Böcker av Paul Clements

Recovering from surgery, Paul Clements and his wife, Felicity, spent a year in a remote cottage in the woodlands of Montalto Estate, Co. Down. Through the lens of a curious observer and a budding bird watcher, Clements describes in exquisite detail his discovery of the restorative power of nature. Beautifully written, A Year in the Woods is a fusion of social and cultural history, nature writing and memoir. Reflecting back on this magical year spent in the woods through the journal he kept, Clements describes his awakening to the wonder of the woodland and developing his deep connection to nature. Peppered with fascinating folklore and history, Clements celebrates the changing seasons, from harsh winter storms to dry languid summer evenings. Clements is a gifted writer, but it is his detailed and often humorous descriptions of the complexities of nature at his doorstep from the foibles and idiosyncrasies of various fauna, to his awe of nature's resilience to ever-changing weather conditions that ultimately captivates the reader.

This book excavates the depths of creative purpose and meaning-making, and the extent to which artist autonomy and authenticity in art is a struggle against psychological conditioning, controlling cultural institutions and markets, key to which is representation.The chapters are underpinned by examples from the arts and the narrative weaves a trail through a range of conceptualizations that are applied to various aspects of visual culture, from mainstream canonical arts to avant-garde, community and public art; social and political art to commercial art; ethereal art to the popular, edgy and kitsch. The book is wide-ranging and employs various aesthetic, cultural, philosophical, political, psycho-social and sociological debates to highlight the problems and contradictions that an encounter with the arts and creativity engenders.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, arts management, cultural policy, cultural studies and cultural theory.

In August 1939 the Irish travel writer Richard Hayward set out on a road trip to explore the Shannon region. Eighty years on, inspired by his work, Paul Clements retraces Hayward's journey along the river. Clements paints a compelling portrait of twenty-first century Ireland, mingling travel and anecdote with an eye for the natural world.