GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Willie Doherty's photograph depicts the historically contested landscape where the borders of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland meet. Springing from the Troubles, Doherty's work uses landscape to suggest a potentially disturbing incident has perhaps taken place within this conventionally beautiful setting. What looks at first to be stock imagery becomes suspect: a group of reeds and tall grasses at the roadside is silhouetted against a late sunset, while in the foreground is a set of tire tracks left by some unknown vehicle, suggesting a recent quick getaway for an undetermined purpose. The land is witness as well as stage, a site of incident and a bearer of meaning. The Outskirts evokes beauty and menace in a straightforward style that, despite its loaded subject matter, does not allow a simple interpretation of its source in civil strife.
Adapted from
- Charles Wylie, "Requisite Distance," in Willie Doherty: Requisite Distance, ed. Frances Bowles (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 32-37.
- Charles Wylie, DMA unpublished material, 1997.
NOTES
DMA unpublished material = TMS Notes and Charles Wylie, "Acquisition Proposal," January 14, 1997. In Collections Records object file 1997.17.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1997: Willie Doherty (b. 1959)
1997: Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, purchased from Alexander and Bonin (Carolyn Alexander), New York
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the copy of the invoice dated 28 February 1997 in Collections Records object file (1997.17).
AUDIO ASSETS
Listen to a gallery talk on Willie Doherty: Requisite Distance
- 13309703: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- BBC History~Learn more about The Troubles
- Irish History from the School of History and Anthropology, Queen's University Belfast~Listen to podcasts "The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement"
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
apply to objects where number equals 1997.17
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Willie Doherty's photograph depicts the historically contested landscape where the borders of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland meet. Springing from the Troubles, Doherty's work uses landscape to suggest a potentially disturbing incident has perhaps taken place within this conventionally beautiful setting. What looks at first to be stock imagery becomes suspect: a group of reeds and tall grasses at the roadside is silhouetted against a late sunset, while in the foreground is a set of tire tracks left by some unknown vehicle, suggesting a recent quick getaway for an undetermined purpose. The land is witness as well as stage, a site of incident and a bearer of meaning. The Outskirts evokes beauty and menace in a straightforward style that, despite its loaded subject matter, does not allow a simple interpretation of its source in civil strife.
Adapted from
- Charles Wylie, "Requisite Distance," in Willie Doherty: Requisite Distance, ed. Frances Bowles (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 32-37.
- Charles Wylie, DMA unpublished material, 1997.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- BBC History~Learn more about The Troubles
- Irish History from the School of History and Anthropology, Queen's University Belfast~Listen to podcasts "The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement"
Notes
DMA unpublished material = TMS Notes and Charles Wylie, "Acquisition Proposal," January 14, 1997. In Collections Records object file 1997.17.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1997: Willie Doherty (b. 1959)
1997: Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, purchased from Alexander and Bonin (Carolyn Alexander), New York
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the copy of the invoice dated 28 February 1997 in Collections Records object file (1997.17).
AUDIO ASSETS
Listen to a gallery talk on Willie Doherty: Requisite Distance
- 13309703: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1997.17
source file
object_notes_3_a-0403.xml.nores