Accession Number
1981/2.168.3

Title
Flies in the Window, Castletown House, Ireland

Artist(s)
Alen MacWeeney

Object Creation Date
1972, printed 1979

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
19 13/16 in x 15 15/16 in (50.4 cm x 40.5 cm);18 in x 22 in (45.72 cm x 55.88 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Carl W. Melcher

Subject matter
This photograph was created inside an interior on the edge of a windowsill looking outside to a flat grassy field. On the sill lies a smattering of dead flies. Mirroring the assortment of dead flies, a flock of sheep graze placidly in the field beyond the window. The image is composed such that the horizontal lines of the window pane’s edges are also echoed by the lines of the hedges, road, fence, and tree line beyond. This dichotomy creates a humorous relationship between the cluster of dead flies and the larger scene beyond. The building this photo was created in is the Castletown House, a well known historical structure, built in the Palladian-style and located outside of Dublin in County Kildare.  

Physical Description
This photograph depicts a view outside of a window. On the windowsill is a scattering of dead flies. In the field outside a flock of sheep grazes.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Ireland
Irish
Landscapes
Musca domestica (species)
Ovis aries (species)
cowherds
hedges
house
interior views
modern and contemporary art
pastures
sheep farms
trees
window
window frame components