The National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) is a public research resource dedicated to the documentation of 20th and 21st century Irish visual art and design. NIVAL has a rich collection of the ephemera relating to the commissioning and initiating of Public Art projects in Ireland. The items below have been gathered by NIVAL's library assistant, Katie Blackwood.
The Irish Sky Garden by James Turrell at Skibbereen, Co. Cork
The 'Irish Sky Garden' is a giant earth and stone crater embedded into the landscape of the Liss Ard Estate gardens.
The artwork consists of an archway, a long megalithic-like passage, and stairs leading to an oval shaped, grass-lined crater, which measures 50 x 25 metres.
In the centre of the crater’s ‘bowl’ is a large stone 'vault purchase' or plinth (not unlike an Egyptian sarcophagus). This is where the visitor should lie back and look at the sky, which is framed by the edges of the elliptical crater.
”The most important thing is that inside turns into outside and the other way around, in the sense that relationships between the Irish landscape and the Irish sky changes” (James Turrell). - PublicArt.ie
A Monument In The City: Nelson's Pillar And Its Aftermath
by John O'Regan
The launch of an international architectural competition for the site of Nelson’s Pillar – for so long the symbol for Dublin – prompted the publication of this book. Brought together here is a detailed history of Nelson’s Pillar, a reprise of the Pillar Project (the 1988 counter-projects by 50 architects and artists which asked them to make suggestions for a replacement for the Pillar, which was blown up by the IRA in 1966), and a keynote essay by Raymund Ryan exploring the history and potential of the monument in the city.
NCAD students with the ‘liberated’ head of Nelson, 1966. Image Source
Les Levine
"Les Levine, born in Dublin in 1935, is regarded along with Nam June Paik as a pioneer of media art. Since the early eighties, Levine has waged billboard campaigns in cities throughout the world - including New York, Vienna, and Munich. These pieces use ordinary billboards in heavily populated areas as canvases for Levine's characteristically enigmatic word art, and share an affinity with the work of Barbara Kruger.This book presents a comprehensive photographic survey of Levine's striking billboards, and features an informative text. With its bold images and suggestive phrases, Levine's public art takes aim at advertising culture, and belongs to a tradition which includes Pop Art, propaganda posters, and graphic design." - Source
NIVAL access
NIVAL Opening Hours and Access
Access to NIVAL is strictly by appointment only. Researchers may visit the library by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10am - 5pm.
Please request an appointment by emailing nivalinfo@staff.ncad.ie.
- Access to NIVAL is via a one-way system. Please follow the directional signage and sign-in at the reception desk.
- Readers should bring their own pens, laptops, etc.
- All visitors are advised not to attend if they have any symptoms of Covid-19. Please inform us immediately if you wish to cancel/reschedule your appointment.
Telephone inquiries: 353.1.636.4347 / 353.1.646.1102
To view NIVALs collection, visit their website at this link
NIVAL
The Soft Edge : a Public Art Project
by Aileen Lambert
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In 2006 the Arts Department of the Wexford Council commissioned Aileen Lambert to develop a project which centred on the townsland of Creagh, on the edge of Gorey town, County Wexford. |
NIVAL
To find out more about the process of Commissioning Public Art in Ireland this handy leaflet is a touchstone for various policies and guidances for the commissioning and purchase of Public Art.
