SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Engendering a Counter-Tradition: Jeff Wall, Photo-conceptualism, and the Sexual Politics of the Defeatured Landscape A Dissertation Presented by Leah Modigliani to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art History and Criticism Stony Brook University May 2010 Copyright by Leah Modigliani 2010 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Leah Modigliani We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Donald B. Kuspit, Distinguished Professor, Art History and Criticism Andrew Uroskie, Assistant Professor, Art History and Criticism Shoki Goodarzi, Lecturer, Art History and Criticism Jayne Wark, Professor of Historical and Critical Studies, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Engendering a Counter-Tradition: Jeff Wall, Photo-conceptualism, and the Sexual Politics of the Defeatured Landscape by Leah Modigliani Doctor of Philosophy in Art History and Criticism Stony Brook University 2010 This dissertation analyses the work of photographer Jeff Wall between the years of 1970 and 1979 in order to argue that the counter tradition he helped develop with other photo-conceptual artists in the Canadian city of Vancouver has included a gendered bifurcation of space since its earliest incarnation in 1970 as the "defeatured landscape." By analyzing the existence of eroticized images of women within the defeatured landscapes of Wall and his peers, the Vancouver counter-tradition of large-scale photography is shown to depend in part on the old modern trope of woman-as-nature. Rather than simply considering space as a particular place, space is considered here an active field that includes the control of art-historical discourse, and the conscious opposition towards the historical position once held in the Vancouver art community by an older generation of landscape artists, most notably Emily Carr. Furthermore, I show that during this time frame (1970-1979) the control of art-historical discourse involved iii adapting to and negotiating new constraints placed on figurative art by a burgeoning feminist consciousness. This study shows that the negotiation of gender relations appears as an important, but hitherto unexamined factor to be considered in the photo-conceptual artists successful bid for the vanguard in Vancouver during the decade of the 1970s. iv Table of Contents List of Figures . vi Acknowledgements . .viii Introduction . 1 Outline of Chapters. 14 I. Emily Carr and The Legacy of Commonwealth Modernism . 21 Canadian Nationalism and The Group of Seven . 22 Emily Carr: West Coast Modernism . 35 Commonwealth Modernism, Homeland and the Home Culture Concept . 52 Jeff Wall's Origins and "Notion of Context" . 63 II. The Context and Theory of a "Defeatured Landscape" and "Urban Wilderness" . 75 Our Beautiful West Coast Thing . 78 NETCO: Precursor to the Defeatured Landscape . 87 Robert Smithson in Vancouver . .102 Articulating the Defeatured Landscape . 111 The Limits of the Defeatured Landscape . 129 III. 1970s: The Feminist Challenge to Representation and the Gendered Spaces of the Counter Tradition . .146 Feminist Theoretical and Visual Challenges to Modernist Representation . 148 Jeff Wall's Picture for Women (1979) and Destroyed Room (1978) . 157 Ian Wallace's The Summer Script I and II (1973-74), Attack on Literature (1975), and Image/Text (1979) . 183 The Site(s) of Discourse: Landscape and Site-Specificity . 197 Conclusion . 213 Backlash: Naming a Majority . 213 The Invisible Giant in the Room. 231 Bibliography . 240 v List of Figures Fig. 1.1 Emily Carr, Tanoo, Queen Charlotte Islands, 1913 p. 72 Fig. 1.2 Emily Carr, The Raven, 1928-29 p. 72 Fig. 1.3 Lawren Harris, Mountain Forms, 1928 p. 73 Fig. 1.4 Emily Carr, A Young Tree, 1931 p. 73 Fig. 1.5 Emily Carr, Guyasdoms D'Sonoqua, 1930 p. 74 Fig. 1.6 Canada Post stamp featuring Carr's work The Raven (1931) issued in 1971 p. 74 Fig. 2.1 A page from "Our Beautiful West Coast Thing" from the themed issue "West Coast Artists: Life Styles," in artscanada 156/157 (June/July 1971) p. 138 Fig. 2.2 N.E. Thing Co., Ruins, 1968 p. 139 Fig. 2.3 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), 1968. "Deep Sea Terminals, end of Capilano Road, North Vancouver, B.C." p. 139 Fig. 2.4 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "Seymour Sawmills, 14 Mountain Highway, North Vancouver, B.C." p. 140 Fig. 2.5 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "Dollarton Highway, North Vancouver, B.C." p. 140 Fig. 2.6 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "N.E. Corner Main Street and Mountain Highway, North Vancouver, B.C." p. 141 Fig. 2.7 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "Pier 94, Low Level Road, North Vancouver, B.C." p. 141 Fig. 2.8 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "Lynn Terminals, 121 Harbour Avenue, N. Vanc., IAIN BAXTER, Photographer." p. 142 Fig. 2.9 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "Seek and Ye Shall Find" p. 142 Fig. 2.10 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "End of Barrow Street, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. p. 143 Fig. 2.11 N.E. Thing Co., Portfolio of Piles (detail), "End of Barrow Street, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. p. 143 Fig. 2.12 Robert Smithson, Map of Broken Glass (Atlantis), 1969. p. 144 vi Fig. 2.13 Jeff Wall, Landscape Manual, 1970 p. 144 Fig. 2.14 Ian Wallace, Magazine Piece, 1971 p. 145 Fig. 2.15 Dan Graham, Homes for America, 1967 p. 145 Fig. 2.16 Dan Graham, Homes for America (detail), 1967 p. 145 Fig. 3.1 Carolee Schneeman, Interior Scroll, 1975 p. 208 Fig. 3.2 Mary Kelly, Post-Partum Document, 1973-79 p. 208 Fig. 3.3 Ian Wallace, Melancolie de la Rue, 1973 p. 209 Fig. 3.4 Jeff Wall, Destroyed Room, 1978 p. 209 Fig. 3.5 Jeff Wall, Picture For Women, 1979 p. 210 Fig. 3.6 Jeff Wall, Double Self Portrait, 1979 p. 210 Fig. 3.7 Édouard Manet, A Bar in the Folies-Bergère, 1881 p. 211 Fig. 3.8 Ian Wallace, The Summer Script I & II, 1974 p. 211 Fig. 3.9 Ian Wallace, An Attack on Literature I and II, 1975 p. 211 Fig. 3.10 Ian Wallace, Image/Text, 1979 p. 212 Fig. 3.11 Ian Wallace, Image/Text (detail), 1979 p. 212 Fig. 4.1 Jeff Wall, Woman and her Doctor, 1981 p. 239 Fig. 4.2 Jeff Wall, The Giant, 1992 p. 239 vii Acknowledgements I am thankful for the support of the faculty and fellow graduate students at Stony Brook University who could always be counted on to ask the probing questions that keep any research project vital. In particular I benefitted from the company of fellow graduate students Carla Macchiavello and Danielle Lenhard, whose careful readings and discussions helped me refine my argument and text. From my early days at Stony Brook I have been inspired by Donald Kuspit's personal support and his enthusiastic commitment to the social relevance of art criticism. Today I am truly honored to be one of the last students to work with him at Stony Brook. Shoki Goodarzi's good humor and advice kept me on track while reminding me that there is also more to life than work. Andrew Uroskie's insightful editing suggestions have enabled me to consider the many ways this dissertation can be expanded in the future, a contribution that keeps on giving. And lastly, I thank Jayne Wark at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, whose recommendations based on her comprehensive knowledge of Canadian conceptual art have been invaluable. This work could also not have been possible without the support of my family. My father, Dr. Vito Modigliani, serves as an excellent role model in life and work; an intellectual who knows the value of self-criticism, laughter and pragmatism. My husband Jim Christensen often put his own interests aside, working long hours in order to afford me time to think and work, all the while listening patiently to me voice the process out loud. And lastly, though he is at present too young to understand, I thank my son Olen Christensen who has enriched my life ten-fold, and whose needs meant that I had to stick to the schedule I set for myself. Introduction This dissertation analyses the work of photographer Jeff Wall between the years of 1970 and 1979 in order to argue that the counter-tradition he helped develop with other photo-conceptual artists in the Canadian City of Vancouver has included a gendered bifurcation of space since its earliest incarnation in 1970 as the "defeatured landscape." By analyzing the existence of eroticized images of women within the defeatured landscapes of Wall and his peers, the Vancouver counter-tradition of large-scale photography is shown to depend in part on the old modern trope of woman-as-nature. Rather than simply considering space as a particular place, space is considered here an active field that includes the control of art-historical discourse, and the conscious opposition towards the historical position once held in the Vancouver art community by an older generation of landscape artists, most notably Emily Carr. Furthermore, I show that during this time frame (1970-1979) the control of art-historical discourse involved adapting to and negotiating new constraints placed on figurative art by a burgeoning feminist consciousness.