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The Statue of Luke Kelly is a large marble sculpted head of Irish folk singer Luke Kelly, with metal wire for hair. The statue is located at the north end of Luke Kelly Park (formerly Linear Park), near the junction of Sheriff Street Upper and Guild Street, Dublin 1.
The statue was created by Vera Klute and is circa 250 cm x 170 cm x 170 cm excluding the stone base. The head is made from Libyan marble, while treated metal wire was used to form the hair and beard. The individually curled hairs are attached to larger perforated metal sheets that form a 'cap'. The moustache is made of individual pieces of wire which were drilled into the face of the statue.
The artist first made an initial model with wire hair in smaller near life sized form. Then she sculpted a second larger model from polystyrene and wax but without hair at about half the size of the finished sculpture. This second statue was then used for 3D scanning to create the final larger sized version cut from marble via a 5-axis cnc 
The appearance is based on a distinctive pose of Luke Kelly with his eyes closed while performing and is said to be taken from a still from his performance of
Artist
Multi-disciplinary artistVera Klute
Vera Klute ARHA (born 1981) is a German multi-disciplinary artist based in Dublin, Ireland.
Life
Vera Klute was born in 1981 in Salzkotten, Germany. Klute moved to Ireland to attend Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, graduat ...
was awarded the commission for this sculpture after a closed competition run by Dublin City Council. While the artist is well known for portraiture in both painting and sculpture, her practice also involves kinetic work, video animation or ceramics.
Other sculpture busts by the artist include a bust of Garry Hynes at the National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...
and a bust of Eileen Gray
Eileen Gray (born Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith; 9 August 187831 October 1976) was an Irish architect and furniture designer who became a pioneer of the Modern architecture, Modern Movement in architecture. Over her career, she was associated w ...
at villa E-1027 and the Irish Embassy, Paris. Most recently Klute's bust of Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, co ...
was unveiled at the Library at Trinity College Dublin.
History
The statue, created byVera Klute
Vera Klute ARHA (born 1981) is a German multi-disciplinary artist based in Dublin, Ireland.
Life
Vera Klute was born in 1981 in Salzkotten, Germany. Klute moved to Ireland to attend Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, graduat ...
, was unveiled along with another statue of Luke Kelly on South King Street on 30 January 2019 by President Michael D. Higgins.
It was unveiled to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Kelly on 30 January 1984, after calls to memorialise the singer in his hometown and specifically near where Luke Kelly grew-up on Sheriff Street.
Vandalism
The statue has been vandalised numerous times since it was commissioned. In July 2020, the 7th incident of defacement resulted in a 40-year-old man being charged with vandalism. These repeat incidents have raised questions regarding the statue's location and accessibility, which have included suggestions to relocate it to a more public area.Production
The statue was created by Vera Klute and is circa 250 cm x 170 cm x 170 cm excluding the stone base. The head is made from Libyan marble, while treated metal wire was used to form the hair and beard. The individually curled hairs are attached to larger perforated metal sheets that form a 'cap'. The moustache is made of individual pieces of wire which were drilled into the face of the statue.
The artist first made an initial model with wire hair in smaller near life sized form. Then she sculpted a second larger model from polystyrene and wax but without hair at about half the size of the finished sculpture. This second statue was then used for 3D scanning to create the final larger sized version cut from marble via a 5-axis cnc milling
Milling may refer to:
* Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin
* Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill
* Milling (machining), a process of using rota ...
machine in Italy. The sculpture was then hand finished in Ireland.
The appearance is based on a distinctive pose of Luke Kelly with his eyes closed while performing and is said to be taken from a still from his performance of Scorn Not His Simplicity "Scorn Not His Simplicity" is a song written by the Irish musician and songwriter Phil Coulter and performed on his albums ''Classic Tranquility'' and '' The Songs I Love So Well''.
The song has also been performed by several Irish musicians, inclu ...
on a show hosted by Jim McCann in 1974 called 'McCann Man'.
See also
*List of public art in Dublin
This is a list of public art on permanent public display in Dublin, Ireland. The list applies only to works of public art accessible in a public space; it does not include artwork on display inside museums. Public art may include sculptures, statu ...
* The Dubliners
References
{{reflist 2019 sculptures The Dubliners Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) Monuments and memorials in the Republic of Ireland Outdoor sculptures in Ireland Vandalized works of art in Ireland