‘€50k art project should be called Bono, as it’s close to The Edge !’
“They should have called it ‘Bono’ because it’s quite close to The Edge.”
The public has shared their reactions to the official name for a new public sculpture in Tallaght.
The name ‘Node 81 – a point becomes a line, a line becomes a way’ has been given to the €50,000 public art project by Liam O’Callaghan that rests on the mound of the Glenview Roundabout on the N81.
One comment on a post from The Echo believes it should have a different name due to its close proximity to The Edge.
The comment reads: “They should have called it ‘Bono’ because it’s quite close to The Edge.”
According to the artist’s brief, Node 81 is an “artwork in coloured steel that references the spire of St Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght, the buildings and housing that have grown up around it in the wider area of Tallaght and the diversity of the communities in the area.”
Some of the public have noted a resemblance to monkey bars in a playground, with some younger members of the public agreeing.
Bono with The Edge
Councillor Jess Spear noted that she enjoys that it is a piece that does not look like many other art pieces, but did state that her two-year-old was a little puzzled and asked their mother “can I climb it?”
“The public art commission complements SDCC’s N81 Landscape Improvement Scheme, along one of the county’s main transport corridors; connecting significant numbers of commuters with Dublin city centre and only a few minutes from the national motorway network,” South Dublin County Council said.
They said the site on the N81 roundabout was chosen “to mark a prominent gateway into Tallaght”.
“There are a number of examples across the country of artworks on roundabouts and on national roads including the Polestar Roundabout in Letterkenny and the Marker Tree on the N7 at Kingswood Interchange.”
Several commentators described the piece as an eyesore and some noted they saw a resemblance to scaffolding.
Councillor Mick Duff summed up his thoughts on the discourse around the sculpture in one line when asked about it.
Cllr Duff said: “It’s art, and not everybody likes art.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
