Today, after breakfast and some reflecting on our blogs, the class left for the Ulster Museum, which is just a few steps from where we are staying, snugly located in the Belfast Botanic Gardens. I am sorry to say that I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures, though you can seem some varying views of the outside of the museum can be seen here.
Among so many other things, I have learned that my undying love for museums certainly extends to Ireland, and the Ulster Museum is one more museum to have captured my affection.
The museum houses all sorts of collections, ranging from art to human history to the natural sciences, and is one the most diverse museums I have ever been to.
Among so many other things, I have learned that my undying love for museums certainly extends to Ireland, and the Ulster Museum is one more museum to have captured my affection.
The museum houses all sorts of collections, ranging from art to human history to the natural sciences, and is one the most diverse museums I have ever been to.
The first exhibits our class stopped by were on the Troubles, a time of extreme political unrest of in Northern Ireland. The museum had an exhibit dedicated to the various aspects of this time period, including some very poignant photos.
The actions during this time period were a series of cause and effect, and so I feel that they may be best explained by a timeline, to clearly show what happened.
But first, a bit of background. In the 20th century, Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, was a nation with a majority of Protestants (65%) and a Catholic minority (35%), a result of an already long and troubled history between Ireland and Britain. The twenty-six counties of the Republic of Ireland has already been granted independence. Catholics in Northern Ireland aspired to gain independence from the UK as well, while Protestants wanted to remain withing the UK. Each side formed its own political party and subsequent paramilitary groups, including (among many others) the Catholic IRA (the Irish Republican Army) and the Protestant UVF (Ulster Voluntary Force). Tensions between the two parties rose and rose, until the 'meltdown' of the Troubles.
The Troubles is a broad name for this time, during which violence lead to the death of approximately 3,600 people, and the injury of thousands. It is one of the less talked about conflicts of the 20th century, possibly because much prejudice and debate about the subject still exist.
The following timeline is largely taken from the Ulster Museum's exhibit, with some of my own additions.
The actions during this time period were a series of cause and effect, and so I feel that they may be best explained by a timeline, to clearly show what happened.
But first, a bit of background. In the 20th century, Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, was a nation with a majority of Protestants (65%) and a Catholic minority (35%), a result of an already long and troubled history between Ireland and Britain. The twenty-six counties of the Republic of Ireland has already been granted independence. Catholics in Northern Ireland aspired to gain independence from the UK as well, while Protestants wanted to remain withing the UK. Each side formed its own political party and subsequent paramilitary groups, including (among many others) the Catholic IRA (the Irish Republican Army) and the Protestant UVF (Ulster Voluntary Force). Tensions between the two parties rose and rose, until the 'meltdown' of the Troubles.
The Troubles is a broad name for this time, during which violence lead to the death of approximately 3,600 people, and the injury of thousands. It is one of the less talked about conflicts of the 20th century, possibly because much prejudice and debate about the subject still exist.
The following timeline is largely taken from the Ulster Museum's exhibit, with some of my own additions.
1966 1968 1971 1972 1981 1985 1993 1994 1998 2006 2007 | A (very) brief timeline of the Troubles tensions rise due to Protestant and Catholic inequalities often recognized as the first year of the troubles, with the 5th of October seen as the first day, with Catholic protesters confronting the police in Londonderry violence continues to mount, with 22 people dieing, government implements internment (detention without trial) to try to help stop violence the most violent year of the troubles, 323 civilians, 41 policement, and 103 soldiers are killed January 30: Bloody Sunday, 14 Catholic protesters are gunned down by British soldiers in Derry after a march goes awry July 21: Blood Friday: 2 soldiers and 7 civilians are killed by IRA bombs in Belfast violence has continued to rise with the death of many children and adults in the past years. Republican activists are jailed at Maze and forbidden to keep their status as political prisons, leading to several months of hunger strike and the death of ten the Anglo-Irish agreement is signed by Irish Toaiseach Garret Fitzgerald and English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, stating that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK, but the Irish government would be allowed an advisory role in the rule of Northern Ireland with violence continuing, the government puts out the Downing Street Declaration, offering peaceful talks to paramilitary groups if they end their violent actions August 31: IRA announces a ceasefire October 13: Loyalist military announces ceasefire April 10: Good Friday Agreement, aka the Belfast Agreement, setting forth the status and system of government in Northern Ireland, and the relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland and the UKAugust 15: Omagh bombing, the worst single act of violence of the troubles occurs, twenty-nine people are killed by a Real IRA bomb October 11-13: multi-party talks result in the St. Andrews Agreement, allowing the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, where members of both political views would serve to govern the country May 8: a two-party Executive is formed, with Unionist Ian Paisley as First Minister and Sinn Fein member Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister |
Once again, this is an incredibly brief overview of this incredibly complex time in history. Thousands of people experienced this conflict in all aspects of their lives. This timeline does not do them justice, but it does set the stage for a better understanding of the Troubles. For more in depth information, the BBC and CAIN Webservice both offer wonderful articles about the many sides of modern North Irish history.
After learning more about the troubles, the class went to the "Art of the Troubles" exhibit, which was a collection of work by modern Irish artists examining the troubles. Some themes explored were the prevalence and physicality of violence, symbols of political parties such as flags, abandonment and destruction of surroundings, and suffering and loss.
These works really struck me. They were so much more personal than the numbers and treaty names we'd seen while researching the Troubles. Suddenly, we were faced with the very real, very human emotions of the Troubles. As distressing as this was, I learned a lot from viewing this conflict through the eyes of artists.
These works really struck me. They were so much more personal than the numbers and treaty names we'd seen while researching the Troubles. Suddenly, we were faced with the very real, very human emotions of the Troubles. As distressing as this was, I learned a lot from viewing this conflict through the eyes of artists.
Many of these works really struck me, but the one that stayed with the the most was an installation by Willie Doherty called "Buried." This was an HD projection of a film of a forest in a perfectly dark room. The room itself was such a contrast from the bright museum halls that the room seemed to stretch of forever, and stepping into it, my first feeling was extreme fear. I can't quite explain why this feeling was so strong, but something about the vivid, dark forest surrounded by intense darkness scared me so much that it took me two tries to fully walk into the installation. Once I'd worked up the courage to go sit in the middle of the room, I was able to really experience the film. Here are some stills from it:
The artist used a short depth of field combined with the high definition detail of foreground objects to create a sensation of depth. This was compounded with a chiaroscuro-like treatment of light, resulting in very dark shadows and very bright highlights. This gives the scenes an unsettling feel, as the high definitely make them incredibly detailed and real, while the ghostly lighting and disappearing background make them seem unreal and alien. This combination of real and unreal, along with the sounds of the forest that seemed to come from all around made for a very unusual experience. I feel that this summarized the tension of the times very well. Places and scenery that may have been normal and everyday were transformed into alien landscapes and battlefields through the lens of the conflicts. Things may have appeared normal, but the violence so permeated every aspect of life that constant tension became the norm. This feeling is something universal, that most survivors of violent times have felt at some point in their life, and reminded me of stories of WW2 that I have heard form my family, as well as other war stories of various conflicts that I have read or been told about. This sense of constant unease, of never having a moment to feel truly safe really struck me. Doherty's work is hard to explain, but taught me a lot about the overall atmosphere of the conflicts in Northern Ireland. The way an artist as able to take simple forest scenes and create an experience both terrifying and beautiful, unsettling and peaceful through his treatment of lighting, depth, and composition was certainly a lesson in using your resources effectively to tell a message.
I found a short clip of Doherty talking about a variety of his works, which helps explain his creative process, from when he showed his work at The Fruitmarket Gallery. I've included it below to try to give a better feel of what the installation was like.
I found a short clip of Doherty talking about a variety of his works, which helps explain his creative process, from when he showed his work at The Fruitmarket Gallery. I've included it below to try to give a better feel of what the installation was like.
After gaining some valuable insight on the Troubles and having a delicious lunch (see this blog post), Austin and I returned to the museum to look at the nature collection. We greatly enjoyed the wide variety of skeletons and stuffed animals they displayed, and had in-depth conversations on the bone structure of elephants, the skeletons of birds, and several other things. I also took this opportunity to draw some of my favorite subjects: birds and skulls.
As I stated before, I really fell in love with this museum. I could easily spend several more weeks (and dozens of blog posts and hundreds of pages of sketchbooks) looking and learning about the extensive variety of subjects the museum has to show. As with most things, I had to work within a time limit, but the experience was no less pleasant.