An Fnquiry Into the Status of the Racialized Vtherw in the Xastitution of Att in Canada

An fnquiry into the Status of the Racialized Vtherw in the Xastitution of Att in Canada by JO-Sarah Bali BwFwAw, B.A. (Hons.) A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of Canadian Studies Carleton University OTTAWA, Ontario April 14, 1997 @copyright 19 9 7 J.S.L. Bali National iibrary Bibliothèque nationale If1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 WeUington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada YourNs va us ré^ Our Ele Notre dhhmce The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothéque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfomq vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/^ de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantid extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. To my parents, fde aine Maire Kavanagh and Raizada Joghindra Singh Bali This thesis is an interdisciplinary study and analysis based on an inquiry into the representation of nonoWhite visual artists in the contemporary Canadian art institution. ft contains a brie£ history of issues of multiculturalism and diversity in cultural policy and museum practice which includes an examination of the contexts in which the works of non-White artists have been noted, discussed, reviewed, and highlighted in Canadian art periodicals. Key issues that arise are the notions of tlauthenticity~i,"representationtf , fiOthernessff, "identityit, ~multiculturalism", ftEiilocentrismlt, and "racismN. I argue that racism and an ethnic hierarchy exists throughout the history of the Canadian art institution and continues to the present. 1 also argue that although curators of natural history museums have begun to address the problem of systemic racism, the representation of nonowhite artists in the contemporary art institution in Canada continues to function in a manner that supports racism and a hierarchy of ethnicities. The sources in this thesis include publications on cultural policy by the Canadian government and Canadian cultural organizations, published texts on Canadian art, newspaper and magazine articles, including a £ive year survey of five Canadian periodicals, three of which are specifically focused on visual art and two that are interdisciplinary or general arts magazines. Other sources have been selected £rom recent cultural, race, museological, and art history writings and theoretical writings. Acknowledgements 1 would like to thank my advisors Katherine Amup and Julian Smith. I am particulary indebted to Katherine for her immense support and assistance at the 11th hour. 1 would also like to thank Marne Jackson and Ruth ~hillips for their help in first year when 1 began putting together a proposa1 for this thesis. 1 also appreciate al1 the help 1 have had over the last few years from Cathy Schmeuck in Canadian Studies . Thanks also to my friends, Victoria Angel, Tamara Cooper, Dawna Gallagher, and Julie Johnstone, for their constant support during my Carleton adventure. Finally 1 would like to express thanks to my partner, Dominic, my sister Sue, and the rest of my family for reminding me how important it is to work for what 1 believe in. Preface The initial intent of this thesis was to compare special exhibitions with permanent collections of Canadian Contemporary Art. This focus has beea modified primarily because of the enormous amount of research hours required to fully examine the permanent collections of major galleries and museums across Canada as well as to trace the ethnic and racial background of each artist and investigate how they identified themselves culturally, racially and politically. Although it is necessary to get a look at Whe big pi~ture,~'a project of that scope simply could not be accommodated within an M.A. thesis. When 1 began to write this thesis 1 focused on the basis and limits of the institution of art, its system of classification, and its implications on the particularity of multiculturalism as a concept in Canada. 1 sought out theory which could identify and articulate these concerns more clearly. I have found since then that there are many writers, critics and theorists who are examining and challenging Western divisions and hierarchies of art. 1 am conscious that I add rny own research and voice to the many others who oppose the limitations of modernist-cum- postmodernist colonial thinking that at worst erases and ignores, and at best mediates and belittles the work and socio-political importance of non-White artists. Table of Contents Abstract ........................ iv Acknowledgements ...................... v Preface ........................... vi Tableof Contents ......................vii Introduction ........................ 1 Thesis Statement ................... 7 Methodology ...................... 9 Chapter One: ~ulticuituralism. Power. and "OthernessW . 15 Introduction ........................ Multiculturalism .................... 19 The Politics of Power ................. 28 Cultural Policy and Arts Organizations ......... 35 Chapter Two: The Canadian fTanon" .............. 45 Introduction ...................... 45 TheCanadianCanon ................... 49 Reviewing the Other: Reinforcing the Exclusionary Canon . 59 Conclusion(s) ..................... 68 Chapter Three: The Role of the Museum ............ 71 Introduction ...................... 71 The Role of the Museum ................... 72 Into the Heart O£ Africa and Africville: maintaining primitivist notions in contemporary exhibitions . 76 Collecting and Neglecting: Special Exhibitions versus Permanent Collections ............... 80 flMinoritiesttin Museums ............. 88 Conclusion(s) ..................... 92 Chapter Four: Theory in Practice .............. 95 Introduction ...................... 95 Periodical Survey Results ............... 96 Appendix 1: Representation of non-White artists in shows . 112 Appendix 2: Representation O£ non-White astists in feature articles ........................ 118 vii Appendix 3: Group to individual ratio . 124 Appendix 4: Of non-White artist's shows percentage linked to Western or non-Western tradition . 126 Appendix 5: Percentage of articles featuring non-White artists where ethnic/racial background is made relevant to the artist8s production . 128 Appendix 6: Statistical Charts (numbers and percentages of al1 five magazines) . 130 Select Bibliography . 141 viii Introduction The epistemologies, disciplines, and histories that are at work within the production, display, review and classification of art in the Canadian art institution1 are diverse, and, to a certain extent, in a constant state of flux. Although theories and practices change over time, the degree and method of change and the direction in which it tums is often a source of debate. Controversies surrounding the display of anthropological exhibits such as The S~iritSincys(1988) and Into the Heart of ~frica(1989) have sparked some heated discussion regarding the representation of non-White, non-Western, non-European descended peoples in a museum context. Because of the prominence given the protests over these exhibitions as well as media coverage, the public debates surrounding any non-White presence in Canadian museums have centred around the anthropological and the ethnographic !'artif actsIt of Af rican and North ~mericanAboriginal peoples presented in IrNatural Historyn museums or museums documenting the growth of %ivilization% One of the results of the type of attention given to these particular exhibitions is the tripartition of the racialized population in Canada and in the Canadian cultural studies lexicon to White," llEthnic,Nand Uboriginalu as opposed to the binary opposition of White and Black which surfaces in theory and criticism originating in the United States. The theory, politics and pop culture of the United States have influenced the Canadian perception of who is ' The Canadian art institution can, in the context of this thesis, be understood to include the various art organizations, academic and technical teaching institutions, museums and galleries, periodicals, theorists, critics, practitioners, etc. Both Canadian and institution are broad and flexible terms which fluctuate in meaning depending on the perspective of the reader. 1 will endeavour to be as clear as possible in my use of theee terms. considered Wther .tt2 One of the results of the controversies highlighted by these exhibitions has been a more vocal challenge to the traditional Eurocentric perspective and a re-emphasis of the need to move from the mode1 of a museum dialectic to a dialogic form of museum discourse. The process of change allegedly taking place in collections of ethnographic "artifactstt housed in Naturai History museums, has, to some degree, ignored the equally problematic division of art and artifact in the Western concept of an "art institutionw and the absence of non-White artistsr work in

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