'A picture paints a thousand words' is an adage that most of us will identify with, whether the subject item be a painting or a photograph.

 

We are delighted to dedicate a section of our website to the exhibit of locally produced art, initially paintings and photographs. Of course, art includes other mediums, including poetry, creative writing, story-telling, dance, culinary pursuit and others, all of which have great appeal, variously, to the human senses, providing pleasure and enjoyment across the wide spectrum. We hope that local art from within the wider definition will feature on this website into the future. Please Contact Us if you would like your art to be showcased here - we will be delighted.

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What is art? An interesting description of ‘the arts’ is provided by Wikipedia:

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“The arts is a general term for the theory and physical expression of creativity found in human societies and cultures. Major constituents of the arts include literature – including poetry, novels and short stories, and epic poetry; performing arts – among them music, dance and theatre; culinary arts such as baking, chocolatiering and winemaking; media arts like photography and cinematography, and visual arts – including drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpting. Some art forms combine a visual element with performance (e.g. film) or artwork with the written word (e.g. comics). From prehistoric cave paintings to modern day films, art serves as a vessel for storytelling and conveying humankind’s relationship with its environment.”

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While photography is a relatively modern phenomenon – the invention was announced in Paris in 1839, the oldest known paintings are approximately 40,000 years old, according to the Wikipedia history of painting:

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“The oldest known paintings are approximately 40,000 years old. José Luis Sanchidrián at the University of Cordoba, Spain, believes the paintings are more likely to have been painted by Neanderthals than early modern humans. Images at the Chauvet Cave in France are thought to be about 32,000 years old. They are engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and show horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth or humans often hunting. There are examples of cave paintings all over the world—in France, India, Spain, Portugal, China, Australia etc.”

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“Various conjectures have been made as to the meaning these paintings had to the people that made them. Prehistoric men may have painted animals to "catch" their soul or spirit in order to hunt them more easily or the paintings may represent an animistic vision and homage to surrounding nature. They may be the result of a basic need of expression that is innate to human beings, or they could have been for the transmission of practical information.”

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There is clearly a distinction to be drawn between photography and painting. Both can represent the same object, but they provide totally different perceptions to us on the object. Typically, photography is commonly considered as a realistic expression, while painting can be significantly impressionist.

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For years, people have been asking the question - is photography art? According to The Guardian, at an early meeting of the Photographic Society of London, established in 1853, one of the members complained that the new technique was "too literal to compete with works of art" because it was unable to "elevate the imagination". This conception of photography as a mechanical recording medium never fully died away. But over subsequent decades the question was heard with ever decreasing frequency. When Andreas Gursky’s photograph of a grey river Rhine,  under an equally colourless sky, sold for a world record price of £2.7 million in 2011, the debate was effectively over.

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Local Artist - Kathy Tiernan, Painter

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Kathy Tiernan is a wonderful painter, and her works are highly regarded, admired and enjoyed locally and well beyond. We are delighted and honoured that Kathy has chosen a number of her paintings to exhibit on this website. We hope that she will add others over time. We hope that many, having been smitten by Kathy's beautiful art, may decide to acquire one or more of her works. 

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In  praise of the humble photograph

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We simply love our photographs and we cherish them for the memories that they have captured for posterity. We protect them for our children and those to follow us. Even today, when video is so readily and affordably available, the photograph still has pride of place for most of us. What is it about the photograph that is so compelling? Is it tradition? Is it the ease with which images can be taken now with mobile phones and other gadgets? Is it it the appeal of the printed copy, so easily and repeatedly accessible? Is it because we can hang our favourite 'snaps' on the walls of our homes or display them on furniture, where we can gaze upon them at will? Is it the moment in time, captured with a click? Is it that browsing our photographs, whether digitized or hard copy, can be done at our own pace, requiring little or no technical expertise? Is there something special that the printed image imparts to the senses, more powerfully than any other medium?  Is it the 'story' that a photograph can instantly convey to the viewer - perhaps the expression on a face or the body language that is evident, or, maybe, the magnificence of nature trapped in that fraction of a second? Perhaps it is all of these and more! 

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In any event, we take great joy from 'pulling out' or 'taking down' our photographs, old and not so old, and recalling new born infants, baptisms, communions, confirmations, birthdays, graduations, weddings and a host of other life events including sporting occasions. We remember the past and marvel at the impact of the passage of time. Of course, the photograph can frequently bring on sadness as we remember a loved one, no longer living. But, even in that sadness, the photograph can also be comforting as it opens the memory flood-gates to happier times before death. That photograph of a deceased loved one, hanging on a wall, can bring great comfort and a sense of ongoing nearness.

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And so, it is appropriate to dedicate a section on our website to photography, and it is hoped that, over time, many personal collections will be posted here. Should you wish to compile a collection of photographs, old and new, black & white and colour, a single image or many, please contact us and we will arrange to have your images scanned and posted here. Electronic copies will be most welcome. We would encourage the provision of captions, but they are not absolutely necessary.

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In the meantime, you can view here a selection of photographs taken by Declan Hehir, professional photographer and a number of galleries from the collection of Mike Barry, enthusiastic, skilled and prolific photographer.

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In due course, we hope to add a black & white collection, capturing many of those older photographs from times well past, and we, therefore, encourage people to make their old photographs available to us for scanning - the originals will be carefully protected and returned to their owners without delay.