Curating Colonial Canada
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Curating Colonial Canada: Museum Architecture and the Display of Aboriginal Cultures Noémie Despland-Lichtert School of Architecture, McGill University, Montreal, September 2013 A report submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Architecture. © Noémie Despland-Lichtert 2013 Table of Contents: Abstract /Résumé 2 Acknowledgements 4 Preface 5 Introduction 7 Introductory Literature Review 10 The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia 26 The Canadian Museum of Civilization 40 Pointe-à-Callière Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History 53 Conclusion 63 Bibliography 69 Annex 74 List of Abbreviations CAD Computer Assisted Design CMC Canadian Museum of Civilization MOA Museum of Anthropology PàC Pointe-à-Callière UBC University of British Columbia 1 Abstract Architecture reflects the values and goals of the society that produces it. However, its role is not only passive: the built environment impacts the experience of the users. Museum architecture offers a good example since it plays an active role in shaping the viewer’s perception of an exhibit. In Canada, several museums present exhibitions on the Aboriginal peoples and their role in the shared history. This research report studies museum architecture’s impact on the viewer’s understanding of Aboriginal cultures. Three case studies were chosen: the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Montréal Museum of History and Archaeology Pointe-à-Callière. The three museums adopt different architecture and curatorial approaches. 2 Résumé L’architecture reflète les valeurs et aspirations de la société qui la produit. Mais son rôle n’est pas uniquement passif : l’environnement bâti contribue à former l’expérience de ses utilisateurs. L’architecture des musées en représente un bel exemple, dans la mesure ou elle participe activement à la perception de l’exposition par le visiteur. Au Canada, plusieurs musées présentent des expositions sur les peuples autochtones et leur rôle dans l’Histoire commune. Ce rapport de recherche porte sur l’influence de l’architecture des musées sur la compréhension des cultures autochtones par les visiteurs. Pour cela, trois études de cas ont été choisies : le Musée d’anthropologie à l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique, le Musée canadien des civilisations et le Musée d’archéologie et d’histoire de Montréal, Pointe-à- Callière. Les trois musées adoptent une architecture et des approches curatoriales différentes. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor and professor Annmarie Adams for her inspiring classes and valuable advice, as well as for her patience and continuous support during my Master’s. As an advisor, she provided much-needed feedback on my work and helped me structure my thoughts. Special thanks go to Nathalie Oswin and Amelia Jones who taught memorable courses: “Sex, Race and Space” and “The Conceptual Body in Art Since 1960,” respectively. Marcia King, Post Professional Masters Program Graduate Secretary, lent me a sympathetic ear and offered a great deal of helpful advice. The McGill Writing Centre staff and my friend Charles Alexandre Tisseyre helped me write and edit this project in my second language. I thank them all for the quality of their help and support. I am grateful to my amazing classmates, Camille, Tanya, and Zamila, for the feedback they provided on my ideas as well as for their encouraging words. I want to thank my dearest friends, Dounia, Léa and Badr, for their love and support. My friend Dounia kindly agreed to read my draft and provided constructive criticism and bright advice. Finally, I want to thank my parents. Without their moral and financial support, it would have been impossible to pursue this project. 4 Preface I am an outsider to the subject of Aboriginal cultures in Canada. I do not have Aboriginal ancestry since both my parents emigrated from Europe. The more research I have conducted the more I have realised how it is a delicate matter to study a culture to which one does not belong, especially in the case of Aboriginal peoples who have suffered and still suffer from an unbalanced relationship between researchers and the research subjects. Increasingly, not only consultation, but also true partnerships and research conducted by Aboriginals on their own culture are needed. Rather than studying Aboriginal art or architecture per se, this research focuses on the viewer’s experience of architecture relating to his or her understanding as an outsider or insider of Aboriginal cultures. I find this position easier to adopt due to my own identity. I am adopting an anti-racist and post-colonial critical approach1 to the subject as much as possible and try not to create a binary opposition between “us” and “them.” I also want to acknowledge my small sample of museums. Canada has many institutions dealing with national history and the Aboriginal peoples, and I could only choose a few. Therefore, my research does not provide a broad review of the situation throughout the country. This paper only represents an avenue towards more research since so much more could be done on this subject. 1 Post-colonial Studies or Post-colonial Theory is a field of studies and a method that analyses the legacies of colonialism and imperialism and its human consequences in the colonial and contemporary periods. 5 Finally, as much as I tried to analyse the architecture and exhibits in the most objective way possible, my own experience and identity shape my understanding and conclusions about the spaces. To a certain degree, I believe I can only offer a personal interpretation of the subject, as is often the case in the humanities. 6 Introduction This report explores the architecture of three museums exhibiting First Nations art and artefacts in Canada. To do so, I chose three different cases from across the country: in Vancouver, Gatineau and Montreal. Each museum was designed for the purpose of displaying objects and housing permanent as well as temporary exhibits; however, they represent different kinds of institutions. The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is part of the University of British Columbia (UBC), while the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) is a federal institution and Pointe-à-Callière Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History (PàC), is privately owned. I try to demonstrate how architecture shapes the experience of the viewer and therefore has a strong impact on his or her understanding of Aboriginal cultures. I believe museum architecture shapes the Canadian historiography of the colonial and contemporary periods in a very active way. Museum architecture not only reflects but also shapes our understanding of Aboriginal cultures. In this analysis I aim to better comprehend Canada’s relation to Aboriginal people and their contribution to the national cultural heritage. I hope this analysis will help us to think critically about Canada’s history and the contemporary understanding of it and to build a more inclusive society. In order to do this, I use an interdisciplinary approach drawing from my own experience in the fields or archaeology, art history and architecture and apply it to the three case studies. After describing the role, mandate and 7 history of the institutions, as well as the architecture, I conduct an iconographical and formalist analysis of the building, paying special attention to how each relates to the museum’s mandate, its collections and the experience of the viewer. I am particularly interested in the effects of the architecture on the users of the building and how space is experienced. Therefore I try to demonstrate how the architecture can shape the understanding and experience of the viewer. The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia is my first case study. Built in 1976 and designed by the Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, it is the oldest building considered. In addition to being open to the public as a traditional museum, it also functions as a teaching and learning centre for the students of the university. My second case study is the Canadian Museum of Civilization, soon to be called the Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Quebec. Built in 1989 by Douglas Cardinal, a Canadian architect of Métis and Blackfoot ancestry, it is one of the most important national museums.2 Finally, my last case study is Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, Pointe-à-Callière. Designed by Dan S. Hanganu Architects and opened in 1992, it is the most recent construction. Each example is based in a different city, is owned by different organisations (university, federal government, private) and has a slightly different mandate (anthropology, culture, archaeology). However, they all 2 Boddy and Cardinal, The Architecture of Douglas Cardinal, 131. 8 share the aim to teach visitors about different cultures in time and about Canadian history. 9 Chapter 1: Introductory Literature Review Architecture is commonly understood as reflecting the value systems, tastes and beliefs of the society producing it. Therefore, one can read and understand the society’s values, apprehensions and aspirations in the architecture when they are not necessarily expressed elsewhere in a more direct manner. Architecture is not only shaped by our understandings and beliefs but plays a very active role in shaping them. This report looks at the agency architecture exerts on its users and their perceptions of an exhibit in the case of museums. I consider that architecture has a strong impact on the experience of the visitor to the museum in many different ways. Museum architecture can have different important impacts; it can inspire or confuse, dominate or complement, welcome or forbid, be inclusive or exclusive.3 Also, iconic architecture, a famous building or architect, can attract many visitors to the museum who come as much to visit the building as to see the exhibit contents.