Amaptocare

Last updated

amaptocare
Ballymun, Dublin, Amaptocare Jochen Gerz.jpg
An example amaptocare semi-mature tree, with its narrative lectern, in a "renewed Ballymun" streetscape
MediumTrees
LocationDublin, Ireland

amaptocare is a large-scale public art work, in the form of a participative sponsored tree-planting project in Ballymun on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Proposed by German conceptual artist Jochen Gerz and commissioned by Breaking Ground on behalf of Dublin City Council's Ballymun Regeneration Limited as a percent for art scheme, it involved planting semi-mature trees in each neighbourhood of Ballymun, each with a personal comment from its sponsor inscribed on a nearby metal lectern. Over 630 trees from a choice of 15 mostly native varieties were sponsored, most by locals and other Dubliners, and 620 were planted by 2006.

Contents

amaptocare was the largest and longest-running of the arts projects funded as part of the massive regeneration of Ballymun, on which over 1.5 billion euro was spent. Begun in 2003, the project formally ended in 2017 - but three elements at Ballymun's civic plaza remain to be completed, namely an illuminated map of the project, inscription of sponsor names, and the planting of the "first fifteen" sponsored trees, one of each variety. There was a wide welcome for the new trees, and arts critics commented on the positive engagement of the project, but there were also questions from some locals about the mandatory sponsorship element. Aside from amaptocare, Ballymun Regeneration also engaged in a general tree-planting project.

Origins

Brief inscription - reflective of the artist's original concept (addressing the issue of a "no-fly zone for birds") - by a musician sponsor ... for the birds... Amaptocare.jpg
Brief inscription - reflective of the artist's original concept (addressing the issue of a "no-fly zone for birds") - by a musician sponsor

As part of the Ballymun Renewal Scheme, which had a planned public sector spend of hundreds of millions of euro, and total plans exceeding 2.5 billion euro, [1] a combined percent for art programme was deployed through the Breaking Ground arts organisation established under the oversight of Dublin City Council's Ballymun Regeneration Limited. [2] Breaking Ground sponsored a range of artworks, but also advertised by open call, in 2002, for a major project. Ultimately, two options were considered: a sculpture by American public artist Jeff Koons, whose works already commanded high prices but some of which were seen as "draws" or tourist attractions, or a participatory public artwork by conceptual artist Jochen Gerz. [3] Gerz, German-born, Paris-resident, and with dozens of public and participative art projects completed, had visited Ballymun in 2002, and had noticed the lack of trees, commenting "My first reaction was, this is a 'no-fly zone' for birds. It's very mineral, very planned, very geometrical. There is very little organic confidence, as if everybody needed to be planned, as if life could not happen in confidence." [4]

After further reading in Irish mythology, in which he noted the prominence of trees and woods, Gerz put tree planting at the centre of his project proposal. He further explained that he saw "the trees as breaking up the public and civic space of Ballymun", which he feared would otherwise be streamlined and anodyne, and that "It's nice to interrupt a little bit the monotony of the computer drawings." [4] [5] The project fitted within Gerz's "participatory art" area of work, including his perception that active involvement in art is important to democracy and the sense of community, and that the role of artist is not an isolated one: "The division of the world into artists and audiences endangers democracy" and this theme was reflected in the comments by some art critics reviewing amaptocare as discussed in the Reception section below. [6]

The Gerz proposal was selected, and proceeded as the largest, [7] and one of the two highest-funded, Ballymun arts projects, [8] with a budget described as exceeding 250,000 euro, [lower-alpha 1] and a duration from December 2003 to December 2017. [9] While some arts-related construction projects have cost much more, amaptocare has even been described as Ireland's largest arts project. [10] amaptocare was commissioned in late 2003 by Aisling Prior, the director of Breaking Ground, who also acted as producer, [11] and was named amaptocare, derived from "a map to care". The project manager, also working as producer, was Sheena Barrett. [9] The artist moved with his wife, Laurence Vanpoulle, to Sneem, County Kerry [9] while overseeing amaptocare, [12] and they settled there. [13]

One of the most popular varieties among sponsors, the Oak Amaptocare, Oak.jpg
One of the most popular varieties among sponsors, the Oak

Project

Promotion and tree types

From January 2004, the project advertised locally, inviting people to sponsor a tree, individually or as a family or other group. Ballymun residents and former residents were the primary targets but donations were accepted from others also. Most donations were individual but a few were declared for families, at least one for a community of nuns, and at least one for the band Aslan, whose members came from Ballymun and nearby Finglas, and who used to rehearse in a local parish hall, and one for Joe Doyle of The Frames. [10]

Fifteen mostly native tree varieties were offered (oak, wild cherry, white willow, ash, London plane, evergreen or holm oak, beech, copper beech, birch, lime, maple, cedar, rowan, Scots pine, Sophora japonica). [14] The sponsorship donation ranged from 50 to 250 euro according to type, the most expensive being the evergreen oak. The idea was to plant semi-mature trees, not small saplings, for a stronger impression and increased probability of survival. The sponsorship amount was about half the cost of sourcing and planting each tree, after discounted supply by the State forestry company, Coillte, the other half being covered by the scheme's promoters. [9] The sponsorship-participative aspect of the project has been summarised as the "idea that if residents purchased trees they would care more about their environment and that series of single acts would create long term values change in the area." [15]

A close-up of a sample statement with its tree Amaptocare in Ballymun, Dublin.jpg
A close-up of a sample statement with its tree

Operations

The project had offices in the Axis Arts and Community Centre in the civic complex in central Ballymun, [16] and a staff, aside from the artist, of two full-time and several part-time employees, and support from Ballymun Regeneration and its arts advisors. Students from the National College of Art and Design and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology interned on the project. [9]

One of the semi-mature sponsored trees with its narrative plaque Amaptocare Jochen Gerz.jpg
One of the semi-mature sponsored trees with its narrative plaque

Phase 1 - Trees

In the first phase of the project, with a target of 625 donors, [4] around 635 [lower-alpha 2] [9] [14] trees were sponsored, with oak and wild cherry the most-chosen, and just a few of the most costly, the evergreen oak, as well as maple, cedar and pine. The total contributed by sponsors was around 45,000 euro. [4] Some corporate sponsors, including McInerney and Bruce Shaw, donated trees on behalf of community organisations, as well as the comprehensive school. [17] Each sponsor was invited, over a period of 18 months, to a face-to-face meeting with the artist. At this meeting Gerz explored the concept of the project and worked with the sponsor to develop a short text answering the question "If this tree could speak, what would it say for me?" to be printed on an enamelled plaque or lectern by their chosen tree. [2] [5] Donors were also asked to choose in which neighbourhood of Ballymun the tree should be planted. The project reported that the choice of locations proved challenging, due to both the massive demolition and construction work ongoing across Ballymun, and to other, more routine, tree planting work. [9]

620 trees were planted on a wide range of streets between 2004 and 2006, by Coillte, Ballymun Regeneration and the city council, and the plaques installed adjacent to each, 32 cm from the ground. In the event of vandalism, of which there was a small initial wave, the lecterns were quickly replaced to maintain continuity, which the project believed led to an abatement in vandalism. [9] As of 2017, the first 15 trees sponsored had not yet been planted, as they were to be specially sited around the illuminated map of the whole project at Ballymun's civic plaza. [18]

How Ballymun Civic Plaza with amaptocare map, donor names and one tree of each of the 15 varieties, would look Model of the future Civic Plaza in Ballymun, Dublin.jpg
How Ballymun Civic Plaza with amaptocare map, donor names and one tree of each of the 15 varieties, would look

Phase 2 - Civic Plaza / Monument

The second phase of the project was to be the sandblasting of the names of donors into the granite surface of Ballymun's Civic Plaza, [5] and the installation of a 24 metre by 24 metre panel map of the area, with the site of each tree illuminated, and the "first 15" trees sponsored, one of each offered variety, planted around. [9] [19] [18] The illuminated map was to be produced by Laurent Fachard, founder of Lyon's lighting specialist LEA studio. [14] [20]

By 2008, it was reported that the second phase was delayed by discussions about Dublin's potential Metro link to Dublin Airport, a stop for which was planned to be located at the civic plaza. Residents and donors complained about a lack of information on the subject and project progress since the main tree-planting, and Ballymun Regeneration promised to hold meetings on update plans in the near term. [21] By 2010, the artist expected to conclude the project by 2015 [12] but as of 2017, the names on the plaza, and the map, were still pending. The artist commented in 2017 both "The Amaptocare work is not completed." and "I still hesitate to write that the work is abandoned." and stated that he was optimistic that the full project would be fulfilled, eventually. [18]

The National Memory Grove

A further community tree-planting project was proposed by locals, to be coordinated by Jochen Gerz and his team, as a memorial to the Ballymun Towers, the seven "signature" tallest of the Ballymun Flats blocks. To be named the National Memory Grove, this would have been a densely-planted hectare of oak trees. Land was allocated by Dublin Corporation on the road from central Ballymun towards Dublin Airport, and the first 40 sponsors secured, but the project did not go ahead. [4]

Reception and criticism

While reporting that the project was fully subscribed, and describing the artist as an "impressive figure" and "tireless negotiator" the Irish Times reported in late 2004 that there was some adverse comment about aspects of amaptocare. [8] More than one questioned the requirement for a donation, and the artist explained that he wanted a feeling of ownership, as opposed to impersonal municipal planting. [19] and said "that it could be possible that a work of art would not suffer from the presence of the people but, on the contrary, it would get better with the presence of the people" and that "The project is 'a little practical study of democracy'." A research project by Peter Dowie on arts projects and the Ballymun schemes also picked up some negative commentary about amaptocare, even "community animosity", with one community development worker at the Ballymun Partnership describing it as "...an arrogant proposal .. an extremely ambitious project .. very expensive with no room for evaluation .. and impractical within an area going through regeneration", an artistic director and activist referring to "patronisation of the community", and the researcher summarising some local reactions with: "The idea was that ownership of the tree would be both an inducement to, and a symbol of, their new commitment to caring for their area. Resentment toward the project stemmed from the fact it was perceived as patronizing and misunderstood the level at which residents had always demonstrated their ‘caring’ and sense of responsibility during 3 decades of civic neglect. The act of purchase also became a problem. It suggested further civic disrespect in charging residents living on social welfare for what would be given free in wealthier areas of Dublin", [15] although in fact there was also municipally-fully funded tree planting during the area's regeneration. [9]

Example of inscription - "...my cedar tree..." - personal expression as discussed by critics and a local artist Amaptocare.jpg
Example of inscription - "...my cedar tree..." - personal expression as discussed by critics and a local artist

Comments from artists and arts critics praised the participative and expressive nature of the work, and included art critic Jeremy Hunt saying that "Gerz has inversed [sic] the idea of imposed 'gifts' of social housing, institutional urbanism and cultural artefacts ... invited the population of Ballymun to donate, to contribute by paying for their own environment." [22] Marion Hohlfeldt remarked that Gerz was giving residents of an area which had been the focus of a "bad news" approach the opportunity to narrate their own history, to be, as Gerz put it, "new elites" and that the project was multi-layered, and had changed the atmosphere within the district during regeneration [23] - and a local artist involved in the scheme, John Duffy, described it as "providing a space for the donor, offering a way in which they can make a mark for themselves." and referred to one sponsor's perception of the work as "the provision of a second chance for her life in Ballymun. With the physical and emotional changes that are happening to her life, she can mark them with her words on the lectern for her tree", emphasising the "power of the project in the texts and the .. individuals and groups involved in the articulation of those words." [24]

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

<i>Angel of the North</i> Sculpture by Antony Gormley in northern England

The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world and is viewed by an estimated 33 million people every year due to its proximity to the A1 and A167 roads and the East Coast Main Line. The design of the Angel, like many of Gormley's works, is based on Gormley's own body. The COR-TEN weathering steel material gives the sculpture its distinctive rusty, oxidised colour. It stands 20 metres (66 ft) tall with a wingspan of 54 metres (177 ft) – which is larger than a Boeing 757 aircraft. The vertical ribs on the body and wings of the Angel act as an external skeleton which direct oncoming wind to the sculpture's foundations, allowing it to withstand wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymun</span> Large northside suburb of Dublin, Ireland

Ballymun is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was state-of-the-art at the time, comprising high-rise tower blocks and flat complexes, residents were moved in years before shops, schools and other infrastructure were fully ready, and the area became well known for both a strong community spirit and considerable social challenges. Ballymun has several sub-districts such as Sillogue, Coultry, Shangan and Poppintree, and is close to both the Republic of Ireland's only IKEA store and to Dublin Airport. The area is the source of one Dublin river, and parts lie in the floodplain of another, and there are a number of parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymun Flats</span> Former apartment buildings in Dublin, Ireland

The Ballymun Flats referred to a number of flats—including the seven Ballymun tower blocks—in Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland. Built rapidly in the 1960s, there were 36 blocks in total, consisting of seven 15-storey, nineteen eight-storey, and ten four-storey blocks. The complex was built in a Corbusian style known as towers in the park, which was popular in European and American cities in the mid-20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Anne's Park</span> Public park with playing fields and follies, Dublin, Ireland

Saint Anne's Park is a 240 acres (97 ha) public park situated between Raheny and Clontarf, suburbs on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is owned and managed by Dublin City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santry</span> Suburb of Dublin, Ireland

Santry is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun. It straddles the boundary of Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council jurisdictions.

"Running to Stand Still" is a song by rock band U2, and it is the fifth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. A slow ballad based on piano and guitar, it describes a heroin-addicted couple living in Dublin's Ballymun flats; the towers have since become associated with the song. Though a lot of time was dedicated to the lyrics, the music was improvised with co-producer Daniel Lanois during a recording session for the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza</span>

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall includes Planning and Building Department, Public Works and other city departments. A park within the site is named for Richard Carpenter and his wife Mary.

Science Gallery is an international group of public science centres, developed from a concept by a group connected to Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The first Science Gallery was opened in 2008 and housed in the Naughton Institute at Trinity College.

<i>7000 Oaks</i> Work of land art by Joseph Beuys

7000 Oaks – City Forestation Instead of City Administration is a work of land art by the German artist Joseph Beuys. It was first publicly presented in 1982 at documenta 7.

Gúna Nua Theatre Company is an independent theatre production company based in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1998 by Paul Meade and David Parnell, Gúna Nua has received a number awards and nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Connor</span>

Jerome Connor was an Irish sculptor.

ANU Productions is a theatre company based in Dublin, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Museum of Dublin</span> Local history museum, urban museum in Dublin, Ireland

The Little Museum of Dublin is a local history museum situated at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland. The museum is located in an 18th-century Georgian townhouse owned by Dublin City Council.

Esther Shalev-Gerz is a contemporary artist. She lives and works in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Towers in the park</span> Architectural and urban planning style

Towers in the park is a morphology of modernist high rise apartment buildings characterized by a high-rise building surrounded by a swath of landscaped land. Thus, the tower does not directly front the street. It was popular in North American and European cities in the 1960s and into the 1970s, especially for public housing. The towers themselves are typically simple, brick-clad high-rise buildings with rectangular footprints and little ornamentation other than repeating series of balconies for each apartment. However, some apartment buildings from this era use less conventional designs in the "tower in the park" format.

Jochen Gerz is a German conceptual artist who lived in France from 1966 to 2007. His work involves the relationship between art and life, history and memory, and deals with concepts such as culture, society, public space, participation and public authorship. After beginning his career in the literary field, Gerz has in the meantime explored various artistic disciplines and diverse media. Whether he works with text, photography, video, artist books, installation, performance, or on public authorship pieces and processes, at the heart of Gerz's practice is the search for an art form that can contribute to the res publica and to democracy. Gerz lives in Sneem, County Kerry, Ireland, since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thousand Oaks Community Gallery</span> Public art gallery in United States

Thousand Oaks Community Gallery is a public art gallery located adjacent to Newbury Park Library in Newbury Park, California. The gallery was established in February 1991, and features a variety of workshops, visual arts exhibitions, photographies, paintings, artist presentations and events. The 3,000 sq. ft. gallery is one of Conejo Valley’s primary visual arts facilities. It was established by City of Thousand Oaks in corporation with local art organizations and dedicated residents. Besides showcasing the work of acclaimed and professional artists, the gallery also presents locally based artists and art contests.

Daniel O'Hare, often Danny O'Hare,, is an Irish academic and former university leader, best known as the founding leader and first president of Dublin City University, one of two new universities established in Ireland in September 1989. He has also held a wide range of public governance positions, and is an elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy in the Science division. Coming from Dundalk, he is a chemist, specialized in advanced spectroscopy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bulfin</span> Irish sculptor

Michael Bulfin is an Irish sculptor and visual artist, based in Dublin. He is the son of Irish republican Éamonn Bulfin and grandson of William Bulfin of Derrinlough, Birr, County Offaly. He was educated at University College Dublin and Yale University, Connecticut, USA. He was awarded a German Government Scholarship in 1965 to study at a research laboratory in Hamburg, Germany, German Academic Exchange Service. He was chairman of the Project Arts Centre and the Sculptors Society of Ireland, and is a member of Aosdána.

References

  1. ↑ "A record urban renewal project". Irish Times. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2021. ...the Ballymun Regeneration project is the largest urban renewal scheme ever undertaken in Ireland, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The 10-year, 2.5 billion project ... overseen by Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, a company wholly owned by Dublin City Council. Most of the project is funded from public monies...
  2. 1 2 Moloney, Annette (1 September 2007). "Irish Public Art Practice". Public Art Review (37): 36–39.
  3. ↑ Tipton, Gemma (2005). "Mapping Memories". Contexts. Vol. 4, no. 3. Dublin: Create (Ireland) - National Agency for Collaborative Arts.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ballymun: a no-fly zone for birds". Magill. Dublin. 18 July 2005.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. 1 2 3 "Horizons (2: Bringing Birds to Ballymun)". Irish Times. 17 July 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gelebte Kunst 2 "Magazin Cultura21". Magazin.cultura21.de. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "John Duffy". Ballymun Youth Action Project. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  8. 1 2 Dunne, Aidan (16 December 2004). "Narrow the focus to see the future". Irish Times. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Amaptocare". publicart.ie. The Arts Council (of Ireland). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  10. 1 2 Finneran, Aoife (20 August 2004). "Tree planting rockers get back to roots". Evening Herald. p. 13. ...the area is set to get its very own tree plantation as part of Ireland's largest arts project, Amaptocare .. used to meet up in Ballymun Shopping Centre and rehearse in the nearby Virgin Mary Hall
  11. ↑ "Alumni (Art & Research Collaboration)". Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  12. 1 2 Dunne, Aidan (9 November 2010). "Cities where art imitates life". Irish Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Lucey, Anne (5 August 2017). "Almost 1,000 people sign petition in Kerry village to recruit a doctor". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 "amaptocare (section: Public authorship / Work in public space // Ballymun, Ireland)". Jochen Gerz. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 Dowie, Peter (2012). Cultural Regeneration in Ballymun: The Politics of Urban Memory and Socially Engaged Arts' Practice (PDF). Dublin, Ireland: Peter Dowie. pp. 29, 30, 43, 45, 66. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Who we are". axis (Ballymun Arts & Community Resource Centre CLG). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  17. ↑ Ballymun Regeneration Ltd. (2004). Ballymun Regeneration News. Dublin, Ireland: Ballymun Regeneration Ltd. / Dublin City Council. p. 3.
  18. 1 2 3 Rennicks, Stephen (2017). "The Afterlife of Public Artworks". The Visual Artists' News Sheet. No. 6 (Nov - Dec 2017). Ireland: Visual Artists Ireland. p. 34.
  19. 1 2 Dunne, Aidan (8 December 2005). "Groundwork for a new image". Irish Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "l'equipe (The Team)". Les Eclairagistes Associés. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  21. ↑ O'Cionnaith, Fiachra (23 January 2008). "Residents fail to get their money's worth in plaza plan". Evening Herald. p. 17.
  22. ↑ Hunt, Jeremy (2005). "The Ozymandias Principle". In Vaz-Pinheiro, Gabriela (ed.). Curating the Local: Some Approaches to Practice and Technique. Torres Vedres.
  23. ↑ Hohlfeldt, Marion (2016). "Authorship as a Multitude of Voices". In Vickery, Jonathan; Manus, Mechtild (eds.). The Art of the Multitude: Jochen Gerz – Participation and the European Experience. Frankfurt and New York: Campus Verlag. pp. 103–116.
  24. ↑ Breaking Ground Artists' Seminar (Video). Dublin, Ireland: Breaking Group / Ballymun Regeneration Limited. 2003.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ the other leading BRL arts project was Hotel Ballymun, which some sources claim had a final cost exceeding 400,000 euro - drawing on the Dowie reference
  2. ↑ Sources mention from 625 to 637 trees, and at least six donors sponsored two, one three, and one pair sponsored four and one of them a fifth; it seems that 625 was the original planned number, the artist's own site refers to 635 planted, and the State's Public Art site mentions 637, so it seems that some pledges over the 625 plan were accepted and fulfilled - publicart.ie and jochengerz.eu references.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.