the beckett suite: diarmuid delargy

Irish Arts Review

The Beckett Suite: Diarmuid DelargyReview by: Brian McAveraIrish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 22, No. 2 (Summer, 2005), p. 144Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503233 .

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CATALOGUES

TOM FITZGERALD the ministry of dust drawings

David King: Echoes Hallward Gallery, Dublin, 2005

pp 36 (unpaginated) oblong format, decora

tive card covers, ills 20 col No ISBN 10.00

Readability: * *

Reference Use: itirir?ft

Design & Durability: *****

Quality of Plates: _

King's work, images of park and garden in

Dublin and predominantly oil on linen

are photographically-based and, according

to the essay by Ciar?n Bennett 'explore

the more prosaic grandeurs of the built

environment'. Nicely produced, with a

one-page CV, and a clever essay by

Bennett which attempts to suggest a bio

morphic road to abstraction in the paint

ings. No list of illustrations

The West as Metaphor. Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin, 2005

pp 112 large format p/b ills 48 col

20.00 ISBN: 1-903875-22-6

Readability: *****

Reference Use: **-&-&-&



The exhibition itself, the first of two, has

had mixed reviews from the press, and by

all accounts doesn't work particularly well

as a coherent visual event. It was suggested

by Patrick T Murphy and curated by Dr

Yvonne Scott with Murphy as co-curator.

She has written the substantial text in the

catalogue. Despite some reservations about

the text itself, its strength is that it is a

deliberate and sustained attempt to speak

popularly to an audience without writing

'down' to them, as so many academics do.

It is largely jargon-free, and manages to

pack in a quite considerable range of ideas

and references, accompanied by brisk sen

sible notes and a solid bibliography.

Basically it's a series of mini essays on top

ics like the Construction of Identity or

Roads/Travel/Migration. However, the

notion of'metaphor' is blurred, as one is

never really sure whether the curator is

talking about artist's metaphor, or the

metaphoric uses to which social, economic

or politically based individuals have used

the artists' works for. That said, there is a

lot of interesting material here. One major

drawback relates to the excellent illustra

tions. The list of works is not alphabetical,

is not related to the order of the plates and

the illustrations themselves are not cross

referenced to the text. Nor is there an

index, so finding a work that the author is

discussing can be an infuriating business.

From Dark Passages: Ian Charlesworth_

Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast 2005

pp 44 (unpaginated) square format h/b

ills 23 col ?7.00 ISBN: 0-9549633-0-X

Readability: irfrftftft

Reference Use: **##-&

Design & Durability: ****-&


Ian Charlesworth is an English artist, cur

rently domiciled in Belfast, who has been

a very active protagonist on the Northern

Irish scene and who will be one of the

artists representing Northern Ireland at

this year's Venice Biennale. The current

catalogue was for a show which was a joint

venture between his Belfast gallery and a

gallery in Rome.

The illustrations are very good but the

essay by Gavin Murphy is pompous and

stuffed with references to Joyce, De Lillo, Adorno and Richard Hamilton amongst

others, which tell you a lot more about the

writer than the artist. Charlesworth

deserves better.

The Beckett Suite: Diarmuid

Delargy_ Galway Arts Centre/Taylor Galleries N.D.2005

pp 36 (unpaginated) oblong format, decora

tive card covers, ills 25 b/w No ISBN 10.00

Readability: ****-&

Reference Use: ***#-&



Catalogue to accompany a suite of 24

'etchings' (though actually etching,

engraving and aquatint), based on an

unfinished Beckett text, by one of the few

major Irish figures in the field. Beckett

gets his name writ large on the cover:

Delargy's is about half the size. Says it all

really. There is a three-page CV, a note by

Catherine Marshall and an essay by Patrick McCabe which tells us a huge amount about McCabe: I'm still not sure

whether it's meant to be a parody.

Tom Fitzgerald: the Ministry of Dust

Drawings_ Gandon Editions, 2004_

pp.32 Tall octavo, decorative card covers

ills 22 col ISBN: 0948037 10

Readability: Little to read

Reference Use: *****


Quality of Plates:

Published to accompany an exhibition at

the Limerick City of Art Gallery, this has

a three-page CV, a list of illustrations, and

a brief essay by Jim Savage. The drawings have the same quirky wit and humour that

you used to get in art college magazines by

the likes of 'Wee John' Carson. The titles

give you a good indication: Attempted cross

ing of the Atlantic in a lead balloon, or

Stairway to Heaven being replaced by Ladders

for reasons of Economy. Worth buying.

Modern Masters Ava Gallery, Bangor 2005_

pp 32 (unpaginated), ills 17 col small oblong

format, card covers. Free (except for p&p)

No ISBN number.

Readability: *****

Reference Use: * ?-&'&



Dealer's catalogue of work for sale, rang

ing from a Degas doodle to a small Lavery

oil. Notes by Dickon Hall, properly refer

enced. No list of plates.

Parable of the Prodigal Son:

Hughie O'Donoghue_ Fenton Gallery, Cork

2005_

pp 32 ills 30 col including 2 foldouts and

2 cover foldouts tall octavo with card covers.

15.00 No ISBN.

Readability: ****#

Reference Use: ****#


Quality of Plates:

Beautifully produced catalogue, elegantly

designed and illustrated with an essay by the artist on the genesis of the project and

a CV. Very stylish.B BRIAN MCAVERA is a playwright and art critic.

144 I

IRISH ARTS REVIEW SUMMER 2005

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.250 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:49:24 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions


the beckett suite: diarmuid delargy

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