Billy Quinn: Christianity, Sexuality and the Nude in Irish Art

Jennifer Elizabeth Mulrooney
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2004
BA

Subject: Photography
Country: Ireland
Period: 20th Century

10,000 words

This is an examination of the work of the Irish artist Billy Quinn, through his use of the nude figure, in particular his use of the male nude. This is looked at within the context of Irish art, which has a relatively limited amount of nude studies in its long history. The dissertation then explores the impact of AIDS on the artist, whose native working environment has been New York, since he emigrated in 1974. The different themes of Quinn's oeuvre are honour, AIDS, and our journey from middle age to old age and the inevitability of death. These themes are predominantly photographically based. The dissertation then explores the artist's later works, during his completion of a doctorate in Fine Art, in the Uniersity of East London. His doctorate is discussed in relation to his works.

Irish Georgian Society

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Billy Quinn: Christianity, Sexuality and the Nude in Irish Art