The Revolution has been Televised!
Rod Coyne reveals his 1916 Portrait Collection to Irish TV, one century on from the Dublin Revolution.
Rod’s Revolution…
“I remember learning of Easter 1916 as a school boy, awe-struck and filled with pride. While back then the year 2016 seemed a science fiction away, I now stand on the threshold still awe-struck and filled with pride.” – Rod Coyne.
Irish TV’s new and charming presenter Pol Seoige gets to the heart of Rod Coyne’s 1916 Portrait Collection. The interview from last March was all about Rod’s then imminent Centenary exhibition. That show ran from 13th March till 9th April at The Courthouse Arts Center, Tinahely, Co. Wicklow. Coyne’s portraits set the perfect mood for a month of events marking the 1916 Easter Rising. The paintings formed a backdrop to theater, live music, cinema and panel discussions in Wicklow’s favorite arts center.
The exclusive print collection is available here.
Loads more about the exhibition: http://eepurl.com/bSYh2T
You can see the whole interview on YouTube.
“Those who know my landscape work might be forgiven for thinking I have made a radical side-step with this collection. On one had I have done just that, but on the other it’s just me going back to my roots. I have never considered myself a portrait artist, as there many who look after end of things so much proficiently than I ever will. I admire and enjoy their work. From day one I have drawn by that primitive artistic urge to work with the head, face and figure. I guess it’s just that eternal fascination with the human condition. Indeed, during my early years in Düsseldorf the human condition featured heavily in a long series on paintings examining the Troubles. So the “1916 Portrait Collection” is very much a continuation of those, themes held on pause for a while, rather than a surprise anthology from left field.” – Rod Coyne.
The Easter Rising of 1916 was pivotal to the emergence of an independent Ireland. Only supported by a minority of the Irish population, the courage and sacrifice of those who led it would in time change their nation’s destiny. The story of how less than two thousand Irish men and women bravely confronted the might of the British army in Dublin remains one of the most compelling in Irish history.