The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen
A touring public artwork by Jim Ricks
June 7th - 21st 2011
The Aughty regions of County Galway
Official launch: June 7th, 2011, 9:00 am at The Huntsman Inn, Galway
“The best public art piece... ever.” – Alice Maher, Artist
“The artist has combined an icon of ancient Ireland with an icon of contemporary Ireland, playfully re-presenting elements of Irish culture, often over-used commercially to attract tourism, in an accessible, witty, and visually arresting way.” – Kernan Andrews, Galway Advertiser
The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen by Jim Ricks is a monumental inflatable sculpture designed for members of the public, of all ages, to interact with. The artwork will be touring venues around the Aughty Region of County Galway during June of 2011. The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen is a replica, at twice the scale, of the famous 6,000 year old megalithic portal tomb of the same name, which is located in the Burren, Co. Clare. Jim Ricks created the interactive soft sculpture with the intention of bringing a portal dolmen to Aughty, a region which has no dolmens, only wedge tombs.
The official launch of The Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen will be on June 7th, 2011 in front of the Huntsman Inn in Galway. The piece will be set up first thing in the morning (weather permitting!) followed by a small reception at 9am. It will be touring the Slieve Aughty region of Galway for 2 weeks. The tour will close with an afternoon appearance adjacent to the real Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren, on the June 21st solstice.Jim Ricks’ practice is characterised by challenges and disruptions to ownership, intellectual property rights and any conception of originality. As such, he openly imitates art and life through available means and materials. This process embraces creativity through divergence and welcomes the accidents that occur in the ‘knock off’ process as the (automatic) art itself. The work also frequently explore the grey area between flattery and theft. Ricks’ work is influenced by his background as a prolific graffiti artist and a political activist.
Born in California, Jim Ricks received his MFA from the National University of Ireland, Galway and Burren College of Art programme and his BFA from the California College of the Arts. He has exhibited internationally, most recently with with The Black Mariah for the Terminal Convention, Cork, and at What are You Thinking?, The Niland Gallery, Galway. In 2010 he received the Artlink ‘New Art Award’; exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy (Dublin); had solo shows at Fort Dunree (Co. Donegal), Occupy Space (Limerick) and Pallas Contemporary Projects (Dublin); took part in group shows with Dock Discourse at 126 and offsite (Galway), The Galway Arts Festival (Galway), Monster Truck Temple Bar (Dublin) and Pallas Contemporary Projects (Dublin). In 2009 he exhibited in the Galway Arts Centre (Galway), Monster Truck Gallery (Dublin), IMOCA (Dublin) and participated in Frieze Projects’ COPYSTAND: Autonomous Manufacturing Zone (London). Ricks is currently working on the touring public work In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth), a collaboration with Cause Collective (US) in 2011.
Supported by the Galway County Council, the Clare County Council Arts Office, Ground Up Artists Collective, The Huntsman Inn and Eight Bar and Restaurant.
For more information about the artist please see: www.jimricks.info
To see the Bouncy Dolmen in action please visit us here.
Read what the Irish Times says about it here.
Read what the Galway Advertiser says about it here.
Check it out on publicart.ie here.
And share the event on Facebook here.
Hello to all...
I am back in my native mile high city where I’ve recently finished applying (finally!) for MFA programs, and am playing at the art-world game...
I’ve had some wonderful opportunities since returning from Ireland, including a teaching internship in Telluride, CO and a few artist residencies. I had one at the Science Museum of Minnesota where I was given a cabin in the forest for three weeks, and another on a tiny, private island off the coast of Maine with one other artist and eight writers. I stayed in a wonderful studio/room in a giant barn out in the woods where I had all the time and quiet one could want.
Since then I've been working at a few mind-numbing jobs in Denver to pay the bills while I continue to spend time in the studio and work towards the next phase of my life. I have had two solo shows and a couple of group shows. They were both well-attended and well-received, and very instrumental in helping me get my foot in the door in Denver.
I have signed with a gallery here called Walker Fine Art, a large, contemporary space in the museum district. I'm very excited about that relationship; it's owned by a wonderful, fiery woman who knows her business very well. Also, she's looking for it to be a long-term relationship, and is willing to follow me and continue to show my work through and after graduate school. Just since signing on about six weeks ago, they’ve sold eight of my pieces and are anxious for more! (kind of a lot of pressure though...) I’ve had quite a number of other sales recently as well, through prior or additional outlets, much to my surprise and excitement, and just in time to give me a little boost while trying to compose daunting application essays about artistic worth.
My work continues to focus primarily on the natural world, and I still consider drawing to be my main medium, though I have branched out a bit with painting and printmaking over the past year. I have continued to work on both large and small scales, usually simultaneously, which I find to be beneficial. My time in nature and the devotion to my subject matter have both continued to grow, and benefit immensely from opportunities such as residencies that allow for the “time, space, and inspiration” we all know and love from BCA.
Lastly...I’ve finally gotten a website up and running, which for someone as web-handicapped as I am (hence the long delay in my blogging) is a pretty major accomplishment. :)
www.noctua-creative.com
