South Wall Dublin
As a participant of the Spencer Tunick Installation I can’t help but feel a little ripped of by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority .
The event took place at the South Wall in the Dublin Docklands in the early hours of Saturday, June 21 2008. The follow-up thank you email arrived 6 weeks later, but participants still haven’t received their prints and now it seems, nearly one year later, that the promised exhibition will be replaced by a nice economical website.
Over 2,500 took part in the installation for a number of reasons – a personal challenge, a chance to try something different but also a chance to be a part of something. To be able to say “I was there. I took the challenge. I did it.” I fail to understand how in this day and age, “authorities” are still so clueless about how to foster community, to engage and enthuse people and to validate their participation in what was a unique event.
Here is the email received today by all participants:
Dear Spencer Tunick Participant,
We know it’s been a long wait for you all, but we can now confirm arrangements for the distribution and exhibition of the Spencer Tunick prints.
The Docklands Authority will be sending the limited edition photographs of the Dublin installation by post to all participants the week commencing the 8th June 2009. Each participant will receive one photograph chosen by the artist from the day they participated – either Saturday on the South Wall or Sunday on the Alto Vetro building on Pearse Street. If you participated on both days you will receive two prints which will be posted to you in separate envelopes. Participants cannot request a different image to the one chosen by the artist. Each photograph will measure 8 x 10 inches and will be printed on the same high quality photographic paper that Spencer Tunick uses for his larger art images.
In light of the current climate, the Docklands Authority and Cork Midsummer Festival have agreed on a new format to exhibit the photographs and videos from the Spencer Tunick Ireland Installations. The two organisations have jointly commissioned the artist to create a new website which will include photographs and video footage taken by Spencer and his crew during both installations. This is the first time Tunick’s work will be available exclusively through a website, and presents a new democracy to the exhibition – people from across Ireland and beyond will have the opportunity to ‘visit’ the exhibition regardless of their location! We feel that this extra documentary material will give added value to the exhibition and will capture the excitement and fun that was generated by the project in Dublin and Cork. The website will go live just after the prints have been received by the participants on the week of 8th June, for a period of four months. Details of the exact web address will be posted to you with the Tunick print.
If your postal address has changed since you filled in the release form last year, please send the correct details to dublindocklands@spencertunickireland.ie as soon as possible, and they will be updated on our database. If for any reason you do not receive your Dublin print please contact the Docklands Authority and not the artist.
Thanks again for your participation in this great project. It was certainly one of the cultural highlights of 2008. We hope that you will enjoy seeing the beautiful works which could not have been created without you!
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority
Maybe of course I’m over reacting? Maybe I should be a little more understanding about the extra time & budget required to touch up and photoshop the unique Irish skin tone.
It‘s quiet in here! Why not leave a response?