The Writing on the Walls

Most of my posts so far have been about pictures of one kind or another, or even words turned into pictures, painted around the streets of Cork. So this time, I thought I might share the various words of wisdom (or otherwise) that I've found written up around the city.

These kinds of pieces can provide surprisingly decent food for thought at times, as one is strolling down the street to the shop or pub or wherever....

For instance, I photographed this contribution at Grenville Place in July 2012....


"Man is not stupid or intelligent - He is Free of not!!!!!" 

I found the following written on the side of a bank at Parnell Place in June 2012. I think the way this word is scratched in black onto a dull grey wall of stone is somehow evocative of these recessionary times....

"RECESSION!"

I found this one written on the front wall of the Kino Cinema - sadly derelict at the time - in July 2012....

"ZEITGEIST - AFRAID OF D TRUTH"

I found this on Wellington Road in August 2012, obviously a comment on the ESM, or European Stability Mechanism, which was approved in Ireland by a referendum at the end of May 2012...


"EUROPEAN STUPIDITY MECHANISM - YES"

I took this picture of a "ballot bin" at St. Patrick's Place in July 2012....


"LITTER BALLOT BOX"

These are some contributions I found on walls around Sullivan's Quay in June 2012....


"Are you living or just existing? turn off the t.v., put away the
internet, travel, rediscover what's important, open your heart,
face your fears, when you suffer, suffer, slow down, talk to
old people, (especially old nuns). Don't be a living ghost!!!"   

"WATCHING T.V. CAUSES CANCER"

 

"I WONDER WHY CAVEVEMEN DID THIS?" 

 

"THE BEGINNING OF THE END"

I found this one off the White Street car park in August 2012.

"I will never forget, I will never regret, I will live my life"

I found these last two items on Richmond Hill in September 2012.
 

"RELIGION IS FOR OLD PEOPLE ONLY"

"AS the ASS FALLS OUT OF WOURLD CAPITALISM
SICK PEOPLE PAINT LIKE MAD" 

Biting the Apple

I found an interesting sticker on Lavitt's Quay, near the Cork Opera House, in September 2012.

In the shot I took below, the sticker is small and hard to make out, but it is the third one down along the side of the metal junction box.

It seems to be a modern, sci-fi, take on the old tale of Adam, Eve and the apple from the Tree of Knowledge.... It makes me think of similar sci-fi "awakening" stories, like The Matrix or the Sonmi-451 story thread in Cloud Atlas....

I just hope the apple really is an apple and not Soylent Green.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsVQPsiwkBI

The letters "CCI" are visible next to the barcodes on the leg and arm of the two figures. Perhaps this is the artist?

Googling about very quickly, it looks like there is a graffiti artist from Australia that uses that name:
http://www.vandalsquad.com/artistView.php?artist_id=474328&view=profile

Distracted by Abstracts

Last year, some charming abstract drawings began popping up here and there around Cork. The first I found was this one, at the bus stop on Summerhill North. I took these three photos of the piece in August 2012.

At first, the drawing might seem like a doodle, but as you look closer, you can see the colourful, intricate patterns woven by the artist's... well, I'm not sure what... paint pens?

I found a goodly number of these pieces around the city. Most of what I found I can share with you here, but sadly there were two at least - on Sullivan's Quay and on Half Moon Street, behind the Cork Opera House - that were too badly eroded to be worth photographing.

Here is a piece that was drawn on an old, torn poster on Wellington Road. These two photos were also taken by me in August 2012.

Initially, I thought these pieces were just abstract works, pure and simple. But, as I've examined them, I've realised that they actually seem to be words drawn in a very stylised, abstract way, rather like more traditional "wildstyle" graffiti executed in miniature.... These pieces are all on the small side.

This piece is a good example; it looks like a word of some kind. It appeared on Wellington Road at about the same time as the one above. This one was quite small, drawn (in chalk?) on a sign board at the market across from the Glenvera Hotel. I took these two photos in August 2012.

Here is another Wellington Road piece, this time drawn on the side of a portable steel shed. These four photos were taken by me in August 2012.

I found this piece drawn on a wall in the lane the runs between the White Street car park and Sawmill Street. I took these three photos in August 2012.

I found this piece drawn on a wall along Parnell Place. I took these three photos in September 2012.

This piece was drawn on a wall near St. Mary's Church on Pope's Quay. These three photos were also taken by me in September 2012.

This piece was also located on Pope's Quay, drawn on a door a bit further down from the previous one. I took these two photos in September 2012.

I found and photographed this piece in October 2012. In this case, it looks like I found the piece a bit late, after it had eroded and a lot of the colour had faded.... Pity.

So who is the artist? I have no idea, of course. In fact, I am only assuming these were all drawn by the same person. But the method and technique seems to be consistent across all the pieces... Maybe someone out there knows?

Kong's Urban Canvas

This is another classic piece of Cork street art. "My Urban Canvas" by Kong is painted on the Emmet Place side of the Crawford Art Gallery.

The piece seems to have been at the Crawford since at least 2010, from what I can see quickly "googling" around on the internet. But I think it is likely to be much older.... 

I found pictures of an almost identicle piece dating from 2006. The only difference I can see between the two versions is the sign, which reads "Hey Babe". I'm not sure where that piece was located, though.

Here's a link to that other version, posted on the Flickr page of Kieran Hynes:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62305889@N00/163134964

Kieran has a wealth of Cork graffiti photos on his Flickr page, including other works by Kong, so check them out while you are over there! 

Also, here is a link to the Crawford Gallery's website:

http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/index.html

The first photo above was taken by me in May 2013 and the second in August 2012.

Episode IV - Shay Given and the Forlorn Hope

A long time ago, in a country far, far away....

Well, actually it was only last June in Poland when the Irish football squad valiantly took on the likes of Croatia, Spain and Italy with the hopes of finding a way out of Group C and into the quarter-finals of the Euro 2012 competition. Alas, It was not to be...

Anyway, at the time, Vincent Zara painted this great piece on the Tuckey Street side of Ziggy's Rock & Blues Bar. It shows a multi-limbed version of Shay Given, the Irish goalie, ready to defend his net like an angry Hindu god against the slinged (slung?) and arrowed shots of his opponents....

The piece seems to be based on Leonardo da Vinci's famous and fabulous drawing called "Vitruvian Man", which dates from about 1485 to 1490, give or take a few years....

There is a Wikipedia article on the Vitruvian Man, which says:

The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture. Vitruvius determined that the ideal body should be eight heads high. Leonardo's drawing is traditionally named in honor of the architect.

If you wish to find out more about this work, here is the link to the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man

And here is a link to a "full resolution" version of the work on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg

I took the photos of Mr. Zara's Shay Given piece in September 2012, a good bit after the heady hopes of those bright June days had been utterly quashed.

But still, The Dream lives on. There's always next time....

Rory at Ziggy's

This is another fine Rory Gallagher piece by Mr. Vincent Zara. It is on Tuckey Street, painted on the side of Ziggy's Rock & Blues Bar.

These photos were taken by me in October 2012.

I admit I did wonder about the source material for this piece. It seemed a bit random to see Rory holding a flower (a carnation) instead of a guitar, not that one wants to pigeonhole the man. 

Upon further investigation, it seems the piece is based on a photograph of Rory taken in 1976 in Cleveland, Ohio. Here's a link to a copy of the photograph and some information on when and where it was taken:
http://www.rockarchive.com/rory-gallagher_photo_print_rg001jm.html 

Mr. Zara's exhibition at The Pavilion pub last year (called "Vincentzara Sells Out") included a big version of this Rory piece on canvas. Here are some links to pictures of the painting in situ on the walls of the Pav:
First, http://corkartsreview.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/rgvz.jpg

and also https://www.facebook.com/vincentzaracork/media_set?set=a.108445375932325.15212.100003005906098&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=295563590553835&set=a.108445375932325.15212.100003005906098&type=3&theater

Oliver Plunkett's Painted Bones

Here's a lovely skeleton stencil that was up on a wall along Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork, just near Pennys. A nice touch is that the pelvis and spine bones are actually little spray paint cans.

I took these photos in August 2012. Alas this piece has since been painted over....

Wellington Road's Locked Hearts

This is a simple piece, but it works for me... interlocked black and white hearts on Wellington Road in Cork.

I took this photo in July 2012, but I'm happy to report that the piece is still there so the romance continues!