Patrick Ireland 1972–2008

“During the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1972, Brian O’Doherty, in a performance before 30 invited witnesses and assisted by artists Robert Ballagh and Brian King, undertook to sign his artworks Patrick Ireland ‘until such time as the British military presence is removed from Northern Ireland’. After 36 years of making art as Patrick Ireland, O’Doherty reclaimed his birth name with the symbolic burial of his alter ego in the grounds of IMMA on the afternoon of Tuesday 20 May 2008.”

Playing character in work, also killing them off eventually. Performance has a political motive, encouraging change.

Brian O’Doherty / Adam Brown / Presentation: Methods & Context 4 (2020-2021)[YR] by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0