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Ethics and the Art of Vernon Ah Kee

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Ethics and the Art of Vernon Ah Kee The Critical Image: Ethics and the Art of Vernon Ah Kee A Thesis submitted by Jason John Castro, MVA For the award of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Abstract For Lithuanian philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, the idea of totality and infinity is made possible due to the notion that the Other is irreducible to comprehension (Levinas1996, p.6). The Other overflows any meaning that can be attributed and any attempt to reduce the subject to a concept is a form of ‘totalisation’. Levinas’s Other is ‘infinite’, in that the subject exceeds any concept that one can possibly designate (Levinas 1969, p.22). The Other is beyond my full understanding; I cannot comprehend the maximum extent of their complexities, subtleties, choices and freedom. I can only come ‘face to face’ with them, in dialogue. This thesis applies the concept of Levinas’s ‘face to face’ theory to the contemporary artwork of Australian Indigenous artist Vernon Ah Kee. I introduce the term ‘critical image’ to describe works of art that have criticality at their core and enter into dialogues that challenge contemporary thought. I ask, if Vernon Ah Kee’s images are ‘critical images’ what are they critical of? In response to this question, I examine the colonial context of Ah Kee’s work, including the role of anthropology in creating colonial identities for Indigenous Australians. Ah Kee’s artwork is discussed in relationship to Levinas’s key concepts of ‘responsibility’, ‘proximity’, ‘infinity’ and ‘totality’. Levinas’s theories, it is argued, are useful tools in examining Ah Kee’s work in that they provide an ethical framework for interactions with the Other, preserving their alterity, and confronting us in the way we see Other people. This thesis utilises a post colonial methodology that incorporates art criticism and philosophical questioning. This study recontextualises colonial critique within the ethical framework of Levinas’s thought, not only reconsidering the usage of Levinas but repositioning Ah Kee’s work in this new context. i Certification of Thesis This thesis is entirely the work of Jason John Castro except where otherwise acknowledged. The work is original and has not previously been submitted for any other award, except where acknowledged. Student and supervisors signatures of endorsement are held at USQ. David Akenson Principal Supervisor Kyle Jenkins Associate Supervisor Celmara Pocock Associate Supervisor ii Acknowledgments This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. I would like to sincerely thank: Dr. David Akenson for his supervision and support during my candidature at USQ. His input has been pertinent to the completion of this thesis. Dr. Kyle Jenkins for his contribution to the early stage of my research and project development. Dr Celmara Pocock for her insight into the colonial context of Ah Kee’s work and the feedback that she contributed to that chapter. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….i Certification of Thesis………………………………………………….......................…...ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………….iii List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................. vii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………....1 Chapter One: Literature Review…………………………………………………………13 Chapter Two: Face to Face: Emmanuel Levinas………………………………………..31 2.1 Irreducible to Comprehension………………………………………………..32 2.2 Responsibility…………………………………………………………………..33 2.3 Infinity………………………………………………………………………….35 2.4 Totalisation…………………………………………………………………….37 2.5 Ethics…………………………………………………………………………...38 2.6 Sensibility………………………………………………………………………39 2.7 Vision: the Caress and the Grasp…………………………………………….41 2.8 Language: saying and the said………………………………………………..43 2.9 Justice…………………………………………………………………………..44 iv Chapter Three: The Critical Image: Levinas and Art………………………………….46 Chapter Four: The Colonial Context: the Racial Other………………………………..52 4.1 Officially Subhuman…………………………………………………………..53 4.2 Norm/Deviance Model………………………………………………………...55 4.3 Norman Tindale and Dying Race Theories………………………………….56 4.4 Photography and Anthropology……………………………………………...61 4.5 Anthropology: a Critique from Within………………………………………67 4.6 Inequality in Mainstream Society…………………………………………….72 Chapter Five: Vernon Ah Kee: the Artist and Ethics.....................................................75 5.1 The Portraits: the Transforming Tindale Exhibition................................... 75 5.2 Responsibility....................................................................................................82 5.3 Unwritten series: Representing Totality........................................................ 90 5.4 Text works: the saying and the said................................................................98 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................105 Bibliography......................................................................................................................110 Appendix A: Relationship Between Practical and Theoretical Research....................118 v List of Illustrations Fig.1.Norman Tindale, George Sibley, 1938. Source: Tindale Genealogical Collection, State Library Queensland, Viewed 2 May 2014, www.slq.qld.gov.au/showcase/transforming-tindale/gallery Fig. 2.Transforming Tindale Exhibition 2012. Source: ‘Eating With Artists’, A Magazine, viewed 1 March 2013. amagazine.com.au/eating-with-artists-vernon-ah-kee Fig.3.Vernon Ah Kee, See Me 2006. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.46. Fig.4.Vernon Ah Kee, Austracism 2004. Source: National Gallery of Australia, Viewed 8 July2014, https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=129593 Fig.5.Vernon Ah Kee, Austracism (detail) 2004. Source: National Gallery of Australia, Viewed 8 July2014, https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=129593 vii Fig.6. Vernon Ah Kee, unwritten 2008. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.112. Fig.7.Vernon Ah Kee, Born In This Skin 2008. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.110. Fig.8.Vernon Ah Kee, Born In This Skin 2008. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.109. Fig.9.Vernon Ah Kee, Who Let the Dogs Out 2008. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.14 Fig.10. Vernon Ah Kee, acceptance 2005. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.41. Fig. 11. Vernon Ah Kee, If I Was White 1999/2002. Source: Ah Kee, V (2009), Born In This Skin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane p.28. viii Fig. 12.Jason Castro, Anthropological Pokemon: Gotta Catch Em All, 2013. Source: Castro, J (2013). Fig. 13. Jason Castro, Little White Lies 1 2012. Source: Castro, J (2012). Fig. 14. Jason Castro, Little White Lies 2 2012. Source: Castro, J (2012). Fig.15. Edward Curtis, Son of the Desert-Navaho 1904. Source: viewed 2 April 2016, https://edwardscurtis.com/portfolio_large_prints/Plate%2032.htm Fig. 16. Picture Two of the Mountain Chant Ceremonies 1994. Source: viewed 2 March 2017, http://navajopeople.org/navajo-sand-painting.htm Fig. 17. Jason Castro, Sand Painting Grid 2012. Source: Castro, J (2012). Fig. 18. Jason Castro, Sand Application 2012. Source: Castro, J (2012). ix Fig. 19. Jason Castro, Little White Lies 1 (detail) 2012. Source: Castro, J (2012). Fig. 20. Jason Castro, Mexican Blanket (Caste) 1 2013. Source: Castro, J (2013). Fig. 21. Jason Castro, Mexican Blanket (Caste) 2 2013. Source: Castro, J (2013). Fig. 22. Jason Castro, One Little, Two Little (2014). Source: Castro, J (2014). Fig. 23. Jason Castro, Kill, Kill, Kill (2016). Source: Castro, J (2014). Fig. 24. Jason Castro, Face to Face (Video Still) 2015. Source: Castro, J (2015). x Introduction The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas argues that we are primarily ethical beings. We are defined by our responsibilities and obligations to Other people. In his theory of the ‘face to face’ relationship, Levinas asserts that we are confronted by that which is different to us when we communicate with Other people. The Other challenges us and questions our being, placing limits on our ego through reminding us we are not alone. When we come ‘face to face’ with Others we are captivated by their presence and forced to respond, even if that response is a lack of response. The Other takes us out of the comfort of our possession of the world and forces us to share. The philosophy of Levinas is significant in that it challenges many of the cornerstones of Western thought such as the shifting from an ego-centric notion of self to one that is dependent on our interactions and responsibilities to Other people. Levinas does not speak specifically about the racial Other, however, in this thesis I will be extending Levinas’s thought by applying it to a new context. This work can be seen as part of the newly emerging third wave of Levinas’s scholarship. Philosophers Peter Atterton and Matthew Calarco state that the first wave of Levinas study focused primarily on responding to his first major work Totality and Infinity (Levinas 1969). The Second wave focused on Jacques Derrida’s response to this first major work, and Levinas’s second major work, Otherwise than Being: or Beyond Essence (Levinas 1981). Atterton and Calarco state that a new third wave of Levinas criticism is emerging that is “concerned primarily with
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