Drive By Art - Art you can see from the car

Velcrow

I spend a good bit of time in the car and have noticed that with each new road development / improvement there is an accompanying piece of public art / sculpture - I think they are funded under the 1 percent scheme ( One percent of the projects budget can be spent on culture - up to a certain cap! ).

So I am looking to see what are peoples opinions on these pieces - Ones you like, ones you hate and if you think the money is being well spent.

To start the ball rolling:

Like:
The Stag ( On the hill side as you come into Cork via Limerick )
Man and Bull ( Nenagh bypass. Anybody know the correct name fro this )

Hate:
Reflective Crosses ( Kildare bypass, don't know the name for this either )
Crazy Heads ( Outside Thomand Gate Garda Station Limerick )

the evil belly

i wish they'd stop wasting money on pointless crap like that and improve the roads. that money could go to upgrading other roads or could be used to put in proper motorway services etc.

gobby

We dont really have any good graff in this country either. Always love travelling around Europe (by train or road). The graff is excellent!

Velcrow

the evil belly wrote:

i wish they'd stop wasting money on pointless crap like that and improve the roads. that money could go to upgrading other roads or could be used to put in proper motorway services etc.

Do you like any of it! Agreed some are a complete waste but not all !

Squirrel

Can the spike be counted?

CrowdedHouse

Velcrow wrote:

Man and Bull ( Neagh bypass. Anybody know the correct name fro this )

Yea it's the Nenagh bypass

giveth

There's a statue of a naked man on the N28 coming out of Cork towards carrigaline.

I think the road art is good. Compared to the cost of the road, the cost of the art pieces is miniscule so why not have them on every new road development?

Yes, the Spike is definately the finest example of road art in the country!

unklerosco

Man n Bull is class.... Whats with crap on the way down to kildare near the curragh??? Its pointless....

My fav was the row of 5 burnt out cars in tallaght last year.... it looked class(i doubt it was for the owners tho)

mike65

Theres a big fish on the side of the N8 at Cahir. Some metal sculptures can be seen on the N25 near Harristown about 5 miles/8 kms from Wexford and similair just outside Adare on the N20.

Mike.

Cianos

While I think it is worth adding an art piece to enhance the visual aspect of any major development, I think the whole thing could be approached in a better way, as most reactions are along the lines of "thats just pointless crap, waste of money". I personally would hate to see bland roads everywhere with nothing to break up the absolute gray so I think the 1 percent rule is definately a good thing. But I would like to see it being used in more creative ways, and ways that would guarantee a positive reaction from the majority, if not every passer-by.

Ideas?

What would you like to see? Be as crazy as you wish!

Mutz

The Iron Knight on the hill on the Sligo Road is class. Near all the lakes - don't know the precise location.

Thorbar

There's one on the dual carriage way between Ennis and Limerick. Sort of hard to discribe but its a kind of a silvery metal design which is organic and melted. Part of it loops around a tree as well I think. Hard to take in the details at 60 mph.

Also I remember hearing that the balls have been cut off the stag on the Cork road. No idea how true this is.

I think the road are is a great idea, and anyone who uses the excuse that we should just spend the money on building roads is fairly short sighted. A piece of art probably costs a few inchs or feet of motor way yet it really enhances the look. Its the same with people who gave out about the spire being built when the money could have gone to hospital beds. I guess we should redesign dublin to be one massive factory/industrial estate to maximise how many hospital beds we can support.

Alun

What if the same people who today give out about the money spent on public art had been around years ago? What a boring environment we would be living in today if they'd had their way.

rymus

giveth wrote:

There's a statue of a naked man on the N28 coming out of Cork towards carrigaline.

That chap has had pants put on him so many times and in so many variations it's hard to laugh at it anymore when it happens.

Unless I've been into the horseradish again, isnt there a unicorn on the Cork - Killarney road? That's not bad. There are also a few large stone milk churns somewhere, perhaps west cork.

However my alltime favourite piece of road art will always be this one...

camarobill

what a waste of money,the roads are a f..k..g joke in ireland,a few micky mouse moterways,or car parks most of the time!!!,back roads that look like they where bombed,county councles that arent fit to maintain the roads but are fast at putin up this crap,spend the money on the roads first,whats better geting to work on time,or sitting in traffic all day looking at this at the side off the road

Velcrow

Squirrel wrote:

Can the spike be counted?

Yes - anything you can see driving by in the car!

Thorbar wrote:

There's one on the dual carriage way between Ennis and Limerick. Sort of hard to discribe but its a kind of a silvery metal design which is organic and melted. Part of it loops around a tree as well I think. Hard to take in the details at 60 mph.

Oh yeah I know that one - we call it the " Silver Snot"

What is very different about these pieces is that we hardly ever get to find out the offical names! BullMan

rymus wrote:

However my alltime favourite piece of road art will always be this one...

Any chance of getting more picture of Drive By Art from people

camarobill wrote:

whats better geting to work on time,or sitting in traffic all day looking at this at the side off the road

Fair Point!

Velcrow

CrowdedHouse wrote:

Yea it's the Nenagh bypass

Apologies

Enygma

This ones a bit obscure and it's really really weird. I'm not even too sure if it's supposed to be art or not.
Coming out of Belgooly going towards Kinsale in Cork there's four large sections of sewer pipes with a statue of a man on top, they've usually got him wearing the local football jersey (hilarious) but the weirdest part is there's this statue of a dog in one of the pipes that looks like it was made out of plaster or paris or something.

Anyone know the one I'm on about, what the hell is it?

<edit>I've got the camera with me, I'll try to remember to take a pic on the way home today</edit>

Dades

camarobill wrote:

what a waste of money,the roads are a f..k..g joke in ireland,a few micky mouse moterways,or car parks most of the time!!!,back roads that look like they where bombed,county councles that arent fit to maintain the roads but are fast at putin up this crap,spend the money on the roads first,whats better geting to work on time,or sitting in traffic all day looking at this at the side off the road

The cost of a piece of art is negligible to the cost of building a road. Get over the budget rant!

Anyways sculptures and stuff act as good landmarks for giving directions and finding your way.... and are therefore useful...

Enygma

I heard that they use art and sculptures on the motorways in the continent to help keep people from falling asleep at the wheel.

Those roads are just so straight and there isn't much scenery, gives people something to look at. I think that's where it came from anyway.

Velcrow

Yes They are great landmarks - the Naas Ball ( Perpetual Motion ) is a good example.

Some would say an expensive alternative to good signage!

If anyone has pictures of Road Art - start sending them in! If we get enough we will have The Road Art Oscars!

mike65

Enygma wrote:

This ones a bit obscure and it's really really weird. I'm not even too sure if it's supposed to be art or not.
Coming out of Belgooly going towards Kinsale in Cork there's four large sections of sewer pipes with a statue of a man on top, they've usually got him wearing the local football jersey (hilarious) but the weirdest part is there's this statue of a dog in one of the pipes that looks like it was made out of plaster or paris or something.

Anyone know the one I'm on about, what the hell is it?

<edit>I've got the camera with me, I'll try to remember to take a pic on the way home today</edit>

Yeah I go to Kinsale most Mondays and its there on the left on the edge of the last village before Kinsale. Its a bit weird okay.

Mike.

Enygma

And here it is, sorry bout the size of the pic, not too sure about compression etc.

I think this one is truly bizarre though, and kinda reflects the atmosphere of the whole town. If you're ever there pop into the petrol station, it's like something from the League of Gentlemen

camarobill

The Atheist wrote:

The cost of a piece of art is negligible to the cost of building a road. Get over the budget rant!

Anyways sculptures and stuff act as good landmarks for giving directions and finding your way.... and are therefore useful...

the idea of a road is to go from point to point,there are signposts for directions,dont get me wrong im all for the arts,a case off putting the cart before the donkey

Dades

camarobill wrote:

the idea of a road is to go from point to point,there are signposts for directions,dont get me wrong im all for the arts,a case off putting the cart before the donkey

And the idea of a wall is to hold your house up - but I bet you've got a pic or two on it...

Velcrow

Enygma: Nice Picture - Whats going on with the Dog??

The Atheist wrote:

And the idea of a wall is to hold your house up - but I bet you've got a pic or two on it...

Nice Analogy!


Any idea where I could get pictures for all these road art sculptures, was on to NTR but they suggested each county council - I presume the Art Officer would be the one to direct my queries to

camarobill

The Atheist wrote:

And the idea of a wall is to hold your house up - but I bet you've got a pic or two on it...

fair play i give up smart ar... and do gudders always win :rolleyes:

peasant

Mutz wrote:

The Iron Knight on the hill on the Sligo Road is class. Near all the lakes - don't know the precise location.

It's shortly after Boyle in the curlew mountains going towards Sligo. Brilliant !!
It's actually at a view point over the lakes and has actually enticed me to stop there to look at both the statue and the view ...both WELL worth it.

Whoever comissioned that had very good sense, for a change. It is becoming an attraction in its own right.

Geranium

We've hardly any public art in this country. More of it can only be a good thing. I love the big tarmac covered ball with road markings all over it. Anyone know it?

Velcrow

Geranium wrote:

I love the big tarmac covered ball with road markings all over it. Anyone know it?

Are you joking!

In case your not, Naas Ball is called Perpertual Motion the artists were -Remco De Fouw and Rachel Joynt

There is a good series on RTE 1 on Public Art called Rays of Light? Thursday 7.02pm or on the www all the time at:

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/rayoflight/

fresca

Ann Lane has compiled a book of road art photos...
http://www.millstreet.ie/blog/2010/08/05/ann-lane%E2%80%99s-photographic-journal-of-public-art

Gregor Samsa

I think one of the problems with a lot of the roadside art in Ireland is scale.

There's a kind of aluminium snake on the M18 (Ennis Bypass) that coils into the ground along the embankment, and even though it's maybe 20 meters long, it's completely lost against the scale of the motorway cutting through the hill with the huge embankment each side.

I know not every sculpture can (or should be) on the scale of Anthony Gormley's really impressive Angel of the North in Gateshead, but there could be better consideration for the location of some of the pieces. The ball with the road markings on the Naas road (Perpetual Motion) is perfectly sized and located.

I think the Bull and Man works particularly because it draws the two sides of the road together, effectively putting you (the motorist) in the middle of the sculpture - if only for a second. Some of the other installations try to do this too (The disk and ring on the M4, for instance), but they don't work as well.

By the way, seemingly the coloured crosses on the M7 in Kildare is called "The Race of the Black Pig" (by Dan George). I don't particularly like it, but at least it's big enough to be noticed.

There's a fairly good selection of photos of road sculpture around the country here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/roadsculptureireland/pool/

Edit: just noticed this was an ooooooooooooooooooooold thread that got resurrected prior to my reply

peasant

Mutz wrote: »

The Iron Knight on the hill on the Sligo Road is class. Near all the lakes - don't know the precise location.

It's at the Lough Arrow / Lough Key viewing point ...and I agree, it's gorgeous



oops ..yes ...old thread ........now with new pics