Patrick Ireland To Be Buried ( along with 'hate') At Irish Museum of Modern Art
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Sunday April 20, 2008 20:14
by ec
In one of the most well known political interventions by an artist in Irish political affairs, Brian O'Doherty, in 1972 in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, vowed to use the pseudonym 'Patrick Ireland' until ' the British military presence is removed from Northern Ireland and all citizens are granted their civil rights." He has continued to use the pseudonym since but is about to lay it to rest in IMMA. Details of the 'burial', which will take palce at IMMA on 20th May and the full press release for the event are available here:
http://recirca.com/artnews/592.shtml
Brian O'Doherty AKA Patrick Ireland and Robert Ballagh were interviewed in this documentary film about his 1972 gesture. It includes still images of the original 'ceremony'.
Art / Conflict : 2 X Zones
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77220
From The Press Release: " After 36 years of making art as Patrick Ireland, the distinguished Irish-born artist Brian O'Doherty will reclaim his birth name with the symbolic burial of his alter ego in the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art on the afternoon of Tuesday 20 May 2008. The burial is a gesture of reconciliation to celebrate the restoration of peace in Northern Ireland, just as his action in assuming the name Patrick Ireland was a protest at the British military presence in Northern Ireland and the failure of the authorities to ensure civil rights for all. "We are burying hate", says the artist, "it's not often you get the chance to do that". "