Artistic Expressions in the Age of Globalization
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
LOCAL INSTANCES OF SOCIAL RESISTANCE: ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION BY Karen Penny Morelyle, B.A. (Honours) 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 O 2000, Karen Penny Morelyle National Library Bibliothèque nationale j*l of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Cana& Canada Your file Voire rèfdrence Our file Notre refBr8nce 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 Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfonn, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fïlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neîther the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othedse de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author' s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstract The argument put forth is that Canada's socio-political landscape is under stress due to the globalizing and homogenizing trend that is presently ta king place globally. There is a form of political resistance to the global culture which has focused on the local as a fruieul form of cultural resistance. These new spaces help us conned more effectively on both an international and national context. There is a need for spatialized local identities to respond to glo balized identities, a response which takes the form of political resistance. To better understand these new forms of political resistance, three different examples of creative media are used to illustrate the main thesis - creative writing, the visual arts, and architecture. The artists chosen are the artists coalition "Artists in their Environment", writer-critic Dionne Brand, and the architect Douglas Cardinal. The examinations of the artists are essential in order to fully explore the importance of articulation by al1 Canadians of their spatial needs. "One person can make a difference. Every act has a significance. Every abis spiritual. Every action you take is the sum of al1 knowledge before you, and you impact al1 that cornes ahead of you. You owe every action to the past and to the future. It is an awesome responsibilityf' (Cardinal, 199 1, 92). Douglas Cardinal "Technology is universal in the sense that everyone is included in the economic and political world system that it engenders. It is homogeneous in the sense of standardizing culture in the various parts of the world system. Technology triumphs by brea king down particular traditionsrr (Angus, 1997, 77). Ian Angus Acknowledgments Thank you to the Artists in their Environment who inspired me in so many ways, especially Shawn, Reid, Beccy, Linda and Madame Nitski who took the time to share their thoughts and beliefs with me. Your dedication is a gift to everyone. Thank you to my family who were so patient and understanding: Mark for his support, the many babysitting hours from Cathy, and especially Kent for their weekend getaways with Aidan. Thank you to my friends Susan (again for the babysitting!), Melissa for the editing, and to Julie for her editing and persistent coaching! Thank you to Julian and his relentless emails which got me through to the end. Thank you to my wonderful Aidan, for trying to understand why mom had to go on the computer so often and not play Lego with you, and for making it al1 worthwhile. And finally, thank you to Jason, my ruthless editor and absolutely amazing partner. Your patience, support and dedication made this a reality. Table of Contents Page Abstract ....................................................................................... ii Quotations.................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments ........................................................ iv Ta bie of Contents...................................................................... v Introduction............................................................................ 1 Cha pter One Globalization and Social Spaces Introduction............................................................................... 8 Hegemonic Power in the Global Village ............ .. .............. 12 Spatial Identities........... ... .................................................... 26 Mental Geographies................................................................. 27 Chapter Two Mental Geographies Introduction....................................................................... 30 Transformative Politics............................................................. 31 Deconstructing Space: Put the Meaning Back into Space 33 The Potential of the Local ........................................................ 35 Modernism to Postmodernism .Spatial Definitions.......... 39 Reconstruction of Space .............. .... ................................... 44 Articulating Personal Possibilities........................................... 47 Sites of Resistance.................................................................... 49 Language of Politics: Agency ................................................. 51 Articulation : The Importance of Narrative ......................... 54 Spaces on the Margins: Feminism, Space and Resistance 57 Art As Resistance......................................................................... 62 Naming as Resistance ................................................................. 66 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 70 Chapter Three TheAnalysis of the Group "Artistsin Their En vironrnent": Art as Nexus of Resistance Introduction................................................................................... 72 The Studio Tour............................................................................. 73 Linda Wright: The Inward Politics of Psychological Space 76 Shawn McNevin: 'Stamping" and Sense of Space................ 77 Reid Mclachlan: 'The Forces that Drive Humanity" ............. 80 Beccy Mason: "The Space of Memory" ................................... 81 Marie France Nitski: "The Politics of Space: Art as Living Memory" ................................................. 83 Community of Resistance........................................................... 87 Articulation of that Resistance......................................... .. ........ 90 Space, Place = Local.................................................................... 93 Globalization, Local Places and Activism ............... ............. 107 Education ........................................................................................ 112 Freedom of Choice............... ,.. ................................................ 119 Lifestyle and Daily Choices: Place of Politics........................... 120 Conclusion....................................................................................... 127 Chapter Four Put the Meaning Back Into Space: Creative Expressions of Douglas Cardinal and Dionne Brand Introduction: The Politics of (Spatial) Transformation ......... 129 Douglas Cardinal: Put the Meaning Back Into Space ............. 131 Technological Expansion : 'Mindless Growth" .......................... 133 Locating Needs: The Consensus Process.................................. 135 Reflections of Natural Forms: Architecture in Dialogue with Landscape............................ ... ........................................................... 137 The Organic Process....................................................................... 141 Dionne Brand, 'Writerrs Mean to Change the World": Community As Resistance............................ .. ............................... 144 Placed Political Action: "Bathurst was the site of new definitions" ........................................................................................ 147 Localized Resistance: "Walking Back into our naturals' ........ 148 Homogenization: "have my skin taken off............................... 152 Responsibility : '1 clearly have a purposerr................................ 156 Cha pter Five Civil Disobedience Introduction....................................................................................... 160 Power.................................................................................................. 164 Radical Su bjectivity ......................................................................... 170 Chapter Six Conclusion ......................................................................................... 174 Works Cited ....................................................................................... 178 Appendix Figure 1- Figure 5 INTRODUCTION Prescriptive technologies have brought into the real world of technology a wealth of important products that have raised living standards and increased well-being. At the same time they have created a culture of compliance. The acculturation to compliance and conforrnity has, in turn,