Ronan McCrea

Medium (Corporate Entities) is a series of photographs made of corporate spaces in Dublin. The companies featured in the photographs all hold significant collections of contemporary art. The project was commissioned by the Irish Museum of Modern Art as part of the exhibition: 10,000 to 50: Contemporary Art from Members of Business to Arts on show April – August 2008.

The photographs were made at eight sites in Dublin in early 2008 and the piece exists in two versions: 81 slides projected in a continuous loop in the gallery and an intervention in the exhibition catalogue comprising 64 photographs.

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The companies involved in the project are: A&L Goodbody, Allianz, Harcourt Developments, Irish Life & Permanent, McCann FitzGerald, Dublin Airport Authority
Dublin Docklands Development Authority, RTÉ.

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Extract from catalogue text by Christina Kennedy, Senior Curator Collections, Irish Museum of Modern Art:

A particular curatorial interest for 10,000 to 50 was in the possibility of a new artwork arising out of the exhibition’s preparatory process and this has come about in a very organic and fortuitous way. What began as a straightforward ‘art in the corporate environment’ documentation assignment for artist Ronan McCrea, proved a virtual impossibility, given the people, foliage, security cameras, posters, signage, fire cylinders, various architectural details and tight angles, all of which conspired to impede any clear view of the artworks in question.
The upshot of all of this however, has been very positive in terms of McCrea’s own practice and indeed has resulted in a new photographic based work. Fascinated with the array of architectural, design and social conditions, as interesting for the artist as the artworks themselves, McCrea saw the possibility for a richer representation of the situation. What has developed is a form of ‘portrait’ of the workplace. The work comprises a slide projection of 72 images which will be presented as an intrinsic element of the exhibition. Some images feature the selected artwork, some merely glimpses or fragments, others represent the architecture, staff and incidentals around the corporate environment. The participant companies are: Allianz, A&L Goodbody, Dublin Airport Authority, Dublin Dockland Development Authority, Harcourt Development, Irish Life, McCann Fitzgerald and RTE

Says McCrea:
“ I see my work riff on the work of Louise Lawler and current curatorial practices that create a platform within which other artworks circulate as well as the documentary photography traditions of the workplace, the street and everyday life. I hope that by incorporating this project into my own artistic practice will allow the other artists whose work will feature in the images see a benefit from a creative exchange at this particular interface of capitalism and art.”

Also integral to the artistic process is the selection, layout and design of the images as a distinct contribution to this publication. The realisation of this aspect of McCrea’s new work has been greatly facilitated by the ‘support in kind’ of design company, Image Now, an ideal example of how business can nurture the making of new art.

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