Description: Taoiseach of Ireland, Bertie Ahern enters the Dragons’ Den and faces the music. Chanting Fianna Fail policies for the upcoming election, the Dragons let him know what they really think of him.

via Mulley.net.

Original video link here and original website here.

From IMMA’s website… I’ve added paragraphs ;-|

Japan’s leading electronic composer/artist, Ryoji Ikeda*, focuses on the minutiae of ultrasonics, frequencies and the essential characteristics of sound itself. Since 1995, Ikeda has been intensely active through concerts, installations, and recordings, integrating sound, acoustics and sublime imagery.

In the artist’s works, music, time and space are shaped by mathematical methods as Ikeda explores sound as sensation, pulling apart its physical properties to reveal its relationship with human perception. This performance at IMMA includes two of his most influential and acclaimed performances C4I and Datamatics.

Using computer and digital technologies to the utmost limit, his audiovisual concerts suggest a unique orientation for our future multimedia environment and culture.

Ryoji Ikeda* –> cool website

Three small negatives to get out of the way first:

– The graduands should be encouraged to work out of their comfort zone. Too much of it was self-centred or introspective, and there was little or no representation of people, say, over 30.
– The assistants were students – they’d probably be offended if I called them s’curity guards. Perhaps some of them were even the artists themselves. It is perhaps disrespectful to visitors, and their own work, to stand around gossiping and sniggering and generally being a distraction.
– The signposting was non-existant. I’m pretty sure I missed about 20% of the exhibitors. The exhibition was staged across 3 buildings (?) and I found the buildings. But once inside, it was a different story.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’d definitely go again next year because:

Roisin Morris was the star of the show for me. I think I even saw her in the corridor!! Her photographs were just stunning. Her theme, albeit introspective, was relevant and insightful. There were only 6 photographs but I think they transcended the limitations of ‘ink on paper‘ and she really got her message across. There was a real depth and a tactile feel to them and her ‘What Waited Inside Herself 4“* was rightly the centrepiece of her display. Oddly enough, the catalogue just called it No. 4 or something like that. This is her college website and her personal website (although it’s not working yet).

* This pic is a scan of one of many postcards given away on the day advertising the work of the Graduands. Please contact the college or the artist if you want to reproduce, buy, etc their work.

I also liked Valerie Curran’s Vanishing Points. It was a fresh approach that I haven’t seen before and, as a former scientist, the concept appealed to me. She majored in Fine Art and her piece was displayed in a 3m cubed space and it consisted of styrofoam balls and thread. Have a look here at a small pic.

I, and I’m sure all the other children, blew as hard as they could into the space to see the balls vibrate on their strings. Sadly, the college website doesn’t list a personal website (or a better pic). I hope some gallery takes it in and displays it but, strangely, the pricelist says it Not For Sale.

Final mention goes to Manus Goan in, I think, the Animation class. The catalogue lists him but I can’t find him on the IADT website. His name is unusual and a google search returns up bebo page. His animated video was called something like Dusk to Dawn. The animation, ‘flashing lights’, and music all tied in together smoothly although it was a tiny bit repetitive. Bebo’s Manus Goan is a ‘Hardcore Raver 4 Life‘ so that might explain it! Still, the rendering was realistic and it was a good ‘take’ on Dublin. I’m not being dismissive when I say it would make a good screensaver, or if adapted, a good music video.

Had a lie-in this morning before going to the gym. I spent so long in the jacuzzi that I started to feel a bit sea-sick! But it was worth it because it’s so relaxing and calming. Then it was into town to do a bit of shopping. I got the bus into town since Dublin is such a nightmare for parking these days.

I pressed the button at the traffic lights to cross the road to get the bus stop. Normally there’s an interminable wait for the bus drivers to finish their tea and drive their buses. But today, the lights changed just in time to stop an approaching bus so I had an easy stroll to the bus. Once in town, I found another art of asbestos sticker on Fade street. It’s a bit blurry because I used my camera phone but it reads, I’ve lost my English-Japanese dictionary. Now finding it hard to buy cheap whiskey in Tokyo. If you find it mail me at…’

First stop was Conn’s Camera Shop to buy a new monopod for my camera. I’m really growing fond of the place because of the pleasant staff and the keen prices. And they always have what I want in stock (hello Berminghams!!). A short stroll brought me to the bookshop and, hallelujah, the new Lee Child (Jack Reacher) book, Bad Luck and Trouble, was in stock. I also bought Niall McCullough’s tome, ‘Dublin, an Urban History: The plan of the city‘. The latter one could be heavy going but there’s lots of pictures so that’s alright!

On the way home, I decided to do something vaguely healthy so I got off the bus a couple of stops before I needed to. The bright idea was to walk that little bit extra so I could call it exercise. Of course, that all went out the window when I spotted a man walking out of a shop with a 99 ice-cream. It’s a bit like admitting an addiction but I had to get an ice-cream as well. Ice-cream before noon – what would the neighbours say if they found out!

Once home, I bought new CD’s by Maria McKee and Wilco from CDwow.ie. I don’t know why anyone would buy music from High St shops anymore. They were €12 each on the internet. Some wag will surely point out that Maria McKee isn’t worth a penny but €12 is a big saving over the sticker price in shops.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an exhibition by Kilkenny-based William Watson in Dungarvan’s Old Market House Arts Centre and put a deposit on one of his paintings. He co-exhibited with his father (Tom) because William couldn’t come up with enough work in time for the exhibition. Artists are such a temperamental bunch. Still, I get to collect it this Friday and I hope I still like it!

Finally, I get to go to the pub tonight to watch a football match. Liverpool are playing in some final in Greece. I think they beat the same opponents in the same competition a couple of years ago and tonight is revenge-time. It was kinda funny when they won the last final because Liverpool could say they were European Champions (just like the English rugby team claiming to be the World Champions a few years ago) and, since then, they’ve lost loads of matches. Still, I get to go the pub, yippee!!

Seeing as how well my day has gone so far, I bought a lotto ticket because there’s a big jackpot tonight.

Today could end up being a very good day indeed! A very good day indeed.

Only joking but you heard it here first. I just wanted to highlight justwhisperz photo’s on flickr. She, and she=teenager, only has 50+ photos in flickr but they’re exceptional. I’ve fav’d one and made 3 comments after one visit.

Here’s two extracts…

So now, about the photograph. If you look on his fingernails, you can see some of the legacy of that treatment. On each of his fingernails there is a strong white line which is gradually being forced upwards by new, healthy nail beneath.

Underneath that line should be a cancer free man, if the doctors are right.

Voyager by Linda Brunker.

And I’m sure Behan would be proud that the place is littered with beer cans and broken bottles. It just occurred to me that you don’t see 2-litre cider bottles around anymore. I wonder if they were banned?

Don’t know if this is true but wikipedia (link above) says:
His last words were to several nuns standing over his bed, “God bless you, may your sons all be bishops.”