Machiavelli,
The Prince, 1545
Belfast is at
present in a very strange and exciting transition and for the first
time I sense a real possibility of changing an old order. This is
a unique city that remains for me the centre of a vital energy,
and as I watch the macho culture of Ulster being pushed aside, I
can see a bolder strength and tenacity emerging.
Having our
very own department of Culture, Arts and Leisure promises accountability
and the delivery of a system that functions and encourages all in
the arts. An important space is opening up for those of us who want
to create work in the full knowledge that art can have a real value
in our society.
What is the
function of art in contemporary society? Does art have a particular
role in Belfast? That is a question I often ask myself and it remains
somewhere in the back of my head when I look at 'art'. The time,
location and nature of how we see a work of art is of great interest
to me, and considering how we 'deliver' what visual artists do would
seem to me a priority at the moment.
We have a long
tradition here of painting 'outdoors', not great art but manic obsessive
energy. Paint is applied liberally to kerbstones and I know of one
situation where paint, in old-testament fashion, was applied to
the selected front doors of a whole neighbourhood. In 1981 I was
at art college in Belfast, when a member of staff and resident of
the city asked me why black flags were flying? It was with some
amazement that I had to tell him the second hunger striker had died.
Twenty years on and it is still possible to have that manner of
existence here, but even easier to exist without any sense of visual
arts.
There is a
negative perception that lingers here: that anything involving 'community'
is inferior, and that people in general cannot handle the complexities
of visual art. This is patronising and a frustrating out-dated attitude,
which holds us back from developing what our gallery/museum spaces
can become. Museums are a legacy of the empire-building colonialists
who explored the new world in search of new territories, occasionally
coming across the curiosities which were brought home like souvenirs
and displayed and interpreted in 'museums'. The value and importance
particular items are given depended on the preoccupations and interests
of those who are in governance. The visitor was given an explanation,
few questions were asked, power structures were not challenged and
everybody felt secure.
Today our population
has become better educated and museums have become centres of study,
information, and conservation. The same model has been inherited
in the world of visual art, for the displaying of painting, drawing
and sculpture. The curator decides what is important and puts together
exhibits that are of interest to him/herself. They travel in search
of the new and fascinating, the 'cutting edge', the trends in fashionable
places, and return home to display what they have found. This is
often very interesting and the texts commissioned to support what
they have discovered are much valued by students. Meanwhile the
silence of visual artists remains deafening; for fear of being excluded
or considered difficult no one challenges this system. This is the
exact freedom of thought that generations of creative thinkers have
boldly struggled to keep alive and it is that freedom to think that
is the real value of art. Without the courage to reinvent how we
engage with visual art we simply repeat formulas and play out the
power games that serve to undermine the relevance of visual art
in a culture that is already sceptical at best.
Visual art
is a form of communication and from the artist's point of view museums
become truly exciting places when the historical and contemporary
are shown in the same space. The dialogue between an object and
its environment is fascinating. The next time you are in Armagh,
visit St.Patricks Church of Ireland cathedral, and look at the Tandragee
Idol. This ancient pagan sculpture sits strangely in a side
isle; at one time serving its time as a garden ornament for the
bishop, it has now been tipped into another incarnation. The Icons
of Identity exhibition at the Ulster Museum was one of the most
important exhibitions I have seen in years, gathering together objects
from centuries of cultural activity on this island. Objects that
have transcended into mythological proportions, when displayed in
the same space begin a powerful dialogue between people and the
nature of what we need and do as humans.
There is every
possibility that this real communication can begin in earnest here,
if we create a gallery in central Belfast which offers the historical
and the contemporary in clever and inventive ways in the same location.
Funding site-specific contemporary art projects which give contemporary
artistic thinking the opportunity to keep alive is where we need
to invest funding. Encouraging the use of alternative spaces such
as mills, warehouses, factories and prisons, with residencies for
artists throughout the city, has the potential to give all concerned
a better and more vital experience of art.
In August 2001,
I attended the exhibition opening of the Relatives for Justice
Quilts, at the West Belfast Festival and believe I saw an important
work of art. The gym area of St. Mary's teacher-training college
was the venue, and the connectedness of the audience and artwork
was something I have not witnessed in contemporary art circles.
The quilts were reminiscent of Tracy Emin's work, but for me they
had an authenticity and strength, rare in contemporary art. The
knowledge that this artwork was not in the running for prizes did
not detract from its beauty. The fact that it was generally ignored
by the contemporary gallery scene here is no big surprise, and ultimately
highlights the danger of having one individual dictate what is worthy
or fashionable.
 |
|
One of
the Relatives for Justice Quilts; courtesy the
author
|
The other night
I went along to the opening of the Stanley Spencer exhibition in
the Ulster Museum and found myself reacquainted with an old friend.
The paintings from the museums collection are some of the strongest
in the show and the works that Spencer made while visiting his family
here encouraged me to look afresh at familiar Belfast locations.
An impressive and ambitious exhibition attracting a broad range
of visitors, perhaps the most intelligent way of pressing the argument
for a new city-centre gallery.
As a student,
when I discovered Spencer I knew he was a unique and very special
artist. I remain forever grateful that he convinced me of the long-term
value of honing one's drawing skills as a student. But there was
something else; in his work I saw the real power of art made from
the artist's own lived experience, a particular time and place,
making sense of that ever-present life surrounding us. He grappled
with his own reality in an intense and quirkiest way; his works
have an honest strength and ability to touch people's lives. These
are great works of art and deserve to be viewed and viewed.
How does a
Stanley Spencer exhibition sit with the visual culture in Belfast?
Well for starters this show 'looks' brilliant and has the sort of
management and curatorial excellence that leaves me feeling secure
in the knowledge that next week when I return they will not be running
a promotion for expensive bathroom fittings in front of the paintings.
Spencer's work
could not have been made without thinking about and engaging with
'a community' and if any engineering workers (and we have quite
a few here) wander through the Ulster Museum they are in for a serious
treat. This exhibition makes me think of the possibilities of an
artist in residence at Harland & Wolf; perhaps if we made better
use of our funds we could afford to support residencies of this
nature. All manner of individuals have the opportunity to enjoy
the passion, humour, and eroticism of this exhibition. It communicates
without the need for acres of psychobabble. It presents serious
quality.
The visual
arts here are due a radical overhaul and an appraisal as to how
we spend what little money we have for visual art. This year I was
fortunate enough to receive one of the ACNI Support for Individual
Artists Programme awards, and encourage further funding of this
nature going directly to working artists. There is a strong argument
for multiplying this fund next year so that more artists can benefit.
We have work to do and right now Belfast needs that vital creative
thinking. Providing an infrastructure that is supportive of creativity
and celebrates our strengths requires imagination and courage. Taking
the risk to innovate will serve us well and inspire future generations
with vital self- belief.
Rita
Duffy is a visual artist based in Belfast.
