Cassandra Voices

Tag: Dublin art scene

  • Featured Artist: Aga Szot & The Icon Factory

    Why?

    A decade has passed since my individual and community artistic adventure began in Dublin. I very often hear about how lucky I am to have my own live painting studio, interactive installation in the middle of Temple Bar, but I know luck had very little to do with it.

    Ten years ago I walked those streets of Temple Bar and no one could have imagined it would be possible to walk those lanes. It was a NO GO area and even Dubliners did not walk there. They were identified as dark spaces, and with anti-social behaviour, public toilets and worse. There was no reason why people would choose to walk there.

    Now our art projects attract hundreds every day into the area, and are included in national tour guides, indicated as one of the most popular attractions in the area: an art centre which invites artists to participate in the project with its educational and civilised mission. We made this space safer and a better place for all.

    That involved less luck than a lot of hard work, determination, passion, love and seeing the possibility of creating impossibly. It was an idea and vision to create something out of nothing. That is what makes creativity so special. We did the impossible.


    As a young artist, graduating from a university with a Fine Arts degree I dreamed about white walls in beautiful galleries and my work being exhibited there. It turned out white walls were not my destiny.

    I ask myself ‘WHY’ the dark abandoned streets where no one would like to be? No white walls and lighted shop windows. Unconsciously, I decided to be inspired and say ‘YES’. After seeing what we did I now understand better why that was.

    Art is an action for me. I experience creativity as a development of new ideas in my charity and individual work. It is also an activity which makes a difference. I like my art and social engagement to be part of a transformation, sometimes physical, sometimes behavioural.  I pay strong attention in my work to connecting with the simple fact that art is part of our humanity, something which adds to us as humans.

    The purpose of art is to make us experience something: a feeling, an insight, a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves – that mystery that we are.

    This is what I need from art, and why the world would be impoverished without art and artists of all kinds.


    The visual images I create work towards an analysis of human relationships at different points of development in our life cycles. At any given time in the process of my work the individual paintings will be linked by a common interest, a thread of analysis that is stretched across a series of works. Taken together they pose particular questions – focus on particular phases of life, and draw attention to how relationships develop.

    Often my artworks contain scripts; short commentaries, antonyms or dictionary definitions. These are sometimes provocative additions to re-stimulate the viewer towards the analysis of a scene.

    The technique I use (oil, ink, collage) allows me to pose questions in each painting. Each painting asks the viewer to visually punctuate the image by inserting his or her own points or marks in the unfinished sentence that is the painting – the life depicted there.
    My paintings are both figurative and abstract, highly contemporary and visually arresting in my use of colour and black ink. They are intended to carry my ideas but are also open to many interpretations as well.

    Aga Szot Art Studio – Live Painting Studio Installation

    The motivation to create this installation came from some fundamental ideas I share with many artists and cultural commentators on the function and role of art for us humans. It also came from some specific ideas I had about the particular location in which it is set, that is Temple Bar, here in Dublin.

    Firstly I share the view with many others that art is vital for the soul. In creating or sharing an experience of art we learn a lot about ourselves and our world. Through art we connect with our inner selves and with each other. We form cultural bonds across a common human community dissolving inner and outer boundaries, boundaries of self and other, of race, place and time.


    I firmly believe that we need art in public spaces – not just finished art, but venues that de-mystify the artistic process, that offer non-artists the chance to share in that process. Many pop-up projects have existed in the city offering a brief chance for pedestrians to encounter artists at work. This installation, I feel, extends the opportunity for people to pause and interact with the creation of art – to reflect on this process and to experience what I’ve outlined as the benefits of encounters with art, that expansion of the self and soul, that breaking of boundaries, that chance to connect with things beyond ourselves.

    Aga Szot Art Studio is an idea to create an art installation, which is at the same time an art studio where I can work on a regular basis and allow people to watch me painting; a place where people can see an artist’s work environment; where they can see a work developing and coming into being in front of them. It is a special experience, watching artists at work, witnessing the process of creation.

    Watching an artist at work can, for both artist and audience, fixate us in ‘the amber of the moment’ and can offer a unique encounter, much more than a mere visual sight – an insightful experience.

    The Icon Walk & The Icon Factory

    By establishing an open-air cultural installation we have, for the most part, rescued the back lanes from petty criminality and improved the amenity of the entire Temple Bar area. The Icon Walk is a free open-air public art installation that promotes Irish culture and heritage.
    We use art as an educational tool and promote culture. Practice and media we use help us to communicate and encourage citizens to think differently about their environments.

    Our presence in the area has reduced crime through the use of Art/Culture and encourages a new role for artists in urban areas and society. The Icon Walk is affiliated with The Icon Factory, a not-for-profit artists’ gallery. The gallery promotes artists, provides training (internships), and experience to artists, and offers a chance for artists to display their work on The Icon Walk.

    The Icon Walk has been credited with reducing crime in the area, increasing visitor satisfaction and has been praised as offering a new educational tool to the many student groups that visit the city. As several of its larger art works feature Irish writers, of all genres, The Icon Walk has been endorsed by the city’s UNESCO City of Literature office as an important site for the celebration of Irish literary talent and culture.

    All Artworks present are by Aga Szot.

    All photographs are published by kind courtesy of the Authors.

  • Artist of the Month – Keshet Zur

    Poiesis, from the Ancient Greek: ποίησις meaning knowing by making, is ‘the activity in which a person brings something into being that did not exist before.’[i]

    It is the process of shaping as opposed to doing. It is not imposed; it is a process of listening; of working with. In an interview with Meredith Monk on her process she said, ‘I have to keep following it, and see what it needs.’[ii]

    When we shape we are in dialogue with material, not merely self-expressing, but also being open to the unexpected, tapping into what some call ‘flow’; something beyond the self.

    Origins

    When I first moved to Ireland in 2002, I studied fine art in KCAT, an art centre with an inclusion policy where people with artistic talent, regardless of neurotypical or diverse definitions, all studied together. It meant my introduction to the stance taken by second level art education was inclusive, and never elitist.

    I then moved to Dublin to study photography at Griffith College and pursue a longstanding dream to become a photographer. Having been introduced to photography at the age of ten, by twelve I was developing my own film and printing photos in the dark room.

    I loved the tangibility of photography, and so the rise of digital photography initially brought heartache; I continued to crave the craft element. One of the ways I experimented was in creating sculptural photography, but it felt as if I had to make a hard case for it within my photography course.

    I was on the road to completing my degree, while at the same time working for a youth service in the inner city, teaching cooking and setting up a community garden.

    All the while attending exhibition openings and getting a taste of Dublin’s art scene, I was aware that the children and adults I was meeting through my work were not exposed to the galleries I was visiting, nor were they necessarily spaces in which they would have felt welcome.

    My final photographic project was about the changing structure of family life in Ireland, and the gaps in legal services to represent their interests. By the end of the degree I came to realize that as much as I loved working with art, pursuing it as a solo career was not going to be enough. I wanted to learn more about bridging the two worlds of art and community.

    Expressive Art Therapy

    A month after graduating I began an MA in Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) at The European Graduate School. I felt an immediate connection to the philosophy of EXA and its method of practice. EXA embraces intermodality, working with multiple forms within one session.

    Suddenly my impulse for tangible photography needed no explanation. As with other therapy styles, the therapist creates a frame of trust by providing an environment free of judgment where a client feels held. With EXA, however, the element of art is what moves us into action.

    The arts provide a safe container for the unknown to emerge, as we step away from linear thought patterns to discover the new. We suffer when we feel paralyzed and hopeless, and when what we perceive as possible feels restricted. Working with the imagination creates unrestricted openings wherein we feel empowered and excited to move into action.

    ‘Who the city belongs to?’ Print on wood with nails and thread. 
    This work was made in July 2019 out of frustration with the current housing crisis. 

    In 2010, I co-founded Expressive Arts Ireland with my parents, both of whom are expressive art therapists. Since then we have been facilitating professional and self-development workshops and collaborating with international universities.

    Initially, while working with the intermodal approach our core subjects differed; my own photography; my father’s storytelling; and my mother’s nature; nowadays one flows into the other.

    Environment

    It has become increasingly important for me to work with nature. Natural disasters around the world had been overwhelming me to a point of despair and numbness.

    Last September we decided to offer a weekend workshop integrating arts and nature. We worked with people’s inherent connection to nature, and in doing so broke down some of the boundaries separating ourselves from nature.

    By focusing on personal and individual stories we are reminded of human resilience which builds hope. Working with nature, we see ourselves as an intrinsic part of it, neither separate nor opposed.

    This thinking leads to new behaviour, which in turn leads to change; this leads to empowerment and ultimately system change. By regaining faith we foster the power to move into action.

    Curating 

    As well as working with Expressive Arts, I have also worked for community organizations and charities. In recent years I became an outreach facilitator for artists with autism, promoting participation and inclusion through the arts by curating exhibitions and supporting their careers.

    With Autism Initiatives I curated and coordinated a group show at the Mermaid Arts Centre in 2018 called INSIDEOUT / MAKERS, as well as an exhibition and associated publication entitled ‘Bringing About The New’, at The Lexicon Library in 2019.

    I am currently working independently with one of the artists from the group, who will launch his first solo show in 2021. At each exhibition the works were carefully handled, beautifully framed and presented, enhancing and fostering the artists’ pride and self-regard.

    How we respond to what is made and how we take care of it is no less valuable than the process of creation. Notably, artists revisiting the show following its opening related differently to the public space as they now felt a sense of ownership over it.

    Art spaces which promote diversity are beneficial to all members of society, as we advance through exposure to a wide range of views and experiences. Any progressive society must challenge prevailing understandings of value and ability. Art spaces can be forerunners in advocating for diversity.

    Art is an amazing communication tool for social change, with the capacity to convey messages through metaphor and by invoking emotional and contemplative responses. Through art we can work with what connects, rather than separates, us from one another.

    This performance took place in September, 2019 at a week long residential Body/Landscape workshop on Arranmore Island, Donegal, with the dancer and choreographer Frank van de Ven. 
    At various locations on the island, and in particular at the fisherman’s dock, I encountered sculptures of Mary. I learned that the fishermen prayed before going out to sea, some of them not knowing how to swim. For me it drew a connection with the natural crisis; people sending their prayers yet not being called into action.

    Art as an agent for change

    Life for me is about asking questions; without interrogation there is little capacity for change. But to be in a position to ask ourselves profound, life-altering questions, we need to feel acknowledged, loved and accepted.

    Only then can we embrace life’s uncertainties and provisionality. Art-making provides a frame within which we make sense of the world, while accessing an opportunity for shifts in thinking. William Kentridge describes his process as such: ‘The hope is the work itself will not just give you an answer, but even provide the questions and make connections you hadn’t thought of before.’[iii]

    I believe the personal is political and that in making changes in our lives we are taking part in collective transformation around the world. Embodiment of this notion ignites a fire within us to take responsibility and a pride in our capacity to contribute to shape a healthy society.

    I trust there are many others out there that desire and conceive of a better life for all. In supporting people to embark on an artistic journey through the expressive arts approach, and community engagement projects, I hope I am partaking in facilitating this global transformation.

    To find out more about Expressive Art Therapy and our upcoming workshops please visit www.expressiveartsireland.com

    Weekend Introduction Workshops 2020:

    Integrating the Arts of Storytelling With Expressive Arts Therapy

    March 20th, 21st, 22nd.

    Integrating Intermodal Arts and Photography With Expressive Arts Therapy.

    May 15th,16th,17th.

    Integrating Art and Nature in Expressive Arts Therapy

    September 25th  ,26th, 27th.

    [i] Donald Polkinghorne, Practice and the Human Sciences: The Case for a Judgment-Based Practice of Care, SUNY Press, 2004, p. 115.

    [ii] Meredith Monk, ‘I believe in the healing power of art,’ Tate Gallery, November 3rd, 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/videos/tateshots/meredith-monk-i-believe-healing-power-art

    [iii] William Kentridge, ‘Instructions on making sense of the world,’ Text by Kerri von Geusau, TLMag   https://tlmagazine.com/william-kentridge-instructions-on-making-sense-of-the-world/