CORTEN SCULPTURE OUTSIDE THE HUNT MUSEUM JUNE 2015 – NO LONGER AT THIS LOCATION
Personally I like Corten steel sculptures or works of art but when I first saw this many years ago I was not 100% sure that it was not a skip or dumpster. Back in 2015 (or maybe earlier) a gentleman, who turned out to be a scrap dealer, asked me what I thought of this and then suggested that it was “real art” unlike much that he had seen elsewhere. Also he liked the model of a horse (see below) located nearby.
Further research indicated that this featured in the 2010 EVA International and was described as a “mild steel nymphaeum”. A nymphaeum or nymphaion (Ancient Greek: νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habitations to the local nymphs. They were sometimes so arranged as to furnish a supply of water, as at Pamphylian Side. A nymphaeum dedicated to a local water nymph, Coventina, was built along Hadrian’s Wall, in the northernmost reach of the Roman Empire. Subsequently, artificial grottoes took the place of natural ones.
EVA International (previously known as Limerick Exhibition of Visual Art and e v + a) is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in the city of Limerick. It is known as Ireland’s biennial, and is held in even-numbered years.
The Museum holds a personal collection donated by the Hunt family, it was originally situated in the University of Limerick, before being moved to its present location in the Georgian Custom House in 1997. The Custom House is situated on Rutland Street on the banks of the River Shannon at its confluence with the Abbey River. Among the museum’s collection are works by notable artists and designers such as Pablo Picasso, Jack B. Yeats, and Sybil Connolly as well as distinctive historical items such as the O’Dea Mitre and Crozier.
In 2011 a lifesize model of a horse, painted by young people aged 10–18 was placed outside the front of the building. This was joined by a second one in 2012. The models are made of fibreglass, and are taken inside at night. The art installation was inspired by the song Horse Outside by the group The Rubberbandits.
While I do photograph fire engines I do my best to avoid photographing accidents and the people involved however in one of my photographs you may be able to see one of the drivers.
I was on my way to the Jasmine Palace Restaurant when I noticed the fire brigade arriving at the the scene of what appeared to be a serious road accident. The one thing that I noticed was how the engines were parked … I had never noticed the technique (known as blocking) before.
The term “blocking” might also be described as the “safe parking” or “safe positioning” of emergency vehicles at roadway incidents. In the fire service, the term most often used is “block” or “blocking.” A block is when an emergency vehicle is used to protect an incident work area by parking across a lane or lanes of traffic. The unit should be stopped upstream of the incident area and parked at an angle across a lane or two of the roadway. In many cases, the shoulder of the road will be considered a lane if that is where the original incident is located. Parking at an angle makes it easier for approaching traffic to identify that your unit is stopped, parked and not moving. Units parked in line with traffic, even on the shoulder, are not as easy to identify as stopped and approaching traffic will often not recognise that the unit is parked instead of moving with traffic.