Sir, - Kevin Myers, like the rest of us, has his bells chimed by particular works of art (An Irishman's Diary, November 14th). This is a very personal thing. In cubist work I generally respond to Braque more than Picasso and among their contemporaries, I find Matisse's innovations more profound.
Art that represents the perceived real world, mediated through the artist's own experience and skill, certainly has much to offer and has more universal appeal. But in the corners of our mind do we really always see and think in flat, frontal, two-dimensional ways? Kevin Myers certainly does not when it comes to ideas and language. Why then does he expect this for ideas expressed visually? Should we dismiss Joyce as not being master enough of his craft to punctuate properly?
Good art is being made in Ireland in the most traditional and most experimental mediums. If Kevin keeps looking he will find it. - Yours, etc.,
Director, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin 2.