This article is from page 15 of the 2007-12-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
CRITICISM of a sculpture of actor Richard Harris by members of the artistic community has angered its creator, the Kilbaha-based sculptor Jim Connolly.
In an open letter to the mayor of the city, councillor Ger Fahy, the Clare sculptor said his “personal and professional integrity were torn to aT kere ae
Well-known Limerick artist John Shinnors described the statue, de- picting Harris as King Arthur in ‘Camelot’, as “touristy kitsch” and said “it was an opportunity that was lost and thrown away’”’.
The criticism was added to by Clare artist Thomas Delohery who
said, “I think it’s absolutely awful. It’s too small, Richard Harris was six foot three. They should have built it higher.
“His nose is wrong, his grand- daughter said he was so broad she couldn’t put her arms around him. I think everybody 1s afraid to say any- thing about it because the council- lors wanted this for so long,’ added Delohery
Mr Delohery held a series of exhi- bitions of his work on Richard Har- ris depicting different portraits of the actor 1n various settings.
In his letter, Mr Connolly states that Harris was six foot, not six foot three as stated by Thomas Delohery. This has been verified by Noel Har- ris, who said his brother’s height was
six feet and a half an inch at most.
The west Clare sculptor said the statue measures six feet two inches from the soles of Harris’ boots to the top of his head and said the chest measurement of the tunic is 48 inches.
The statue is estimated to have cost €150,000. At the unveiling Mr Con- nolly said he decided to portray Har- ris aS a mature actor.
“When he was at his peak with ‘Camelot’, which was a _ major success, he bought the rights to it and travelled the world with it as a stage show”’.
Another statue of Harris, created by Jim’s son Seamus, stands in Kilkee. It also divided opinion as to where it should be located.