Dublin Contemporary 2011 – A Terrible Beauty is Born

The biggest contemporary art exhibition ever held in Ireland takes place in Dublin later this year. It aims to put the Irish capital firmly on the map as an international center for the visual arts.

When you think of contemporary visual arts, Dublin is not a city that immediately comes to mind. But now an ambitious bid is being launched, supported by the Irish government, to change all that. The first Dublin Contemporary festival takes place for eight weeks during September and October this year, and will showcase Irish artists alongside some of the cream of talent from all five continents. But can Dublin Contemporary really make a mark, along the lines of the Venice Biennale?

“The ambition for it is to be a blockbuster exhibition – that’s the kind of budget we have, and that’s the kind of goal we have set out for ourselves,” says lead curator Christian Viveros-Faune. “And it is supposed to repeat, it’s a Quinquennial, which is it happens every five years,” The New York-based curator and writer was headhunted by organizers to take over the running of the festival, following the departure of the original artistic director Rachel Thomas at the start of this year.

Viveros-Faune is a former director of the prestigious Chicago Arts fair NEXT and VOLTA NY in New York, and has written for several prestigious art publications including Art in America, Art Review and The New Yorker. He insisted on having Jorge Castro as his co-curator, a Brussels-based Franco-Peruvian artist, curator and former UN and EU diplomat. Castro has curated exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, and major exhibitions in Spain. The pair took over the reins in February, just seven months before the massive project was due to open, and immediately changed the theme.

“I would have never considered taking the job to do somebody else’s show,” says Viveros-Faune, “That was really one of the stipulations that we wanted. We were never filling in. We were doing our own exhibition. Thankfully, the previous group had really not done a tremendous amount of work, and they really only had a couple of artists on board. So we almost had a blank slate to work with, which in this case turned out to be a blessing.”

The theme they chose Terrible Beauty—Art, Crisis, Change & The Office of Non‐Compliance, addressed the “elephant in the room”, he says. The title of the show is taken from the famous WB Yeats poem Easter 1916 in which he responded to the dramatic political developments of the time. It’s hoped Dublin Contemporary can also highlight art’s potential for commenting on current events in Irish life.  “I think any major cultural event in Ireland has to identify the overarching social, cultural and economic issue that not only the nation is facing, but the entire world is facing," says Viveros-Faune, “What we want to do is basically explore the connection between art and these kinds of crises - art and life in a certain sense.”

Although the final line-up of artists has yet to be confirmed, Viveros-Faune says there are several who are confirmed that have the potential to be really exciting. “Richard Mosse, for example, is an Irish artist that has been taking tremendous photographs in the Congo, at some significant personal risk, I should add. They are significantly more than just ordinary photographs. They are taken with an infra-red camera in the day, and they actually make the 20-year-old “generals” look almost feminized because they seem to be sporting pinkish or fuchsia uniforms. So that’s one example of terrific work.”

“There’s a collective called the Bruce High Quality Foundation, from America, and they are looking to investigate the connections between art and life. They are currently touring art schools here in the States – and essentially they want to kick-off their European tour in Dublin, hopefully Trinity College. And then, you know, Lisa Yuskavage is one of the biggest living painters in the world, she has a show at the RHA.”

Others artists confirmed include Nina Berman (USA), Tania Bruguera (CUB), Fernando Bryce (PER), Chen Chieh-Jen (TW),  James Coleman (IRL), Dexter Dalwood (GBR), Wang Du (CHN), Omer  Fast (ISR), Goldiechiari (ITA), Patrick Hamilton (CHI), Jim Lambie  (GBR), Brian O’Doherty (IRL), Niamh O’Malley (IRL), and Superflex (DEN).

The curators are hoping that the festival will viewed as a fresh new upstart on the contemporary arts circuit that is looking to be immediately relevant. They’ve promised that the art on view will bring in people who are not specialists in the visual arts and will be “very provocative”. Much of the art will be in on display at a cluster of buildings on Earlsfort Terrace, while others will use some of the well-established art institutions across the city. The festival is already leading to some interesting collaborations involving some of those institutions.

Meanwhile the city of Dublin itself will be used as a canvas, with street art inspiring and provoking public interest. Over and above the numbers attending, and the coverage Dublin Contemporary 2011 gets in the media, there is one other way that Viveros-Faune will be measuring its success. “That is the fact that we are putting on the biggest exhibition of contemporary art that Ireland has ever seen. And I think that in itself is going to raise the bar on efforts after 2011 and hopefully inspire some artists, and young potential commentators, and people who are not yet interested in the arts to possibly become more engaged. Those things are not so readily quantifiable immediately but they do have a lasting significance.”

Dublin Contemporary 2011 takes place Sept 6^th – Oct 31^st.

A version of this article appears in the summer edition of Irish Connections magazine

SELLING IRELAND TO AMERICANS

Meet the man whose job it is to sell Ireland as a vacation destination to North Americans - Joe Byrne, head of Tourism Ireland North America

“You can be a very busy fool when you have a job like mine in America,” says Joe Byrne, the Carlow man who heads up Tourism Ireland on this side of the Atlantic. “You can go after every target market and every city and all age groups and you can go after all interest levels and all hobbies.” But that would waste time and money, so Byrne and his colleagues, have done a lot of research to find out precisely who is most likely to actually travel to Ireland.  They call them their “Best Prospects”.

“First of all they are baby boomers, so people 45 years of age and upwards,” he explains, “That’s not to say we don’t have younger people who go to Ireland – we do. And that’s not to say we don’t bandwagon every now and then on an opportunity to go after them. But in terms of where we put our focus, it’s baby boomers. We’re talking sight-seekers and culture seekers. These are the things they are most interested in doing when they are going on vacation to anywhere. They are college-educated and above-average income, defined as $75,000+ which eliminates a lot. And they are actually clustered in 15 cities in the United States. So that allows us to focus on these. They are interested in the finer things of life, and they are past visitors to Europe. Then we have three niche markets that we focus on. The first is golf, the second is business tourism, and the third is the Irish, and Scots-Irish diaspora.”

All in all that leaves a target market of about 12.5 million Americans. These are the people who have expressed an interest in travelling to Ireland at some time in their life. And Joe’s job is to turn that “some time” into now. This job, you would think, has not been made any easier by the developments of the last few years. Ireland has been receiving all the wrong kind of attention because of the banking crisis and the EU-IMF bailout. Open The New York Times or Vanity Fair or whatever publication you choose, and all you’ll find are references to crippling debts, severe austerity measures and an angry population worried for their future. You might think that convincing people to spend thousands of dollars on a trip there just got a whole lot more difficult. But luckily, that’s not the case.

“We actually got a bit worried about it,” says Joe. So worried in fact, that Tourism Ireland commissioned research to find out how all this negative publicity was impacting on perceptions of Ireland as a world-class vacation destination. And it brought good news. 81% of people had been immune to the storm of negativity that we Irish have been so focused on. “They asked: ‘What publicity? What problems are you talking about?’, said Byrne, adding that even among those who were aware of it all, there was encouraging news. “We asked would this affect your intention of travelling to Ireland, and there was a resounding No.” It appears that Brand Ireland is too strong to be shaken by a financial crisis.

Even as the IMF officials crunch the numbers at Government Buildings in Dublin, the attractions that make Ireland great are still there outside those four walls. The spectacular countryside, the terrific golf courses, the rich cultural and artistic traditions remain. “I would have to say that Ireland does have an extraordinarily strong brand image in the United States. Other countries which are far bigger than Ireland do not have the same level of awareness as a vacation destination,” says Joe Byrne. “They don’t have the same emotional attachment that Ireland has for an awful lot of Americans.

So in a fiercely competitive marketplace, how does he make Ireland stand out? “There is what we say, and there is the way we say it. And the two are integrated,” he explains, “And the way we say it emphasizes the distinctiveness about Ireland. There are no countries in the world that are promoting themselves that don’t say that it’s a beautiful place. And we’re saying Ireland is a beautiful place. And there is no country in the world that’s promoting itself here that’s saying its people are not friendly! And we’re saying the Irish people are friendly. But there are very few that can claim what is distinctively, uniquely, culturally rich and worthwhile about Ireland. And it’s based around the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. There’s this concept of ‘the craic’.  Of being interested and interesting and warm and welcoming and affording an opportunity to be more involved in an authentic experience. So it’s that tone of how we communicate that says an awful lot about what we are saying about the place as well.”

“It is built around the spectacular fantastically beautiful places for which we are known and loved, and the warm welcoming rich Irish people, but wrapped together in this unique distinctively Irish sense of fun and welcome and warmth and wit and mischief and roguery.”

Byrne says despite what many people think, the old leprechaun/blarney shtick doesn’t work anymore. “It doesn’t work in terms of persuading people to come to Ireland. It just doesn’t. And you would have to say there are probably a few nations involved: there’s Ireland, America and then there’s Irish America. One of the challenges that we have is that for Americans who are interested in coming to Ireland some time and should be interested, they get their impressions of Ireland from Irish-America rather than necessarily from Ireland itself. And a lot of that is what we call ‘paddy-whackery’ and not all of it is actually conducive to persuading someone who is interested or should be to actually go now. There is a certain stereotypical association which people believe is an association with Ireland, and a lot of it is to do with excessive drinking, and a lot to do with the paddywhackery that you see on St Patrick’s Day.”

Byrne says that while they bask in the limelight that St Patrick’s Day offers, they are keen to use the opportunity to display those aspects of the country which are strong enough to pull people to Ireland. “It’s the fact of Dublin being a city of literature, of Derry being the UK’s city of culture in 2013. It’s the spectacularly rich sporting and cultural events that take place. That’s actually what pulls people in.”

A trip to Ireland is a significant investment for any US holidaymaker – the average stay costs in the region of $5,000. And any difficulty in convincing people to travel over the past few years had less to do with Ireland’s economic problems, and more to do with the economic difficulties here in the States. But consumer confidence is now returning, and in a funny way Ireland’s problems, which have dramatically reduced hotel prices for example, can actually help convince people to go. “It means that now we have people who would traditionally have stayed in certain forms of accommodation who are now adding a night or two in a Castle hotel as well,” he said.

Another unexpected boost has come from President Obama’s decision to visit Ireland. “This an example of Ireland being in the spotlight through no credit of Tourism Ireland, but we can use the opportunity to focus on things that are grist to our mill, to highlight some aspects that we know our target market is interested in.” Obviously, one of those is the tracing of ancestry – an important motivating factor in the decision of many to travel to Ireland. “Irish ancestry is important, certainly. And there are forty million people with Irish ancestry in the States, give or take a couple of million,” says Byrne.

But perhaps surprisingly, only a third of American visitors to Ireland have Irish heritage, two thirds have no direct link, and Byrne says they are careful to remember this in their promotions. “In our marketing activities we want to be very careful that we don’t in any way send out a signal to people who don’t have Irish ancestry, that Ireland is a great location if you are Irish,” he says. “We want to send out a message that Ireland is a great vacation destination whether you are Irish, or whether you have different heritage. That does not stop us from sending out an over and above message to people of Irish ancestry, and we do that.”

For those of Irish descent who do go to Ireland, most are several generations removed. “They are not Irish born, only about 3% are Irish born, and only about 3% have actually a parent born in Ireland. So you are talking about grandparent or much further out than that. Therefore it’s a link, but it’s more notional.”

Byrne has been selling Ireland as a holiday destination for most of his adult life. A graduate of UCD, he worked briefly in RTE before taking those audio-visual skills to Bord Failte where he produced marketing videos. In the 1980s, the father-of-two was manager of Bord Failte’s  Paris operations, with responsibility for all of southern Europe. In the late 90s he came to New York as head of Bord Failte here. But he was soon called back to Dublin, as a new initiative to promote the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination was being put together as the peace process began to bear fruit. Renamed Tourism Ireland, the North-South co-operation “took off from day one” and after five years working in Dublin, Byrne was once again appointed to head up the efforts in the USA and Canada.

Over the years, he’s witnessed many changes in the tourism industry. Major challenges have hit travel agents and tour operators as people began to book and research their own holidays using the internet. Nonetheless they both remain crucial allies of Tourism Ireland in influencing the choice of destinations for holidaymakers. “The first time the escorted bus tour market was written off was 30 years ago,” says Byrne, “And then 20 years ago it was written off again. I’m happy to say there will be more people on escorted bus tours to Ireland in 2011 than in any other year in the past. Escorted bus tours have moved with the times. The stereotypical image of the coach tour is just that – a stereotype. They are much more active and participant than they were in the past.”

Tourism Ireland has also moved with the times. Its Facebook page has 120,000 fans and DiscoverIreland.com is the most visited European tourist board website in the US. Social media now plays a crucial part in spreading the word about Ireland. Joe says the balance of power is very much with the customer now, and real life testimonies are crucial in promoting a destination. “If I say something, people will say: ‘sure that fella is paid to say Ireland is a great destination!’ But if a Joe Byrne who is not working with Tourism Ireland says ‘I went to Ireland and had a great vacation’, it’s treated with greater credibility than anything I would say.”

Fortunately, Joe need not worry too much. Most of the comments on Facebook about Ireland are incredibly complimentary. And research conducted by Tourism Ireland shows an incredibly high satisfaction rating among those who make the trip to Ireland. “I handle directly all of the complaints that come in here,” says Joe Byrne, “I read all of the letters. And nobody has written to me in the past two years! I keep on looking at the post and nobody writes. We have really great satisfaction levels. I say that not to just wallow in it, but to say we do have a world class product that meets and exceeds expectations. And it does mean that we have an army of satisfied visitors. A big part of our current strategy is to turn that army into a proactive army of ambassadors and evangelists who will spread the word about Irish tourism.”

A version of this article first appears in the summer edition of Irish Connections magazine

POP UP PIANOS

Art project puts pianos on the streets of New York

Vincent Murphy reports on a new public art project in New York which aims to bring music to the masses

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0627/morningireland.html

Michael Noonan: The Man in the Hot Seat

Ireland's new Finance Minister Michael Noonan talks to Vincent Murphy about the bailout, his first 100 days in the job, and how the Irish overseas can help the recovery

“I’m on my third Taoiseach, you know,” laughs Michael Noonan, when I ask him how he’s coping with the toughest job in Ireland right now.

“I was there with Garret Fitzgerald and I was there with John Bruton. And I’m now there with Enda Kenny. So I’ve held a number of ministries. And I’m glad to be given the opportunity again to make a contribution.” Fine Gael has not been in government for a long time – but in their new Finance Minister, they have a wily pair of hands. Noonan has been around the block – several times.

And now the Limerick man is facing his biggest challenge – taking over the reins at the Department of Finance as Ireland struggles with an unprecedented debt and banking crisis. “Things got into a crisis in Ireland, and all I can say is I’m going to work every day to get us out of it,” he says.

In many ways his hands are tied as Finance Minister, with the State effectively locked-in to the IMF/EU/ECB rescue package agreed by his predecessor. The day before we meet, during an interview, Noonan re-opened the debate on burning senior bondholders at Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide. He said, as Anglo was no longer a bank in any real sense, he believed losses should be imposed on the bondholders. His comments were front page news on the Financial Times in Europe next day, alongside reports of the escalating crisis in Greece.

And as a result, he was trying to dampen the fire, when we met, arguing that his comments had been given a weight they didn’t deserve, because of what was happening in Greece. “We are saying publicly that everything that has been given to us as a country, or has been given to us in our banking system, that we’ll repay to the last cent. And that’s our commitment to the senior bondholders everywhere,” he said. He added that, while his comments were accurately reported, he wanted to frame them in the context of the continuing review of the rescue program.

There is estimated to be around €3.1bn in the relevant Anglo bonds and around €600m in Irish Nationwide bonds. “Everybody knows about Anglo,” he says, “I mean, Anglo is Anglo. And all I’m saying is there are issues that haven’t been fully resolved but that we are not going to make any kind of unilateral move. We are going to discuss these issues with the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank. And the discussions aren’t imminent either. You know, this is something for the Autumn. So we are not even looking for meetings on these issues at the moment.”

It was a fascinating snapshot of the kind of pressure the new Finance Minister is under, and how careful he has to be with the words he chooses, and how the global financial markets hang on his every utterance.

"We have been working day and night on it, you know,” he says, “I’m hardly seeing home, or hardly seeing the constituency"

Noonan was in New York and Washington last week for over 16 meetings with business leaders and opinion makers. His message was simple – the new government in Ireland is sticking to the terms of the bailout deal. “It’s like a contract,” he explains, “where there are literally dozens of conditions, and when you fulfill the conditions on a timeline, you are allowed to draw down money. You can draw down money to pay the day-to-day needs of the State, whether it’s the health service or paying the teachers or the Gardai, and then there is another side where you can draw down when you need to capitalize the banks. So I was confirming that we’re committed to the program, we’re sticking by the program and we’re going to see it through.”

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the top officials at the IMF were among those who took time to meet the Minister during his visit to Washington. Noonan was also keen to draw attention to the differences between Ireland and Greece, as the world’s attention is focused on Athens. “We keep saying Ireland is not Greece, and people understand that, but when it comes to issues like this, the international financial media tend to box us together,” he says.

Whatever happens to Greece will have a major impact, not just on Ireland, but on the whole Eurozone. But Noonan knows Ireland is not in any position to direct events. “In the real world, it’s the stronger nations in Europe that will make the decisions about Greece,” he explains, “Now, the definition of the stronger nations are the Triple A countries – those that have a triple A credit rating. Finland is one of those even though it is a small country, Slovenia is one of those even though it’s small.  Ireland won’t have a very strong voice in designing the solution, and our primary interest is to ensure that any solution arrived at doesn’t damage us.”

While Europe is dealing with the Greek crisis, Ireland’s attempts to have the terms of its bailout deal reviewed will have to wait. The government is keen to have the interest rate it is being charged reduced, but is facing some opposition from France and Germany, who are looking for changes to Ireland’s low corporate tax rate in return. That’s non-negotiable as far as Noonan is concerned: “It’s part of our industrial relations policy, and we will not negotiate it away under any circumstances.”

While in the US, Noonan was also keeping a close eye on negotiations over the sale of Anglo assets here. These are properties worth up to €11 billion – a mix of hotels, shopping centers and apartment blocks, mostly in the North East, from New York up to Boston. As part of the wind-down of Anglo, the government hopes to sell these assets. “These are very good assets now. These are not impaired assets at all. All this stuff is leased or rented and is generating income. So these are very attractive on the market. We’re trying to reduce the size of the banks by disposing of their assets abroad.”

By coincidence, it’s exactly 100 days since the new government was formed on the day we meet. I ask him to rate how he believes he’s done. “Very busy,” he says, before listing off what he’s undertaking since taking up the position.

“We totally restructured the banking system in accordance with the program. We did that in the first three weeks and made all the necessary announcements and we’re implementing that now with a view to making the banks fully recapitalized in line with the new stress testing by the 31^st July.

“We’re looking for private money in Bank of Ireland. We’ve commenced the legal merger of EBS and Allied Irish Bank, we are talking to people to sell off the insurance arm of Irish Life and Permanent.

“On the bondholders, we have gone to court and made arrangements and offers, for subordinate bondholders and we had the first success in that two weeks ago when we got agreement from 86% of the bondholders in AIB to accept the discounts offered. That’s worth, by the time the second tranche comes through, almost two billion to the Irish taxpayer.

“And we’re proceeding the same way now with Bank of Ireland. We want to see if we can arrange debt for equity swaps there. We’d like to keep Bank of Ireland as a publicly quoted bank, with majority private ownership. And then we’re moving on to EBS and Irish Life and Permanent.

“So we have, not only made the initial announcements about the structures, we are systematically implementing them and that’s a huge quantity of work in the first 100 days.

“The second thing we did then was we renegotiated the program that had been agreed by the previous government and we got some major concessions on it. Particularly, room to implement the jobs initiative because we had to change things around on the program to get that implemented.

“We also, on NAMA, got an agreement that assets below €20m in value would remain in their parent banks and wouldn’t be switched to NAMA which was very important.

“And we’ve got a review build in after 2012, and we got an extension on the time for the bailout, so it’s getting the deficit down to 3% by 2015 now.

“And of course, for the jobs initiative then, we had to put a Finance Bill in place. And we had to implement that.

“So systematically, we are ticking the boxes and we are meeting the commitments in the program on a timeline.”

“I hope that most of the decisions we make will be good ones and that the ones that aren’t good ones, we’ll have the sense to admit it early and change”

It’s a thankless and tiring job.

“We have been working day and night on it, you know,” he says, “I’m hardly seeing home, or hardly seeing the constituency – that work is being done with the help of other people. But it’s Dublin all the time in the Ministry doing the job that’s required.”

He says the new government is very conscious of how difficult it is for young people to find work in Ireland. But he argues that things are still not as bad as they were in the 1980s. “Back then there were only around 900,000 people at work. But this week’s figures have 1.8 million people at work – it’s nearly double. So even at the bottom of the cycle - and it looks that unemployment has bottomed out now - there’s 1.8m at work. And they’ve gone up the skill chain as well, the people who are at work.”

He said foreign direct investment is strong in Ireland, with the IDA successfully attracting companies, particularly form the US. Exports are booming, and he expects a Balance of Payments surplus this year. And he’s also targeted tourism as a key sector for recovery. The numbers visiting Ireland have declined 30% over a three year period, and Noonan sees regaining that lost ground as a priority. With that in mind he has an appeal to Irish Americans. “You know, people often say to me: You have trouble at home. What can we do? We feel that the crisis is too big and we can’t make any contribution to the solution,” he says. “Well my message is, if you can convince one friend to visit Ireland this summer, do. There’s a lot of Irish abroad, and if they can convince one person to come, it will swell the numbers.”

Noonan says he believes things are beginning to build up again in Ireland.  “I hope that most of the decisions we make will be good ones and that the ones that aren’t good ones, we’ll have the sense to admit it early and change,” he says. “We’re very conscious of building morale and confidence. We’re moving on. So far, so good.”

This article first appeared in the Irish Examiner USA June 21st issue

VIDEO: New US Open champion Rory McIlroy and the Washing Machine

New US Open champion Rory McIllroy is set to become the biggest golfing sensation since Tiger Woods, after blowing the field away at the weekend at Congressional.

But he's been wowing audiences from a very young age.

Here is a video of Rory, appearing on Ulster Television's Gerry Kelly chat show at the age of just 12, showcasing the talent that would take him to Major glory by the age of just 22.

ACHTUNG SPIDEY! - FORGETTABLE FARE

REVIEW – SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK

Oh dear.

As one of the few people reviewing Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark not to have seen the original version of the $75m musical, I thought I might be in a position to go a bit lighter on it than most critics.

Most reviews, which have compared the Julie Taymor version with the reworked Phillip McKinley one, say things have improved, albeit not by enough.

So I thought, by being able to focus strictly on the new version, I could be fairer to the much-maligned show.

In other words, I went to Foxwoods Theatre on Thursday night with an open mind, and actually in a mood to be generous.

And by the end of a beautifully-worked opening scene, my heart was lifted.

“Behold and Wonder” sung with haunting vocals from TV Carpio as the mythological spider-god Arachne, and sumptuous staging where cast members swinging from hanging drapes weave a dramatic pattern that covers the stage, was a joy.

But unfortunately, the insult to intelligence that unfolded over the next hour or so, meant that by the interval, it was almost forgotten.

Where to start?

The weak script? The all-too-obvious plot development? The one-and-a-half dimensional characters?

An early number, “Bullying by Numbers”, where Peter Parker’s geek credentials are established - is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard on a Broadway stage.

The scene where Peter Parker gets bitten by the venomous spider – one you would think is so crucial to the plot that it would demand special attention – is completely lame and over in the blink of an eye.

Likewise, in what should be an exciting moment as Peter begins to discover his new powers – a nicely imagined staging is let down by a sub-par song “Bouncing off the Walls”.

And the less said about the scene where Peter takes part in a boxing match against an inflatable muscle-man the better.

The only saving grace for Act 1 is that it contains the standout song from the entire show.

“Rise Above” is a soaring ballad sung with gusto by Reeve Carney in the title role, and TV Carpio as Arachne, and is the only number from Spiderman that you could imagine making the cut on a proper U2 album.

After 45 minutes, when the first of the much-vaunted flying sequences takes place, it’s actually not as exciting as it could be, had any momentum or tension been built up through earlier scenes.

Act 2 is actually much better – but it’s hard to tell whether or not that’s the result of expectations dropping so low by that point.

There are still huge problems.

Some of the villains Spiderman is forced to take-on look remarkably cheap for a production that has spent $75m.

One brings to mind the Mexican Bumble Bee character from the Simpsons.

Another is a ringer for the toy dinosaur in Toy Story.

But at least Act 2 proceeds at pace, and the more regular flying sequences distract from the continuing weaknesses of the plot.

There are two beautiful moments – first Mary Jane’s love song “If the World Should End”, sung with tenderness by Jennifer Damiano, a talented actress who could do so much more given the right material.

And another fantastic Arachne (TV Carpio) song, “Turn off the Dark”, which includes a flying sequence, that is gentler and more effective than most of Spidey’s jaunts across the theatre.

When the final confrontation takes place between Spiderman and the Green Goblin, it is staged thrillingly, with a fantastic replica of the Chrysler Building on stage, and high-paced acrobatics above the audience’s head.

So at least the whole enterprise ends on a high note.

But it’s not enough to erase the memory of all that went before.

For the most part, the cast emerge relatively unscathed from the mess, and it’s to their credit.

Reeve Carney, as Peter Parker/Spiderman, is handsome and winning, with a very good voice, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane sings beautifully, and Peter Page hams it up as the Green Goblin to crowd-pleasing effect.

But they are all struggling with music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge that are not only forgettable, but seriously below standard in places.

Whatever revisions have been made to the script and plot have either been too little or too much – because it’s just a colour-by-numbers telling of the familiar Spiderman story.

And intriguingly, the best performance of all comes from TV Carpio as Arachne, whose every scene is far more interesting than what came before or after.

The character was a central part of Julie Taymor’s vision, but has been significantly reduced in the new more 

mainstream version, which is a real pity, because I would have liked to see more of her.

The set design is deliberately cartoonish, reminding audiences at every opportunity that the source material is a comic book.

Sometimes it works well, at others it doesn’t.

The costumes are similarly purposefully garish.

The flying sequences are certainly enjoyable, but the harnesses and wires are so visible, they contain little magic.

And Spiderman flies, for the most part, wearing his mask, which makes it difficult for the audience to connect with him for those scenes.

For all the talk of the new version being more fun than the original, I can only recall one scene (involving the Green Goblin making a phone call) where I actually laughed out loud.

Bizarrely, music from U2’s back catalogue appears briefly on a number of occasions, serving no obvious purpose, other than to remind you of Bono and the Edge’s involvement.

If I was them, it’s not something I’d be shouting about.

** (2 out of 5 stars)

- Vincent Murphy

Thumbs Up from Clinton, Thumbs down from Critics as Spidey 2.0 opens

Former US president Bill Clinton has given U2’s Spiderman musical on Broadway the thumbs up after attending its star-studded gala opening on Tuesday night. But Bono and the Edge, who wrote the music and lyrics for Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, woke up on Wednesday to find once again that newspaper theatre critics were left decidedly unimpressed.

President Clinton and his daughter Chelsea sat alongside Bono at the Foxwoods Theatre off Times Square for the show’s official premiere. Behind them sat the Edge with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were joined in the audience by a who’s-who of Bono’s celebrity friends, including rocker Lou Reed, rapper Jay Z, actors Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson and Steve Martin, supermodels Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen, tennis legend John McEnroe, TV stars Barbara Walters and Jimmy Fallon, and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“What an amazing and historic night on Broadway. New York has never seen anything like Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark,”said Bill Clinton. “And I am very proud of them for not giving up, it was fabulous.” However, most of the critics, who were reviewing the reworked version of the show for the first time since director Julie Taymor was replaced in March, did not agree.

While the reviews have not been as savage as those of the original version published in February, they were still damning in whatever faint praise they gave. Most felt that while the revisions had improved the show, it was now basically a very expensive piece of children’s entertainment.

America’s most influential theatre critic Ben Brantley of the New York Times said the show had gone from “jaw-dropping badness to mere mediocrity.” “This singing comic book is no longer the ungodly, indecipherable mess it was in February. It’s just a bore,” he wrote, adding that he would only recommend it if he knew a “less-than-precocious child of 10 or so, and had several hundred dollars to throw away.”

Peter Mark, writing in the Washington Post, said the show was “a definite upgrade” but “still situated a wide canyon’s distance from good.” Entertainment Weekly’s Thom Geier gave it a C+ rating, saying “It may be an admirable work of revision, but it’s an unsatisfying meal, like one of Mom’s end-of-the-week casseroles made of leftovers she couldn’t bear to toss away.”

The kindest review came from Elysa Gardner writing in USA Today, who said producers had clearly heeded critics and fans, and the new version was “more of an overt crowd pleaser”. It certainly pleased the invited guests at Tuesday night’s opening, where the audience leapt to their feet to give the cast and crew a standing ovation at curtain call. Producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J Harris came out on stage, followed by Bono and the Edge. The new director, Phillip William McKinley then introduced the woman he replaced Julie Taymor.

There was loud applause from the audience and cheers from the cast and crew as Taymor walked on the stage to embrace Bono and the Edge, and the other producers who ousted her just two months ago. Bono took the microphone and paid tribute to her creativity, adding “By the way, you’re looking hot, Julie.” Taymor was gracious despite an ongoing dispute with producers over the payment of royalties, and thanked the cast and crew that she had spent years working with on the show.

Bono, who recently admitted that he would never have become involved in the musical if he knew how much time it would take to get it up and running, said he was proud of the work. “It’s quite a moment for us to finally be able to stand behind this, stand proudly behind it. It is a wonderful, wild ride of a night out,” he said. “We knew that that show had the makings of something great,” added the Edge, “so we felt that if we just pushed very hard and persuaded our producers to go again, we could get there. We feel we have.”

WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID ABOUT SPIDEY 2.O:

The New York Times – Ben Brantley

“(The show) has become a straightforward children’s entertainment with a mildly suspenseful story, two-dimensional characters, unapologetically bad jokes and the kind of melodious rock tunes that those under 12 might be familiar with from listening to their parents’ salad-day favorites of the 1980s and ’90s. The puppet figures and mask-dominated costumes worn by the supporting villains still seem to have wandered in from a theme park.”

The Hollywood Reporter – David Rooney

"When a show is as misconceived as Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, it’s more realistic to expect cosmetic improvements than miracles. That’s exactly what the new creative team has accomplished in this significantly overhauled but still terminally clunky reworking of the troubled mega-musical, now officially open after a record 183 previews."

USA Today – Elisa Gardner

"Essential elements of (Taymor’s) production remain, along with the flying feats and other high-tech visuals. But the new "Spider-Man" is cuter and more cautious than its predecessor ...  Clearly, producers heeded the critics and fans who hoped to see the title character represented more as he'd been in comic books and movies,"

New York Post – Elizabeth Vincentelli

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”…tries very hard to be fun and accessible. After many upheavals and accidents, firings and rewrites, the show is closer than ever to the bull’s eye, but that’s not saying much: The target has been both broadened and lowered. The point of reference is Joel Schumacher’s family-ready “Batman,” not Christopher Nolan’s dark, arty one.”

Wall Street Journal – Terry Teachout

“If beauty were really only skin deep, then "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" would be the perfect musical. Every cent of the $70 million budget is visible…It's the best-looking mediocre musical ever to open on Broadway.

“The score, by U2's Bono and The Edge, sounds like a double album of B-sides ("Don't think about tomorrow / We've only got today"). Not only are the songs forgettable, but they never succeed in generating any dramatic momentum—all they do is get louder.”

Washington Post – Peter Marks

“What swings from the rafters, springs from the wings and bursts from the stage floor of the Foxwoods Theatre is a definite upgrade from the flailing behemoth on view in February...this effects-driven musical is still situated a wide canyon’s distance from good.”

Entertainment Weekly – Thom Geier

“Bono and The Edge's score is a mostly lackluster collection of forgettable tunes that play like U2 B-side…  It may be an admirable work of revision, but it's an unsatisfying meal, like one of mom's end-of-the-week casseroles made of leftovers she couldn't bear to toss…

"A lot of talent and money have gone into Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. But with great promise (and an even greater budget) comes the great responsibility of delivering. Though it's undeniably cool to see costumed heroes zip overhead, this Spidey just can't get off the ground.”

1916 EASTER RISING TRICOLOUR ON LOAN TO NEW YORK

A unique piece of Irish history – the tricolor flag that was flown above the GPO in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising – was handed over on loan to the American Irish Historical Society (AIHS) in New York last night (Wed). The flag will go on display at the Fifth Avenue headquarters of the AIHS, and will be a focal point for American celebrations in the run-up to the centenary of the Rising.

The treasured artifact, which is insured for $1m, is the only full-sized tricolor of the 1916 Rising in existence. The linen flag is accompanied by a note confirming its provenance. It reads “Captured by British Troops at GPO DUBLIN, April 1916 and given to Dr. George St. George by an old War veteran, Sergt. Davis” The doctor’s family later presented it to the family of John Sweetman, a renowned nationalist and one of the founders of Sinn Fein, who have had it in their possession ever since.

“The family are delighted to have this important icon of Irish history displayed in the AIHS in New York,” said Ian Whyte, of Whyte’s Auction House, who represented the family as the flag was formally handed over to President-General of the AIHS Kevin M Cahill in New York last night. “The other flag that flew over the GPO during the Rising is in the National Museum of Ireland, and it is fitting that this tricolour is now in the USA, home to over forty million people of Irish descent."

Chris Cahill, executive director of the AIHS said the society was approached by Whyte’s with a view to taking the flag on loan, after it failed to sell at auction in New York in March 2010, despite bids of up to $400,000. “We’re very proud to have it here,” he said, “In a different world, if we had the resources, we would love to own it. It would fit very well with other items we have on collection here, including an original copy of the Proclamation. If any of your readers want to purchase it and donate it to the Society, we’d be delighted to accept it!” he added.

The tricolor was one of two flags that flew above the GPO as Padraig Pearse read out the proclamation declaring the Republic of Ireland. The other was a solid green flag emblazoned with a harp and “Irish Republic” written across it in gold. That one is now on display at the National Museum of Ireland. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the tricolor flying above the GPO for several days after the surrender of the leaders of the Rising – possibly because British Forces were unaware of its significance at the time. It makes the flag particularly important historically.

The American Irish Historical Society, a centre for Irish culture, literature and learning founded in 1897, plans to put the tricolor on display immediately  on a temporary basis. It will then form part of several exhibitions planned between now and 2016.

Gaga and Your Body: Trinity's Science Gallery Opens Biorhythms show in New York

One of Ireland’s newest and most successful galleries has opened an exhibition in New York for the first time. The Science Gallery at Trinity College has attracted 750,000 visitors in the three years since it opened – far exceeding its target of 50,000 visitors a year. The gallery has a reputation or putting on exhibitions which make science more accessible to the general public.

“It was really a bit of an experiment by Trinity College,” explains Michael John Gorman, the gallery’s director. “Let’s find a new way for the university to engage with the city and to bring together science and the arts - to connect the Ivory Tower with all of the creative community around the university.”

One of those exhibitions was called Biorhythms: Music and the Body, and was seen by more than 60,000 people in Dublin last summer. It explores why our bodies react differently to hearing Lady Gaga and Beethoven. Now, it has opened at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Centre in Chelsea, Manhattan as part of the World Science Festival. It’s the first time that the Science Gallery has taken an exhibition overseas, and also the first time that the World Science Festival has ever invited an exhibition to participate in its program. “It’s a great honor to be the first one,” said Michael John Gorman, “For us, it’s exciting to be on the international stage.”

The exhibition is being supported by Imagine Ireland, the year-long promotion of Irish arts in the US by Culture Ireland.  “That’s a pretty great thing to be part of,” said Gorman, “It’s really thrilling to have the experimental mix between science and art suddenly being regarded as part of emerging Irish cultural activity.”

Singer Gavin Friday and composer Linda Buckley were among the curators of Biorhythm. Trinity Provost Dr John Hegarty travelled to New York for the launch last Friday, which saw a New York beat boxer and his band take part in a live experiment on stage, having their emotional and physical responses measured as they performed to see how music and the body interact. The exhibition runs until August, and the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center has planned a book launch, workshops and other events to run alongside it.

“It’s unusual for us to host an exhibition, but we were really excited about the possibility of this show” said Amanda McDonald Crowley, the center’s executive director. “We’re not a gallery for hire.  It wouldn’t make sense for us. We’re in Chelsea.  There are 389 galleries in a five block radius of us. We’re much more interested in the possibility for collaboration.”

The exhibition offers a chance to experiment with different kinds of installations. It includes the world’s largest research experiment on music and emotion, which is being conducted in collaboration with Queens University Belfast. “They’re actually using the visitors to the gallery as experimental subjects, and by attaching them to sensors for skin response and heart rate, they are testing how people respond to different types of music,” said Michael John Gorman. “And it’s a real scientific experiment, where they’re going to create this huge database. So one could imagine that being used for example in devising new sorts of musical experiences, which are tailored to your mental state, which is a next generation type of music.”

There are also a range of more playful installations – like a sonic bed which you can lie in and feel the music pulsing through your whole body, an acoustic armchair, a giant ear. There’s also the chance to create your own music and sounds. “I think what’s really interesting here is the combination – there’s a number of works that are really rather scientific in approach and there are some that are much more arty in their approach,” said Amanda McDonald Crowley of Eyebeam. “The idea of mixing up those works conceptually and thinking of sound in the context of both art and science, and where those ideas meet, that’s what’s really interesting for me.”

The Science Gallery hopes the event will lead to new links with international artists and scientists, with Dublin designated City of Science in 2012.

BIORHYTHM: MUSIC AND THE BODY at Eyebeam Art +Technology Center at 540 W 21st St runs til Aug6th. Open Tuesday-Saturday 12-6PM - admission free! CHELSEA