Table Of Content

Digitized by the Internet Archive 2015 in https://archive.org/details/irelandOOkrei G1R6|LAND Edited by Vera Kreilkamp <§> MCMULLEN MUSEUM OF ART BOSTON COLLEGE DistributedbytheUniversityofChicagoPress Thispublicationisissuedinconjunctionwiththe Copyright©2003bytheCharlesS.andIsabellaV. Cover:JamesO'Connor exhibitionEire/Land,organizedbytheCharlesS. McMullenMuseumofArt,BostonCollege, PleasureGrounds,Ballinrobe,c.1818 andIsabellaV.McMullenMuseumofArt,Boston ChestnutHill,MA02467. oiloncanvas,16”x28” College. CourtesyoftheNationalGalleryofIreland LibraryofCongressControlNumber2002112026 PrincipalCurator,AlstonConley. ISBN1-892850-05-2 BackCover:JackB.Yeats Co-curators:PamelaBerger,LisabethBuchelt,Vera FarewelltoMayo,1929 Kreilkamp,KatherineNahum,NancyNetzer. DistributedbytheUniversityofChicagoPress oiloncanvas,24”x36” FriendsofBostonCollege February2—May19,2003 ExhibitionandPublicationCoordinationby NaomiBlumbergandBethanyWaywell PhotoCredits:VeronicaNicholson(nos.68,69), Thisexhibitionandcatalogueareunderwrittenby JeffBaird(nos.84,85,86,87,88,89),JosephPainter BostonCollegewithanindemnityfromthe CopyeditingbyNaomiBlumberg,Anne (nos.70,75,76),DanaSalvo(nos.nos.81,82),David FederalCouncilontheArtsandtheHumanities Hanrahan,andJohnMcCoy Caras(nos.64,65,77,78,79),GaryGilbert(nos.8, andadditionalsupportfromthefollowing: 34,35,47,49,53,83),StephenVedder(nos.3,u,27, Designer:KeithAke 39-46,63,66,67,90,91,92,93,94),SusanByrne SPONSORS ArtDirector:AndrewCapitos Photography(no.82),KevinRyan(nos.56,57),Jack PatronsoftheMcMullenMuseum OfficeofMarketingCommunications Pottle/Esto(nos.96,97),BritishLibraryBoard BostonCollege (nos.1,2,7). BENEFACTORS OMC#2172 jjiV^ CulturalRelationsCommittee DepartmentofArts,Sports,and PrintedbyReynolds*Dewalt,Inc. Tourism,Ireland NewBedford,Massachusetts CynthiaLivingston SUPPORTERS JamesDalsimer NancyandStevenFischman Transportprovidedby: Aer Lingus Jk 1 1 : >' °§° Table of Contents o 5 Editor’s Dedication:Adele Dalsimer,1939-2000 VeraKreilkamp 7 Director’s Preface NancyNetzer 11 “Bogland” SeamusHeaney 13 Introduction:Towarda Historyofthe Irish Landscape MarjorieHowesandKevinO’Neill Mapping 27 TheTurntotheMap: Cartographic FictionsinIrishCulture ClaireConnolly 35 MakingandRemakingtheIrishLandscapeinthe EarlyMiddleAges RobinFleming 41 ShapingandMis-shaping: VisualImpressionsofIrelandinThree IlluminatedManuscripts MichelleP.Brown Digging 49 Art/FullGround:UnearthingNational IdentityandanEarly Medieval“GoldenAge” NancyNetzer 57 Sacred LandscapesandAncientRituals:TwoWatercolorsbyGeorgePetrie PamelaBerger POSSESSING 65 Observing IrishRomantic LandscapePainting KatherineNahum 71 PaintingMayo’s Landscape:TheBigHouse,thePleasureGrounds,andtheMills VeraKreilkamp 79 Visualizingthe FamineinCountyMayo MargaretPreston 85 “The Landforthe People”: Post-Famine ImagesofEviction L.PerryCurtis,Jr. 93 “ThesoilofIrelandforthepeopleofIreland”: The PoliticsofLandin IrishVisual Imagery1850-1936 RobertSavage 99 PaintingtheWest:TheRoleofLandscapeinIrishIdentity SighleBhreathnach-Lynch Responding Today 109 ExploringPlaceandArtisticPracticeinNorthernMayo AlstonConley 115 TheArtofDinnseanchas. ExcavatingtheStoried PastofPlace LisabethC.Buchelt 121 RespondingToday:Dis/Locationandthe Land KateCostello-Sullivan 127 FromIconto Index: SomeContemporaryVisionsofthe IrishStoneCottage RobinLydenberg 135 ContributorstotheCatalogue Works in the Exhibition 139 °§° Editor’s Dedication: Adele Dalsimer, 1939-2000 Vera Kreilkamp O DELE DALSIMER arrived at Boston Arts, andthe McMullen Museum, shehelped young artists in their studios, Adeleand I co- College’s English Department in the late introduce Bostonaudiences to Ireland’svisual authored a series of essays on contemporary 1960s,withaYaledoctorateonWilliamButler heritage and began the process of integrating womenartists,includingoneforthecatalogue Yeats but without a single Irish ancestor. She works ofart into the teachingofIrishhistory ofMcMullenMuseum’sexhibition, Re/Dress- soon realized that although most of her stu- and culture.3 Her first major achievement in ing Cathleen: Contemporary Works from Irish dents were the children, grandchildren, or thisnewendeavorwastoconceiveandeditan Women Artists (1997). During these years of great-grand-children ofimmigrants from Ire- innovative collection of interdisciplinary es- sustained achievement, Mount Holyoke Col- land,worksbyYeats,JamesJoyce,andGeorge says,VisualizingIreland:NationalIdentityandthe lege,theUniversityofUlster,andtheNational BernardShawweretaughtonlyinthecontext Pictorial Tradition (1993), published to accom- University of Ireland awarded her honorary of English literature courses. Characteristi- panyanexhibitionofwatercolorsfromtheNa- degrees. In the last year of her life, she was cally,Adelemovedrapidlyintoaction.Within tional Gallery of Ireland at Boston College’s planningtobringyetanotherartexhibitionto adecade,sheandhistorian KevinO’Neillhad museum.Althoughshehadalreadybeendiag- BostonCollege. shapedAmerica’smost innovative IrishStud- nosed with a serious illness, Adele next di- Eire/LandopensjustthreeyearsafterAdele ies program, bringing virtually every major rected her indefatigable energy into another Dalsimer’sdeath.Shewouldbegratifiedtosee — Irish scholar and creative writer to lecture or project; I had the privilege ofworkingclosely howagerminatingidea todisplaycontempo- teach at the university. Today Boston College withherasweco-curatedandco-editedanin- rarypaintings fromthe BallinglenArts Foun- attracts American and international students terdisciplinarycatalogueofAmerica’sEye:Irish dation in County Mayo—has evolved into a to a rich offering ofcourses and programs in Painting from the Collection of Brian P. Burns wide-ranging examination of representations Irish literature, history, music, dance, and (1996). That exhibition and catalogue subse- of the Irish landscape. Eire/Land is the most visualart.1 quentlytraveledfromChestnutHilltoDublin conceptuallyambitiousinstallationofIrishart Inthelastdecadeofherlife,asProfessorof (1996),toNewHaven(1997),andtoWashing- yet attempted at Boston College, both in the English and Co-director of the Irish Studies ton,D.C.(2000)4 bringingworkaccomplished chronological sweep ofthe objects it exhibits , Program, Adele shifted her scholarly focus atBostonCollegeintoawideningpublicrealm. andthe interdisciplinary imperatives itplaced from literary studies to the arts2 Working AftertravelinginNorthernIrelandandthe on contributors to this catalogue. The exhibi- . closely with colleagues in Irish Studies, Fine Republic, visiting galleries, museums, and tionexistsasafittingreminderofAdele’scom- O mitment to collaborative scholarship within the historical contexts provided by the cata- Endnotes the university,acommitmentsheexemplified logue’scommentary, these objects invoke the 1 UStnuddeiregsr;adMuAatesstuadteBntosstcoannCoelarlnegdeetgordeaeysminayIrmisihnohrisitnorIyrioshr inherownteachingcareerthrough a series of various interactionsbetweennatureandman literatureandculture;recipientsofthePh.D.degreeinhis- nhioswtorlyegsehnedataruygchotuwristeshoKnevIirnisOh’Nleitielrla.ture and tcahla,t tsorcainasl,foramnedd aIersetlahnedt’iscllaandndisnctaopea—polniotiw- ttaoecraaycdheaminindcAyEmeneagrrli,icsaahnm,awjhCooarnaIhrdaiivsaehna,ccoaandnceedmnitIrcriasjthoeidunnsoivtnehresIirPteriloeasgn.draEnmaoctwho ForalmosttwoyearsagroupofBostonCol- etched with markers of a nation’s cultural gtreaacdhuataendanddogrreasdeuaartcehsatsudtehnetsBuprarntsicSipcahtoelairn.aBowtihde-urnadnerg-e lege academics—art historians, literary schol- memory. As contributors worked together ofstudyabroadopportunitiesinIreland:inintensiveIrish — languagecoursesthroughUniversityCollege,Galway;ina ars,andsocialandpoliticalhistorians worked and the scope oftheirconcerns broadened, it summerdramaworkshopthroughtheAbbeyTheater;and togethertoshapethisproject.Gatheringtopre- became increasingly clear that the catalogue ingeneralundergraduateprogramsineverymajorIrishuni- versity. Each summer, the Gaelic Roots Program attracts view slides ofvisual objects, they shared per- might serve not only as an accompanying American and international students to study Irish music ceptionsabouttherelationshipoftheseimages guideforthisexhibition,butcouldcontinueto anddance.TheIrishCollectionattheJohnJ.BurnsLibrary at BostonCollegeoffersricharchivalsupportformembers to Ireland’s social, political, and cultural his- beusefulinalargerpedagogicalcontext.Dur- oftheIrishStudiesProgramandalargerpublic,asdoesthe tory. A developing conceptual focus on Irish ingthesemesterinwhich Eire/Land isexhib- IrishMusicArchive. land and landscape motivated some partici- ited in the McMullen Museum, the publica- 2 aBnydthtiwsednattiee,ths-hecheandtupruyblIirsishhedpomeatrnyy,adrrtaicmlae,soanndnifniecttieoenn,tha-s pants to venture farafield from their discipli- tion will serve as a textbook for a newly wellasTheUnappeasableShadow:Shelley’sInfluenceonYeats (1988)andKateO’Brien:ACriticalStudy(1990). nary homes. In this richly collaborative conceived academic course on Irish land and 3 In the last decade, collaborative work between the process, contributors exchanged bibliogra- landscape, jointly taught by ahistorian, liter- McMullenMuseumandtheIrishStudiesProgrambrought phies,shareddraftsofeachother’sessays,and ary scholar, and art historian. Such use en- cfiovmemeuxnhiibtiyt:ioInrsisohfWIraitsehrcaorltortsoatnhdeDcraamwpiunsgsafnrdomtottheheNaBtoisotnoanl committed themselves to the rigorous de- courages me to think of this volume as an- Gallery ofIreland, Fall 1993; America’s Eye: the Irish Art of mandsofinterdisciplinaryscholarship.Asthe otherenduringmaterialartifact,fulfillingthe BWroiraknsBubryns,IriSshpriWnogme19n96;ArRtiesdtrse,ssiFnagllCa1t9h9l75eenI:risChonDteelmfptowraarrey, broadscopeoftheprojectdefineditself,schol- interdisciplinary and collaborative vision so Summer, 1998;IrishArtNow:FromthePoetictothePolitical, — Fall1999. ars from outside Boston College Sighle central to Adele Dalsimer’s vision of Irish 4 Versions of America’s Eye appeared at the Hugh Lane Bhreathnach-Lynch from the National Studiesandthevisualartsat BostonCollege. Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, at Yale University’s Gallery of Ireland; Michelle Brown from the Ithankallcontributorsfortheirsteadycom- oMfelPleornfoCremnitnegrAfrotrsBirnitWiasshhAirntg,toann,dDat.Ct.heKennedyCenter British Library; and Perry Curtis, emeritus mitmenttothisprojectintheyearsofitscon- professor from Brown University; as well as ceptionandcompletion. I amespeciallygrate- visiting Professor Claire Connolly from fulforRobinLydenberg’sintelligentadviceand CardiffUniversity—wereinvitedtocontribute herwillingnesstoserveasanadditionalreader theirspecialexpertisetothecatalogue. of manuscripts. At the McMullen Museum, TheobjectsexhibitedinEire/Land include PublicationsCoordinatorNaomiBlumberg,as archeological artifacts; late nineteenth- well as Intern Anne Hanrahan, provided es- century revivalist reproductions of such sential assistance, as did Director Nancy Net- artifacts; maps from colonial land surveys; zer,inherencouragementandsupport.> eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth- century landscape paintings; and contemporary video and installation works. Viewed in O 6