A new sculpture has appeared on Main St Portlaoise outside the just opened Portlaoise Library which is like to have been paid for out of €7 million spent on the new building.
Niall Kavanagh is MD of McKeown Stone in Stradbally. He supplied limestone for the facade of the new library but was not involved in the new artwork outside.
He happened to be present when the Leinster Express / Laois Live took pictures of the object on Saturday, August 12 the day of its installation. Impressed, he explained that it appeared to be made in the Terrazzo style.
Its roots start in Egyptian mosaics, but it became popular in 16th century Italy to make use of stone offcuts. It is either poured by hand or precast into blocks that get cut to size.
He was not able to enlighten the Leinster Express / Laois Live as to what the art is named or who produced it. Staff in the Library were not aware either of its name or the artist involved. However, it was indicated that the official unveiling could take place on Culture Night which takes place on September 23.
Laois County Council was not in a position to confirm details of the artwork when contacted by the Leinster Express last week as its installation required traffic restrictions on Main St for a time on Saturday.
It is likely that it has been funded under the so-called 'Per Cent for Art scheme'. The Government initiative, which was first introduced in 1978, allows part of the cost of any publicly funded capital, infrastructural and building development to be allocated to the commissioning of a work of art.
The Portlaoise Library project cost over €7 million. Under current guidelines, a maximum of €125,000 can be spent on new art linked to projects that have costed between €5 million and €20 million.
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