Art of Place and Displacement: Embodied Perception and the Haptic Ground Victoria King PhD Thesis 2005 College of Fine Arts School of Art History and Theory University of New South Wales I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no material previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Victoria King 25 October 2005 ii This thesis is dedicated to the ancestors. WARNING: This thesis contains photographs and names of Aboriginal people who are now deceased. iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the relationship between art and place, and challenges conventional readings of the paintings of the late Aboriginal Anmatyerr elder Emily Kame Kngwarray of Australia and Canadian/American modernist artist Agnes Martin. In the case of Kngwarray, connections between body, ground and canvas are extensively explored through stories told to the author by Emily’s countrywomen at Utopia in the Northern Territory. In the case of Agnes Martin, these relationships are explored through personal interview with the artist in Taos, New Mexico, and by phenomenological readings of her paintings. The methodology is based on analysis of narrative, interview material, existing critical literature and the artists’ paintings. The haptic and embodiment emerge as strong themes, but the artists’ use of repetition provides fertile ground to question wholly aesthetic or cultural readings of their paintings. The thesis demonstrates the significance of historical and psychological denial and erasure, as well as transgenerational legacies in the artists’ work. A close examination is made of the artists’ use of surface shimmer in their paintings and the effects of it on the beholder. The implications of being mesmerized by shimmer, especially in the case of Aboriginal paintings, bring up ethical questions about cultural difference and the shadow side of art in its capacity for complicity, denial, appropriation and commodification. This thesis challenges the ocularcentric tradition of seeing the land and art, and examines what occurs when a painting is viewed on the walls of a gallery. It addresses Eurocentric readings of Aboriginal art and looks at the power of the aesthetic gaze that eliminates cultural difference. Differences between space and place are explored through an investigation of the phenomenology of perception, the haptic, embodiment and ‘presentness’. Place affiliation and the effects of displacement are examined to discover what is often taken for granted: the ground beneath our feet. Art can express belonging and relationship with far-reaching cultural, political, psychological and environmental implications, but only if denial and loss of place are acknowledged. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My research material was collected with the full cooperation and permission of the Utopia women I interviewed and their family members. In particular I am extremely grateful for the generosity, kindness and patience shown to me by Barbara Weir, the late Glory Ngal and her daughter Anna Petyarr Price, the seven Petyarr sisters: Ada Bird, Kathleen, Myrtle, Gloria, Violet, Nancy and Jeannie, and their aunt, the Atnangker elder Weida Kngwarray. I remain humble and respectful of their knowledge, experience and culture. I also thank Emily Kngwarray’s nephews, Greeny Petyarr and Lindsay Bird Mbyetan, and Barbara Weir’s son, Fred Torres. I am grateful to Jenny Green, a ‘long-time’ friend of the Utopia people, linguist, writer and artist, for her generous assistance with Anmatyerr and Alyawarr terms and proofreading the Utopia women’s stories. At Utopia I sat with the Emily Kngwarray’s countrywomen and learned to listen in new ways. The multi-sensory world of Utopia and its complexities is one that few non-Aboriginals experience. Utopia is Aboriginal Land and permits for access are rarely granted1. Obtaining information is often inappropriate due to the secret/sacred nature of much Aboriginal knowledge, and persistent questioning is rightly seen as cultural appropriation. I respected the many silences that occurred and allowed the women to tell their stories without interruptions. The few questions I asked reflected my interests in Aboriginal connections to country but the essential questions of Why do we need to know? and Should we know? permeated my self-questioning. I was extremely sensitive to the attendant shadow of my culture’s voracious appetite for the exotic and issues of romanticization, sentimentalization and projection. I have taken every due care to ensure the correctness and cultural appropriateness of the material contained within this thesis. I sincerely apologize for any distress that may be caused by any unintended and unforeseen errors or misrepresentations. 1 Each time I have been to Utopia I have been there as a guest of Barbara Weir and accompanied by her. v All of the photographs that I took at Utopia were taken with permission and within an atmosphere of trust. I discussed their inclusion with Emily Kngwarray’s family and each of the women that I interviewed and photographed. Despite this, I would request that the reader remain sensitive to the cultural issues involved. Within the elaborate rituals around death in Aboriginal culture, particular emphasis is placed on the name of the deceased neither being spoken nor written, nor objects being available that will remind the family of the deceased. Photographs fall very firmly into this category. Throughout this research I have used the term ‘traditional’ to describe land- based central desert Anmatyerr and Alyawarr Aboriginal culture. This is not intended to lessen the value of the experiences or contributions of any indigenous person not living on their land, nor of the many members of the Stolen Generation whose land and birthrights have been denied them. I honour the wealth and range of the vital creativity within all of Aboriginal culture. I recognize that the term ‘Aboriginal’ is itself a non-specific one that does not do justice to the enormous diversity that exists within it2. Where it has been possible I have denoted the particular language group to which I refer. 2 See Ian McLean’s article ‘Global Indigeneity and Australian Desert Painting’ for a discussion of the usages of the terms ‘Aboriginal’ and ‘indigenous’ (McLean: 33-54: 2002). vi And Further… I would like to thank Agnes Martin for her generosity in sharing her time and stories in Taos. I thank Diane Losche for her supervision of this thesis. I am grateful to many friends who provided enthusiasm and encouragement. In particular, to Colleen Burke who shares my love of the desert and has an understanding of the shadow side of our shared homeland. She provided me invaluable texts on Agnes Martin. To Sarah Tucker whose open heart and thoughtful words and stitches I deeply honour. To Sheila Christofides for her sensitive friendship. To Anna Williams and Pete Hay, Jan Howard and Derek Verrall, I give my gratitude for our shared love of Tasmania, their ethical perspectives and unstinting generous humour. To Zachary and Julie, I give my boundless love and countless blessings. Their lives and union have given me pure delight and joy. To John Cameron, a good man, words prove inadequate for the depths of our shared lives, interests, conversations and love. To him, I give my gratitude, my unending respect and love. To all my ancestors, may this writing allow the past to finally begin to be acknowledged and healed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Grounds for a Different Perspective I. Mapping Territory 1 a. Perceptions of Art and Place 1 b. Questioning Assumptions 3 c. The Study of Place: A Conceptual History 10 d. The Haptic 12 II. Themes and Thesis Questions 15 III. Methodology 17 a. Phenomenology 17 b. Narrative Inquiry and Lived Experience 21 c. Autobiographical Reference 23 IV. Discovering the Ground Beneath Me: A Personal Journey 27 a. Sowing the Sublime 27 b. On the Edge 29 c. Unexpected Revelations 32 d. Understanding Ground 33 V. Sources of Material 36 VI. Chapter Synopses 39 Chapter Two: Mapping the Mesa: the Life and Work of Agnes Martin I. Places of Departure 42 a. Arriving at Taos 42 b. Absence and Movement 44 c. A Search for Direction 49 II. The Evolution of Agnes Martin’s Work 55 a. Figurative and Biomorphic Beginnings 55 b. The Plain 57 c. Reading the Present Moment 62 d. An Art of Process 71 III. Spirit, Self and Nature 77 a. Spirit Ground 77 b. Art as a Vehicle for Awareness 82 c. A Ground of Loss 95 d. Not About Nature 103 Chapter Three: Maps of Place and Experience: the Life and Work of Emily Kame Kngwarray I. Utopia Past and Present 115 a. Journey to Utopia 115 b. Historical Context 119 c. Connections to Country 126 II. Perceptions of Place 131 a. Body and Ground 131 b. Mapping Experience 136 viii c. Sites and Stories of Significance 142 III. Anmatyerr Woman: Life, Dreamings and Ceremony 150 a. A Personal Life 150 b. Yam Dreaming 156 c. Awely: Women’s Ceremony for Country 163 IV. Old Traditions, New Mediums 174 a. Batik Painting at Utopia 174 b. Introduction of Acrylic Paints 178 c. A Prolific Flowering 181 d. Gestural Complexities 187 Chapter Four: Perceptions of Art and the Land I. On Another Ground 197 a.