Tutty’s modernity, and that of others who had been making religious art since the late 1960s, was enabled by decisions made at the Second Vatican Council, which closed in 1965 and which acknowledged that ‘Artistic styles vary from one time to another. Modern art is the expression of our times; provided that it is in keeping with divine worship, a work of modern art may be used for sacred use’.
A tour of inspection of Dublin statues in 1913, published in the Irish Times (29 April), drew attention to the presence of many ‘admirable statues’ in the city’s midst, as well as recognizing that some of them were ‘far from admirable’. Among the public statues discussed, more than a third are no longer in place.
The role of competitions in the commissioning of sculptors became particularly manifest in the nineteenth century, with the proliferation of public commemorative work. While it was acceptable for a private patron to commission work directly, it was expected that a more democratic process would prevail for the commissioning of public work, which was often paid for by public subscription.
We are surrounded by images and representations that are not our own, and these symbols of what can be called the cultural landscape are never arbitrary. If we read the language of culture through art, we shall learn the history of our people and places and, more, create the awareness and the possibility to change the future of cultural development for the better.
