People's Republic of Cork

Last year, a great mural was put up at the corner of Cornmarket Street and Kyle Street in Cork. It was done by artist Tom Doig on behalf of the people at the People's Republic of Cork, a website providing events information, music guides, chat forums, etc. associated with Cork. 

According to Doig, the idea was to create

a mural in the centre of Cork City in order to brighten up a fairly delapidated area of town while at the same time celebrate some of Cork’s most recognisable citizens.  We came up with a design that incorporated the theme of a ‘People’s Republic’, which would be recognisable to most Corkonians.  The famous Cork people included are: Roy Keane (Footballer), Rory Gallagher (Guitarist), Frank O'Connor (Writer), Sonia O'Sullivan (Olympic Athlete) and Mother Jones (Trade Unionist).

He said the mural was put up over four days in July 2013. I finally noticed it this year ( : - p ) and photographed it this July - one year later. Better late than never, I guess?! It is a bit weathered, but still in good shape...

 

 

Roy Keane

 

 

 

 

Rory Gallagher

Frank O'Connor and Sonia O'Sullivan

Mother Jones

Links, links and more links!!

Here is a blog post about the making of the mural, written by the artist, Tom Doig:
http://www.tomdoig.ie/index.htm/Project_Blog/Entries/2013/7/8_Peoples_Republic_of_Cork_Mural.html

The website of the People's Republic of Cork:
http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/

And a write-up about the mural on that website:
http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/articles/new-cork-street-mural

A video of the mural taking shape, with some music by Rory Gallagher:
http://vimeo.com/75602906

Here's a video of Roy Keane appearing on the Late Late Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dua7oeEydVw

And an Aprés Match sketch featuring their version of Keano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX4qhgYddX4

Rory Gallagher plays "Cradle Rock" at Montreux in 1975:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4iocWURPk

A film of Rory Gallagher's 1974 Irish Tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpQdKzq29W8

An interview with Frank O'Connor from a 1957 edition of The Paris Review:
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4847/the-art-of-fiction-no-19-frank-oconnor

A 2012 article on Frank O'Connor from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/23/brief-survey-short-story-frank-o-connor

Sonia O'Sullivan wins silver in Sydney in 2000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK6H8OeMEGA

Career highlights of Sonia O'Sullivan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cksaqL6kPnY

A short documentary on Mother Jones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LJBWhPKWWc

The website of the magazine that bears Mother Jones' name:
http://www.motherjones.com/

Before I Die...

Earlier this year Cork joined the hundreds of cities around the world that have created a "Before I Die" wall. The Before I Die  movement is a global street art project that gives people a way to share their personal aspirations in public space. It was started by Candy Chang, a Taiwanese American artist, after she lost someone she loved.

 

 

 

According the project's website (http://beforeidie.cc/):

She wanted [...] to know what was important to the people around her. So after receiving permission, she painted the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with a grid of the sentence, “Before I die I want to _______.” Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space.

It was all an experiment and she didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was full of responses and it kept growing [...].

After posting a few photos, she received hundreds of messages from people who wanted to make a wall with their community [...] and now thanks to passionate people around the world, over 525 Before I Die walls have been created in over 30 languages and 70 countries.

The Cork wall is located on Kyle Street, off North Main Street. It was created by four French girls living in the city. They were inspired by seeing the wall in Prague during a visit to that city. They painted the wall on April 20, and it was filled with people's comments within 48 hours.

On this page are a few shots I took of the wall, and below are samples of the comments on it. I've included some relevant links at the bottom of the page, as well.

UPDATE 29/11/2014

I passed by the wall recently and snapped a few shots of some writing that wasn't there when I took the above photos. I'm posting them here...

LINKS!!!

Here's a link to the Cork wall's page on the Before I Die website:
http://beforeidie.cc/site/cork/

And the Cork wall's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/beforeIdiewallcork

An article on the Cork wall in Cork's Evening Echo:
http://www.eveningecho.ie/2014/05/13/want-die-die/

And a YouTube video by James Nano Nagle of artist John Flynn drawing a Jackalope in chalk on the wall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3r9BGcWpF0

LiveStyles, Cork 2014 - Part 5 - White Street Car Park

Not much text this time. I'll just share the photos I took in the White Street Car Park in June soon after the recent LiveStyles Festival. As you'll know from my other posts, the festival took place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, and some great street art was painted in different parts of the city by local and visiting artists. There were so many pieces in the car park that I didn't do a scientific survey or anything. I just snapped away. So, here's what I found, in no particular order....

 

 

 

LiveStyles, Cork 2014 - Part 4 - Crane Lane

In this part of my series on street art painted during the recent LiveStyles Festival, I'll share the pieces that were done in Crane Lane. As you'll know from my other posts, the festival took place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, and some great street art was painted in different parts of the city by local and visiting artists.

Before the festival, there was already a superb piece by Dusto in Crane Lane that I covered in a blog post in June last year (http://canvassingcork.blogspot.ie/2013/06/out-by-beer-kegs-in-crane-lane.html). Now there are four pieces in Crane Lane. In the first photo below, Dusto's original piece is the one that's second from the left, flanked by two pieces by Eoin.

 

 

This is the first piece from the left, painted by Eoin....

 

This is the third piece from the left, the second here by Eoin....

The fourth piece on the wall, furthest on the right, is by Dscreet....

 

 

 

Below are some LINKS to more work by Eoin and Dscreet...

Eoin has a website of his own with a blog!
http://artbyeoin.com/

Eoin on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/artbyeoin/

And his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/artbyeoin1

And a couple of interviews with Eoin:
http://thestreetartcurator.com/eyes-girls-hair-and-walls-interview-with-artist-eoin/
http://abominableink.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/all-eyes-on-irelands-eoin/

And a video on YouTube of him working in Hawaii:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDkzn3JI6dg

Dscreet also has his own website:
http://www.dscreetartist.com/

And he's on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DscreetArtist

And some interviews with Dscreet:
http://streetartlondon.co.uk/blog/2012/07/17/interview-dscreet/
http://www.melbournegraffiti.com/melbourne-graffiti_interviews_dscreet.php

So now.