Remarks by President McAleese At the launch of the Second Nissan Art Project
Remarks by President McAleese At the launch of the Second Nissan Art Project Dun Laoghaire Yacht Club 3 February 1999
I am delighted to be with you this evening to launch the Second Nissan Art Project. I would like to particularly thank Maurice Foley, Chairman of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, for his kind invitation.
Particular credit for this Project is owed to Gerard O’Toole, the Executive Chairman of Nissan Ireland. It was Gerard who took the initiative in approaching the IMMA with the idea of establishing an award process which would provide assistance and new opportunities for artists working in Ireland.
The result was the Nissan Art Project, established in 1997. The key aim of the Project is to assist artists in breaking new ground by creating temporary artworks outside the usual confines of art galleries. This has a dual benefit – it provides artists with greater freedom in their creative work and, at the same time, it is accessible to members of the general public who might not usually cross the threshold of an art gallery.
The project therefore ties in exceptionally well with the aims of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, in creating opportunities for the public to experience new art, new ideas and new ways of viewing older art, both within and outside its magnificent base at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
The key to the success of the Nissan Art Project has been its accessibility – both physically and in its realisation – to the general public. I have no doubt that this year’s project – Ghost Ship by Dorothy Cross, will be meet these twin objectives very successfully.
Dorothy is a leading member of a generation of Irish artists, North and South, who have given new life, new energy and imagination to the visual arts. This generation has taken on issues from our tradition and history and addressed them in a contemporary way, providing new readings of the past without sentimentality or nostalgia.
Ghost Ship is a fine example of this. It is a personal homage by Dorothy Cross to the many lightships which once marked the dangerous reefs around the Irish coast and which have now all but disappeared. This commemorative aspect of Ghost Ship is important to the nature of the project – as a marker of change both in Irish maritime life and within Irish culture as a whole. Dorothy deserves enormous praise for the originality of the idea and the intriguing way in which it has been followed through, which I know has required many months of hard work and dedication.
Artists are traditionally viewed as solitary creatures. But this work couldn’t have been realised without the involvement and co-operation of a number of maritime agencies, particularly Dublin Port Company and the Commissioners of Irish Lights. We thank them, and all of the individuals who gave of their time and energy to ensure the success of this project, notably, Captain Colm Newport, David Carlisle, Gavin O’Curry, and Joe and Charlie Murray.
The Nissan Art Project would not have been possible at all, of course, if it had not been for the very successful partnership between a national public institution, the IMMA, and the private sector, through Nissan Ireland. Together, they have provided a channel of communication between the artist and the public – and communication is what great art has always been about. The links between corporate Ireland and Irish culture are vital two-way lifelines. Long may they flourish.
It gives me great pleasure to launch the Ghost Ship, as the 1998/99 Nissan Art Project. May God bless her and all who sail in her!