Sir, - In his article of January 10th, Luke Clancy quotes a "female barrister" with "an active interest in art", as saying: "There is art . . . and there is this and I don't know what this is (Felim Egan's exhibition at IMMA) and again: "My purpose is unity". Could Luke Clancy explain what she means by these magnificently broad statements?
Fore example, "there is art what does she call "art"?
Does she include the Book of Kells, African masks, Goya's naked Maja? Does she mean ancient art, primitive art, mediaeval art, Renaissance art, folk art, classical art? Or what does she exclude? If the only thing she could find to admire in IMMA was James Hanly's figurative oil painting, would she exclude, say, Rothko's mystical abstract painting from "there is art"? And on what possible basis does she exclude Felim Egan's painting? She may not respond to it personally, as I do not personally respond to James Hanly's painting, but I have no cause to reject either artist's work as works of art, whether good or bad, major or minor.
There is art, and the thing about it is that there is no confining it, no limiting it; art will continue to stretch our minds, to enlighten us, open up new worlds to enrich our lives, to open apertures out of darkness, so long as artists live and work. Why are we so reluctant to trust them? They have been with us from the very beginning, and they always will be, whether they can draw with academic correctness or whether they can move with aerial skills from painting to sculpture and back, as in Felim Egan's subtle, elegant works in the beautiful light of the Royal Hospital rooms at IMMA.
Perhaps harmony may be part of the barrister's concept of unity, in which case her purpose is admirable; but "my purpose is unity" is as enigmatic a statement as any avant garde artist might wish to make.
One thing can never be emphasised enough: all our art institutions are publicly funded, are open to the public, and are free. It is in every person's interest to go in there to see what is going on, to trust in the artist's good faith, to leave the soul open to what the artist is saying, the mind open to new insights, the imagination open to fresh stimulation, and the heart open to being lifted. - Yours, etc.,
Saint Mary's Lane,
Dublin 4