“Artistic bombs” that’s how the Shemus cartoons were described in Dáil Éireann in 1923. Published in Dublin’s The Freeman’s Journal newspaper between 1920 and 1924, they were remarkably hard-hitting comments on the events of that period. During the War of Independence, they targeted the increasingly brutal nature of British rule in Ireland. They later attacked the new government of Northern Ireland and the republicans who opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. The cartoonist was an Englishman, Ernest Forbes (1879–1962), who went on to enjoy some success as an artist in London and in his native Yorkshire. His work for The Freeman’s Journal gives a most unusual angle on a bitterly contested period of Irish history. Felix M. Larkin will present a selection of the Shemus cartoons, with a general introduction on the life and work of Ernest Forbes.
Felix M. Larkin has recently retired from the Irish public service. He studied history at University College Dublin in the years 1968–72, and is vice-chairman of the National Library of Ireland Society. In 2008, he was a founder member of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland. He edited Librarians, Poets and Scholars: A Festschrift for Dónall Ó Luanaigh (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2007) and has just published Terror and Discord: The Shemus Cartoons in the Freeman’s Journal, 1920–1924 (A&A Farmar, Dublin, 2009).
This illustrated talk offers an insight into Tunde Toth’s experiences at the 20th IAPMA (International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists) Congress in Tasmania in 2009 where she had been invited to participate and give workshops on the experimental techniques she uses in silk fibre papermaking. Her three piece installation work Land Script – Copper Coast was selected for the New Paper – Old Land International Paper Art Exhibition at the same time. The talk follows her journey through the locations and events of the Congress – professional papermaking studios, galleries, artist’s presentations, specialised paper art workshops and wilderness tours – in a country of extraordinary landscapes and wildlife. The IAPMA Congress provided a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with over 130 international delegates and establish connections between networks and artists’ groups.
Tunde Toth is a Hungarian born artist specializing in experimental paper and fibre art, practicing in Ireland since 1998. As a paper artist and papermaker Tunde has been working with natural plant fibres, various handmade papers, raw silk fibres, textiles, found objects, old fabrics and lace for the past 13 years. She uses techniques and processes which are rooted in papermaking traditions but she continually develops and changes these processes through an experimental approach to the medium, exploring and pushing the boundaries of hand papermaking. Her artwork has been selected for a number of group and solo exhibitions at art centres and galleries in Ireland and internationally – most recently shown at Land – Scripts, her solo exhibition and residency at Kilkenny County Arts Office. In 2009 she was awarded the Artlinks Bursary Award.
Mary Crooke was unique as a woman working at a very high level in Dublin’s nascent print trade, operating as effective King’s Printer in Ireland from 1670–85. However, this lucrative patent was officially held in the name of her brother, Benjamin Tooke, a high profile London publisher and bookseller, and this fact has obscured the true volume of her print output, and has led to her underestimation in the annals of Dublin’s early print history until quite recently. This talk will celebrate the career of Mary Crooke, an intriguing figure in late seventeenth century Dublin.
Carol Maddock worked for some years in Dublin’s print trade, before completing a Masters in Library and Information Studies at UCD in 2008, where her thesis focused on Mary Crooke. In 2009, she was awarded the John Dean Medal and the Wilson Foundation Award (MLIS) by UCD. She currently works in the Ephemera Department of the National Library of Ireland.
Although the direction of Cumann na nGaedheal’s election campaign of 1932 was attributed to the O’Kennedy Brindley Advertising Agency, a series of seven election posters featuring satirical caricatures of Éamon de Valera were printed by McConnell’s Advertising Service. This talk examines these posters, their use of caricature and how they can provide an alternate discourse of Irish national identity.
Margaret O’Carroll returned from Australia and a career in marketing during the late 1990’s and later pursued a lifelong interest in graphic design by returning to education. She is completing her final year of a BA in Visual Communications through Waterford Institute of Technology. .
This is an illustrated talk and practical printing demonstration introducing Japanese woodblock printing as an art form, which was introduced into Japan, along with papermaking, in the 8th century by Buddhist missionaries. There will be a brief history on Japanese woodblock printing in the ukiyo-e tradition with illustrations and hand-outs and an opportunity to print from a carved woodblock.
As a trained printmaker Debra Bowden has, in recent years, focused on the art of Japanese woodblock printmaking. Her current work focuses on the delicately fluid, seasonal cycle of growth that is intrinsic to classic Japanese art and her influences are a combination of her own and Japanese gardens. Debra uses traditional tools and materials to produce wall mounted prints on Japanese papers.
Dr McGuinne will present an illustrated talk on the subject of the use of Irish character types for printing lyric song words for Irish music. Set in the context of a general historical overview of music printing, evidence will be presented of a particular typeface, heretofore uncommented upon, that was used exclusively for this purpose.
Dr Dermot McGuinne gained his primary degree and early experience as a graphic designer in the United States where he later held the position of Art Director of the University of Iowa Press for a number of years before returning to Ireland. He was awarded his doctorate from Trinity College Dublin for work completed on the subject of the “Irish Character in Print” and is author of various articles on this topic.