Context Background:
The second phase of In Context, 1999-2003, continued the accomplishments of the In Context 1 Public Art Programme. It was the largest local authority art commissioning programme of its time, and subsequently was held as a model of good practice in Public Art programming. Through In Context 2, South Dublin County Council, advised by consultants Artworking, delivered a diverse series of projects under the auspices of the Per Cent for Art Scheme and funded through the Department of the Environment. This provided both emerging and established artists with an opportunity to engage with the community and to incorporate art into the public domain in new and interesting ways.
Description:
The Map is a limited edition book comprising 14 day and night images from the Tallaght area. Paul Seawright photographed the area between January and May 2000.
In taking these photographs, he was concerned with building his unique visual profile of the boundaries between the rural and the urban in Tallaght, where nature and culture collide.
The Map publication was then delivered free to circa 19,000 homes in the Tallaght area in late 2000. The works Horizon Night and Untitled form part of the County Council’s permanent art collection. Horizon Night was also incorporated into Stephen Gardner’s musical commission for In Context 2, and used on the CD cover. Gardner’s musical composition Tallaght (Chiarascuro) was similarily inspired by the complex shifting mood at the edges of urban and rural Tallaght area.
Artist Biography:
Paul Seawright is Professor of Photography at the University of Ulster, and was formerly Dean of Newport School of Art, Media and Design at the University of Wales, Newport, United Kingdom. He was awarded a personal chair by the University of Wales in 2001, and is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2005, the FotoMuseum Antwerp exhibited a major survey exhibition of his work with accompanying catalogue Field Notes. In 2002, he travelled to Afghanistan, having been commissioned by the Imperial War Museum, London, to respond to the attacks of Sept 11th and the subsequent war against the Taliban.
He was also the first editor of the Belfast based photography magazine Source and winner of the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s Glen Dimplex Art Award 1997. He is a native of Belfast.
Mediation:
Distribution of The Map to 19,000 South Dublin households was inherent to the project.
Article by Aidan Dunne, including photograph in The Irish Times on In Context 2, Monday February 5th, 2001
Article by Mic Moroney and photograph in MAGILL Magazine March 2001
Article by John Lee in Tallaght Echo Thursday 23rd November, 2000
Commissioner Type:
Local Authority
Commissioner:
South Dublin County Council SDCC
Programme:
In Context 2
PerCent for Art:
yes
Commissioning Process:
Open competition: two stage selection process. Part of a programmatic approach for In Context 2.
Funding:
Dept. of Environment Heritage and Local Government
Budget Range:
30,000 - 70,000
Project Start Date:
01/01/2000
Project End Date:
01/05/2000
Associated Professionals:
Project Manager: Artworking - Jenny Haughton & Aisling Prior