Final Reflections

Reflecting on this project as a whole, I am happy that I chose my topic. Through my experience, I am convinced that the research project is a legitimate way to explore the concept of public art and learn more about its vast uses. Prior to the course, I was unaware that mural art had a revolutionary history. After learning this, it felt natural that I was set free to discover another case of this usage. I assert that a research project is a great culmination to this course based on the structure of the other material.

Final Draft

Writing the final draft of my paper was rather rewarding. I had a lot to say about my topic and was slightly worried that I might become jumbled and not get my point across. To avoid this, I spent a great deal of timing outlining and ensuring that I had a good blueprint in which to create my essay. When it came time to put pen to paper, it felt rather straightforward, as I had a clear idea of what I planned to say.

Peer Review and Group Activities

I found the peer review exercise to reassure me in the validity of my topic. My classmates agreed that Northern Irish Mural art had many interesting facets to discuss. Also, I noticed that my topic was unique amongst my classmates. The two angles people seemed to be taking were either expanding on the study of Mexican artists or choosing a specific street artist and examining what they are trying to influence, if anything. My topic is unlike any of these, as I have chosen to focus on art in another revolutionary capacity and compare it to the murals in Mexico as a whole. This process gave me confidence that if I can successfully sculpt my essay how I wish, the uniqueness will separate it from the other potential topics.

Finding Sources

Searching for sources has been one of the difficult aspects of writing about Northern Irish mural art. There is essentially one author, named Bill Rolston, publishing books on the topic and only one of his books was available through all of the library resources. I hoped to write on the work of three artists known as the Bogside Artists, but unfortunately I as unable to find any scholarly literature on their work. Luckily enough, through Bill Rolston’s text I was able to extract plenty of information about the history of the murals and many specific murals that were equally compelling as those of the Bogside Artists. Also, I found numerous articles that touched on the modern aspects of post-Troubles mural art and was able to amass more than enough information on the topic.

Choosing a Topic

My decision to research mural art in Northern Ireland came simply through perusing Wikipedia. I was on the “Mural Art” page and near the bottom I saw something about Northern Ireland and followed the link. I have always heard sensationalizing of the IRA and realized I knew little about this period of Irish History. As I come from Irish ancestry, I felt it would be interesting to use the study of art as a vessel to learn more about the history of where my family comes from. On top of this, it seemed that I would be able to draw many interesting comparisons to the art of Los Tres Grandes, as mural art was used for revolutionary purposes in both cases.