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Networks of Memory: Vernacular Photography, (New) Media, and Meaning Making

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Networks of Memory: Vernacular Photography, (New) Media, and Meaning Making Networks of Memory: Vernacular Photography, (New) Media, and Meaning Making by Megan Allison Robertson M.A., University British Columbia, 2008 B.A., University of British Columbia, 2005 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology Megan Allison Robertson 2017 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2017 Approval Name: Megan Allison Robertson Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Networks of Memory: Vernacular Photography, (New) Media, and Meaning Making Examining Committee: Chair: Kirsten McAllister Associate Professor Jan Marontate Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Alison Beale Supervisor Professor Kate Hennessy Supervisor Assistant Professor School of Interactive Art and Technology Frederik Lesage Internal Examiner Assistant Professor Joan Schwartz External Examiner Professor Department of Art History & Art Conservation Queen’s University Date Defended/Approved: January 25, 2017 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract Vernacular photography can be broadly defined as “ordinary photographs, the ones made or bought (or sometimes bought and then made-over) by everyday folk from 1839 until now” (Batchen, 2001, p.57). At first glance, with digital media and online communication technologies that allow us to send and receive countless images on a daily basis, contemporary social conventions associated with vernacular photography appear vastly different than they did in the mid-nineteenth century. What persists in the use (and reuse) of vernacular photographs is how they are called upon in meaning- making activities to help understand the past in and for the present. In this dissertation I examine meaning-making activities linked to recalling and reflecting on the past in specific ways: how historical exhibitions of vernacular photographs have influenced current practices of online exhibition; and how vernacular photographs are remediated and taken up in memory practices involving two particular projects, Collected Visions and Dear Photograph, that display crowd-sourced vernacular photographs in both gallery and online spaces. My research is informed by Actor-network theory (ANT) approaches that emphasize how action takes place in nodes where different actors meet and influence one another (Latour, 2005). Vernacular photographs and their exhibitions are the result of complex interactions between people, media, and technologies where information and meaning making is transformed, translated, and modified (Latour, 2005, p. 39). Research for this dissertation included visits to museums and archives and interviews with artists and curators who work with vernacular photographs. The variety of methods employed complement one another and allow for a type of ‘process-tracing’ where a variety of different data from different sources are examined to consider “the links between possible causes and observed outcomes” (George & Bennett, 2004, p. 6). Through analytical ‘origin stories,’ I present narratives of Collected Visions and Dear Photograph tracing how vernacular photographs are used, remediated, and displayed in ways that allow for the possibility of online spaces of exchange. I then offer ‘microstories’ that describe encounters with specific images and texts in Collected Visions and Dear Photograph in an effort to document memory work processes that emerged during my research. Keywords: vernacular photography; exhibition; remediation; memory; online communication iv Acknowledgements Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Jan Marontate, whose continued encouragement helped this project develop and whose continued support allowed me to see it through. I am a fortunate and grateful recipient of Dr. Marontate’s kindness and patience. The members of my committee, Dr. Alison Beale and Dr. Kate Hennessy, offered thoughtful insight into my work and I am thankful for their support. Thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Simon Fraser University School of Communication for funding this research project. Many thanks are owed to the individuals who made time to share their knowledge with me in interviews for this dissertation: Grant Arnold, Karen Duffek, Martha Langford, Lorie Novak, Hélène Samson, Jeff Topham, Andrew Topham, and Brian Wallis. I also thank those individuals, Céline Michel, Marianne Nicolson, and Jeff Topham, and institutions, the McCord Museum and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia for permission to include their photographs in this dissertation. My colleagues at the Student Learning Commons, the Graduate Research Commons, the British Columbia Electronic Library Network, and the Visual Studies Lab have enriched my time at Simon Fraser University. Thank you, in particular, to Lisa Poole, Maggie Chao, and Nathan Clarkson. Nathan, you encouraged me to use logic on the first day I met you, and I have endeavoured to do so ever since. Thank you to: Gillian Batey, Dana Gage, Michelle Harper, Steph Jameson, Andrea McCrea, Jen Paulin, Drew Paulin, Michal Ruhr, and Michelle Savich. Whether near or far, I have been so fortunate to have you in my corner through this process. To my aunt Margot, uncle Donald, cousins Andrea and Brandon: simply and always, love and thanks. Mum, Dad, Grandma, Ian, Roxanne, Maëlle – none of this would have been possible without you. You are my daily reminders that all of us are better when we are loved. v Table of Contents Approval .............................................................................................................................ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................vi List of Figures................................................................................................................... vii Quotation...........................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Travelling Concepts in Action ............................................................... 30 Chapter 3. Evolving Histories: Understandings and Exhibitions of Vernacular Photography ........................................................................ 84 Chapter 4. Methodology .......................................................................................... 138 Chapter 5. Origin Stories: Collected Visions ........................................................ 178 Chapter 6. Origin Stories: Dear Photograph ......................................................... 209 Chapter 7. Microstories: Contributions to Collected Visions and Dear Photograph ............................................................................................ 239 Chapter 8. Concluding Reflections ........................................................................ 301 References ................................................................................................................ 312 Appendix. Interview Guide Example – Lorie Novak ............................................... 334 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Marianne Nicolson, Waxemedlagin xusbandayu' (Even Though I am the Last One, I Still Count), 2000, mixed media, part a: 151.5 x 110 x 6 cm, part b: 151 x 110.5 x 6.5 cm. Collection of Museum of Anthropology, Nb3. 1494 a-b. Photograph by Jessica Bushey. Courtesy UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada. Used with Permission ................................................................................ 7 Figure 2. John Topham, Andrew and Evelyn, ca. 1977, photograph. Topham family collection, Vancouver, Canada. Used with permission ............................................................................................... 12 Figure 3. Jeff Topham, Andrew and Jeff Topham rephotographing in Monrovia with help from Mickey Watkins, 2010, DVD still. Used with permission ........................................................................................ 13 Figure 4. Michael Shoebridge and Paul Simons, pins and badges associated with Pine Point from Welcome to Pine Point, 2011, interactive webpage ................................................................................. 18 Figure 5. Michael Shoebridge and Paul Simons, hand-drawn aesthetic of Pine Point Welcome to Pine Point, 2011, interactive webpage ............... 20 Figure 6. Case Study Layers. Adapted from “A Typology for the Case Study in Social Science Following a Review of Definition, Discourse, and Structure,” by Gary Thomas, 2011. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(6), p. 518. ........................................................................................................ 147 Figure 7. Exhibition panel, Devoir de mémoire Honouring Memory – Canada’s Residential Schools, 2013, online reproduction. McCord Museum, Montreal. Used with Permission. ........................................... 160 Figure 8. Order of Research Activities and Dissertation Preparation 2011- 2016 ......................................................................................................
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