Alanna O'Kelly (/æˈlɑːnə/, also spelt Alannah; born 1955) is an Irish artist,[3] active in performance art and installation art,[4] as well as sculpture, song, land art and film.[5] She is a member of Aosdána, an elite association of Irish artists.[6][7]
Alanna O'Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Other names | Alannah O'Kelly |
| Alma mater | National College of Art and Design Slade School of Fine Art |
| Known for | performance art, installation art |
| Notable work | Chant Down Greenham The Country Blooms, a Garden and a Grave Sanctuary/Wastelands[1] Omós[2] |
| Elected | Aosdána (1996) |
Biography
editO'Kelly was born in Gorey in 1955.[8][9] She studied at the Regional Technical College Galway, National College of Art and Design (NCAD, Dublin) and the Slade School of Fine Art (London).[10]
Her 1990 work The Country Bloom, A Garden and a Grave was described by Stephanie McBride as "[reconfiguring] Achill’s topography through image and text to present a narrative of local loss, mourning and Famine memories."[11] It was selected by The Irish Times as part of "Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks."[12]
She represented Ireland at the 1996 São Paulo Art Biennial and was elected to Aosdána that same year.[13][14] She performed a traditional keen at the "funeral" of Patrick Ireland in 2008.[15][16][17] This performance was highly praised, The Recorder: A Journal of the American Irish Historical Society saying "The keening by Alannah (O'Kelly) was wordless and tore right down to your root. It was one of the most extraordinary things, perhaps the most extraordinary, I've ever heard. It's still in my ears. It remains present to me."[18] Aosdána says that her work "explores ideas of the psychic conflicts of our shared history and the continuity of tradition."[14]
Her work is held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Ireland's Great Hunger Museum (Connecticut).[12]
References
edit- ^ "Alanna O'Kelly". 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Visual Artists' News Sheet - 2019 January February by VisualArtistsIreland - Issuu". issuu.com. January 2019.
- ^ "Wexford's Wide Open Space exhibition features works from leading Irish artists". independent. 3 October 2022.
- ^ Society, Irish Georgian. ">Education - Theses Register". IGS Craft (en-IE).
- ^ "Irish Arts Review". Irish Arts Review. 7 October 2005 – via Google Books.
- ^ Ryan, Vera (7 October 2003). Movers and Shapers: Irish Art Since 1960. Collins. ISBN 9781903464380 – via Google Books.
- ^ Kelly, Niamh Ann. "Alanna O'Kelly Bio RIA" – via www.academia.edu.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Marshall, Catherine (1994). "Alanna O'Kelly" (PDF). RIA.
- ^ Antosik-Parsons, Kate (2014). ""Caoineadh na mairbh": Vocalising Memory and Otherness in the Early Performances of Alanna O'Kelly". Nordic Irish Studies. 13 (1): 205–221. JSTOR 24332401 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Alanna O'Kelly". IMMA.
- ^ "Between two worlds". www.irishartsreview.com. 3 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks: 1994 – The Country Blooms, a Garden and a Grave, by Alanna O'Kelly". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Aosdana gets 15 new members". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b "Aosdána". aosdana.artscouncil.ie.
- ^ "Farewell, Patrick Ireland". The New York Times. 21 May 2008 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Higgie, Jennifer (22 May 2008). "The Joyous Wake and Burial of Patrick Ireland".
- ^ Long, Declan (21 August 2017). Ghost-haunted land: Contemporary art and post-Troubles Northern Ireland. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526121868 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Recorder: A Journal of the American Irish Historical Society". The Society. 7 October 2007 – via Google Books.