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 Exhibition: 12th – 20th April 2011
Foyer, National College of Art & Design Gallery
100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8
Click here for a full programme
Artist’s Biography
Joe Bova is the current Fulbright Scholar in the Ceramics area at the National College of Art and Design. Born in 1941 in Houston Texas, Joe lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A US Air Force Veteran (1960-1964), he was educated at the University of Houston (BFA, 1967) and the University of New Mexico (MA, 1969). Joe has taught in a range of universities and his work is in many museum collections in the US. He has received a number of teaching awards, remains a visiting artist in a number of US colleges and is an elected member or the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva. His work in ceramics using animal imagery was first inspired by the realities of hunting and fishing trips and later by their power as symbols, surrogates and totems. His later work continues an underlying eroticism inspired by pre-Columbian Moche pottery in addition to an increased sense of socio-political content. His influences also come from extensive travels in Latin American and China as well as Europe and he describes himself as an artist working in clay.
Artist’s Statement
Working and living in Dublin, Ireland during my Fulbright Award has been a most rewarding experience. Before this, my first time in Ireland, my familiarity with Irish legends and myths was meagre and tangential. It was mostly through the more popular cultural phenomena in the United States, for example Chicago dying the river green for Saint Patrick’s Day, movies, and the ubiquitous Irish pub in most cities.
I have found through many discussions with new Irish friends and as much reading as I have been able to do beyond intensive studio time, that there is a deep and intense vein of imagery and narrative that is inspirational, profoundly symbolic and, I believe, promising for my continued imagery investigation. One I found particularly intriguing is the raven, also a powerful iconic symbol in Native American myth where I live in New Mexico. These few works in this display are, I hope, a hint of the possibilities lying ahead.
I wish to thank everyone at NCAD for their welcoming graciousness. Mike Duhan, Paddy Moloney, Henry Pim, Lisa Young, and especially the students with whom I had the privilege of association. Also the staff in other areas of the college was helpful with assisting in details of the work. I am grateful to Declan McGonagle for his support of this display. Finally my heartfelt thanks to the Irish Fulbright Commission for their support, especially Colleen Dube for her sensitive perseverance.
The Fulbright Commission
Making a Difference
Joe Bova’s Inter-changes: Garnered Legends has been a surprising and stimulating result of his all too brief residency at the National College of Art and Design. In less than 3 months Joe has produced an impressive and captivating body of work that muses on many Irish legends and our contemporary challenges. It has been a privilege to collaborate with Joe during his time in Ireland and again with the National College of Art and Design on a Fulbright Scholar in Residence.
The primary function of the Ireland – United States [Fulbright] Commission is to administer the Fulbright Program which was established by the US Congress in 1946 under legislation sponsored by Senator J. William Fulbright. The purpose of the Fulbright Program worldwide is to increase mutual respect and understanding between people of the United States and people of other countries through educational and cultural exchanges. Since Fulbright Program was established in Ireland in 1957 more than 1,600 Irish postgraduate students, academics and professionals have studied in top US colleges and research institutes and more than 600 US students and scholars have come to Ireland.
The Fulbright Program in Ireland has consistently promoted awards and activities in the arts because as J. William Fulbright once said, “In this hurried mechanical age, the artist and the intellectual are among the few who have the serenity and sense of perspective which may help us to find a way out of the fevered confusion which presently afflicts us.” In these equally hurried and harried times, the Fulbright Commission now aims to nurture leaders, make a difference and create mutual understanding through its awards and activities.
Colleen Dube, Executive Director, Fulbright Commission
National College of Art and Design
Valuing Collaboration, Exchanges and Dialogue
The National College of Art and Design is committed to an ongoing relationship with Fulbright Scholars because the College values collaborations, exchanges and dialogue as strategically necessary, especially with transnational partners, as well as with institutions and organisations within Ireland.
As the College changes and reinvents what it does and why, in this challenging period, the input of artists/designers/thinkers from other contexts is important. Joe Bova has been a significant presence in a relatively short period and has produced an engaging body of new work in response to the Irish context, as well as contributing to learning and teaching in the College. NCAD is grateful to the artist and to the Fulbright Programme in Ireland and its Director, Colleen Dube and staff.
Declan McGonagle, Director, National College of Art and Design
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