NEGOTIATING the NATION the Work of Joyce Wieland 1968-1976 by KRISTY ARLENE HOLMES a Thesis Submitted to the Department Of
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NEGOTIATING THE NATION The Work of Joyce Wieland 1968-1976 by KRISTY ARLENE HOLMES A thesis submitted to the Department of Art in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada December, 2007 Copyright © Kristy Arlene Holmes, 2007 Abstract This thesis investigates the work of the Canadian artist and filmmaker Joyce Wieland (1930-1998) from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s in relation to its historical conditions of production and considers both her film and non-film work, including quilts, embroidery and prints. To examine these artistic media together not only provides a means to re-contextualize Wieland’s work, but rethinks disciplinary boundaries and contributes to a renovation of both art historical and filmic methods of critical inquiry. Wieland’s work from this period serves as an exemplary case study of the ways in which female artists have consistently had to negotiate contemporaneous constructions of femininity/feminism, modernity, and representation in relation to their art practice. I argue that Wieland consistently explored, through aesthetic means, the terms by which contemporary re-conceptualizations of gendered, classed, and raced identities were being defined as new national subjects within the Canadian nation-state. I begin by outlining the ways in which Wieland’s work as been constructed within the dominant narratives of Canadian art and film, and argue that the disciplines that generated them, with their formalist and textual foci, inhibit larger discussions of the historical, political and cultural contexts of Wieland’s art production. Each chapter subsequently examines an identity that emerged as a collective during the late 1960s in Canada –women, the working classes, French Canadians, and aboriginal peoples– that Wieland aesthetically explores. Through her engagement with second-wave feminism, the development of the New Left in English and French Canada, Québécois nationalism, and shifting notions of aboriginal identity, Wieland’s art production visually materializes the intersection of feminism and nationalism –discourses that were actively circulating in Canada during this period. ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisors, Lynda Jessup and Susan Lord, for their support, guidance, advice, and unwavering confidence in my abilities and academic work over the past five years. It was this confidence that often kept me motivated during the most difficult and overwhelming moments of this degree. I would like to thank Lynda for her sensitive mentoring and support, both academic and personal, especially during a very stressful transition into a new career whilst finishing my thesis. Her patience and astute editing of this thesis was nothing short of monumental (and miraculous) and her suggestions, as much as I did not want to hear them sometimes, have subsequently made me a better writer and scholar than I ever could have hoped to be. I know her periodic phone calls to “check in,” though cleverly disguised as casual conversation, were to keep me focussed –and it worked. For not forgetting about me, for her caring “pestering,” and for the most difficult, but rewarding, learning experience, I am truly grateful to Lynda. I would like to thank Susan for taking me on as her student and her enthusiasm for this project from its inception. This thesis could not have been written without Susan’s insightful suggestions especially at the beginning of this project when I knew so little about feminist theory and avant-garde experimental film. The many conversations we had about Wieland’s films, and feminism in general, inspired me to think in new ways that I never thought possible. Susan’s encouragement and generosity, both academic and personal, throughout this degree have kept me going during some of the most trying periods. Over the last several years, there have been numerous people that have assisted me with my research and whose expertise made my research trips both efficient and iii extremely rewarding. At the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University, a number of archivists and students helped me with my primary research on Joyce Wieland’s personal papers and answered my multitude of questions and queries. In particular I would like to thank Suzanne Dubeau, Assistant Head, Michael Moir, Head Archivist, and Sean Smith, Assistant Archivist. At the National Gallery of Canada I would like to thank Cyndie Campbell, Head of Archives, Documentation, and Visual Resources, for assisting me with research on Wieland’s exhibition files and for her genuine enthusiasm for the project. I have also had the opportunity to speak with several curators and scholars whose insights into Wieland’s work and exhibitions have been extremely helpful. I would like to thank Kathryn Elder, Film and Video Librarian at York University, Denise Leclerc, Associate Curator of Modern Canadian Art at the National Gallery of Canada, and Philip Monk, Director/Curator of the Art Gallery of York University. During the last few months of editing my two research assistants, Kari Cwynar and Jessica Hastings, took on several daunting tasks that helped me immensely. I would like to thank Kari for her excellent work scanning all of my images, and Jessica who transcribed Wieland’s films and who took an unruly and woefully incomplete bibliography and created an incredibly professional one. Although not directly involved in my thesis, I would like to thank Janice Helland for her advice, guidance and support throughout my doctoral studies as well as the opportunity to teach in the Women’s Studies Department. Janice’s mentorship has meant a lot to me over the years, perhaps more than she knows, and I was especially grateful for her advice when I had to make difficult decisions regarding my career. I would like to iv thank Vojtech Jirat-Wasiutynski for always taking the time to ask me how my research was going, for his advice and suggestions, and for always believing in me, even when I did not believe in myself. As an undergraduate student he once told me that if there was one thing that I loved, it was a challenge –and he was right. Throughout the writing and editing process, when things often seemed so bleak that they would never get done, I often replayed these words in my head. Indeed, completing this challenge has been the most rewarding. For Vojtech, who should have been here to see this project to its completion and who would have been most proud, I thank for always staying with me even though he was gone. This thesis has also benefited from numerous conversations with other scholars, in particular I would like to thank Blaine Allan, Frances Leeming and Clive Robertson. During my research trips to Ottawa, Heather and Robin Carriere always welcomed me into their home with a warm bed and a home cooked meal. My sister, Melissa Holmes, although she never cooked me a meal and we had to share a bed, I thank for letting me stay with her during my numerous research trips to Toronto. She always made the long commute to York University and a hard day in the archive a little more bearable. I would also like to thank Thea Burns who graciously allowed me to stay in her home while I finished writing. I could not have asked for a more beautiful and inspiring place to have lived and worked. I have been very fortunate to have made a number of friends over the course of my doctoral studies that have made this process, dare I say, fun. To my “first husband,” Angela Roberts, my comrade throughout, I thank for being a wonderful roommate and a lifelong friend. Susan Cahill, Kristin Campbell, Judy Ciccaliogne, Peter Coffman, Keri Cronin, Ryan Lombard, Erin Morton, Kirsty v Robertson, Emily Rothwell, Allison Sherman, Andrea Terry, and Ann Marie and Zane Piekenbrock have been supportive and wonderful friends over the last five years. In particular I must thank Erin and Ryan who have fed me, housed me, drove me, and moved me too many times to count and for which I am very grateful. Although no one in my family really knows what I have been doing for the last five years, I must thank my parents, step-parents, in-laws, and extended family for being supportive in the best way they knew how –they will all be pleased to know that yes, it is done now and no, I am no longer in school. To all my closest girlfriends, Nancy Aza, Sara Belanger, Heather Carriere, Lisa Curran-Lehman, Lindsay Gluck, Andrea Lohman, Robin Whaling, Amanda Stieva, and Rhonneke VanRiezen, thank you for keeping me sane –without your friendship and your laughs I never would have survived this. For the last five years, I have consistently put Robin Moss last and he never complained. I promise that this will be the last time. For his unfailing support, encouragement, love, and patience I thank Robin for putting up with me through one of the most challenging and difficult things I have ever done. That we ended up married at the end of it is a true testament to his character and the best reward I could have asked for. Dedicated in loving memory of Vojtech Jirat-Wasiutynski vi Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………...ii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………...iii Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………..vii List of Illustrations …………………………………………………………………….....ix Chapter I Introduction: Why the Work of Joyce Wieland Matters ……………………………..1 “Archive Fever” …………………………………………………………………………..6 Chapter Content ...……………………………………………………………………….12 Who Cares About the 1960s? …………………………………………………………...15