Image courtesy of The Irish Times 2011
And now back to the studio
*GEMMA TIPTON*
Sat, Oct 22, 2011
Artists’ studios have nothing of the mystique of galleries. A look
inside gives unexpected insights into their ways of working and the
things they draw inspiration from
THE VISITORS WHO peer into the Francis Bacon Studio at the Hugh Lane
gallery in Dublin aren’t just pilgrims coming to pay homage to the space
where Bacon created his paintings. There is also the sense, the hope,
that some of that creativity might rub off or that somewhere, in the
midst of the chaos Bacon worked in, we can gain an insight into the
source of his greatness.
Artists’ studios are fascinating places. Bacon liked disorder, but, as
you can find out today by visiting the workplaces of any of more than
250 Irish artists, in the Visit 2011 programme, order is more usual.
Perhaps it’s procrastination, and the impulse that says, “I can’t
possibly get down to work until all this is tidy.” Or maybe it’s to
ensure that once you’re in the flow of work, you won’t be distracted by
trying to find where you put down that red paint.
They are also unexpected. The noticeboard in Samuel Walsh’s studio in
rural Co Limerick is home to pictures of old masters’ paintings, even
though his own work, currently on view at Visual Carlow, is abstract and
contemporary. Many, including Nick Miller’s PT truck, which he converted
into a mobile studio and drives around the wilds of Co Sligo, are
covered in paint. Maud Cotter’s space in Cork city is a trove of the
mysterious and everyday objects that she uses in her fabulous creations.
There’s also a pleasant, casual feeling to the studio. Away from the
rarefied space of the gallery, no one speaks in whispers, and art is
handled rather than touched reverentially with gloved hands. You’ll find
an artist lick a finger to wipe a smear from a surface, or add a dab of
paint to something not quite finished. In the studio, an artwork is
still full of potential and hasn’t yet become a commodity. Perhaps
that’s why they are such exciting places.
Artists have different relationships with the spaces in which they make
their work. Donald Judd thought the studio was the perfect space for
viewing, and created a living museum of his own in Texas. Philip Guston
felt a sense of the separation between making and being, saying: “I am a
night painter, so when I come into the studio the next morning the
delirium is over. I come into the studio very fearfully, I creep in to
see what happened the night before. And the feeling is one of, ‘My God,
did I do that?’
Irish artists, who had been unwillingly at the vanguard of
gentrification, were squeezed out of their work spaces, particularly in
cities, during the boom. But groups such as Pallas took advantage of
unwanted buildings; one of their former homes was in a block of
condemned council flats. Studios are not confined to cities, though, and
the Good Hatchery in Co Offaly is an example of artists getting together
to create a workspace in a former hayloft.
Is there such a thing as the ideal studio? Most artists say they prefer
northern light, as it is constant and indirect. Beyond that, studios are
as varied and idiosyncratic as artists themselves. From Alice Maher and
Dermot Seymour, who built a modern studio as part of their house in Co
Mayo, to a whole Georgian building on Henrietta Street in Dublin, where
former tenements are now populated by artists, a phenomenal level of
creativity is going on behind closed doors.
You can get tantalising glimpses of studios in paintings, such as
Matisse’s /The Red Studio/ . You can see a reconstruction of the
sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s studio at the Pompidou Centre in Paris,
and that of FE McWilliam at Banbridge in Co Down.
Or make the most of Visit 2011 today, which also includes bus tours and
guided walking tours.
See www.visitstudios.com for more general lists of studios see www.asni.info
and www.visualartists.ie
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*Artist and insitution: Mary-Ruth Walsh*
‘I have been at Imma since June. The timing is funny, as I just built a
new studio in Co Wexford, where I live. It’s a beautiful space, but the
Imma studio is fantastic and really well run. I’m used to working in
different places. I had a residency in Philadelphia, which I remember
for being freezing cold: it was -8 outside. One of the pleasures of the
Imma studios is having other artists around. We have a good rapport, and
it’s plenty of fun between work.
‘Different spaces change my work. Any new space effects change, yet the
core of your work doesn’t really alter. In a new space I try to get
stuck straight in, to make the space my own. It takes a little time to
become friends with a new studio space – does that sound weird? I’ll
make drawings, research online, and I recently took up drinking
sparkling water instead of coffee, although I discovered dark chocolate
helps the concentration. Sometimes I’ll put music on.
“It has been a busy year, and I’ve just finished an installation, Real
E-State, where I put up an estate of town houses (without planning
permission), then auctioned them off. So now I’m working on editing the
film footage of that. Then there are some drawings about mapping for
Building Material, with the Architectural Association of Ireland, and
I’m currently working on a project with Katherine Waugh relating to
Eileen Gray.
“I collect many things, bits and pieces from everyday life, usually
making lots of notes, drawings and pictures that I edit and re-edit all
the time. I keep them in the studio, and eventually some go in the bin,
and some go on to better things. To be completely honest, the studio is
pretty untidy when I’m in the middle of getting work ready for a show.
Then, when I’m done, there’s a clean sweep and it’s immaculate again.
The studio is clean now, smartened up for a Dublin Contemporary 2011
visit. Then it’ll be time to adjust to the new space in Wexford.”
See www.maryruthwalsh.com; www.imma.ie
*Artist at home: Una Sealy*
“Seven years ago I borrowed money from the bank and built my studio at
the end of our garden. Before that I had worked in an upstairs room, but
we needed it for a kid’s bedroom. Before I had the house I had studios
in the city centre, including one of the first in Temple Bar and one on
Henrietta Street.”
“I lived in San Francisco for two years in the late 1990s and had a
studio in the Mission district, which is the Mexican part of town. My
work there was definitely influenced by the streetscape and by the
people I met. I don’t think the different studio spaces themselves
change the work, but what is outside the window, and who is in the
locality, certainly do.
“Most of my paintings are done directly from life, and I rarely start
with drawings. I get an idea, persuade someone to get involved, and just
go for it. There would be a fair bit of coffee involved. My recent
painting Neighbours’ winner of the Ireland-US Council/Irish Arts
Review Award at the RHA happened because I could see the fantastic
black and silver wallpaper in my neighbours bedroom from my studio, and
I asked them to pose for me.
“I have lots of books about artists in my studio, but I don’t stick much
stuff on to the wall, because there’s no room, with all my own paintings
stored there too. I like having the paintings around they keep me
company but storage is a huge problem. I’ve already filled my parents’
garage and most of our house. My studio, like my home, is totally
disorganised. It’s not that I like it like this; it’s just I seem to
have a serious aversion to tidying things up. My favourite thing there
is my chair that turns into a bench for unexpected visitors. It was
designed by my furniture-designer sister, Brigid Sealy.
Music is essential: it helps get me to the mental place I need to
produce. It takes my mind off other things, even though I hardly hear
it. It could be anything, but it?s mostly ancient cassette tapes I’ve
had since the 1980s. It never gets lonely, with kids, husband, cats,
friends and seagulls providing interruptions, which I don’t mind. It’s
part of having a studio at the end of the garden, and provides relief
from the intensity of painting. The downside is that the space can fill
up with lawnmowers, old bikes and general junk.”
Una Sealy is showing with Mick O’Dea and James Hanley in Undressed at
the Imagine Arts Festival, Waterford, until October 31st. See
www.imagineartsfestival.com, e-mail unasealy@yahoo.co.uk
*Artist abroad: Alan Phelan*
“My first studio was at Fire Station Artists’ Studios in Dublin. Before
that I had worked from home, until storage became a real issue.
The space at the studios really helped me to be more ambitious in
scale, although right after leaving there I made even bigger works in a
tiny space at Broadstone Studios. I have been with them since, and we
have moved to a fantastic building on Harcourt Terrace. The
neighbourhood is certainly a big change from where studios are normally
located.
I am in Helsinki for three months, since August, at the Helsinki
International Artist Programme. It’s an exchange with Temple Bar Gallery
+ Studios. The studio spaces here are in a huge cultural complex in a
former Nokia cable factory. It’s a live/work space, so I roll out of bed
straight into work. It’s great for a short period like this, and I have
really enjoyed being so close to the work. This was the set-up at Fire
Station Artists’ Studios for almost three years. This situation can get
a little claustrophobic after a while, especially with a partner.
I’m not sure what an ideal studio would be. Living in a Dublin
apartment now, I will never be able to build a studio in my garden,
because I haven’t got one, so the group studio is the best solution. I
really enjoy the social aspect of the group studios. It can lead to
lengthy spells of procrastination, but sometimes you need to escape and
come back to what you are doing with fresher and more caffeinated eyes.
The big concern with group studios is tenure and the stability of
leases. With the property crash this has become even more uneasy, but
there have been some great opportunities. Broadstone shifted from a bad
situation to a brilliant one. Making these new spaces into long-term
commitments is the issue. The reality, however, is that you just have to
move on every few years. Many studios do get crucial Arts Council
support, giving artists a chance to have somewhere to work. Full
commercial rents would have all artists working from home.
Like many artists, I work on several projects and pieces at once. How
it happens is a combination of several factors, and it’s always an issue
to find the time to get the work done. I work part-time to support
myself, and so time away like this is a real treat.”
Alan Phelan’s next exhibition is in Helsinki; his work will be on show
in December in Cork with The Black Mariah at Triskel. See www.alanphelan.com
Copyright 2011 The Irish Times
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