorian border, the Ettamogah Pub, near the town of Albury, has turned itself into the reproduction of an iconic cartoon edifice, a major tourist attraction and quite a fascinating piece of life-size 3-D, functional pop art.

Around the world, towns and regions are travelling the public art trail by coordinating exhibitions that link individual homes, businesses, and industries via the artistic rendering of local identity. Scarecrows, cows, letterboxes, indigenous culture, building facades, milk urns, produce festivals, and the list goes on and on, all represent identity as seen by the local people, and all are art.

Public art has been with us since the days of the cave and the creation of the first memorial sculptures and wall-murals. It may not be something new, but it does have the potential for huge growth as people insist on the beautification and visual expression of their communities and look for the same in countries, cities and towns they visit on holiday. Find your local public art and celebrate it. Make more. Art in the open has a way of lifting your soul and calling you to it, whether it’s to admire, disagree with or rest your feet and eat your lunch under.

By: Trish Anderson

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Zhang Dali’s intention throughout his body of work is to call attention to the changes taking place in Chinese society primarily due to the destruction of long standing communities. He wants to enter into a dialogue with his compatriots whom he sees as becoming increasingly estranged as the drive towards modernisation continues. His early graffiti work can still be seen all over the Chinese capital. His signature outline of a human head was found, among other places, on traditional courtyard houses marked for demolition.

The artist called this graffiti work “Dialogue” and documented it by photography.According to the artist, immigrant workers who have traveled from the rural areas all over China to earn a living in construction sites in Chinese cities, are the most important members of the Chinese race, who are shaping our physical reality. Yet, they are the faceless crowd who live at the bottom of our society. To cast them in resin is a way to recognize their existence and contribution as well as to capture a fast-changing point of time in the Chinese society.

From 2003 to 2005, Zhang has portrayed 100 immigrant workers in life-size resin sculptures of various postures, with a designated number, the artist’s signature and the work’s title “Chinese Offspring” tattooed onto each of their bodies. They are often hung upside down, indicating the uncertainty of their life and their powerlessness in changing their own fates.
Zhang Dali went on to make portraits of migrant workers’ faces and resin casts of their heads or entire bodies. Having a studio on the outskirts of Beijing, Zhang Dali became acquainted with a community of migrant workers who lives nearby.

Migrant workers have emerged as a product of the urbanization and growth of the main Chinese cities. Mobility has come with reform and this is not always an easy choice. The cities have developed into places of wealth and opportunity, thus drawing all sorts of people in search of better lives. However with this growth of the cities and the introduction of so much from the West: architecture, food, fashion, social manners, etc. has come also great uncertainty. For the migrant worker uncertainty is one of the key elements of their existence. Zhang Dali wanted to bring these people and their hard, bitter lives to the attention of others, and did so by creating head and body casts of volunteers from among these people as well as painting their portraits in his AK-47 series.The presentation of the body casts is vital to transmitting the artist’s message. They are shown hanging upside down from ropes tied around their ankles.

The imagery is shocking: hanging like carcasses of meat, in mid-air, in limbo. The artist uses the Chinese “dao xuan” to express being upside down in limbo without any inner strength to turn their bodies. These works capture the spirit, or lack thereof, of these workers. For Zhang Dali, his sculptures are living taxonomy, a human version of insect samples (“biao ben”) except the specimens are live people. It is a documentation of the species at a specific moment in history.

By: Amit Bittu

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South Africa is blessed with a diverse range of visual arts ranging from ancient rock art to the contemporary.

There is consequently a flotilla of reputable commercial art galleries concentrated largely in the major centres. These galleries not only sell original art works, at competitive prices, but they also host regular solo or group exhibitions with emphasis on home grown talent.

As one of the undisputed highlights of any trip to South Africa, the city of Cape Town has more than its fair share of recommended art galleries:

Cape Town

The Table Bay Gallery is situated in one of the iconic landmarks of Cape Town, the V&A Waterfront. The custom-designed interior affords space to a number of genres including bronze sculptures, ceramics, authentic SA oils, water colours and mixed media representations.

The Kalk Bay Gallery can be found in the quaint fishing village of Kalk Bay, about 15 minutes from the centre of Cape Town. It has an enduring reputation of carrying the most comprehensive collection of SA originals in the nation. An added incentive is its location where restaurants, pubs and delis rub shoulders with second hand book stores, antique outlets and bric-a-brac shops.

The Alfred Mall Gallery is set in the heart of Cape Town’s most popular attraction, the V&A Waterfront, known for its premier shopping experience. Apart from the extensive collection of South African prints, the gallery houses a number of mixed media paintings, ceramics and bronzes.

The South Africa Art Collection is located in the visitor’s hub of the V&A Waterfront, close to both the Nelson Mandela Museum and the departure point to the notorious Robben Island. The bright interior showcases a number of local genres including Township Art, Abstract Art and Wildlife Art.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg, the commercial centre of South Africa, has a vast number of galleries including:

The Hyde Park Art Gallery, located in the luxurious heart of Sandton, is a regular host of exhibitions dedicated to the extraordinary talent of local practitioners. Pieces vary from the contemporary to antique African artefacts.

Gallery on the Side has one of the largest collections of fine art in the country, boasting over 2000 pieces housed in the typical ‘boma’ style. It too is situated in the core of the city’s business and residential centre, Fourways in Sandton.

Other Galleries



A number of ‘rural’ galleries are located away from the bustle of the cities in areas associated with high volumes of visitors:

The Vineyard Gallery is set in the gastronomic capital of the Cape, Franschhoek, renowned for its splendid wines, award-winning cuisine and outstanding views of the surrounding mountains. The light and bright interior showcases local land and seascapes, African wildlife, vibrant Township Art and more.

Gallery Hermanus can be found in the sea-side village of Hermanus, an hour and half’s drive from Cape Town. Primarily known for its premier whale watching, the region is a popular holiday hideaway for locals. It has an interesting collection of South African originals and prints as well as authentic African artefacts.

By: Lavana James

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Holding a watercolor painting exhibition is a primary way to let the public know of the painter’s name existence and quality of work.

There is no doubt the first exhibition is a great liberating experience. It is the culmination of a dream ambition and it is difficult to know this has at last been realized even when it is actually happening. The first gallery show is one that will never be forgotten. It is a wonderful feeling. The place is full and every one is chatting or calling to old friends across the gallery floor and raising their glasses in salute. Around the gallery walls the paintings properly lit for the first time in a bright warm indirect sensation of light. Family relatives are there smiling in reflected glory. Children are hiding between the legs of the packed grown-ups. Background Mozart is being played to add class to the proceedings and soften up potential buyers.

A rather distinguished looking person from the establishment has consented to commend the work of the painter to the wider public and is standing glass in hand ready to open the show having already let it be known which painting they would like to accept as a gift from the gallery. The sounds of laughter and enjoyment gradually rise and red stickers appear on some of the paintings as the gallery owner seizes the opportunity of the moment to make sales during the flurry of excitement.

A spoon rattles a wineglass and eventually the gallery comes to order. The gallery owner welcomes everyone and introduces the painter and then asks the distinguished visitor to open the show.

The distinguished visitor nods then smiles looks round the room to make sure the audience is quiet and still before beginning the address:

‘It gives me great pleasure to see you all here this evening at this first exhibition and show of watercolor paintings by a new rising star to our painting community. As you can see the walls are covered this evening by top class work carried out with assurance care and dedication by the painter. I have already spoken to the many experienced painters here and they all confirm the merit in the work. Watercolors are a difficult medium in which to paint. I know this from my own experience as I too paint in watercolors but I admit I am almost inclined to regret the addition of another competent worker to our lists who makes my own efforts look even more vacuous than even I thought they were…[laughter] …but seriously we are here to congratulate and support our painter with our best wishes many sales and hope for much success in the future. I am honored to declare this exhibition well and truly open!’ Loud applause follows with some cheering from the family.

If the painter decides to reply we may get …’ Thank you for your very generous introduction and best wishes – I will try to live up to them in the future. I would like to thank especially my spouse [...good on yer Bill]…and all those in my family who have supported me and wish to thank especially all of you here tonight who have come out despite the dreadful rain to help make this evening a success. While I am here I would like to invite you to my next show one year from now. Thank you very much again.’

Next you will probably conduct the distinguished visitor around the gallery walls and point to the red sticker on the painting the distinguished person admired so much and please to accept as a free gift. The distinguished visitor laughs loud and accepts with surprise at the generosity of the gift and promises to ‘treasure the painting for ever with many thanks.’

The opening show continues as gradually people drift away with their congratulations until closing time.

Now the world has finally opened up at last – ‘and about time too!’ you think.

In spite of everything the work may not sell. If this is so this must not be taken a rejection of the work nor of its quality. The work may indeed be awful. On the other hand it may be good but not what the public wants hanging up in the living room just in case the neighbors take fright and feel they must uproot and go and live elsewhere. Some painters repulse buyers with wrong attitude or they exhibit to the wrong audience. Other painters over-sell their stuff without finding out what the client is interested in. Some viewers never buy but never miss an opening of a show.

To exhibit means to show. It is better to think of an exhibition as a show.

Start with a small show in a school hall as part of an annual festival of sorts and a place to get to know the ropes of exhibiting. The goal is to network to make friends with leaders in the community and with those visitors who simply like to look at paintings.

Discuss watercolor painting with all who show interest in the subject. It is amazing how a visitor will immediately assume how expert your work is and say how they always wished they had the talent to paint and have an exhibition of their own.

Start with a show of 10 paintings on a variety of different subjects to show the extent of your virtuosity. The purpose of this is to see which subject type appeals most to both yourself and visitors. Make a note of the time spent by visitors on each painting and note if they are men women or children. Speak to all of your visitors and introduce yourself as the painter. Discuss painting but most of all listen.

When you exhibit your paintings you actually open your inner self to others. Public interest in psychology is high and visitors feel free to draw the most outrageous conclusions about your hidden views preferences and upbringing. Some will analyze the meaning of your choice of color and others will draw political conclusions from details in the paintings as if they were runes cast in some sort of fortune-telling ritual. Interest and knowledge of esoteric subjects too is high and this interest adds to unexpected range of questions about you.

Most painters are probably flattered by this attention but others perhaps – not so much. I am urging you to be careful – you may be concerned. Some painters know or feel this is happening but are not troubled. Other painters may hold back and fear this invasion into their privacy and let their work become inhibited as a result. A painting reveals more about us that any other thing. There is nothing we can do about this – but beware.

Size of paintings at exhibitions is very important. Select and show only half full-size pictures with subjects that mount in the horizontal frame. Arrange the pictures in a single level straight row so that an imaginary line runs across the paintings a third of the way up the side of the picture at eyelevel.

Try spacing the pictures with half the length of the pictures between them. This spacing may be affected by the variation in tone of the pictures. Hang the paintings so they are equidistant apart.

A gallery creates a market for your paintings. Do not stay with a particular gallery until you have tried the others. I am not able to change galleries – I have to remain loyal. I would only change my present gallery if I were not welcome there. Find your gallery and stay with it or change gallery regularly to suit your mood.

Gallery fees and all the expenses when added up will probably absorb a third of your total sales. Your expenses as a percentage of gross sales will probably drop as sales grow because expenses will remain more or less static.

Use an accountant’s format to record all transactions stated with a final balance struck. No working out what you owe and what is owed to you on the back of an envelope.

Be present in the gallery as long as you can. Do not try to sell the pictures – instead – let clients buy.
If you are one for hard selling make it appear otherwise. If not let the gallery owner or manager do the selling. The gallery owner will not allow you to drive frequent clients away by crude selling.

Keep your own record of each picture displayed and price shown. Price stickers placed on the glass take time to add and later remove but the gallery will decide what is best – it is their call.

Take date recorded photographs of each gallery wall for record purposes and of each individual picture displayed. Also record the gallery and date on the back of the prints.

Remember suspension hanging systems are always used in galleries. Displays in schools or church halls have no such facility so make display arrangements well in advance to prevent being caught out.

Gallery lighting should be designed to show the painting at the correct lumen intensity without giving glass reflections into the viewers’ eye. If the eye is at any angle above 45 degrees to any part of the glass there will be no reflection.

Photo non-reflecting light diffusing glass must not be used as it collects light from a wider angle then focuses it and actually increases light exposure. Thus more light will enter the pigment than with ordinary glass. Gallery exhibition lighting standards are normally designed to be color correct so that the colors in the paintings are true.

Normal picture grade glass is free from distortion caused by thickness variation.

It is a good idea to find out if your pictures show well in gallery lighting. The color strength of your paintings may not be as strong as you think. Carry out a test to see if you need to make tonal adjustments to your paintings otherwise they may appear to be too weal.

When transporting your watercolor paintings prop them vertically on edge in the back seat of your car but on a shock-absorbing surface such as medium firm foam. Only you should move your pictures – do not rely on others. Place your pictures face to face and move them in pairs. This makes them easy to carry and helps to avoid damage to frames.

Use your car safety belts or Velcro straps to secure them against damage from hard braking.

This is the last article in the WC 1-10 series and covers vital matters connected with watercolor painting but not to the actual Technique of painting itself. The next series will be about laying down washes. It will be strictly about the Technique of Watercolor Painting. The first will be under the code number will be WW01.

My very best wishes.

By: John Blenkin

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art exhibitions

The Museum’s mission is to foster within society an awareness, understanding and involvement in the visual arts through policies and programmes which are excellent, innovative and inclusive. One of the leading museums in Ireland, IMMA presents a wide variety of art in a dynamic programme of exhibitions, which regularly includes bodies of work from its own collection and its award-winning Education and Community Department. It also creates more widespread access to art and artists through its Studio and National programmes. The current director is Enrique Juncosa, who was previously Deputy Director of the Reina Sofia National Museum Arts Centre (MNCARS) in Madrid.

Museum Ireland: How was the Irish Museum of Modern Art established?

The Irish Museum of Modern Art was established by the Government of Ireland in 1990 as Ireland’s first national institution for the presentation and collection of modern and contemporary art. The Museum was officially opened on 25 May 1991 by the, then Taoiseach Charles J Haughey. Since its opening the Museum has rapidly established itself as a significant and dynamic presence in the Irish and international arts arena. It is widely admired by its peers throughout the world for the range and relevance of its exhibitions, for its innovative use of its growing Collection, for its award-winning education and community programme and for its visitor-centered ethos and facilities.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art Today

IMMA has proved to be a valuable and popular addition to the country’s cultural infrastructure, attracting more than 400,000 Irish and overseas visitors from diverse social backgrounds each year, both to the Museum itself and to events organised throughout Ireland by our National Programme.

Irish Museum of Modern Art’s Exhibitions

The Museum’s temporary exhibition programme regularly juxtaposes the work of leading, well-established figures with that of younger-generation artists to create a debate about the nature and function of art and its connection with the future. Exhibitions presented at IMMA include – Francis Alÿs, Alexander Calder, James Coleman, Dorothy Cross, Lucian Freud, Ann Hamilton, Howard Hodgkin, Juan Miró, Hughie O’Donoghue and Elizabeth Peyton. IMMA originates many of its exhibitions but also works closely with a network of international galleries and museums.

The Collection

The Collection of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which comprises some 4,500 works, has been developed since 1990 through purchase, donations and long-term loans, as well as by the commissioning of new works. The Museum purchases contemporary art but accepts donations and loans of more historical art objects with a particular emphasis on work from the 1940s onwards.

The permanent collection reflects some of the most exciting trends in Irish and international art with lens-based work by Gilbert and George, Marina Abramovic, Willie Doherty and Paul Seawright, installations by llya and Ameila Kabakov, Rebecca Horn and sculpture by Dorothy Cross, Kathy Prendergast, Damien Hirst and Stephan Balkenhol; also paintings by Francesco Clemente, Tony O’Malley, Peter Doig, and Peter Halley. Major donations include a wide variety of modern and contemporary art, including a number of 1930s works by Picasso, paintings by Sean Scully, a large sculpture by Barry Flanagan and a film by Neil Jordan.

Education and Community Programmes

An extensive range of programmes has been developed at the Museum with the intention of creating and increasing access to the visual arts, as well as engagement in their meaning and practice. The programme operates on many levels – with research projects, with community-based programmes within the local catchment area and with the general public in a gallery-based initiative through the provision of Explorer.

A number of programmes have been developed for groups who wish to have contact with specific exhibitions or artists, including gallery discussions and practical studio work. The ongoing primary school programme creates access for individual teachers, staff groups and children.

The Museum’s Artists Work Programme, a studio/residency programme, is open to artists in all disciplines and of all nationalities. Artists participating in the Programme make themselves as available as possible to meet with visitors to the Museum, providing access to the process of making art and giving the public an additional layer of experience to that available in the Museum’s galleries. A series of slide talks, studio visits, panel discussions and open days are organized around the residencies, all of which are free and open to the public.

The National Programme is designed to make the Museum’s assets, skills and resources available to centers outside Dublin. Through the lending of exhibitions and individual works, and the development of collaborative projects with other organizations, the National Programme establishes the Museum as inclusive, accessible and national.

The presentation of such a wide range of activities offers a richly diverse experience to both general visitors and to those interacting with the Museum on a more long-term basis.

Museum Ireland: The home of the Irish Museum of Modern Art

As one of the leading museums in Ireland IMMA’s activities are greatly enhanced by its magnificent building and grounds. The Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the finest 17th-century building in Ireland, was built in 1684 as a home for retired soldiers and continued in that use for almost 250 years. Its style is based on Les Invalides in Paris with a formal facade and large elegant courtyard. The Museum site also includes a formal garden, meadow and medieval burial grounds. In addition to its striking setting, the Museum also has an excellent cafe and bookshop.

By: Monica Cullinane

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An abstract art gallery or museum usually hosts art exhibitions and is also used as a location for the sale of art. Some of the abstract art form represented in such museums includes fauvism, cubism, surrealism and abstract expressionism.

Some famous abstract art galleries in the world are Centre Pompidou, located in Paris, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Pecci Museum of Contemporary Art and Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Italy. England hosts some famous abstract art museums like Annely Juda, Estorick Collection, Modern Art Oxford, Serpentine Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate St Ives, Tate Liverpool and Pier Art Gallery. The United States also boosts two popular art galleries, the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum.

Centre Georges Pompidou, commonly known as Pompidou Centre, houses around 50,000 art works including paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs. On the other hand, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a small museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, which primarily contains the personal art collection of Peggy Guggenheim. However, the museum also displays collections of other prominent American modernists and Italian futurists, and includes work based on themes of cubism, surrealism and abstract expressionism. The museum has gained prominence in Italy for its collection of European and American art of the first half of the 20th century.

England houses some well-known art galleries. Modern Art Oxford and the Tate Gallery have some amazing abstract art collections. Modern Art Oxford was established in 1969 by a small group of Oxford dons and hosts works of renowned artists like Tracey Emin. Tate Gallery encompasses Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St. Ives and Tate Modern, and houses some of the best abstract art in the world.

In the US, the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum exhibit some famous work of abstract artists. The Museum of Modern Art houses some best modern masterpieces in the world, like Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso, The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dal