Visual Arts
Belfast has produced some significant artists. Sir John Lavery (1856–1941) was best known for his portraits of rich and famous of his day, while William Conor (1881–1968) and Paul Henry changed how the rest of the world viewed Ireland at the time. Belfast has numerous art galleries including Catalyst Arts and the photography gallery Belfast Exposed and is home to the photography magazine Source. The University of Ulster's Art and Design Campus in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter is planned to undergo a £30 million development programme.
Sections of the city contain numerous sectarian murals, political street art reflecting the political and religious allegiances of the communities living there. Areas such as the Shankill Road contain murals that are almost entirely Protestant, depicting republican violence, loyalty to the British Crown, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. Conversely, murals in areas such as the Falls Road, which is almost entirely Roman Catholic, feature political themes such as a united Ireland and the Provisional IRA, as well as traditional folklore and the Irish language. The Gaelic folk hero Cúchulainn has appeared on both republican and loyalist murals, representing the heroic Celtic past for the former and legendary battles between Ulster and the other provinces for the latter. In recent years some paramilitary murals have been replaced, in both loyalist and republican areas, with less controversial images. These include murals to the writer C. S. Lewis and the late Belfast footballer George Best.
Another popular form of folk art is banners for societies such as the Orange Order, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Apprentice Boys of Derry, and the Royal Black Institution. These are typically painted on silk and are carried in annual parades such as those on Saint Patrick's Day and the Twelfth of July. While wall murals tend to be of mixed artistic quality, banners are usually painted by professionals and are of a high standard. Because marching plays a much bigger role in Northern Irish Protestant culture than Catholic, the majority of banners depict Protestant, unionist or loyalist subjects. Of these the most common is William III of England, whose victory in the Battle of the Boyne is celebrated each year on 12 July. In addition to 'King Billy', Orange Order banners can depict a wide variety of other subjects, including the Crown and Bible; Biblical scenes; scenes from Ulster-related history including the Battle of the Somme; local landmarks; Britannia; and deceased members of the Order. Apprentice Boys' banners typically depict scenes from the Siege of Derry but can also show other unionist topics or deceased members of the organisation. The banners of the Royal Black Institution mostly show Biblical scenes. Catholic banners, also depict a variety of subjects, with Hibernia (the Irish equivalent of Britannia); Saint Patrick; and various nationalist heroes being popular. Trade unions in Northern Ireland sometimes also march with banners.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Belfast
Famous quotes containing the words visual and/or arts:
“The chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chess-board, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem.... I have come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists.”
—Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)
“The textile and needlework arts of the world, primarily because they have been the work of women have been especially written out of art history. It is a male idea that to be “high” and “fine” both women and art should be beautiful, but not useful or functional.”
—Patricia Mainardi (b. 1942)