Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin

Biography

Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (pronounced Kee-veen O Cree-awn) is an
Irish artist who has exhibited widely around Ireland. His work
consists of drawings and paintings and features local scenes as well
as images from his travels to the west of Ireland and abroad.
His social and political themes range from the local to the global. 

Is ealaíontóir Éireannach é Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin atá tar éis
ealaíonn a thaispeáint go forleathan timpeall na tíre. Is líníocht
agus péintéireacht de radharcanna áitiúla chomh maith le íomhánna
óna gcuid aistear in iarthar na hÉireann agus thar leár. Ritheann
a theamaí polaitiúla agus soisialta ón áitiúl go dtí'n cruinniúil.

Caoimhghin studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin
where he obtained a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art. He subsequently
undertook post-graduate study in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural
Studies in Dublin City University obtaining a Masters degree in
Communications and Cultural Studies. Caoimhghin is an Irish
speaker and holds a PhD in Language and Politics which is 
published under the title Language from Below: The Irish Language,
Ideology and Power in the Twentieth Century. He completed work
recently in Dublin City University as a researcher on the TRASNA
project (a web-based database of references to translations of Irish
literature globally) and as a part-time lecturer. His interests vary
widely from listening to Irish traditional, world and classical music,
teaching Set and Ceilí dancing and researching family history. He
is currently concentrating his time on a new show based on
political and environmental themes. 
 

Artist’s Statement

The word ephemeral derives from the Greek ephémeros and means
‘lasting a day’. It is a word particularly suited to newspaper images
that illustrate the stories each day. However, such stories are
based on events that may be happening for weeks if not years.
Our attention is drawn to such events for a brief moment and then
redirected to another story or event the next day. Often these
events are of a tragic or desperate nature which in many cases
are the result of unresolved political conflicts.

As an artist I feel that exploring these pictures through drawing
and painting can bring the images and the events they represent
back into the public domain with a renewed significance. Through
art a particular predicament can be universalised as a symbol of
a broader conflict or problem while creating empathy in those
viewing the problem from afar. Thus art can encourage the
development of a globalised consciousness by putting a human
face on the more negative aspects of our consumer culture,
a culture that has economic tentacles reaching into every nook
and cranny the world over. Moreover, by developing a global
awareness of others we also constantly re-evaluate our view of
ourselves.
 

Some Notes on Political Art
What is political art? What makes art political?

It is very difficult to define political art. Views on what makes
art political can range from the idea that all art is political
(i.e. it either implicitly supports or explicitly opposes the
status quo) to pointing out, for example, the obviously
political murals on walls around Belfast. As a way of
narrowing the former and broadening the latter I suggest
here a view of political art that uses three categories:
Portrayal, Promotion, or Projection.

Portrayal
In the first category ‘Portrayal’ covers art that says ‘this is what
happens if, is happening now or happened in the past’. This
kind of art describes events or situations that people find
themselves in as a result of social or political structures.
Any political perspective is implicit in the art but is also
free-floating. For example, a painting of a white man
whipping black slaves describes a particular situation where
the black man may say, ‘Yes! That is how we are treated!’
yet the slave-owner may say, ‘Yes! That is the way to treat
them!’ Thus both sides can see the confirmation of their
point of view in the work of art.

For the slaves, the ultimate effect of such art may be positive
or negative. In a positive sense it may create group awareness
and solidarity, or, in a negative sense, it could also consolidate
inertia, a feeling that nothing can be done to change the situation.
The art styles or movements of Realism, Social Realism and
Naturalism could fit into the category of ‘Portrayal’.

Promotion
In the second category of ‘Promotion’ ways and means towards
the resolution of the problem are presented. That is, a
particular aspect of an event is highlighted over other aspects.
This aspect would concentrate on the people or groups who
are actively struggling to change the situation in which they find
themselves.

Thus one view of an event, that which would encourage others or
strengthen an activism already present, is promoted over images
of the event that may have the opposite effect. In this case, the
politics of representation takes precedence over the representation
of politics.

Unlike ‘Portrayal’, this type of art is harder to manipulate from
an opposing point of view. The politics is generally explicit and
can have a positive inspirational effect. The art styles or
movements of Socialist Realism and ‘Political Art’ (e.g.
murals, banners, posters etc.) and Social Realism to a
certain extent could fit into the category of ‘Promotion’.

Eviction Scene Henry Jones Thaddeus (1889) [source History Ireland]

[In this painting above the artist represents an eviction scene from
inside the house as the occupants try to deal with the fire and
defend themselves from the police. The 'politics of representation'
may be seen here in the compositional dominance given to the defenders
and the very small area given over to the intruding police. The type
of view we are more familiar with is of the landlord, police and passive
onlookers dominating the scene from outside the house - compare
eviction scene below. ]

Eviction in the West of Ireland Aloysius O'Kelly (1881) [source History Ireland]

Projection
In the third and last category ‘Projection’ refers to art that
takes disparate elements and then recombines them to
form a new image. It is an art which says ‘This is what
could happen or could be if ...’. Art styles or movements
such as Surrealism, collage, utopian or visionary images
would fit into this category. Such speculative art
can have a positive effect of providing inspiration by
suggesting ideas that are outside one’s usual ways
of thinking, and can be implicitly or explicitly political.

For example, a picture showing the Rock of Cashel (ancient
fortress in Co. Tipperary, Ireland) with a Japanese Shinkansen
bullet train speeding by may be a jarring conjunction of images
but suggests the possibility of a super fast transport system
in Ireland. Therefore it has social and economic implications
for the Irish State which in turn makes it implicitly political.

However, like in the first category Portrayal, opposing political
viewpoints can claim this image for their vision of the future.
The same scene would be explicitly political though, if,
for example,  ‘Workers of the world unite’ was written on the
side of the Shinkansen. 

Thus it can be seen from the above categories that the
representation of particular actions or the inclusion of
particular types of text ties an image down to an
explicitly political perspective. The past, present and
future, with some overlapping, are also covered in this
way of seeing or defining political art. 

(Any comments on the above Notes are very welcome.)
 

 

René Magritte The Treachery Of Images
[The Treachery Of Images (La trahison des images), which shows
a pipe that looks as though it is a model for a tobacco store
advertisement. Magritte painted below the pipe, This is not
a pipe (Ceci n'est pas une pipe), which seems a contradiction,
but is actually true: the painting is not a pipe, it is an image of a pipe.
(wikipedia.org)]

Pearse, Connolly, Larkin Triptych

Pearse, Connolly, Larkin Triptych

If Magritte made it clear that all art consisted of
symbols of people and objects and not the real
world itself then we must look at all art as
chosen and created by artists for specific aesthetic,
social or political reasons, though they may
not do this consciously. The philosophical basis
of such art may be taken to be generally rooted
in ideas of  'common sense', 'human nature' or
'tradition (religious or cultural)' and based on
philosophical idealism. Yet art as symbol only
needs minor changes to convey an entirely
different social, political and philosophical
meaning. For example, in the Pearse, Connolly,
Larkin Triptych the forms of religious art are
examined and then given a new meaning in an
opposing philosophy.

Triptych, open panels, approx. 1485, Art History Museum, Vienna

[A triptych (from the Greek tri- "three" + ptychē "fold") is a work of art
(usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections, or three
carved panels which are hinged together. The central panel is the
most important one, and this is flanked on either side by two lesser
but related paintings. The whole is intended to be greater than
the sum of the parts. The triptych form arises from early Christian
art, and was the standard format for altar paintings from the Middle
Ages onwards. (wikipedia.org)]

While Christianity is rooted in philosophical idealism,
Nationalist and Socialist ideology is rooted in
philosophical materialism. The form of the triptych
and the icon spread the ideas of the church visually.
The symbols of the church consisted of Jesus,
Mary, the saints, bibles, staffs, doves, church buildings
and texts.

Russian Icon

[An icon (from Greek εἰκών, eikon, "image") is an image,
picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands
for an object by signifying or representing it. In Eastern
Orthodoxy and other icon-painting Christian traditions,
the icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting a
holy being or object such as Jesus, Mary, saints, angels,
or the cross. Though their development was gradual,
we can date the full-blown appearance and general
ecclesiastical (as opposed to simply popular or local)
acceptance of Christian images as venerated and
miracle-working objects to the 6th century. (wikipedia.org)]

The Pearse, Connolly, Larkin Triptych contains
many of those forms - three 'saints' (Pearse,
Connolly, Larkin), buildings (The GPO,
Liberty Hall, St Enda's), a book (Connolly's
writings), text (Pearse's school motto), 'three wise
men' workers holding baskets of bread fruit
and vegetables and 'disciples' (some of the
boys of the Celtic plays at St Enda's became
the soldiers of the GPO). James Connolly
directs the Rising but is executed while
seated in a chair because of his wounds.
The determination to be rid of Connolly was
due as much to his leadership role as to
the importance of his 'biblical' texts as
a materialist messiah. Pearse, the cultural
nationalist, and Larkin, the trades' union
organiser, form the other two parts of this
revolutionary 'trinity' showing that the
compositional forms of the religious
painting or icon can be just as effective
in the portrayal of an oppositional ideology,
displaying the indeterminable nature of art.

War Triptych

War Triptych

After World War II the world split into two large geopolitical
blocs and spheres of influence with contrary views on government
and the politically correct society:
1 - The bloc of democratic-industrial countries within the American
influence sphere, the "First World".
2 - The Eastern bloc of the communist-socialist states, the "Second
World".
3 - The remaining three-quarters of the world's population,
states not aligned with either bloc were regarded as the "Third World."
(http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm)

The First World War was to a large extent the war
of the First World re-carving global markets with
the intention of obtaining a greater share for themselves.
Trench warfare was the dominant form with soldiers
going over the top in  waves of attacks or risking
being shot by their own officers if refusing to do so.

Although we don't hear the term so much now, the
Second World referred to the Soviet Union. In
their desire to defeat the Soviet Union politically
and economically the capitalist powers supported
and funded the development of munitions factories
in Germany in the hope that Germany would become
a springboard for an attack on the Soviet Union.
This the Nazis did do eventually with a massive
array of tanks and soldiers in a war that
cost the lives of 15 million soviet citizens.

It has been argued that the Third World war
is actually upon us though the superpowers
have chosen to fight by proxy rather than
head on. In some cases direct intervention
has been employed provoking local reaction
in the form of car bombs, the most recent
weapon in the asymmetric warfare between
the weak and the strong.