11 National Identity

Independent Ireland emerged as a state full of intense debate centred on its future. This fledgling state which emerged from violence and tension, became hypernationalist on a social, cultural and political basis. On foot of both the War of Independence (1919-1921) and Civil War (1922-1923) a strong desire formed to forge a new Irish identity based on images, motifs and myths drawing on Ireland’s unique cultural heritage, detached from Britain. These ideals manifested in fields such as infrastructure, architecture and advertising which was to develop in the following forty years. I will explore the statement that ‘through objects, cultures are recorded, providing us with tangible evidence concerning transformations in values and politics’ by analysing transformations and developments in Ireland from 1929 to 1953, through both architectural developments and hyper - nationalist imagery in advertising and tourism. Important political figures emerged who had strong beliefs on how Ireland would develop. These included, but are not limited to, Patrick Pearse, Eamon de Valera and Sean Lemass. Pearse, an important figure in the Easter Rising of 1916, said that Ireland has the resources to feed five times her population ...would beautify cities..... govern herself as no external power. American anthropologist Clifford Geertz found that that in newly independent countries there is always

the question of ‘who are we’ and a rush to have a clear and coherent formed identity, as if it were always identifiable before. In this essay I will often refer to his book The Interpretation of Cultures, and how there are two themes that often than not are entangled in each other. One is essentialism, the indigenous way of life as envisioned by the nation, and two is epochalism, the spirit of the age as desired by the state. As Geertz says The tension between these two impulses-to move with the tide of the present and to hold to an inherited course-gives new state nationalism its peculiar air of being at once hell-bent toward modernity and morally outraged by its manifestations ... but it is more than a collective derangement; it is a social cataclysm in the process of happening. I will discuss a number of objects, architectural pieces and state sponsored advertising, considering what the item in question represents and whether it is an example of essentialism or epochalism. When going through this exhibition, we ask you to question and think did that independent Ireland relied slightly more on essentialism than epochalism in forming its new identity, This is especially clear in the image Ireland projected in its advertising for tourism. As taken from Ireland, Design and Visual Culture ; After the war of Independence and the civil war in politically divided island ... the image of the creative unity of the west, the vision of the heroic rural life in the Gaeltacht or on a western island served as a metaphor for social cohesion and an earnest of a cultural unity that transcended class politics and history. I will first examine Dublin airport (Fig. 1). Completed in 1940, its chief architect was Desmond Fitzgerald. The building was impressive on an international scale for numerous reasons. In addition to its main function, the airport had offices, banks and a custom hall. The site spanned over 700 acres and was a curved building with 5 floors, tiered viewing terraces and external spiral staircases, a clear example of international style. Tate’s definition of international style was the way to “describe architects associated with the modern movement whose designs shared similar visual qualities – being mostly rectilinear, undecorated, asymmetrical and white”5. The building created excitement, not only for its function but its appearance. This style was in major contrast to the classical and romantic styles historically present in Dublin, such as the Custom House, the GPO and the Irish Houses of Parliament. The objects I have analysed (architecture, posters and advertisements) provide us with an understanding of transformation that occurred in Ireland following independence. They are capable of showing us the values of the time, of both the Irish people and the state and how they were influenced by

the new air of Irish politics that followed independence. In order for Ireland to prove that it was a thriving independent nation it chose architectural developments which not only held a function (i.e transportation and electricity) but through international style, also symbolised modern Ireland’s place in the modern world. These drastic changes in appearance were balanced with imagery and advertisements that would be familiar to the Irish eye. Hyper - nationalism manifested itself in the exaggeration of traditional Irish life, such as imagery of the mythological hero Cuchulainn and weaving of the crios belt. When these images of essentialism are not used, developments such as the modern Busaras are viewed differently and negatively. I believe the architect’s Scott, Fitzgerald and Siemens-Schuckert- at Ardnacrusha- all had a role in fulfilling technological and modern advancements as envisioned by the state required artists like Melai and Brewster to make the connection of these things to the Irish people. It is thanks to the architects, designers and illustrators who have provided tangible evidence in the form of objects, that the Irish people and those beyond Irish borders, know the values of the Irish but more importantly, know the answer to the question - ‘who are we’. In this exhibiton of emergence we expect you, the participant to emerge themselves in Irish Visual Culture, all that it once was to what it could be.

The exhibition will have original film photographs of iconic examples of architecture, showcasing ireland’s take on International Style. In the exhibtion will also show original Dutch designer; Guus Melai’s air lingus tourism posters which was Ireland’s stepping stone in how to expressive ourselves to not only our neighbours but ourselves, in other words, a strong sense of pride distinct to the Irish Nation. SFMOMA has also allowed us the space to make a fully immersive 4 dimentional immservice experience to allow all to get a feeling of what it feels to be on irish soil. In addition to this immersive experience we have a realistic copy of Guus Melai’s screenprinting room to be able to make your own Irish tourism poster to bring home - please check back of Catalogue for more information and prices for this. This exhibition is split into 4 spaces. The first space is Influence abroad. This would discuss the works of Siemens in Ardacrusha and the strong german architectural influence ireland recieved as well as the Italian stone tiles from works of Michael Scott for Bus Arus and finally the works of Guus Melai and that strong dutch presence. This exhibition is also in pararrel to the more permanent exhibition we have going on by the San Francisco-based curators Al Cosio and Monique

Cottage Postcard