Preserving the Best Newfoundland's Cultural Movement, 1965-1983 by ©Mekaela Gulliver a Thesis Submitted to the School of Gr
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Preserving the Best Newfoundland’s Cultural Movement, 1965-1983 by ©Mekaela Gulliver A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Memorial University of Newfoundland September 2014 St. John’s Newfoundland ii Abstract This study analyzes the cultural movement in the visual arts, theatre and music that occurred in Newfoundland between 1965 and 1983. Artists from the various artistic genres were influenced by both internal and external factors, and reacted to rapid political changes occurring in Newfoundland and artistic, musical, and theatrical trends that were popular in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Members of the cultural movement reacted against modernization, urbanization, and industrialization that occurred during the period that Joseph Smallwood was Premier. Artists thought several of the choices made by this government led to an erosion of Newfoundland culture, and thus felt they needed to help preserve traditional culture. Yet, while artists viewed themselves as anti-authoritarian, they were aided in their artistic endeavours by institutions such as Memorial University, in particular Extension Service, which encouraged the preservation of heritage and promoted cultural productions. Music was one of the genres that artists used to help preserve the culture they feared was disappearing, and to demonstrate that Newfoundland culture was just as good as that anywhere else. Theatre was also important in the movement, and helped artists bring attention to the political issues they viewed as important. This study examines how Newfoundland artists reacted to a perceived loss of culture and identity. It also demonstrates that cultural developments do not happen in a vacuum and that in order to fully understand the Newfoundland Renaissance it is important to look at all the various cultural aspects that influence or impact a society. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Jeff Webb, for his help and guidance throughout this project. I greatly appreciate his patience, constructive criticism, and encouragement, all of which have not only influenced and improved my work but have helped me grow as an individual as well. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the late Dr. Peter Hart, my co-supervisor, whose guidance and advice helped me in the formative phase of my program. I will always remember the lessons he taught me. I also owe a great deal of gratitude to Dr. Sean Cadigan, who was my Newfoundland field supervisor and also a member of my supervisory committee. Again, his patience, advice, encouragement and guidance have helped improve my work. I also extend my thanks to Dr. Beverley Diamond, who provided helpful suggestions and advice that improved this thesis from its original version. Thank you to Dr. Chris Youé for reading my thesis and providing helpful feedback also. I must also thank my M.A. supervisor, Dr. Jerry Bannister, for his continuing friendship over the years. Dr. Shannon Ryan also deserves a huge thank you. I worked for him as both a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant during much of my program. I am not only indebted to him for this work experience, but also for his friendship and encouragement. I would like to thank my examining committee, Dr. Philip Hiscock, Dr. Dominique Brégent-Heald, and Dr. Richard MacKinnon, for taking the time to review my thesis and for offering helpful advice and encouragement. I would also like to thank Renée Clowe and Fran Warren, who provided administrative help and support, and were so friendly and kind in all our interactions. I am greatly indebted to the members of the cultural movement who gave me their time and spoke to me about their work, goals, and experiences. I extend a huge thank you to Sandy Morris, Pat Byrne, Joe Byrne, Mary Walsh, Greg Malone, Kelly Russell, Gerry Squires, Frank Lapointe, Edythe Goodridge, Donna Butt, Dave Panting, Chris Brookes, Christopher Pratt, Andy Jones, and Anita Best. I thank John Perlin and former Premier Brian Peckford for also speaking with me about the developments that occurred in the 1960s and 70s. I thank Dr. Melvin Baker, Memorial University Archivist, who allowed me complete access to the records of Extension Service. I would like to thank the staff at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, including Joan Ritcey, Debbie Andrews, Lorraine Cleary, Glenda Dawe, Jane Deal, Colleen Field, Jackie Hillier, Deanna Matthews, Stephanie Murray, Sharon Thompson, and Carl White. I must thank the staff at Archives and Special Collections, who helped me immensely in my research, in particular Linda White, Paulette Thomas, Debbie Edgecombe, Colleen Quigley, and Bert Riggs. I extend iv gratitude to the staff at the Rooms Provincial Archives, including Craig Tucker, Melanie Tucker, Larry Dohey, and Jessie Chisholm. I thank Memorial University and the School of Graduate Studies for providing funding throughout my program. I extend gratitude to the Institute of Social and Economic Research and the J.R. Smallwood Foundation for financial assistance during the course of my research. I am forever indebted to my family and friends who patiently listened as I excitedly talked about a new discovery and some progress made, eased my fears as I worried that my work would never be good enough, and encouragingly told me that no matter what everything would be ok. I must extend a special thank you to Dr. Carolyn Lambert for her support throughout my program. Much thanks to my husband Paul and my son Hunter. To Paul, a huge thank you for lovingly supporting me through this project and journey. I cannot express how much his encouragement has meant to me. And last, but certainly not least, to my son Hunter, who has made my life feel complete and reminds me every day what truly matters most. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................iii Table of Contents .....................................................................................................v Introduction...............................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: The Internal Antecedents of Newfoundland’s Cultural Movement….... 33 Chapter 2: Preserving the Best of Newfoundland’s Heritage................................... 79 Chapter 3: Searching for Identity ........................................................................... 148 Chapter 4: A Reflection of Ourselves ..................................................................... 205 Chapter 5: The Beginning of the End...................................................................... 250 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................283 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………295 Appendix A: Information on Interviews…………………………………………..311 1 Introduction In 1976, Sandra Gwyn brought Canadian attention to cultural developments occurring in Newfoundland in her Saturday Night magazine article “The Newfoundland Renaissance.” Her discussion focused on “the revival of art and theatre” in the 1960s and 1970s, and artists active in the visual arts, theatre, music, and literature. A Newfoundland- born journalist then living in Ontario, she referred to this movement as “the Newfcult phenomenon,” and argued that the artists involved were expressing their reaction to the political, social and economic changes that were caused by Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada in 1949.1 Gwyn also pointed to the role of federal cultural funding and government programs, such as resettlement, that arguably led to social and economic dependency, the declining fishery, and “the decay of the old way of outport life.” Gwyn suggested these artists were fighting to preserve “the best” of Newfoundland culture. One of those she interviewed for the article, Newfoundland painter Gerry Squires, who had left Newfoundland as a child and returned as an adult, for example, spoke about this surge of “creative energy.” “In 1949, Newfoundlanders were made to feel the most inferior people in North America,” he said, “as if there were some great monster out there telling us we were 200 years behind the times. But now we’re starting to get our identity back. And our dignity.”2 Newfoundlanders often perceive the province as culturally different from the rest of Canada. Some commentators, including artists and some politicians, have romanticized 1 Sandra Gwyn, “The Newfoundland Renaissance,” Saturday Night 91, 2 (April 1976), p. 40. 2 Gwyn, “The Newfoundland Renaissance,” pp. 40 and 45. 2 Newfoundland culture – lamenting the loss of a “traditional” culture and past once it became part of Canada and began to modernize.3 This interpretation became particularly prevalent in the latter part of the twentieth century due to the rapid political, social, and cultural changes that were occurring, and is often credited to a reaction to Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada in 1949 and such government programs as resettlement, a program that sought to centralize, urbanize, and modernize rural parts of the province. The cultural movement that began in the late 1960s, labeled by Gwyn as a “renaissance,” embodied a renewed interest in outport folk culture and local history