Ronan McCrea

Glass Film
2011
HD Video (silent, duration: 8’:08”) LCD screen, painted steel.

Glass Film takes as its subject a sculpture by McCrea in 2003 entitled Decade-ism (early & late), which was the final in a series of textual neon works made between 1998 and 2003 that iterate dates and historical periods.

In the case of Decade-ism (early & late) the hand-formed tubular glass of a neon sign was constructed without the gas, electrodes and electric current, necessary for characteristic neon illumination. There are four glass elements in the sculpture spelling out four periods of time: late fifties – early sixties, late sixties – early seventies, late seventies – early eighties, and late eighties – early nineties. The film also records instances of damage to the sculpture that occurred since its exhibition in 2003.

For Gracelands 2011: Substance Abuse the film is displayed on a LCD monitor which is fixed to welded steel structure constructed on and around trees on the site.

Gracelands is an annual screening, sculpture and performance event curated by Vaari Claffey that takes place on Grace Weir and Joe Walker’s land near Dromahair in Co. Leitrim, Ireland.