Gallery of Photography Ireland together with the National Photography Archive are presenting two complementary exhibitions devoted to the work of American artist, Helen Hooker O’Malley (1905-1993) Ireland was Helen’s most important source of inspiration for over half a century. Her decades-long love affair with the landscape, history and people of Ireland was ignited by her tumultuous relationship with revolutionary and author, Ernie O’Malley.
Cormac O’Malley hosting a tour of A Modern Eye, Helen Hooker O’Malley’s Ireland at the Gallery of Photography
Having met Ernie in the US in 1933, Helen braved family opposition to elope and marry him in London, 1935. The couple established homes in Dublin and Mayo and had three children together. Despite divorcing Ernie in 1952, Helen’s love of Ireland endured undiminished.
Helen photographed her life in Ireland from 1935 onwards. Here in the Gallery of Photography, we present her early work – explorations made during expeditions with Ernie into the Irish landscape, her observations of Irish rural life particularly in County Mayo, and her portraits of artists and friends. We also include a fascinating record of her travels in Russia and East Asia.
The NLI’s collection of Hooker O’Malley’s photographs dates largely from the mid 1970’s, when she found a new freedom, enthusiasm and energy to pursue her art. These works demonstrate a mature creativity honed over a lifetime’s involvement in the visual arts. The exhibition includes iconic Irish landmarks, such as Croagh Patrick, portraits of Helen’s artistic circle, including Paddy Moloney and Mary Lavin. In addition to spontaneous images of everyday life in 1970’s Ireland.
The exhibition is accompanied by a book featuring over 120 photographs and texts by Cormac K.H. O’Malley and Luke Gibbons.
A Modern Eye continues at the Gallery of Photography until September 1st. It will be at the National Photographic Archive until November 2nd 2019.
For more information see: https://www.galleryofphotography.ie/a-modern-eye-helen-hooker-omalleys-ireland/
Brassai (1899–1984) was the first and is still the most famous photographer to chronicle Paris after dark. Born in Hungary, he came to the French capital in 1924, working first as a journalist and then embracing photography, but it was the Paris of the 1930s that forms the bedrock of his body of work.
Walking the city’s streets at night, Brassai captured a previously unseen world on camera. He shows us every face and every facet, from tough guys and showgirls to prostitutes and pleasure-seekers, from the bustling cafés and dance halls to the stillness of deserted streets and mist-shrouded monuments. Through his eyes, Paris becomes a world of shadows, in which light, the prerequisite for any photograph, is reduced to dimly lit windows, streetlamps in the fog, or reflections on a rain-soaked pavement.
This book brings together some of the best-known images from Brassai’s classic Paris After Dark and The Secret Paris of the 30’s, showcasing them alongside previously unpublished photos and archive material. It places his work in its historical and artistic context, analyzing the unique nature of his photographic vision: part reportage, part social document, part poetic exploration. 296 illustrations, 214 in duotone
A Modern Eye: Helen Hooker O’Malley’s Ireland
€15.00
24 in stock
Description
Gallery of Photography Ireland together with the National Photography Archive are presenting two complementary exhibitions devoted to the work of American artist, Helen Hooker O’Malley (1905-1993) Ireland was Helen’s most important source of inspiration for over half a century. Her decades-long love affair with the landscape, history and people of Ireland was ignited by her tumultuous relationship with revolutionary and author, Ernie O’Malley.
Having met Ernie in the US in 1933, Helen braved family opposition to elope and marry him in London, 1935. The couple established homes in Dublin and Mayo and had three children together. Despite divorcing Ernie in 1952, Helen’s love of Ireland endured undiminished.
Helen photographed her life in Ireland from 1935 onwards. Here in the Gallery of Photography, we present her early work – explorations made during expeditions with Ernie into the Irish landscape, her observations of Irish rural life particularly in County Mayo, and her portraits of artists and friends. We also include a fascinating record of her travels in Russia and East Asia.
The NLI’s collection of Hooker O’Malley’s photographs dates largely from the mid 1970’s, when she found a new freedom, enthusiasm and energy to pursue her art. These works demonstrate a mature creativity honed over a lifetime’s involvement in the visual arts. The exhibition includes iconic Irish landmarks, such as Croagh Patrick, portraits of Helen’s artistic circle, including Paddy Moloney and Mary Lavin. In addition to spontaneous images of everyday life in 1970’s Ireland.
The exhibition is accompanied by a book featuring over 120 photographs and texts by Cormac K.H. O’Malley and Luke Gibbons.
A Modern Eye continues at the Gallery of Photography until September 1st. It will be at the National Photographic Archive until November 2nd 2019.
For more information see: https://www.galleryofphotography.ie/a-modern-eye-helen-hooker-omalleys-ireland/
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Walking the city’s streets at night, Brassai captured a previously unseen world on camera. He shows us every face and every facet, from tough guys and showgirls to prostitutes and pleasure-seekers, from the bustling cafés and dance halls to the stillness of deserted streets and mist-shrouded monuments. Through his eyes, Paris becomes a world of shadows, in which light, the prerequisite for any photograph, is reduced to dimly lit windows, streetlamps in the fog, or reflections on a rain-soaked pavement.
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