The Model

The Niland Collection on Tour

If you missed it the first time around, you now have another chance to see our recent exhibition ‘Norah McGuinness: Illustrations to the Stories of Red Hanrahan’. The Model is delighted to present this exhibition, drawn from The Niland Collection, in Roscommon Arts Centre, in collaboration with the lovely people there.

Thanks to a grant from The Heritage Council these works have been conserved and reframed and this is only the second time that they have been exhibited publically in many years.

Norah McGuinness was born in Derry in 1903 and studied at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, and later in Paris under the renowned Cubist, André Lhote. McGuinness was still a student when she met W. B. Yeats in 1920s Dublin. He was so impressed with her work that he later invited her to illustrate his book ‘The Stories of Red Hanrahan and the Secret Rose’ which he planned to republish in 1927. The drawings are striking for their Byzantine Modernist style although one critic deemed the style “disturbing” on the publication of the book in 1927.

Throughout her career McGuinness utilised her extraordinary creative talents, by branching out into illustration, theatre design and window dressing, to supplement her income. She created fashion illustrations for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and The Bystander magazines, and designed windows for Altman’s department store on Fifth Avenue New York and Brown Thomas in Dublin.

McGuinness was one of a number of pioneering female Irish artists who brought European modernist influences to Ireland at a time when the arts were predominantly patriarchal and traditional.

This exhibition is on display in the Roscommon Arts Centre from March 16th to April 26th 2012. For more information, please visit Roscommon Arts Centre’s website

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Young Adult

Young Adult stars Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary, a 37 year old writer for a teen book series and the movie is about her struggle with her so called, glory days.

I think I can safely say that most of us hit a certain age when we say that school was the best time of our lives and I think the reason for this is that we were just discovering who we were and what we wanted to be. We had friends who would stay with us forever and not a care in the world about what adult life would bring to us.

This is a well told story about a woman who lives her life under the impression, that things have not gone right for her as an adult and she can’t enjoy where she is in life because she regards her high school years as her peak.

Directed by Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) and written by Diablo Cody (Juno),
_Young Adult _ is completed by a moving and rounded performance by Charlize Theron. The character is someone who struggles so hard with reliving her romantic vision of her past that she fails to enjoy where she is in the present and that leads to an internal struggle that everyone around her seems to recognise as some sort of severe depression.

Having said that, Young Adult is a mix of a somewhat dark story, laced with extremely funny moments and a character that is very relatable.

Whether we want to admit it or not, I think most of us can identify with that moment when you think, “Everything was so much simpler back then”…

Screening Fri. & Sun, Mar.16, 18 at 6.15pm

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David McSavage: I'm Alive Inside.

Click here to book tickets.

Creator and star of The Savage Eye, Ireland’s funniest and most outrageous comedian is back in Sligo for one night only.

David McSavage is one of Ireland’s most popular comedians and street entertainers. His cutting commentary and performances cover all aspects of life and nothing is safe from his truth induced interpretations. From The Barman (Mick The Bull) to Father Finnegan to former President Mary Robinson and Pat…….Kenny, audiences relate to each character from the many aspects of Irish life.

A regular guest on TV and radio shows in Ireland for many years, McSavage has also appeared at all the major comedy festivals including the Edinburgh Festival and internationally in Australia, Germany and Scandinavia. He is well known for his street shows in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

He devised Headwreckers for the Channel 4 TV show Comedy Lab in 2008.
And in 2009, he devised, wrote and starred in the six part TV series called The Savage Eye for RTÉ. The show which has been critically acclaimed was again recently nominated for an IFTA award for Best Entertainment Series and Best Director. The third series will be released by RTÉ 2 in February 2012.

Click here to book tickets.

….the most divisive comedian in the country Evening Herald

McSavage is a comedic force… a riotous evening and a thoroughly entertaining show entertainment.ie

One of Ireland’s funniest comedians The Irish Mirror

The comic equivalent of dynamite fishing (Official Edinburgh Fringe Magazine)

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The Descendants - A review by Lee Hayden

My name is Lee and I am working at the Model for the last two weeks as part of my TY work experience. I had the entire Model Cinema to myself yesterday as I watched The Descendants. Here is what I think of it.

The director Alexander Payne tells a tale of Matt King (George Clooney) and his difficult journey as he attempts to do good by numerous family members, become the sole career for his two daughters, and please the community, all while finding out his wife’s secret life after she suffers a serious boating accident.
The story, set in Hawaii, meant that throughout the film we are shown shoots of some of the most beautiful blue skies and sunny beaches, this brought together with Hawaiian music allows us to become totally immersed in the life and home of the King family.

Clooney gives a brilliant performance throughout the film taking on every impossible decision, he’s full of anger and incredible sadness as his character fights to keep his head above water in this confusing time. But it is also worth remembering other performances of Matt’s children, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller). Shailene takes on the role of a rebellious teenager turning young adult with ease, while her character helps and supports Matt through some of the film’s more difficult scenes. For Amara, this film is her very first performance as an actress on the big stage.

Considering she worked alongside one or two industry giants, Amara seems unfazed as she sinks into the role with confidence, and delivers some truly funny lines.
One of the most memorable moments is a shot of Alexandra King, screaming in despair underwater in her pool. The Descendants is an inspiring film with brilliant acting. It has a very good story line and its well thought out.

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Launch night of Double Vision, an exhibition by Young Curators.

It is a rare opportunity for young people to get in real contact with an art collection, gain experience working as a curator and to learn about collections and collecting. This is what the Sligo/Antrim Young Curators cross boarder project did. The group curated an interactive social history exhibition; which included a Silent Disco Room in the Model’s galleries.

On the night of the launch two local bands played live– The Complaints and Eusocial on the acoustic stage at the Model. It was very loud rock music with their fans dancing and singing along to the bands. There were over 250 young people at The Model so you can imagine the energy and the steam coming from the room.
The students involved in the Young Curators programme came from local secondary schools all around Sligo including the Grammar, Summerhill College, Ursulaine College, St. Claire’s comprehensive, Manorhamilton and St. Mary’s Ballisadare,
The exhibition Double Vision was developed over two years by the two groups with support from curators from The Model and The Mid-Antrim Museum service Co Antrim. They choose the content of the exhibition The Model’s Niland Collection and the Mid-Antrim Museums Braid collection, Ballymena.

The Young Curators designed the exhibition so the public could interact with the show by writing up their reaction on the Talk Wall. They asked them what music they liked; here are some of their replies, Black-Eyed Peas, Take That, Britney Spears and Blink 182. They also asked them what they thought of their exhibition and they said it was brilliant and that the paintings and artefacts were really good together. More said the exhibition was thought out really well and that it gave them a new perspective on art.

The Silent Disco, in the gallery has music from bands that once played at the Flamingo Ballroom, Ballymena including Rory Gallagher, Undertones, Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy and many more.

The Hot Dogs and Milk shakes were served for free from the Slice Café at The Model they were so tasty that some people were looking for seconds.
There is a teachers guide for Double Vision which can be down loaded on line at www.themodel.ie/education. Double Vision is a very interactive exhibition for people of all ages. The exhibition continues until May 06.

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‘…and the Oscar goes to ....’

Out of the nine titles nominated for Best Picture for 2012 Oscars, The Model Cinema has screened four. This includes The Artist and The Descendants which are being screened 22 – 29 February. Other contenders include Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which were both popular with The Model audiences.

Midnight in Paris is a light-hearted witty escapade, with Allen’s alter-ego, Owen Wilson journeying through time to the Paris of Picasso, Hemmingway and Salvador Dali and hooking up with one of Picasso’s muses, played by an enigmatic Marion Cotillard. The Tree of Life, a beautiful and poignant film, divided Model audiences, but for the sheer beauty of the cinematography and scope of the director’s vision, Malick deserves much praise and encouragement to carry on with this ambitious vision and superb film-craft.

Who will get the coveted Best Picture? The Artist has been clearing the boards at the recent award ceremonies, with its seven Baftas, even winning Best Screenplay! When picking up the screenplay award, The Artist’s director, Michel Hazanavicius, said: “I’m very surprised, because so many people thought there was no script, because there was no dialogue, so English people are very clever. Congratulations to you.” Critics now say that The Artist has gone from underdog to Rottweiler, but what about Payne’s comedy on a mid-life crisis, The Descendants, with George Clooney trying to keep things together in cloudy Hawaii… it could be the dark horse in this race.

Both The Artist and The Descendants are opening at The Model in the coming days. Click here for details.

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Shame opens tonight at The Model

Much has been written about visual artist, Steve McQueen’s latest feature film, Shame. The story of thirty something, New York, sex addict Brandon Sullivan, the film is an unflinching portrayal of the nature of addiction.

Shame has certainly been garnering a lot of media attention in recent weeks, most of which has been overwhelmingly positive. The film’s two leads Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, have been particularly singled out for their brilliant and brave performances

Shame has been described as raw, icily compulsive and the most provocative and compelling film of the year and it is certain to make riveting but possibly uncomfortable viewing.

Shame is showing at The Model from tonight at 8pm through to Sunday afternoon. Full cinema schedule is here

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The British Guide to Showing Off

A blog by Cathy Quinlan, front of house assistant and film fan

I have always been a fan dressing up and letting my hair down. There is nothing better than letting the constraints and restrictions of the modern world slip away, even if it is for a brief period of time. That is what life is all about. Taking your life in your hands and telling the world, I’m here and I’m not embarrassed to be me!

Of course there are days where this just isn’t as possible a mindset! But I plan to watch a movie called “The British Guide To Showing Off” coming soon to the Model. It is a story about a British Artist called Andrew Logan and his outrageous costume pageant: The Alternative Miss World Show.

Logan is “ringmaster” for the event and has said it to be his most important artwork of living sculpture since starting the pageant in 1972. The show is not about beauty but more about transformation, exploration and acceptance. The film is documentary style featuring live and archive footage as well as occasional animation and follows the events leading up to and including the 2009 show.

It is a film about the extrovert in all of us. About the people who let that extrovert out to have fun and throw caution to the wind. I personally love that idea.

As Logan states himself,
“It’s about creative free-reign, about the ordinary becoming extraordinary.”

The film is being screening at The Model Cinema from February . click here for details

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Huge range of art magazines on sale could make perfect stocking fillers

A blog by Eve MacSearraigh, Bookshop Assistant

They Say You Should Never Judge a Book by its Cover…

We are very happy to have the latest multi-colour, glossy (and not so!) art magazines in stock. Judging by their covers, these are on the cutting and slicing edge of their genre and there’s a wide variety of different styles and budgets…

At the high end, and described by Time Out, as “the best art publication by miles”, Parkett is high-quality. With its book-spined design, it is fully illustrated in colour; and self-described as “a large library and a small museum of contemporary art”. Beautifully presented, it’s definitely a keepsake.

Rooms Uncovered brings the latest from a global subculture, showcasing arresting artwork from hidden and not so hidden international artists and other creative thinkers. Image-heavy and surprisingly affordable at less than a fiver.

Art Forum is the fashion mag of the glossies with beautiful images
and reviews of best art of the year 2011. A great overview for the those hungry to know what’s going on out there, or event to argue their choices!

Since 1976, Art Monthly has consistently offered informed and highly readable coverage of the current art scene and is noted for its independence and the quality of its writing in features, reviews and editorials.

Kingbrown arrives as elusively as a street-artist in a New York subway in the 80’s. Produced by street artist YOK and illustrator-artist Ian Mutch, it captures the work of internationally acclaimed artists that use a variety of mediums.

Source continues to show arresting photographic reviews. I love it. While frieze with its still-life photographic issue is “insightful, intelligent and exquisitely designed”…. it “is the leading magazine in contemporary art and culture.”

Raw Vision, is as it says on the tin. It’s not glossy, it’s raw and it’s real.

Cabinet, provided the perfect Christmas present for family member. This issue is entitled Forensics, but as I look it through it I wonder is it really me who wants it, rather than he? Enough writing; I just want to read and be absorbed…

Eve MacSearraigh
Bookshop Assistant

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TY students go behind the scenes at Isabel Nolan’s exhibition.

During the week, Liam and I (Wacky) have been helping out with some of the preparations for the Model’s next big exhibition called, ‘A Hole Into The Future’ by Isabel Nolan. This exhibition features many great pieces of Isabel’s work including many sculptural pieces of art. Most of her work is very abstract and mainly consists of many different shapes. We had a great time learning how Isabel approached the design of the sculptures for example how she developed her various techniques. Her attention to detail was amazing especially on one of her Blanket’s, which is extended out from the wall, which for Liam was a pain to put up. We had a great experience during our time at the gallery as we got an insight of what it’s like to be a curator, it was a pleasure working for Ollie and Isabel.

The experience included not only an insight into the work of modern artists, but it gave us a feel of how work in a real working environment is in fact difficult. Wacky, when left with no job to do attempted to hunt down any form of work available, although when doing so he ended up with near frost bite due to holding a cold ladder in the freezing Irish weather. The weather itself had become a major problem with a lot of the installation work being postponed due to its effect on certain jobs. For example Isabel’s new commission for The Model called The Outward Form had got slightly damaged when the men unloaded it from the truck.……… When installing the piece Isabel tried to paint the Blue sculpture outside but unfortunately for her she had gone out thinking the weather was nice enough to work in in-fact just after having the paint mixed it started to rain. ☹

Besides these mishaps, our other work went fine, such as the many covers of paint we placed upon the walls of the exhibition. However, some paint ended up on the ground leading to hours of scrubbing and cleaning with Richard’s arsenal of cleaning tools. My least favourite out of the cleaning jobs was scraping paint from the ground, as a lot of it didn’t come off that easily. In all both Liam and I found the week interesting and fun filled with some ups and downs along the way.

On the final day of preparations, we managed to get up both posters for the exhibition with only one minor mishap with Liam nearly dropping the poster, which thankfully didn’t end up being damaged. One worry for the second poster was that it could buckle since it’s located in a very cold area, although Isabel assured us that she could reprint the poster if such a hazard were to occur. I(Wacky) enjoyed Friday probably the most because I had a lot to do

Blog written and directed by Karl Wacky Coleman.

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