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For
Art, For Charity, For Fun - CowParade is the world's largest public art event.
From
Chicago and New York in 1999 and 2000, to Kansas City and Houston in 2001, and
London in 2002, CowParade continues to evolve, not just in size, but in
creativity and quality of art. While the cow sculptures remain the same, each
city’s artists are challenged by the art from past events, inspired by the
cultural influences of their respective cities, and moved by their own interpretation
of the cow as an art object. CowParade is not meant to be high art, however.
It is first and foremost a public art exhibit that is accessible to everyone. Most
important, CowParade ultimately benefits charity. At the conclusion of each
event, the cows are herded up and many are auctioned, with a substantial portion
of the proceeds benefiting charity. The beautiful, fun, important and whimsical
cows featured on this page are part of the CowParade Ireland, which has its auction
in Dublin on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at the Four Seasons Hotel. Net proceeds
are going to two Irish charities - the Jack & Jill Trust and the Dublin Simon
Community. The Jack and Jill Trust works to support severely handicapped children
and their families, and the Dublin Simon Community is a voluntary group which
works and campaigns for the homeless. Further details on the auction can be found
at CowParade.net, including how to bid
on-line or by telephone if you want to take part from abroad. The information
can also be found on pages 51-56 of the catalogue. Click
here for the online gallery to see about 70 life-sized cows whose browsing
in Dublin has "amazed and amused, dazzled and delighted the public on the
capital city’s streets, in their parks and shopping centres."
The
selection of cows set for auction in November includes works from well-known and
high-profile Irish artists including Graham Knuttel, Louise Kennedy, Robert Ballagh,
Felim Egan, Deborah Donnelly, Rasher, Terry Bradley, Ronnie Woods, Gavin Friday
and Andrea Corr. Prize cows in the herd include "MyCowPatley," a tribute
to the Irish dancer Michael Flatley, "Gla-moo-ur" a glamourous cow in
evening dress, styled by International Irish fashion designer Louise Kennedy,
and the NO cow, produced by musicians Gavin Friday and Andrea Corr, working with
the Sherriff Street ASEP programme. This cow promotes saying NO to harmful elements
in society, such as drugs, alcohol and violence. "Speculation is rife
on who will be bidding for the bovine beauties. Collectors include Elton John
and Oprah Winfrey, so the bidding is expected to be highly competitive. And the
cows expect to live up to their pedigree status, particularly with cows like John
Rocha’s Wagamoomoo, encrusted with 15,000 Waterford Crystal jewels, Kevin
Sharkey’s cow Moo-lah covered with €20,000 of real Euro notes, Rasher's
'Poppy' - painted with his trade mark poppies, Ronnie Woods ' Mumbai', hand-painted
by the star and his wife, Radioheads' Restructured Burger', the famous Michael
Flatley 'My Cow Patley' by Paul Rattigan, Gavin Friday and Andrea Corr’s
''The No Cow', Louise Kennedy's 'Gla-moo-ur' and Graham Knuttel’s, on the
auctioneers block." • • •
Sample
descriptions from the CowParade Ireland catalogue: My Cow Patley My
Cow Patley was painted by Paul Rattigan, who studied at the National College of
Art, Dublin, and the Slade School in London. He subsequently worked in advertising
in London while also lecturing on colour theory in London. He moved from advertising
into stage and lighting design in the late '70s, working for such diverse contemporary
performers as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney and
the Clash. Rattigan is responsible for the Riverdance graphics worldwide and it
was in this capacity that he first observed the phenomenon that is Michael Flatley.
Rattigan's cow - My Cow Patley - is an homage to Flatley. As he says, "America
might have Elvis but we have Michael." Moo Chulainn Cow Artists:
Ciaran Crowley and Craig Blackwell.
Ciaran worked as an animator on various
short films, theatrical productions and music videos. Craig studied art in Manchester
before moving to Southampton to study composite engineering. Setanta is the official
New Ireland logo and forms a central part of the overall design of the New Ireland
cow. According to Irish legend, Setanta, having mistaken Culainn's wolfhound for
an intruder, choked the dog to death in an effort to protect the estate. On realizing
his error, Setanta offered his services as a replacement protector to the clan
and from then on became known as Cu Chulainn, which means "The hound of Culainn."
Moo Chulainn was a humorous play on words that suited the theme of the event. The
No Cow Artists: Gavin Friday, Andrea Corr, Sheriff Street ASEP collaboration
with Ciaran Crowley.
Gavin Friday and Andrea Corr have both worked with the
Sheriff Street After Schools Project for several years, and collaborated with
children from the Project in developing The No Cow. "The No Cow allowed the
Sheriff Street Kids After School programme to make a statement about the things
they don't want in their area - No Drugs, No Violence, No Guns, etc. Art can be
so many different things to so many different people. By the time we started on
our cow, there were a lot of pretty and well-painted cows. We wanted it to be
relevant for the children who worked on it." The Celtic Cafe supports
the good work being done by all involved with the CowParades -- Kudos! See CowParade.net
for your virtual "moo-seum" for all of the CowParades, past, present
and future. Click here
to go directly to CowParade Ireland's site and click
here for the PDF file of the udderly wonderful catalogue. •
• • Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
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