HEADLESS URBAN EXPRESSION

There Is Much To See Here

FX30

I IMMEDIATELY KNEW THAT THIS ART WAS BY CLAIRE PROUVOST

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MURALS AT TARA STREET STATION

Claire Prouvost is a French graphic designer and illustrator living and working in Dublin. She loves to paint women in a cubist inspired style, using gouaches for their vibrant colours. Her colourful work plays with shapes, contrast, and composition to show the simple beauty of things in our daily lives.

Today I used my Sony 85mm GM lens with the Sony FX30 so it was effectively a 127mm lens. This is supposed to be one of the best lens that I own and it has been described as the ultimate portrait prime. The perfect 85mm F1.4 portrait lens with outstanding sharpness dissolving to magnificent bokeh. I obtained a copy on the day that it became available here in Ireland in advance of any genuine reviews. I immediately discovered that it made a horrible grating noise while focusing. According to some reviews that I came across months later “The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens has a focusing system that makes some noise. It sounds a little like metal scraping or a linear piezo motor even though it’s an SSM motor. It’s much quieter in video AF mode. Nearly silent.”.

I brought my copy back to the dealer and the told me that it would take a month or two to get a replacement so I decided to keep my copy on condition that I could replace it at some later date.

Here are some of the reviews of the Sony 85mm GM lens:

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a superb lens that delivers outstanding image quality. It is sharp, contrasty, and has beautiful bokeh. The autofocus is fast and accurate, and the lens is weather-sealed. It is an excellent choice for portrait photographers.” – DPreview

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a top-of-the-line portrait lens that offers excellent image quality and performance. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. It is a bit on the expensive side, but it is worth the investment for serious portrait photographers.” – The Phoblographer

“The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a fantastic lens that delivers excellent image quality in a variety of situations. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. It is a bit on the large and heavy side, but it is still a great choice for portrait photographers.” – Cameralabs

Overall, the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is a highly rated lens that is well-suited for portrait photography. It is sharp, has beautiful bokeh, and is weather-sealed. However, it is also a bit on the expensive side.

JENNY’S CHAIR BY ALBENTY AT MONTPELIER HILL

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THIS HAS SURVIVED SINCE 2016

Originally, when I first published photographs of this artwork, I said that I believed that it was dedicated to someone named Jenny. Today I discovered that title is “Jenny’s Chair”

Albenty is an Irish street artist who is known for his colourful and playful murals. He often depicts animals, plants, and other natural elements in his work, and his pieces often have a whimsical or humorous touch. Albenty’s work can be found all over Dublin, and he has also exhibited his work in galleries in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Albenty is a self-taught artist who began painting graffiti in the early 2000s. He quickly developed his own unique style, and his work has been praised for its originality and its ability to brighten up the urban landscape. Albenty is also known for his commitment to social justice, and many of his murals address issues such as poverty, homelessness, and environmentalism.

In addition to his street art, Albenty also creates prints, paintings, and sculptures. He has collaborated with a number of other artists, including Maser, Aches, and Subset. Albenty’s work has been featured in a number of publications, including The Irish Times, The Guardian, and Vice.

[Note: I have been unable to fully verify the information relating to Albenty]

I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

“Jenny’s Chair marks a three-year campaign by Jenny and a group of women from Montpelier Hill and Drive in response to an increasing number of incidents where children and young girls were being approached by kerb crawlers in the area. From 2003 to 2006, these women kept vigil on the street every night (except for Tuesdays which was Bingo night!), warning kerb crawlers that they were being watched and would be reported. The women’s efforts were ahead of their time, targeting the men who were soliciting and not the women involved in prostitution. The law was eventually changed in 2017 to make it an offence to purchase sex.”

THIS MURAL IS TO REMAIN ON THE GABLE WALL AT LONGWOOD AVENUE

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A TRIBUTE TO DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

Today I had an appointment at Harolds’s Cross so I decided to walk there and visit Longwood Avenue, on my way, in order to check if this large mural had survived the legal and official attempts to have it removed.

In June 2022 it was announced that Dublin City Council was to drop its prosecution of art group Subset for three prominent street murals – including this one celebrating the life of David Attenborough.

In November 2019 I upload photographs of this mural and included the following comment: “Dublin City Council has ordered that a mural of David Attenborough on the side of a property in south Dublin should be removed. An entity or group known as Subset had recently created the Street Art tribute to David Attenborough on his 93rd birthday.”

The David Attenborough Mural is a large-scale street mural located on the gable wall of a house on South Circular Road facing onto Longwood Avenue in Dublin 8, Ireland. It was painted in 2019 by the artist collective SUBSET to mark the renowned naturalist and broadcaster’s 93rd birthday. The mural depicts Attenborough in his signature khaki jacket and hat, standing next to a group of animals, including a penguin, a lion, and an elephant. The mural is vibrantly coloured and features a stylised depiction of the natural world.

The mural was controversial from the start, as it was painted without planning permission from Dublin City Council. The council eventually ordered the mural to be removed, but this decision was met with widespread public opposition. A petition to save the mural attracted over 10,000 signatures, and the council eventually dropped its prosecution of the artists.

The David Attenborough Mural is now considered to be a popular tourist attraction in Dublin. It is a reminder of the city’s vibrant street art scene and its appreciation for the natural world.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART AT WEAVER PARK

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I SUSPECT THAT THIS IS YET TO BE FINISHED

Unfortunately I know nothing about this other than it is on Cork Street near Weaver Park. I will check it again in a week or two.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART BY JULIETTE O’BRIEN

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AT LOLLY AND COOKS ON MERRION STREET

Juliette O’Brien designed and painted 9 mini murals on traffic light boxes for the Dublin Canvas project during the summers between 2017 and 2020. The project is a competitive opportunity for artists to submit art to be chosen by DCC to brighten up Dublin City.

Lolly And Cooks is a family run business dedicated in producing deliciously fresh savouries and cakes directly from their own bakery in Dublin.

Most of their ingredients come directly from the family farm in Tipperary, where sustainability is at the forefront of the operation.

A LARGE MURAL BY CONOR HARRINGTON

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AT BISHOP LUCEY PARK IN CORK CITY

This attention grabbing and larger than life painting by the Ardu Street Art Project depicts a man setting a table of fruit and veg in the style of an 18th century painting – when the English Market was built. There is a doll’s house in the background.

Conor Harrington was born in 1980 in Cork, Ireland. He attended Limerick School of Art and Design and received in 2002 a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

His work draws a fine line between classical and contemporary art, and masterfully creates a world within those boundaries. The Irish-born Harrington, a former graffiti artist, not only still enjoys painting huge outdoor murals but consistently tackles new, inventive forms of art, often in a gallery setting.

Bishop Lucey Park is a public park located between Grand Parade and South Main Street in the centre of Cork. It is one of few green spaces in the city centre and among the largest. It is often erroneously known as “The Peace Park” by locals, although this name actually refers to the area next to the River Lee at the junction of Grand Parade and South Mall where the National Monument, and the memorials to World War I and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are located.

Cork’s iconic English market has been trading since 1788. One of the oldest and certainly the best covered market in Europe, it has survived famine, flood, war, fires, and multiple recessions to remain a strong part of Cork’s retail environment.

Significant to the City as a commercial asset, the building is also architecturally significant so is valued as a heritage and tourist attraction.

Renowned as a food market, it is an important part of food culture in Cork, with an emphasis on fresh, local produce with traditional Cork foods as well as an array of international delights.

The stallholders are local and independent food producers or retailers, often with generations of families working in the Market. The traditional serve-over-counter stall trading also ensures that the service to the customer is personal and unique.

The reputation and history of the market has attracted thousands visitors each year – heads of state, celebrities and tourists from across the globe have come to see the market.

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