Mother/Art: a Journey Into Selfhood, Motherhood and Art Education Through Personal Works
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Mother/Art: A Journey into Selfhood, Motherhood and Art Education through Personal Works A Thesis in The Department of Art Education Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts (Art Education) Concordia University Montréal, Québec, Canada April 2014 © Rosanna Ciciola-Izzo, 2014 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Rosanna Ciciola-Izzo Entitled: Mother/Art: A journey into Selfhood, Motherhood and Art Education through Personal Works and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master Of Arts (Art Education) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: _____________________________________ Chair ______________________________________ Examiner Dr.Lorrie Blair ______________________________________ Examiner Dr.Kathleen Vaughan ______________________________________ Supervisor Dr.Linda Szabad-Smyth Approved by ________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director ________________________________________________ Dean of Faculty Date _____________________________________2014__________ ii ABSTRACT Mother /Art: A Journey into Selfhood, Motherhood and Art Education Through Personal Works Rosanna Ciciola-Izzo This study begins with a look at creative blocks in the lives of creative women, and how these contribute to contemporary feminist discourses on maternal art. These discourses consider how real mothers deal with the ambivalence and contradictions of lived motherhood. Consequently, I considered from a feminist perspective, how women have traditionally been and are still predisposed to care for others, and how this responsibility both feeds and obstructs one’s creative self. Personal issues of identity and social roles within the context of marriage, motherhood and “daughterhood” were explored through studio-based research in the form of personal visual memoirs. Visual memoirs were inspired by photo elicitation and reflective journaling. This study concluded with the idea that “peak experiences” during the creative process functioned not only as a form of escapism, but also served to reconnect with one’s selfhood. This study also looked at how emotional bonds are intertwined with one’s lived experience, and how all these combined contribute to personal growth and creativity. These findings extend beyond the personal by attesting that reflecting on lived experience through memory work, photo elicitation and visual memoirs can be used as a motivational tool in art education to unblock creativity. This journey also determined that no subject is too personal or too small to not be considered on a more global scale. iii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire faculty and staff in the Art Education Department, but there are a few admirable women without whose support I could not have completed this journey: --My deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Linda Szabad-Smyth for her invaluable help, guidance, insight, kindness and generosity. I could not have completed this thesis without her relentless support. Thank-you. --My deepest thanks to the members of my committee, Dr.Lorrie Blair and Dr.Kathleen Vaughan for not only graciously accepting to be on my team, but also for always providing guidance and reassurance in times of doubt. I will be forever grateful. ************ This thesis was a long hard voyage that demanded time away from my family, even when I was physically present. It culminated into a labor of love and I want to begin by paying homage to my mother, for her strength and courage, my father for his perseverance and loyalty, and my brothers, Gianfranco and Joseph, for being the best big brothers in the world. I miss them all. A warm hug and deepest thanks to my children, Max, Alex and Roxanne for cheering me on—for never accepting the idea of having a “graduate drop-out mom” when times got rough ---and for inspiring and enriching my life in so many ways. Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, “the soul is healed by being with children”--- and they, without a doubt, have healed my soul time and again. I also want to thank my extended family, and everyone both near and far, who offered words of encouragement. They are all close to my heart. Last but not least, I want to dedicate this thesis to my husband, Tino, as a token of my intense appreciation, admiration and gratitude for taking on the extra load with such grace, for his persistent love and support, and for being my guiding light. iv Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................................1 My story..........................................................................................................2 Chapter 2: Literature Review................................................................5 Marriage.......................................................................................................... 5 Identity............................................................................................................ 7 Motherhood versus mothering....................................................................... 7 Theory........................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3: Methodology...............................................................................................15 Research Design........................................................................................17 Memory..........................................................................................................18 Memoirs.........................................................................................................18 Visual memoirs..............................................................................................19 Motherhood memoirs....................................................................................21 Reflection and photography...........................................................................22 Procedure and Data Collection............................................25 Chapter 4: Research Process..................................................................................... 27 Part 1: Previous Works................................................................................ 27 Part 2: New Works....................................................................................... 33 Threads of Memory......................................................................................33 Traces-Benches-Bonnets...............................................................................37 Drift.............................................................................................................. 45 v Love Letters.................................................................................................. 50 Chapter 5: Data Analysis..............................................................................................51 Guilt................................................................................................................53 Lack of time....................................................................................................55 Art making versus selfhood and identity........................................................55 Lived motherhood and creativity...................................................................59 Analysis of Visual Data...........................................................................60 The photographs.............................................................................................60 The art works .................................................................................................60 Interpretation.................................................................................................. 62 Angel in the House Syndrome........................................................................62 Chapter 6: Discussion....................................................................................................64 Chapter 7: Conclusion...................................................................................................68 The importance of lived experience...............................................................68 Art as a means of reconnection with one’s selfhood......................................70 Beyond selfhood and motherhood: Examination of maternal art from a social political context .................................................................................71 References....................................................................................................72 vi List of Figures Summer’s Day. Black & White Photograph, 2007..............................20 Handprints. Triptych, mixed media on canvas, 2007..........................23 Memory Box. Triptych, oil on canvas, 2007........................................24 Father’s Day. Triptych, oil on canvas, 2011 .........................................25 Detail- Father’s Day ..............................................................................26 Son’s drawing, 1997...............................................................................26 Threads of