Bloomsday 2011: Joyce and Dublin Art & Architecture
Lotus Eaters & linseed oil
“By lorries along sir John Rogerson’s quay Mr Bloom walked soberly, past Windmill lane, Leask’s the linseed crusher’s…”
James Joyce, Ulysses , Chapter 5: Lotus Eaters (Image courtesy of National Library of Ireland, (NLI, LROY 3114)
“Leask’s the linseed crusher’s” referred to the oilseed crushing business on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin owned by one Henry Martyn Leask, a native of Glasgow who lived at Crofton Terrace overlooking the harbour at Dún Laoghaire[1]. He was a relative of Harold J. Leask, author of several publications on medieval Irish architecture that are still key texts for students and researchers today. During his career as Inspector of National Monuments between 1923 and 1949, Harold Leask made a substantial contribution to the preservation and conservation of Ireland’s cultural heritage.
His publications include Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings and Irish Castles and Castellated Houses. His work has been researched by scholars[2] and was the subject of a recent seminar in the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI[3]) of which Leask is a past-President.
He designed a number of public buildings during his career including post offices, coastguard stations and the present Garda station at Pearse Street with its quirky medieval-inspired detailing such as this head carving of a Dublin Metropolitan policeman.
He also designed the Irish classroom in the University of Pittsburgh’s ‘Cathedral of Learning’; the designs were modeled on the 12th century medieval monument Cormac’s Chapel on the Rock of Cashel. [4]
An archive of Leask’s papers have been deposited with the RSAI by the family of the late Con Costello, the Kildare historian who was bequeathed the material by Leask’s widow Ada K. Leask (neé Longfield) herself a noted medieval historian. There are also collections of his papers in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, the National Library of Ireland and the Office of Public Works archive in the National Archives.
© Caroline McGee
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Harry Kernoff and Davy Byrnes
Traversing the city streets on foot was central to Harry Kernoff’s life and artistic practice as walking through the city streets he discovered scenes that he would sketch and later rework in his art. Theo Snoddy quotes Maurice MacGonigal as saying that he ‘walked the city with Kernoff, who wandered’. In his essay, ‘The city in Irish culture’, Declan Kiberd remarks on the habit of Dublin people in the early twentieth century to navigate the city on foot; ‘in the Dublin of those years, everyone was a flâneur (sic), a stroller in a city still felt to be cheerfully negotiable.’ Arguably, in Leopold Bloom, Joyce exemplified this type of Irish flâneur.
Walking is at the heart of Ulysses and Kernoff’s daily routine, and for both the fictional Bloom and the real life artist it was the means of observing the city and meeting acquaintances. Davy Byrne’s on Duke Street was one of the leading literary pubs in Dublin during the twentieth century. Described by Bloom as a ‘moral pub’, Kernoff completed view of the pub in Davy Byrne’s Pub, from the Bailey (1941). A detailed pencil sketch is in the Harry Kernoff Archive at the National Gallery of Ireland and shows a faithful recording of the scene as the artist saw it, complete with comprehensive notations about colouring. In two colour preparatory studies, Kernoff experiments with different elements of the composition, evident in the inclusion of two notices hanging on the wall on either side of the window which advertise (in the finished oil version) Brinsley McNamara’s Look at the Heffernan’s at the Abbey Theatre, and a Hilton Edwards and Michael MacLiammoir production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Gate Theatre. Kernoff was acquainted with all three of these men (McNamara, Edwards and MacLiammoir) and had produced portraits of them. The artist also repeatedly changes other elements of the composition; the hat on the figure walking past the outside of the Bailey; the items on the bar; the reflections of other people in the bar, and of course, his own self-portrait reflected in the mirror over the bar.
© Katy Milligan
[1]Census return for Henry M. Leask, 1901 http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Dublin/Kingstown/Crofton_Terrace/1318679/
[2] Carey, Anne, ‘Harold G. Leask: Aspects of his work as Inspector of National Monuments’, JRSAI, 133, 2003 pp. 24-35 http://www.rsai.ie/index.cfm?action=obj.display&obj_id=132#carey
[3] Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland http://www.rsai.ie/
[4] During the RSAI seminar on March 12, Roger Stalley (TCD) presented a paper on Leask’s work at Pittsburgh.
Silence is golden?
Well it may be for some but not, we hope, for CHIRA followers….we’ve been a little quiet here of late as our Editorial team is reduced 
Until we are back to full capacity we will be blogging infrequently. We hope that won’t stop you from checking back with us…..perhaps it might even encourage you to contribute to the blog? Email the Eds. chiradublin@gmail.com with your suggestions.
Calling all researchers of medieval history!!
Would you like to present your research at the fantastic, premier conference for medievalists (where they even have their *own* special brew: Congress Ale!!) – the International Medieval Congress in University of Leeds in July? There are several last minute calls for papers on the Institute of Medieval Studies website including one for the panel that CHIRA member Colleen M. Thomas (TCD) is presenting on: Session 123 on July 11 - Monastic Living: Concept, Building, and Imagery. http://tiny.cc/ahaq9
Colleen recently presented her research at Kalamazoo – the largest annual conference of medievalists in America. Her review will be available shortly. You can find out more about the research that Colleen is doing in the Trinity Long Room Hub here: http://www.tcd.ie/longroomhub/the-institute/about-us/thomas-blurb.php
CHIRA members are quite the conference globetrotters you know!
Susan Galavan, postgraduate researcher at TRIARC – the Trinity Irish Art Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin and and Caroline McGee, researcher on the Reconstructions of the Gothic Past Project (IRCHSS) will be presenting their research at the forthcoming annual conference of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland (SSNCI) in the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool (June 30-July 1) The theme for this year’s conference is Irish Elites in the Nineteenth Century. More info on how to register and the programme can be found on their site: http://irishelites.wordpress.com/
And…..drum-roll please!……
Congratulations also due to more CHIRA members, Jennifer Fitzgibbon, Jane Humphries and Kathryn Milligan, also from TRIARC, TCD). They will be presenting their research at the 1st Global conference on the critical issues of Space/Place which is happening in Mansfield College, Oxford in September. http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/ethos/space-and-place/details/
‘Artists in the World’: Dublin, May 29 @1pm
As part of the Dublin Writers Festival, Fallon & Byrne (Exchequer Street, Dublin) is the venue tomorrow Sunday May 29, for a discussion on the impact and influence of art in world events. It will be chaired by newly-minted Senator & artistic director of the Abbey, Fiach Mac Conghail and the panel includes artist Rita Duffy together with writers Hisham Matar and Fadia Faqir.
So….we have art, artists, lively chat (we *know* it will be great!) as well as great nosh and vino……pretty good combo we think, so we’re going!
Tickets still available here: http://www.dublinwritersfestival.com/event/artists-in-the-world-hisham-matar-fadia-faqir-fiach-mac-conghail-rita-duffy
Are you around on Wednesday next – June 1? The fourth Dublintellectual event will take place then……follow @dublintell on Twitter for the latest info on location & time of this
Do have a look at CHIRA member Hugh Denard”s blog for the Old Abbey Digital project which now has videos of the reconstructed Abbey Theatre from 1904. We attended the launch in April – think we can safely say that Hugh’s speech was the most impassioned defence of the value of humanities research in today’s Ireland: inspiring stuff it was indeed!!
http://blog.oldabbeytheatre.net/archives/771
You can also listen to the RTE report, broadcast on April 15th last, about the project here: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_culturefile.xml
Articles:
On ‘The Little Review’ blog:
‘Arts degrees. Please take one’… Is a humanities degree worth the paper it’s written on? (Niamh Cullen)
Conference:
Irish Elites in the Nineteenth Century 17th International Conference of the SSNCI, Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool 30 June – 01 July, 2011
Symposiums:
Care, Cures and Charms: health provision in medieval and early modern Ireland, Saturday 9 April 2011, 9.45-16.30
2011 IAAH/Artefact Study Day at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, 9 April 2011
Careers:
Goldsmiths University of London is looking for Lecturer MFA Fine Art
Finnish Academy of Fine Arts is looking for Professor in Contemporary Art and Moving Image.
The National Gallery of Ireland invites applications for the position of Director
Events:
Talk: Artist Tristan Perich, 6th April, 4pm, Long Room Hub Building, Trinity College Dublin
Exhibition opening & performance: Toine Horvers at Pallas Projects, 6th April 2011 at 7pm – 9pm. Performance starts at 8pm.
Artist Talk and Screening: Grace Weir at Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 7th April, 6 pm
Lecture: W B Yeats: tracing history and the creation of a new Ireland, Professor Declan Kiberd, 6.30pm 7 April, National Gallery of Ireland
News:
Professor Patrick Prendergast was elected Provost of Trinity College Dublin today. He will be the 44th Provost of the College and will take over from the current Provost, Dr John Hegarty, on 1 August 2011.
Review:
CHIRA members were well represented at international conferences this week and that we will be publishing the reviews of these conferences next week.
Tuesday 05 April 2011
On ‘The Little Review’ blog:
‘Arts degrees. Please take one’… Is a humanities degree worth the paper it’s written on? (Niamh Cullen) To read: http://thelittlereview.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/arts-degrees-please-take-one-is-a-humanities-degree-worth-the-paper-its-written-on/
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Tuesday 29 March 2011
‘Sure they only work six hours a week’: Defending Irish academia By Patrick WalshTo read the article please see: http://thelittlereview.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/sure-they-only-work-six-hours-a-week-defending-irish-academia/
What’s the point of universities? By Niamh Cullen
For details see: http://thelittlereview.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/whats-the-point-of-universities/
We just discovered a super interesting blog tiled ‘Two Nerdy History Girls’: Have a read! http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2011/03/breakfast-links-week-of-march-21-2011.html
Two great online resources for anyone who might be researching the cultural history of the Irish diaspora:
Archives of Irish America at the Glucksman Ireland House NYU: http://irelandhouse.as.nyu.edu/page/archivesirishamerica
Full catalogues available here: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/
http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/
DIPPAM: an online virtual archive of documents and sources relating to the history of Ireland and its migration experience from the 18th to late 20th centures. http://www.dippam.com/
The Abbey Theatre, 1904 project is creating a digital model of the old Abbey Theatre as it was on its opening night, 27th December 1904. This new, 3-dimensional model, which will be launched at the Samuel Beckett Centre on 15th April 2011, will open up fresh ways of exploring the stories and histories of the early years of the National Theatre.
Have a look Niall Ó hOisín’s latest video, showing results from Day 3 of his modelling of the Old Abbey Theatre. http://blog.oldabbeytheatre.net/archives/451
The Abbey Theatre, 1904 project is an initiative by King’s College London historian, Dr Hugh Denard, in association with Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room Hub and Dublin-based, digital graphics company, NOHO
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Arts Digest: Questioning the Sustainability of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Designs
Crowdfunding has helped bankroll movies, albums, exhibitions and books – and as Irish artists face dwindling resources this alternative type of ‘public’ funding is about to get more popular.
Read about CROWDFUNDING here: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0308/1224291575342.html
HERE’S AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE HAVE FOR YOU THIS WEEK – REMEMBER TO GO TO THE INDIVIDUAL PAGES FOR THE FULL SCOOP!
Articles:
- On ‘The Little Review” blog: ‘Sure they only work six hours a week’: Defending Irish academia (Patrick Walsh) What’s the point of universities? (Niamh Cullen)
- An interesting blog – ‘Two Nerdy History Girls’
- Two great online resources for anyone who might be researching the cultural history of the Irish diaspora
- The Abbey Theatre, 1904 project
Colloquia:
- Reconstructions of the Gothic Past – A Colloquium Exploring the Perceptions, Reception and Uses of Gothic Architecture from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Day –registration open!
- Empires & Bureaucracy: A Colloquium Exploring the Comparative History of European Empires From Late Antiquity to the Modern World – Register now!
- “Reconstructing the Revival: Interdisciplinary Approaches.”
Careers:
- Belltable Arts Centre Seeks Artistic Director
- Research Fellow (Strategic Award Postdoctoral Fellowship) at University of Warwick
- Teaching Associate in International History at University of Sheffield
Events:
- Poetry reading: Harry Clifton, Wed 30 Mar 7.30pm Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin
- Talk: On Collecting, Presenting and Mediating at The LAB, Dublin, 31 March 2011, 3pm, The LAB, Foley Street
- Lecture: The Artist Jack B Yeats – an early modernist, Dr. Roisin Kennedy, 31 March : 6.30pm National Gallery Ireland Dublin
- Lecture: The life and work of Cúán Ua Lothcháin, Dr Clodagh Downey, Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, Thursday, 31st March 2011 at 7.30pm
- Lecture: Colin Graham ‘Motionless Monotony’: New Nowheres in Irish Photography, Friday 1 April 2011 at 4pm
- Talk: ‘The Liminal’ John Hutchinson will give a talk on the Shiva linga paintings, ‘Spiritual Voices’. Wednesday 6 April 2011, 1:15pm
- Lecture: W B Yeats: tracing history and the creation of a new Ireland, Professor Declan Kiberd, 6.30pm 7 April, National Gallery of Ireland
- Event: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s Moon Water- Dublin Dance Festival at Light house Cinema
- Exhibitions Opening: Shiva Linga Paintings and Alexander Sokurov ‘Spiritual Voices’ (From the war diaries) at The Douglas Hyde Gallery, 31 March 2011, 6 – 7:30pm
- Register for: National Gallery of Ireland Spring Drawing Course 8 May – 26 June
LATEST
Articles:
Arts Digest: Questioning the Sustainability of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Designs
Call for Papers:
Women’s History Association of Ireland, 2011 Conference, UCC, 27 – 28 May
Myths, Legends and Folklore Cardiff University 17 May 2011 – 18 May 2011
Early Modern Architecture – Request for Ph.D. dissertation information
Careers:
Director, National Gallery of Ireland
Science Gallery is currently recruiting a Fundraiser/Development Manager
Art Handler, National Gallery of Ireland
Research Assistant Institute of Archaeology University College London
Assistant Professor Department of History University of Warwick
Conferences:
CFP:Women’s History Association of Ireland, UCC 27-28 May
CFP: Myths, Legends and Folklore, Cardiff University, 17-18 May
Events:
Graphics Unleashed, Blueleaf Gallery
‘Street Life’, photographs by Liam Murphy, Mad Art Gallery.
Artisit? Graduate Exhibition.
Kennedy Browne: ‘How Capital Moves’, Limerick City Gallery of Art
William Heffer, ‘Dublin Flats’, Dublin social housing photographic exhibition at IAA
Three new exhibitions at IMMA: Old Master Prints, Philip Taaffe: Anima Mundi and Les Levine: Mindful Media – Works from the 1970s
Filming the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
News: Manifesta 9 Announces Location and Curatorial Team for 2012
LATEST
Articles : ‘Crowdfunding’ – new fundraising ideas for arts projects in difficult times
Call for Papers: Tudor and Stuart Ireland Conference University College Dublin (Closing 29 April)
Careers: Queen’s University Belfast – Extended deadline for bursary applications that were due on Friday
Conferences: ‘The new scientists in Ireland’- a tribute to Rolf and Madga Loeber; Culture after Conflict: Between Remembrance and Reconciliation; Association of Art Historians (UK); Scotland and Beyond: Medieval Carved Stones; Irish Elites in the Nineteeth Century
Events: It’s all about literature this week!
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