Evoking the Sacred: The Artist as Shaman Dawn Whitehand BAVA (Hons) This exegesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Arts Academy University of Ballarat PO Box 745 Camp Street, Ballarat, Victoria 3353 Australia Submitted in April 2009 The objects of [American] Indians are expressive and most decorative because they are alive, living in our experience of them. When the Indian potter collects clay, she asks the consent of the river-bed and sings its praises for having made something as beautiful clay. When she fires her pottery, to this day, she still offers songs to the fire so it will not discolor [sic] or burst her wares. And finally, when she paints her pottery, she imprints it with the images that give it life and power- because for an Indian, pottery is something significant, not just a utility but a ‘being’ for which there is as much of a natural order as there is for persons or foxes or trees.1 Jamake Highwater 1 Jamake Highwater, The Primal Mind: Vision and Reality in Indian America. (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1981), 77-8. ii Abstract This thesis examines, via a feminist theoretical framework, the systems in existence that permit the ongoing exploitation of the environment; and the appropriateness of ceramics as a medium to reinvigorate dormant insights. I argue that the organic nuances expressed through clay; the earthy, phenomenological and historic ritual connotations of clay; and the tactile textured surfaces and undulating form, allows ceramics to conjure responses within the viewer that reinvigorates a sense of embedment in the Earth. It is anticipated that when configured to reflect universally recognised symbols within the environment, the resulting installation triggers latent responses within the viewer thus reinvoking recognition of the inherent sacredness of the landscape. The arrival of the twenty-first century bears witness to a great many ‘illnesses’ within our communities, and in this context it may be appropriate to apply the metaphor of ‘Artist as Shaman’ to the role of the artist within contemporary society. It is intended that the body of work produced to accompany this exegesis, when installed in the natural environment, will trigger inherent recognitions of the viewer’s connection to the Earth and their sense of belonging within nature. The research informing this method of presentation includes an investigation into innate recognitions humans appear to possess regarding certain symbols and textures, which motivate the forms, surfaces and installation of my work; and an exploration of Fibonacci, fractals and the collective unconscious, supported by research in scientific disciplines such as the New Physics, Evolutionary Psychology and Evolutionary Aesthetics. iii Statement of Authorship Except where explicit reference is made in the text of this thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been relied upon or used without due acknowledgment in the main text and bibliography of the thesis. Signed: Signed: Dated: Dated: Dawn Whitehand Dr Loris Button Candidate Principal Supervisor iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank the University of Ballarat for providing me with a scholarship placement, thus making possible the carrying out of this research project. Within the Arts Academy I would like to extend my thanks to Associate Professor Allan Mann, Associate Professor Jim Sillitoe and Dr Loris Button for their support over the past four years. Though only involved over the past two years, I would especially like to thank Dr Christopher Headley and Dr Carole Wilson for their guidance, encouragement and support, during some difficult periods. Thanks must also be extended to Ian Wright, manager of Learning Environments and Web Services at the University of Ballarat, for supplying equipment and allocating a staff member, Eammon Jones, for the recording of the installation. Thanks to Eammon for his technical and creative expertise in producing the end product. Thankyou also to the Ballarat Country Fire Authority for granting me a permit for my last pit firing, at the end of November, 2008, which was during the fire restriction period. I would also like to thank my friends who offered words of encouragement and support when times became difficult. My children, Luke and Trent, were quite young when this project began, and so deserve thanks for their patience and understanding. Finally, I would like to express immense thanks to my partner, Strobe. His constant help and support – emotionally during periods of stress, and physically, such as helping me suspend the portals, and reading drafts of the exegesis – enabled the completion of this research project. v Table of Contents Evoking the Sacred: The Artist as Shaman ............................................................ i Abstract .................................................................................................................. iii Statement of Authorship........................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ................................................................................................... vi List of Illustrations ............................................................................................... viii Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Overview ............................................................................................................... 1 Significance of the Research ................................................................................. 4 Statement of Research Question ........................................................................... 7 Aim of the Research .............................................................................................. 7 Setting the Context ............................................................................................... 10 Towards a Regeneration of the Sacred ............................................................... 10 Historic Perspectives ........................................................................................... 13 Science ........................................................................................................... 13 Spirituality ........................................................................................................ 15 Capitalism........................................................................................................ 16 Shamanic Perspectives ....................................................................................... 17 Feminist Perspectives ......................................................................................... 20 Scientific Perspectives ......................................................................................... 23 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 28 Feminism and Art ................................................................................................ 28 Parameters and Delimitations .............................................................................. 29 Clay as Medium ................................................................................................... 30 Ceramic Installation ............................................................................................. 40 Spiritual Perspectives .......................................................................................... 52 Land Art .............................................................................................................. 56 Ecofeminism ........................................................................................................ 59 Contemporary Environmental Artists ................................................................... 62 The Gap .............................................................................................................. 67 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 70 Studio Methods ................................................................................................... 70 vi Why Clay? ....................................................................................................... 70 The method of production ................................................................................ 72 Firing process .................................................................................................. 76 Surface finish ................................................................................................... 80 Configuration ................................................................................................... 86 Scale and Multiplicity ....................................................................................... 89 Installation ....................................................................................................... 91 Artist as Shaman ............................................................................................. 93 Site