PhD student Liz Rae Heise-Glass travelled to Dublin, Ireland in April. Her main purpose for the excursion was to attend a performance by the artist and musician Laurie Anderson, who will be a central figure in Liz’s upcoming dissertation project. A New York-based artist who has worked between popular music, visual arts, and technology for the past five decades, Anderson’s stage performances are an important part of her artistic legacy. 

In addition to seeing Anderson perform her work The Art of Falling in Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Liz was able to see exhibitions of contemporary art and media at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), the Irish Film Institute, and the Irish National Photographic Archive, and to visit historic sites including Dublin’s 11^th century landmark, Christ’s Church Cathedral, Trinity College’s 18^th century library, and the 19^th century Ha’Penny Bridge that spans the River Liffey. The IMMA’s exhibition The Narrow Gate of the Here-and-Now included works by contemporary artists and collectives including The Otolith Group, Eimear Walshe, Andrew Vickery, Vivienne Dick, Graciela Iturbide, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul among many others and was another highlight of her visit. 

Liz’s research trip to Dublin was supported by funds from the History of Art Department and the Arts & Humanities Graduate Research Small Grants Program.