We Should Want What We Have

Shane protesting protesting.

On the 7th of may 2010 I orchestrated a protest which protested protesting as part of The Spirit Store’s CAT DIG as part of EV+A  2010.

Protest is an aspect of society; its function is to communicate in opposition to accepted and dominant ideologies. But because protest is an aspect within society which bids to change perceived injustices that previously existed within said society, it simply becomes an aspect of the same system which allows such injustices to occur. As soon as an aspect of revolt can be identified as iconic more so than functional it can no longer embody its function. When the protesting placard is viewed as an accepted tool it can no longer facilitate the same social change because it is too identifiable and as a result too easy to dismiss. This arguably renders any message or slogan present functionless, redundant and by extension apathetic.  This new iconographic and sociological status of placard cannot empower in the manner that revolutionary practice requires it to but instead rob it of the power it originally had as a tool for revolt. There are examples throughout our culture of revolutionary figures which have been iconographised and have been culturally assimilated, as a result they’re identification as revolutionary figures is neutered of potential revolutionary content. A placard as an identifiable object cannot be used to facilitate social change because it is too much a part of a system which by its nature is problematic. By extension the act of protesting in the traditional placard based manner can no longer function as an effective act of revolt.

Sarah and Kasper Protesting

Paula Protesting

Luke and Beth Protesting

This is me apppropiating information from a show I was recently part of in tribute to the conceptual basis of said show.

“The Make and Do Societies group show is opening on Monday 17th May at 8pm and running till Wednesday 19th May in FABER Studios on Catherine Street, Limerick.

The collective are presenting a fresh approach to the standard group show by collaborating under the concept of copyleft. Copyleft subverts the term copyright by questioning notions of authorship, appropriation and freedom of information.

Further Events
Open Film Night on Tuesday 18th May at 8pm. Presenting a selection of shorts. All welcome to bring work on DVD/USB format, time limit 10mins negotiable.

Open Performance Night on Wednesday 19th May at 8pm. All welcome to perform. Including Limerick’s first and only experimental art choir ‘Oscar Mike + Der Kunsthummers’ with their debut concert.

Exhibition and additional nights are completely free to the public.

Search for ‘Make and Do Society presents COPYLEFT’ on Facebook.”

The Grey Cabinet Group Show Exhibition of works by Fine Art students at LSAD ran from January 10th – 29th 2010.
Peter Morgan selected the show by means of open submission. 

Exhibiting artists included:
Anastasia Artemera, Aoife Barrett, Lotte Bender, Paula Bourke-Girgis, Ray Boyle, Ana Carey, Gary Dempsey, Sarah Feehily, Lorna Flynn, Beth Fox, Aideen Greenlee, Cian Hackett, Amy Hanley, Shane Harrington, Sandra Hickey, Luke Howlin, Dave Kissane, Steve Maher, Joe Nolan, Mike O’Brien, Cian O’Donoghue, Maurice Reidy, Paul Ryan, Orlagh Spain, Ian Tully, Bella Walsh. 

Photographs by Matthew Gidney 

This is a china cabinet containing three sceneries each contained within cake tin.

http://b1nman.deviantart.com/

Deviant Illustration

I used to be on deviant art like every day but stopped using the site because it didn’t seem professional enough and like Behance it has become too design and social networking orientated. On the page are an absolute ton of my old illustrations, it even has a few of my early gig posters from all those years back. Take a look if it interests you and you want to see the work that made the work that I make today.

kanyic(or something), Chris Boland and Aidan Kelleher

I was Recently asked to participate in Faber Studios latest show Four Play.

Faber Studios is an artist collective, studio and gallery based in Limerick City and consisting four members,

Chris Boland, Sarah Bolger, Clive Moloney and Stephen Neary.

“Our aim is to promote and facilitate Sculpture in Limerick City. We aim to create a working environment for emerging artists which will allow them to continue and develop their art practice. We want to provide adequate space and facilities for artists interested in object making and experimentation with 3D materials. We are interested in Artists with a high standard of critical thinking, motivation and dedication to their art practice.”

The show featured work by Karen Coill, Patrick Keaveney and Stillhouse(Dan Canham/Laura Dannequin/Will Hanke). The exhibition runs for a week until the 8th of April.

I Look Down On You Because I am Falling From A Great Height.

This is part of a series of work I am currently occupying my self with. This particular piece was featured in Table of Contents under the Workspace project. Each artist was asked to contribute a depiction of a workspace in accordance to there interpretation. This results in submited work which is in progress and offers insight as to how these artists opperate. Acompanying this work was a shortArtist-Statement/Prose.

One lone figure leaves his car and climbs a mountain; this journey is the figures ascension. At the breach of this mountain there is a stairway which alludes to an even higher place. The function of the stairway is undeclared but arguably emphasises the impressiveness of a possible descent. Our hierarchal aspirations for power, our ascent which we laud and venerate are finite and destructive. In this way all ascents are descents, what we contemplate on this precipice is…………

I Look Down On You Because I Am Falling From A Great Height

Dead Astronaut

I got confirmation yesterday about succeeding in securing a position the Limerick School Of Art and Design 2009 open drawing award. Hooray for Me!!!!

The work will be my comics previously featured on www.someblindalleys.com, I will sell 20 editions of my self published comics for 5 euro each. I will update this post with the new cover, Modern Guilt#1.

Deep and Meaningless

The Multiples art project is now running in the window of the Monster Truck building. So just come down and take a look – it’s very exciting!!! Curated by Nina Tanis

Stephen’s work “Deep and Meaningless” is tightly controlled in its use of a miniature model tree in scale with a domestically used cup.  His concern with the apparently mundane aspects of our society comes out in this multiple.  The use of a humble tin cup containing a would-be giant in the nature – a tree- is seemingly metaphoric for his interest in the innate claustrophobia in our modern psychology.

For more information go to

http://monstertruck.ie/blog/?page_id=2448

Two comics feature on www.someblindalleys.com

I was recently feature on http://someblindalleys.com/index.php/2009/08/27/two-comics/, check it out!

click on the image for linkage.

The Hidden Presence of The Sacred Shop-Front

The Hidden Presence of The Sacred-

Maher’s work “The Hidden Presence of The Sacred” is a miniature model of an Irish field containing three electrical pile-ons. Power plants are spaces unlike ordinary cultural places, they are spaces connected with all parts of the city, state or society, without them these could not function, Yet, these spaces are considered dangerous and health damaging. These spaces exist in order for society to continue and yet are considered undesirable locations for any other purpose, it is a space that’s proximity death and disease. Maher is concerned with the major anxiety of our age being not time but space. This work deals with the innate claustrophobia in our modern psychology.

The Hidden Presence of The Sacred

Concept: This window display is a group exhibition by The Grey Cabinet artists. For this exhibtion The Grey Cabinet artists have made three individual site specific artworks in response to: Michel Foucault’s 1967  Essay; Of Other Spaces. This Essay deals with ideals with ideas surrounding heterotopias. Heterotopias are spaces that have real world geography but do not solely exist in the real world. Foucault describes hetrotopia as alternative, phantasmagorical, and ordinary space where transience and timelessness intersect with normal and ideal constructs of chronology, identity, sexuality, and reality. Heterotopias can be described as a material space as well as a conceptual, virtual, urban, and even geopolitical spatial construct, including hinterlands, wonderlands, borderlands, brothels and vacant spaces. Heterotopia is an unwieldy collection of other space including museums, military camps, colonies, libraries, and cemeteries.

Additional Information:

The Grey Cabinet is an artist led initiative consisting of artists:

Sarah Feehily

Beth Fox

Steve Maher

The Grey Cabinet is currently trying to locate a space in Limerick City Centre in which to run a non-commercial gallery space with the aim of creating a dynamic, innovative and creative environment in Limerick’s City Centre.