Representation, Preservation & Interpretation at Canada's House
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-18-2014 12:00 AM Making Ourselves at Home: Representation, Preservation & Interpretation at Canada's House Museums Stephanie Karen Radu The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Bridget Elliott The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Art and Visual Culture A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Stephanie Karen Radu 2014 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Radu, Stephanie Karen, "Making Ourselves at Home: Representation, Preservation & Interpretation at Canada's House Museums" (2014). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2361. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2361 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REPRESENTATION, PRESERVATION & INTERPRETATION AT CANADA’S HOUSE MUSEUMS (THESIS FORMAT: Monograph) by Stephanie Karen Radu Graduate Program in Art & Visual Culture A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Stephanie Karen Radu, 2014 ABSTRACT Historic house museums are a common, if often overlooked, feature of the Canadian heritage landscape. As national historic sites, and community museums, they address cultural, social, historical and political facets of the past. Pursuing the idea of the house/museum hybrid, this study examines the house museum as a distinct museological type. Chapter One defines house museums both in relation and opposition to encyclopedic, folk, decorative and collection museums, period rooms, model and heritage homes and other sites of living history. It reviews architectural, commemorative and preservation histories to outline the conditions that encouraged their development from the West coast (British Columbia) to the East (Nova Scotia). Chapter Two argues that house museums are part of a broader network of home representations. It demonstrates that they are representations of the domestic environments of the past, which are also responsible for generating and preserving photographs, models, floor plans, blueprints, paintings, prints and drawings of private interiors, imagined dwellings and residential architectures. Case studies are used to show that house museums are constructed, saved, explained, validated, funded and marketed through a range of home representations. Chapter Three looks at multisensory exhibits, interactive displays and participative programs at house museums across Canada to highlight the tensions between conservation concerns and the quality of visitor experiences at these sites. It investigates how house museums have reacted to the tenets of a new museology and an Experience Economy, which emphasize participative involvement, active learning and immersive experience, often at the expense of conservation. Chapter Four acknowledges that many historic homes have been refashioned as birthplace museums and shrines for individual legacies. It interrogates the relationship between house museums and their key interpretive figures by examining discourses and histories that position individuals and their ii homes as integrated subjects. Moreover, it contends that house museums structured around a single historical figure tend to be exclusionary, and reductive of complex narratives. As a whole, the thesis considers the topics of representation, preservation and interpretation to remark upon the function and future of house museums in Canada. KEYWORDS: House museums, historic homes, Canada, representation, preservation, interpretation iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the final term of my PhD, as the dissertation took full form, I reflected on the privilege it has been to pursue my own research in this way. I have cherished the opportunity to work within a discipline that I love, and amidst a group of instructors and peers who have facilitated my professional and intellectual growth. During my tenure at the University of Western Ontario, I have been extraordinarily fortunate to have had the support and confidence of the Department of Visual Arts. Throughout my graduate studies, I was backed by its dedicated administrators and the members of its graduate committee. I was mentored by an exceptional group of faculty who were driven to see their students develop and succeed. I owe an especial thanks to Profs. Patrick Mahon and Kathy Brush for their guidance and unwavering faith in my work. I will always be indebted to Paula Dias, Marlene Jones, Sandy Leboldus, Joanne Gribbon, Claire Parker and Brenda MacEachern for their research assistance, patience and kindness in helping me stay on track in the program. I could not have entered the PhD alongside a more kind-hearted cohort. At every stage of the program (during coursework, comps and writing) I was inspired by the determination they showed while on their own degree paths. My peers were a regular source of reassurance and camaraderie (as well as entertainment) and I leave the University feeling blessed to have had such good company. I would also like to acknowledge the instrumental roles played by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Western Ontario. Their financial aid, and the generosity of their donors, enriched this thesis by enabling me to conduct primary research at house museums across the country and attend workshops and international conferences related to my topic. iv No less overwhelming is the amount of support I received from house-museum professionals across Canada. I thank every curator, archivist, interpreter, researcher, director, collections manager and volunteer that took time to discuss with me the objectives, challenges, rewards and details of their positions. Thank you to the staff and interpreters at Bellevue House, Château Ramezay, Joseph Schneider Haus, Lougheed House, Maison Chevalier, Manoir Mauvide-Genest, Rutherford House, Shand House Museum and Uniacke Estate, who shared with me some of Canada’s most impressive historic residences. I am grateful to those who I corresponded with via email and who helped me plan my research trips. To Monique Blouin and Danielle Roy at the Musée de la civilisation, thank you for organizing my visit to the Maison Chevalier. For the all-access pass to Michener House Museum and its archives, I credit its Executive Director, Ms. Marie Peron. Thank you to Michelle Coleman of Haliburton House Museum and Margrete Kristiansen of Prescott House for guiding me through some of Nova Scotia’s museums and for their research assistance during later stages of writing. I also wish to thank Robert McCullough, Christina Reid, Sandra Martins, Stefani Klaric, Anthony Norfolk, Sue Erb, Bénédicte Schoepflin and Michaela Parent for sharing their diverse knowledge of British Columbia’s house museums. I am truly thankful to John Hughes, Bruce Davies and Danielle MacKenzie for their warm welcome to Craigdarroch Castle, their hospitality and support of the project. I am also indebted to the curators of Emily Carr House (Jan Ross), Admiral Digby Museum (Sheryl Stanton), Hutchison House (Gale Fewings) and O’Dell House Museum (Ryan Scranton) for insightful introductions to their respective house museums. At the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and its archives, I owe expressions of gratitude to Lena Goon and Catherine Vincent. Furthermore, I extend a heartfelt thanks to those individuals who v submitted to being interviewed. Behind this type-written and somewhat impersonal thank- you is a genuinely and deeply appreciative researcher. To Grant Maltman, the curator of Banting House National Historic Site of Canada, who took me on as a volunteer in 2013, you have been a true mentor regarding the world of museums and public history. Thank you for providing me with a glimpse of the “ins” and “outs” of the day-to-day management of Banting House. I know I will be bribing you with Cadbury Fruit & Nut bars in the future in exchange for your expert advice. Outside of Canada, I gained a great deal of encouragement from the members of DEMHIST, especially Prof. Ruggero Ranieri, Marta Antunano and Josep M. Boronat. The initial prospectus and final thesis benefitted greatly from the insights and feedback of my working committee, including Profs. Aldona Sendzikas and Christine Sprengler. I thank the former for venturing beyond her home department to take on this project. I owe thanks to the latter for her enduring support over the last six years, and for agreeing to act as a member of my examination committee. I am also grateful to Profs. Jeff Hopkins, Kirsty Robertson and Anne Whitelaw for sacrificing valuable time during their summer terms to review this thesis and take part in the defence. I feel most incapable of expressing my gratitude to Dr. Bridget Elliott for all that she has contributed to this project as my supervisor. From the early stages of the proposal write- up, through the ethics submission process, to the final months of writing and editing, you have been a constant source of guidance and motivation. It has been nothing short of a profound privilege to have had worked with you over the last four years. Know that it has never escaped me just how much you have shaped me as an instructor and a scholar. Lastly, to those closest to me, to my family and friends, thank you for giving me the strength to tackle this project. It has meant so much that you have been there, along the way, vi to see me through my frustrations and to celebrate the successes. Dan, thank you for tolerating me in my anxious moments and reminding me to take part in life outside the University. To my parents, I owe you everything for your unconditional support and for teaching me that rewards come from hard work.