Art and Activism in Cork and Dublin

The journey to learn about arts and activism in Cork and Dublin was a rocky one. When I was researching artists to interview while in Cork or Dublin, I really struggled. I spent countless hours googling artists using different search terms and topics, hoping to find something new and worthwhile with each search. Although I emailed around fifteen artists, only six or seven of them actually emailed me back. Out of those, many of the artists were no longer living in Cork or Dublin, or were on trips somewhere else in the world. This made my options very limited. At one point, I did have a photographer to interview in Dublin but a week before our trip, he canceled due to work commitments. Luckily, I had found another photographer I could interview in Cork and an interview with an activist photographer I could sit in on.

From LinkedIn

For my artist interview, I chose photographer Cathal Noonan. He currently lives in Cork but he grew up and went to university in Dublin. I found Cathal by chance while googling artists in the area. He started out with sports photography but got tired of that after about ten years. He then switched to commercial and public relations photography, which he is still doing today. Cathal also does some landscape photography but says that is more of something fun to do on the side as it will not make him any money. As a freelance photographer, Cathal is enjoying working for himself and has learned to only accept projects he thinks he can complete well and make money on. After all, photography, like many other art forms, is a very competitive field to go into that may be difficult to make a living off of. The link below leads to one of my favorite images on Cathal's website. 

http://cathalnoonan.com/p/UJBg7b 

One thing I found interesting was that Cathal originally was at university studying sound engineering and just messing around with photography on the side. After finishing his schooling, Cathal started taking photography a little more seriously. This is a similar situation to where I am at with my work. I started out just messing around with photography and, as I get older, have been working more and more on my photography skills. I learned from Cathal that in order to actually make a living with his photography, he has been forced to adjust his vision for a piece to what the client envisions themselves. 

From Website

For my activist interview, I met up with Anthony Griffin. Esther Whoo actually planned this interview and I just went along with her for safety and because he was a photographer. We conveniently met him in the pub right next to our hotel in Dublin. I did not have a chance to look him up and I did not know much about his work so Esther did the majority of the questioning. Through the interview, I discovered that he is a portrait photographer who has been doing activist work for many years. He recently did a project where he took portraits of women with Alopecia, a condition where one permanently loses all of the hair on one’s body. His goal was to bring this condition into the light to show how many women have this disease and how beautiful they still are. The link below will lead you to Anthony's website, where you can see the images from his project on Alopecia, "An Uncommon Beauty," as well as other projects he has done. 

https://www.agp.ie 

During the interview, I asked Anthony what his best advice would be for someone looking to get into portrait photography. His main advice was to help the subject feel comfortable showing their story. When he first started, he would plan sessions for short periods of time. However, he found that the more he talked with the subject, the more comfortable the subject was with him, and the more likely they would be to dive into the shoot and show their story. The best pictures came out of the sessions where he sat down and really got to know the person and their story before even touching his equipment or taking any photographs.

Artist Statement and Statement of Resistance

Artist Statement: 

At times, pictures can provide more sensory stimulation and captivation than words can with the variety of colors and textures that can be captured in a single frozen moment. For someone who typically has a difficult time putting ideas into words, I have been drawn to photography as a way to express myself and explore the world. I am a digital photographer who focuses on and is inspired by the beautiful landscapes that surround me. I traditionally found beauty in natural spaces where plants and animals have been allowed to live unaltered by man, but have also come to find beauty in created structures. During 2015, I studied under Tracy Lukehart, a professor at Solano College, where I produced my first collection, “The Road Less Traveled,” and gained knowledge in technical aspects of photography such as lighting and composition. However, I have found that self-teaching and experimenting is one of the best ways to expand one’s craft. Through this experimentation, I have discovered my own style as an artist and my passion for the environment.

At the core of my photographic work is environmental preservation. Preserving the environment is a hot topic as of late as scientists are beginning to monitor the effects and bring their concerns into the public eye. Temperatures are rising, icecaps are melting, and animals are having to adapt to these and other changes. This is a subject that I hold close to my heart, as I was raised in a family that went camping every year and spent a great amount of time enjoying and admiring nature. Year after year, we would return to Lake Almanor during summer and find the area relatively unchanged even though so many other things in this world change every day. However, after looking closer, the effects of global warming were clearly evident in the years of drought when the lake level dropped to 4475 feet in October of 2015 and rose to 4493 feet in February 2017 after the first significant rainy season. I have witnessed this continual change through my annual visits and am devastated at the potential loss of this beautiful recreational space. Land like this must be protected and cared for. For this reason, nature is one of the main subjects in my work. When I am out exploring nature, I try to capture nature and the things I find beautiful in the best way I can.

With my photographs, I want to be eyes to those who are unable to see for themselves the places or subjects I photograph. An economic or physical impediment or simply an inability to pay attention to or see the beauty in subjects could prevent an individual from truly understanding the beauty and importance of nature. Art is typically not accessible to all so I want to be able to distribute my art in a way that can reach a wider audience. I want to show an audience how beautiful our land is in order to inspire them to work harder to preserve it in any small way they can. I want them to feel the same joy I feel while on location as if they were there with me in the moment my shutter snapped closed. 

Photo by Natalie Leduc

Statement of Resistance:

As I create this project, it is important for me to identify what I believe and what I aim to do here. I strongly believe that nature is worth saving, and that small steps can make a large impact. I recognize that I am not alone in fighting this issue. Many have come before me, and many will come after me in the fight for environmental preservation. I resist those who refuse to acknowledge that this is an issue worth fighting for or simply brush off so called tree huggers. I must celebrate the fact that there is a large community of people who are also passionate about this issue and reach out to join them, for a community is stronger than an individual. We must recognize and celebrate the progress that has been made so far, but also that there is a long way to go.