URBAN EXPRESSION BY THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER

There Is Much To See Here

urban expression

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.

REMEMBERING THOMAS DUDLEY 1906-1981 WHO WAS KNOWN AS BANG BANG

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DUBLIN STREET ART ON CAPEL STREET 10 AUGUST 2023

This is located on Capel Street and as this was my first time to see it one can assume that it is recent as is the chair chained to the railings.

Thomas Dudley, better known as “Bang Bang”, was a well-known street character in Dublin in the mid-20th century. He was known for carrying a large church key around with him and pretending to shoot people with it. He would often shout “Bang Bang!” as he did this.

Dudley was born in Dublin in 1906. He was raised in an orphanage and had a difficult childhood. He was also blind in one eye. Despite his challenges, Dudley was a charismatic and outgoing person.

Bang Bang became a popular figure in Dublin in the 1940s and 1950s. He was often seen riding the buses and trams, pointing his church key at people and shouting “Bang Bang!”

EXAMPLES OF PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART

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NORTH KING STREET

At this location there is a memorial to the victims of the North King Street Massacre. I did not include the memorial in my photographs as I have already published photographs of the memorial.

Almost 500 people were killed in the Easter Rising. About 54% were civilians, 30% were British military and police, and 16% were Irish rebels. More than 2,600 were wounded. Many of the civilians were killed as a result of the British using artillery and heavy machine guns, or mistaking civilians for rebels. Others were caught in the crossfire in a crowded city. The shelling and the fires it caused left parts of inner city Dublin in ruins.

A major major scene of fighting during the week was in the area of North King Street, north of the Four Courts. The rebels had established strong outposts in the area, occupying numerous small buildings and barricading the streets. From Thursday to Saturday, the British made repeated attempts to take the area, in what was some of the fiercest fighting of the Rising. As the troops moved in, the rebels continually opened fire from windows and behind chimneys and barricades. At one point, a platoon led by Major Sheppard made a bayonet charge on one of the barricades, but was cut down by rebel fire. The British employed machine guns and attempted to avoid direct fire by using makeshift armoured trucks, and by mouse-holing through the inside walls of terraced houses to get near the rebel positions.[95] By the time of the rebel headquarters’ surrender on Saturday, the South Staffordshire Regiment under Colonel Taylor had advanced only 150 yd (140 m) down the street at a cost of 11 dead and 28 wounded. The enraged troops broke into the houses along the street and shot or bayoneted 15 unarmed male civilians whom they accused of being rebel fighters. The youngest was 16 years.

There was no public inquiry into the massacre; the British Army conducted its own internal military inquiry and no action was taken. In fact, the General Officer Commanding of the British Army in Ireland, General Maxwell justified his troops’ actions, stating that such incidents, “are absolutely unavoidable in such a business as this” and “responsibility for their deaths rests with those resisting His Majesty’s troops in the execution of their duty.”

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.

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES BY EMILY KOURI

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OUTSIDE HOLLES STREET NATIONAL MATERNITY HOSPITAL

“The Birds And The Bees” … I did not get the hidden joke until today. My mother was a nurse/midwife at Holles Street The National Maternity Hospital and on the first day of 1950 I was born there. This example of Paint-A-Box street art is directly outside the hospital.

The Birds & the Bees is inspired by Dublin’s urban gardens, Merrion Square and St. Stephen’s Green; space where nature and urban life intertwine in perfect harmony. This illustration highlights how these gardens bring colour to the city-centre and provide a tranquil gathering place for the people of Dublin.

Emily Kouri is a Canadian graphic designer and illustrator, currently living in Dublin. Using digital and traditional mediums, Emily is passionate about producing work that communicates thoughtful messages. Emily’s projects and collaborations are diverse, that range from branding start-up businesses to creating outdoor urban murals.

The hospital was established through charitable donations in 1894 and received a royal charter, in line with other maternity hospitals in Dublin, in 1903. The Linen Guild, a charity to help mothers and babies in need of financial assistance, was established in 1912.

Elizabeth O’Farrell, a member of Cumann na mBan, served as a midwife, training and working in Holles Street in the early years of the 20th century before carrying the white flag delivering the surrender at the Easter Rising in 1916. The hospital became the first such facility to benefit from the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake which funded extensive redevelopment in the 1930s. Antrim House, the former home of the Earls of Antrim on Merrion Square, was demolished to facilitate the construction of the hospital by G&T Crampton, in 1936. A new Charter was received in 1936 altering the governance of the hospital such that it was administered by a board consisting of the Archbishop of Dublin (or a representative) as chair of the board, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, two City Councillors and two nominees of the Minister of Health.

In 1998, Holles Street set up the Domino (Domiciliary Care In and Out of Hospital) and Home birth scheme through its team of community midwives. The National Maternity Hospital Foundation, a charity which raises funds for a number of projects in the hospital with special emphasis on the neonatal intensive care unit, was established in 2012.

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.

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