“Intelligent collecting begins with the discovery or deepening awareness of core values through their reflection in objects that are found attractive; it expands from the confirmation of what we know and like into the enjoyment of otherness and different ways of understanding life. As William Davies King observes in Collections of Nothing, ‘Collecting, like art, is a way of coming to terms with the strangeness of the world. It is a form of wanderlust.’”
The quote above is taken from John Hutchinson’s Pairidaeza, published by the Gallery last year, which focuses on the theme of Paradise, as well as the psychology of collecting. The latter is rarely considered in contemporary art theory, despite its undeniable influence on the workings of the art world. The essay also considers how collecting can be seen as a sort of ‘curating’; a way of creating order and cohesion out of the chaos of everyday life.
As part of our Response Series Musician Alon Benjamini has created the musical piece Golden Retriever: A musical response to Uri Aran’s exhibition Take This Dog for Example. In this new composition, certain parts are directly influenced by specific pieces within the exhibition, while others are inspired by the emotions and visions evoked by the exhibition as a […]
The Douglas Hyde is delighted to present a walk through of the exhibition The Rise and The Fall where artist Liz Magor and our Director, Dr Georgina Jackson, will discuss some of the themes, subject matter, histories and ideas of the work on show. The event is free and everybody is welcomed, but booking is […]
Participants in this interactive Animation Lab will use their imaginations to discuss and visually explore the nature of memory. The lab will consider questions like: What is memory? How does memory change over time? What about memory is special? Participants will create their own creative responses to these ideas through animation. The Animation Lab is […]
In this lab, participants will experience sound in its different forms and reflect on the emotional responses that sound provokes. Daranijoh Sunni (E the Artist) will create and isolate different sounds and vibrations for participants to experience – and then ask them to think about and discuss the feelings, emotions, and responses they have to […]
Dr Georgina Jackson, Director of The Douglas Hyde, will lead a tour of the current exhibition by Uri Aran, Take This Dog for Example. Comprising a series of sculptures, video and photographic works, this is Aran’s first institutional exhibition in Ireland. Through his work, Aran explores the basics of language, behaviour, perception, and the rules […]
Artists present us with new perspectives on the world we live in. Explore the exciting ideas behind our programmes, hear more from the artists we work with and discover new ways of engaging with art.
