"Bearing Witness": The Role of Art in Post-Conflict Reconciliation
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Keywords
conflict art, Northern Ireland, Rita Duffy, reconciliation, peace process
Department
Art and Art History
Major
Art History & Italian
Abstract
Conflicts throughout the centuries have provided endless fodder for the treatises of historians, politicians, sociologists, and negotiators, who are intent on analyzing geopolitical impact, psychological responses, and mediation techniques. Less frequently, however, have researchers studied the artistic reaction to violent social upheaval, a course of inquiry of critical importance in light of today’s unstable global climate. Using recent conflict in Northern Ireland as the crux of my research, I have uncovered numerous arts approaches to reconciliation processes that prove applicable across time and space. The oeuvre of one contemporary artist in particular, Rita Duffy (1959–), reveals a gradual progression of healing, stages of which appear in the artistic production of many tumultuous periods, from the Greco-Persian wars to tension between Protestant Reformers and Catholic Counter-Reformers to the social justice initiatives of the 20th century. Most important to this project is ensuring the relevance of my work to current situations that could benefit from such practices, as informed by the conflict art of the past. Through this investigation, I ultimately argue for the power of art in the face of divisive circumstances, a conclusion supported by successful outcomes in Northern Ireland. Thus, I paint artists as uniquely situated to lead others in a process of reconciliation after having come to terms with their personal experience of conflict through visual means. These practitioners mount a formidable force when they collectively concentrate their creative capacities toward lasting peace through the process of art.
Faculty Mentor
Cynthia Colburn
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Presentation Session
Session A
Location
BPC 188
Start Date
23-3-2018 3:45 PM
End Date
23-3-2018 4:00 PM
"Bearing Witness": The Role of Art in Post-Conflict Reconciliation
BPC 188
Conflicts throughout the centuries have provided endless fodder for the treatises of historians, politicians, sociologists, and negotiators, who are intent on analyzing geopolitical impact, psychological responses, and mediation techniques. Less frequently, however, have researchers studied the artistic reaction to violent social upheaval, a course of inquiry of critical importance in light of today’s unstable global climate. Using recent conflict in Northern Ireland as the crux of my research, I have uncovered numerous arts approaches to reconciliation processes that prove applicable across time and space. The oeuvre of one contemporary artist in particular, Rita Duffy (1959–), reveals a gradual progression of healing, stages of which appear in the artistic production of many tumultuous periods, from the Greco-Persian wars to tension between Protestant Reformers and Catholic Counter-Reformers to the social justice initiatives of the 20th century. Most important to this project is ensuring the relevance of my work to current situations that could benefit from such practices, as informed by the conflict art of the past. Through this investigation, I ultimately argue for the power of art in the face of divisive circumstances, a conclusion supported by successful outcomes in Northern Ireland. Thus, I paint artists as uniquely situated to lead others in a process of reconciliation after having come to terms with their personal experience of conflict through visual means. These practitioners mount a formidable force when they collectively concentrate their creative capacities toward lasting peace through the process of art.