But Is It Art? : the Construction and Valuation of Illustration in Victoria's Island Illustrators Society Shannon Jaleen Grove Ryerson University
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Ryerson University Digital Commons @ Ryerson Theses and dissertations 1-1-2006 But is it art? : the construction and valuation of illustration in Victoria's Island Illustrators Society Shannon Jaleen Grove Ryerson University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations Part of the Visual Studies Commons Recommended Citation Grove, Shannon Jaleen, "But is it art? : the construction and valuation of illustration in Victoria's Island Illustrators Society" (2006). Theses and dissertations. Paper 72. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Ryerson. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ryerson. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BUT IS IT ART? THE CONSTRUCTION AND VALUATION OF ILLUSTRATION IN VICTORIA’S ISLAND ILLUSTRATORS SOCIETY by Shannon Jaleen Grove Bachelor of Fine Art. Emily Carr Institute, 1999 A thesis presented to Ryerson University and York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of the Arts In the Programme Joint Programme in Communication and Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2006 © S. Jaleen Grove 2006 ii Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis or dissertation. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis or dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis or dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. iii Abstract BUT IS IT ART? THE CONSTRUCTION AND VALUATION OF ILLUSTRATION IN VICTORIA’S ISLAND ILLUSTRATORS SOCIETY Master of the Arts 2006 Shannon Jaleen Grove Joint Programme in Communication and Culture Ryerson University and York University In Canada, illustration, commercial art, and conservative, traditional art are often spoken of as separate from and opposite to “non-commercial”, “contemporary art”, a division I argue stems from the older distinction between art and craft but one that can be subverted. Using concepts from Gowans, Greenhalgh, Mortenson, Shiner, and Bourdieu’s theory of the field of cultural production, this thesis traces the sociology and art history of the division between traditional and modern art that led to the formation of the Island Illustrators Society in 1985 in Victoria, British Columbia. I argue illustration is an original, theoretical art form indistinguishable from but alienated by contemporary art, that conservative art is neither static nor irrelevant, and that non-commercial contemporary art is a misnomer. I find the Society challenged the definitions of art and illustration by promoting illustrative fine art and by transcending binary oppositions of conservative and contemporary, commercial and non-commercial. iv Acknowledgements Dozens of people helped me on this project, and I consider it a joint effort. Space prevents me from naming everyone personally, but I wish to thank the members and staff of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, and students, staff and faculty at the Ontario College of Art for assisting me in developing my research questions. I also thank individuals at the F.H. Varley Art Gallery and faculty at Concordia University, University of Calgary, University of Victoria, Camosun College, Victoria College of Art, and Vancouver Island School of Art for many discussions and interviews. At Ryerson and York universities, many people went out of their way to secure equipment, give me research and teaching opportunities, offer advice and moral support, and give me full scholarships. Fellow students in Communication and Culture on the list- serve and the Graduate Student Association were another precious resource, while certain individuals in Toronto and Victoria provided shelter, transportation and food at critical times. I thank Heather Linton for assistance in compiling survey data. Members and exmembers of the Island Illustrators Society have been very gracious in allowing me access to membership lists and the entire archives, and I warmly thank all those who responded to my telephone calls out of the blue. This thesis would not have been possible without the co-operation of the dozens of artists who took the time to complete and send back the survey. XChanges was very helpful in this regard. I am also grateful for the generosity and frankness of all who consented to interviews, and to Tim Gardner for permission to use his work in a focus group. Affiliates of Deluge Gallery, Open Space, the Limners Society, 50-50 Collective, Ministry of Casual Living, North Park Gallery and the Victoria Sketch Club also helped me. v All artwork reproduced here is by the kind permission of the artists. I also thank the Belfry Theatre for the use of their poster. I am indebted to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV), Colin Graham, Frank Malerby, and Robert Genn for permission to quote from private correspondence on file at the AGGV. The AGGV has also authorized the citation of unpublished records. I am likewise grateful to Ken Danby for allowing me to quote from his letter to me. My committee has been excellent. I appreciate the efforts of Anna Hudson, Lorraine Janzen, and my supervisor Ed Slopek for guiding me through such a large and multifaceted project. vi Dedication To George Grove who had to stay behind in Vancouver alone while I lived it up in Toronto libraries for eighteen months vii Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction of the Topic 1 1.2 Island Illustrators Society 8 1.3 Victoria 10 1.4 Research Problem 13 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 15 3.0 METHODOLOGY 41 3.1 Discursive Realism 41 3.2 Textual Records 45 4.0 ILLUSTRATION: VALUES AND BEING 48 4.1 Craft and the Concrete Perception of Art 48 4.2 Conjuring and Doubling: Semiotic Slippage 57 5.0 STATUS OF ILLUSTRATION 67 6.0 THE FIELD OF CULTURAL PRODUCTION IN VICTORIA 77 6.1 Artistic Conservatism in Victoria 77 6.2 Illustration and Illustrative Fine Art in Victoria, 1900-1980 82 6.3 Struggle in the Field: Conservative and Contemporary 1960-1980 98 7.0 STUDY IMPLEMENTATION AND FINDINGS 114 7.1 Autoethnography 114 7.2 Interpretive Reception Research: Interviews 117 7.3 Field Survey 121 7.4 Focus Group and Experiment 129 7.5 Textual Records 136 8.0 DISCUSSION: ISLAND ILLUSTRATORS IN THE FIELD 138 8.1 Introduction 138 8.2 Illustration as Art 139 8.3 Conservatism in the Island Illustrators Society 149 8.4 Commercial and Non-commercial 155 8.5 Conclusion 160 ILLUSTRATIONS 165 APPENDICES 179 BIBLIOGRAPHY 211 viii List of Illustrations Artist Title Page 1. Steve Kergin Circle of Light 165 2. Nelson Dewey Storyboard 166 3. Ron Stacy Above All 167 4. Victor Bosson Empress Jingo Goes Shopping 168 5. Kristi Bridgeman Saanich Banner 169 6. Karel Doruyter Birth of Raven (Raven Series) 170 7. Carl Coger Jobs 171 8. Dar Churcher Just Imagine 172 9. Grant Leier Belfry Theatre Poster 173 10. Mowry Baden Pavilion, Rock, Shell 174 11. Tim Gardner Untitled (Family Portrait 1) 175 12. Tim Gardner Untitled (Mom With Sons at Christmas) 176 13. Tim Gardner Blind Ambition 177 ix List of Appendices APPENDIX A Focus Group Experiment 179 APPENDIX B Survey 180 APPENDIX C Telephone Directory Listings, 1891-2005 203 APPENDIX D Interview Questions 204 APPENDIX E Island Illustrators Society Membership 205 APPENDIX F Limners Society Membership 209 x Note About Symbols In order to avoid tedious repetition and footnotes I have implemented a system of symbols following the names of artists, to indicate their relationship to Victoria or the Island Illustrators Society. * denotes an artist who has been a full member of the Island Illustrators Society ^ denotes an artist who resides or has resided in or near Victoria. The artist may also have been an associate member of Island Illustrators or served as a guest speaker at a meeting. ~ denotes an artist who has lived in British Columbia but not in Victoria. All members – full, life, associate – of Island Illustrators are listed alphabetically in Appendix E. xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction of the Topic When the establishment of the modern European conception of art congealed in the eighteenth century, it was predicated on a division of the fine from the applied arts. The genesis of this division, described by Mortenson (1997) and Shiner (2001), was necessary for the rise of the middle class who needed to demonstrate difference from the peasantry, and for a new system of knowledge that increasingly segregated analytical thought (reason) from imagination. Where in medieval and early modern times the picture painter was a tradesman like any other, in the new era “he” became a gentleman possessing both taste and divine inspiration – a “genius”. The artist’s Art was contrasted to the artisan’s craft, the former supposedly an intellectual endeavour while the latter was one of just skill. “Art” was commonly capitalized to indicate its nobler position compared to the common arts, such as cooking or needlework. Where painting was once always performed for religious reasons, for the recording of stories or events, for beautification or for representing an absent thing or person (Gowans, 1966), painting for Art began to break away from service. It was purportedly no longer for an extrinsic purpose – it was intrinsically worthy, Art for Art’s sake. Other forms of painting, such as signpainting, continued much as they always had, taught by apprenticeship and guided by guild and tradition. The two types of art have been discussed under various nomenclatures. I have just mentioned Art and craft, but they have also been called fine art and applied art, or fine art and commercial art or fine art and industrial art.