Sculpture in the Art of Giorgio de Chirico
Alisson Mae McConkey
Subject: Painting and Sculpture
10,000 words
The aim of this dissertation is to outline and examine Giorgio de Chirico’s use of sculpture within his art. This will be done by examining the subject from three different angles: firstly the question of why de Chirico chose to use sculpture so prolifically throughout his work will be explored by considering certain biographical aspects as well as artistic precedents and influences; secondly, sculptural elements within his paintings will be examined; and thirdly, de Chirico’s three dimensional sculpted pieces will be looked at as both art objects within their own right, but also in light of their connection with their painted two dimension counterparts.
Body Image Identity and Exploration of the Self: A Case Study into the Work of Niamh Hannaford
Elena McCrory
Subject: Painting, Performance art
10,000 words
Complexity and Simplicity in the Plan of San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane
John McCrossan
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
This paper will examine and discuss a number of contemporary architectural drawings of the church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, built by Francesco Borromini in Rome between 1638 and 1641, with the facade being added later. They are preserved in the Albertina in Vienna. A number of variations in important elements of the plan of the church on the different Albertina drawings are identified, and their significance is discussed and evaluated, leading to a suggestion that a review of the dating and purposes of some of the Albertina drawings may be necessary.Using a reliable 1998 survey by Professore Alessandro Sartor, the plan of the church is analysed and compared with the Albertina drawings.
Gordon Lambert: M'canas of Modern Art
Dara McDermott
Subject: Patronage, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Print.
10,000 words
This dissertation documents and examines the patronage, collection, and donation of twentieth-century artists' work by the late Irish art collector Gordon Lambert. The author provides a brief biographical introduction and goes on to discuss Lambert's patronage of a number of major modern Irish artists, focusing in particular on his relationships with Robert Ballagh and Barrie Cooke. The study examines Lambert's role at the Contemporary Irish Art Society, his continual promotion of contemporary Irish art and his gift of over 200 works to the State via the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 1991. The appendices include interviews with artists Robert Ballagh, Barbara Warren and Art Advisor to the Office of Public Works, Patrick J. Murphy.
Le Nabi Oublie Mysticism, Primativism and the Feminine in the work of Paul Elie Ranson
Eadaoin McDonagh
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
Mystical figures roam through brillantly coloured landscapes, brimming with peculiar symbols, while cascading arabesques mirror elegant outlines of a female silhouette. The Imaginative work of Paul Elie Ranson has the power to captivate the attention of any viewer. Active within the bustling creative centre of Paris during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Ranson’s work is truly demonstrative of his environment. Ranson was one of the founding members of the Nabis, a group of Symbolist artists who broke the confines of academicism through their unique pictorial program. It is strange then, that over the course of the last century, Ranson has come to be the least well documented of all the group’s members. This dissertation acts as an enquiry into the life and work of this seemingly forgotten Nabi.
The Crosses of Castledermot: Context, Content and Meaning
Kate McDonald
Subject: Sculpture
10,000 words
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between the two high crosses of Castledermot, their surrounding landscape and the context of their erection. An attempt will be made to explore how the setting of these High Crosses affects the way they were meant to be read and understood. The main argument of the thesis is that the Celi De monastic setting of Castledermot contributed to the subjects which were chosen to be depicted on the crosses. The development of the monastic site allowed the layers of meaning to be deepened by the different needs of generations of monks. The thesis will explore the period from the foundation of the original settlement in the 9th century to its mention in the annals in the 11th century.
“The Other”- Nineteenth Century Orientalism and its Legacy with Particular Reference to a Contemporary Response by Shirin Neshat
Emma McDonnell
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation challenges the viewpoint of Western art, the viewpopint of the Male, West and Christian, by examining the art of a Female, Eastern and Muslim artist. The dissertation begins the challenge by discussing how Western art has traditionally delt with Oriental subject matter and discusses the origins of Orientalism and the representation of Eastern women in Western art. This is set down as a contrast to the representation of Oriental women from an alternative artistic viewpoint, that of the artist Shirin Neshat, an Iranian, Female, Muslim artist, whose work is a response to traditional western art. The dissertation discusses the concept of “The Other” and the stereotypical images of the East produced by the West. The film and photographic work of Shirin Neshat which challenges such stereotypes is analysed and discussed as work with a multi-cultural significance.
The Architecture of John Roberts
Alyson McDonnell
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
Gathering together the limited documentation concerning John Roberts and combining this with an analysis of his buildings, this dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive study of his architecture. A history of the Robert's family precedes a discussion of the architect's early work at Curraghmore and the church of St. Iberius. An historic and stylistic analysis of Robert's Church of Ireland Cathedral and the architect's intentions for the facade of the Catholic Cathedral is undertaken.
The Campanile at Trinity College, Dublin. A Historic and Stylistic Analysis
Mealla McDonnell
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
This paper discusses the history of the two previous campaniles and the decision to build a new one.This concerns the proposals by Frederick Darley in 1833 and Decimus Burton in 1849, both unexecuted. The executed campanile was designed by Charles Lanyon. Style and possible influences such as James Gibbs, 16th and 17th century French prototypes and T. Dineley’s “Observations in a voyage in the kingdom of France” (1675-1680) are analysed along with its contribution to its context.
Sex and the Labyrinth: The Cretan Myth of the Minotaur in Twentieth Century Art
Amy McDonnell
Subject: Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Prints
10,000 words
The dissertation will discuss why the artists Surrealist Andre Masson, Pablo Picasso and the Abstract Expressionists Adolph Gottlieb and Jackson Pollock.
A Study of Rachel Fallon's Textile Contributions to the 2018 Repeal! Procession
Deirbhle McDonnell
Subject: Textiles, Socially Engaged Art
10,000 words
Communicating Conflict Examining the language of photomontage and the visual expression of the Northern Ireland in the context of the ‘Troubles’ series by Sean Hillen
Dara McElligott
Subject: Photomontage
10,000 words
This dissertation examines the series of photomontage works entitled ‘The Troubles’ (1983-1993) by artist, Sean Hillen (born 1961, Newry, Northern Ireland), which depicts a perspective on the Northern Ireland conflict which lasted from 1968-1998. The primary aim of this dissertation is to establish if, and why, the medium of photomontage is particularly suited to the expression of political conflict. The first section of this thesis is a study of the medium of photomontage; its origins, applications and qualities. The second section is a study of how the Northern Ireland conflict was depicted visually through the use of photographs, and how these depictions are understood by the viewer. The third and final section is an examination of a selection of Hillen’s ‘Troubles’ photomontages to explore what they communicate about the Northern Ireland conflict.
Some Thoughts on Photography with Reference to the Work of Don McCullen
Morven McFadden
Subject: Photography
10,000 words
This thesis, based on the work of Don McCullin, uses his photography as “the starting point for some discussions on the themes and tensions encountered in the establishment of a photography theory.” Photography is considered in its creative capacity only, not its sociological role. The thesis states that the viewer must be subjective for the photo to work and demonstrtates the need for captions in the presentation of photography.
The Lemanaghan Shrine
Shauna McFarland
Subject: Applied arts: shrine
10,000 words
This paper provides a description of the shrine, history,dating, discusses house-shaped shrines, Urnes ornament, and gilt bronze figures. It dates the shrine to the years after 1127 and before 1140.
Blood, Bones, Surgery and Corpses in Contemporary Art
Neasa McGarrigle
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This thesis examines blood, bones, surgery and corpses as mediums in contemporary art and outlines the work of some key artists working with them. It looks at the precedent for the collaboration between artists and anatomists and artistic engagement with the corpse, the body and surgery from the Renaissance onwards. It also discusses the many ethical concerns that arise from artists working with these materials.
Reclaim, Recall, Reassess: A Study of the Work of Mildred Anne Bulter RWS RUA (1858-1941)
Caroline McGee
Subject: Painting and Drawing
10,000 words
Mildred Anne Butler (1858-1941) was part of a group of Irish women who made a substantial contribution to fin-de-siecle Irish art that was both pioneering in its time and instrumental in developing pathways to professionalism for succeeding Irish women artists. Although her work is theoretically visible today, in reality it is still largely confined to art historians and collectors of Irish watercolours. This dissertation proposes to explain how this happened. Underpinned by a theoretical framework of feminist art history, methodologies used include an examination of primary and secondary source material including genealogical information on Butler as well as her paintings, drawings and diaries.
How are visual representations of the Sublime portrayed in eighteenth and nineteenth century Romantic landscape painting: and moreover do such paintings exhibit authentic sublimity by either a Burkean or Kantian definition?
Lydia McGee
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation provides an analysis of visual representations of the Sublime in Romantic landscape painting of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and investigates whether the selected paintings exhibit authentic sublimity by either a Burkean or Kantian definition.
‘Art for Ideology’s Sake’: Examining the Concept of Socialist Realism in the Art of Robert Ballagh
Fionnuala McGeough
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation explores the character and content of Robert Ballagh’s personal and state commissioned works in relation to the aesthetic principles and theory of Socialist Realism. This paper is not an exploration of the development and paradoxes inherent in Socialist Realist dogma in Soviet art nor is it a chronicle of Socialist Realism in the context of Irish art of the twentieth century. Rather it involves an analysis purely based on the aesthetic properties and underlying objectives that drive Robert Ballagh’s work based on a critique of the Socialist Realism.
The Political Mural in Belfast
Catherine McGlinchey
Subject: Mural
10,000 words
The Genius of Childhood (?); a Critical Exploration into the Development of Child art, its Attributes and its Cultural Importance
Holly McGlynn
Subject: Painting and Drawing
10,000 words
An exploration of the history of child art generally and the history of child art in Ireland. Chapter one looks at the influence of child art on areas of Modernism and the relationship of child art to the development of mental cognition. Chapters two and three look at the history and role of child art in Ireland.
The Architectural and Sculptural Origins of Santa Maria del Naranco
Sheena McGoran
Subject: Architecture and Sculpture
10,000 words
This dissertation is a study, both architectural and decorative, of the buildings of the Ramirense period in Asturias. “The works constructed under Ramiro I represent a genuine architectural revolution without immediate continuity from either the visigothic period or the roman empire.” This paper aims “ to clarify the origins and prototypes of the principal architectonic and sculptural elements at Santa Maria de Naranco and to set them within the context of the period.”
Decoding Domesticity: Artistic Representations of Women in the Domestic Space
Anna McGowan
Subject: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture and Installation
10,000 words
The dissertation proposes to examine the complex relationship between women, art and the domestic space. For centuries, woman was bound by society to perform a passive role within the home. This study aims to assess the equation of femininity with domesticity and passivity. This has been done to investigate its implications for the artistic representation of women in the interior space. In order to gain an understanding of this relationship, the roots of the patriarchal relegation of women to the home must first be explored, as must the subsequent re-evaluation of the domestic space by women in the wake of second-wave feminism.
Nietzche and Brucke: The Influence of Friedrich Nietzche’s ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra on the art of the Brucke Group
James Patrick McGrath
Subject: Sculpture, Painting, Prints and Drawing
10,000 words
The dissertation deals with the work of the German expressionist Brucke group and the impact that the four-part novel, entitled ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’, of the philosopher Friedrich Nietsche had on their ideas and output. Nietsche’s influence is demonstrated by looking at the exploring of primitive themes in Brucke art. Their many trips to the lakes around Morizburg are considered, as both an escape from the oppression of civilisation and a place to study the human body in a new way, through the practice of nudism. The Brucke group’s sensual and sexual approach to nudism is considered in relation to their attitudes towards women and also the depiction of women in their work.
Modernised Mythologies: An Interpretation of the Transformation of Mythological Paintings in the Seventeenth Century
Anna McGreevy
Subject: Painting, Drawing and Sculpture
10,000 words
This thesis aims to examine a selection of mythological paintings from the seventeenth-century in order to understand and interpret their unprecedented change in the representation of classical stories. Mythological paintings progressed from being veiled with allegory in the Renaissance towards a more profound exploration of human nature, immorality and extremes of emotion during seventeenth century. As there is very little contemporary evidence of how these paintings were regarded at the time, it is necessary to attempt to interpret them using the cultural theory and other approaches at our disposal today.