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The 'Othering'

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The 'Othering' The ‘othering’ of Africa and its diasporas in Western museum practices Carol Ann Dixon Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geography University of Sheffield August 2016 ii Abstract This thesis examines how curatorial approaches to the display and interpretation of artworks and cultural objects from the African continent, as well as works by diasporan artists of African descent, have changed over time in Western museums and galleries – focusing on histories and geographies of acquisition, collection development, exhibition assemblage, narrative interpretation and other curatorial practices. With particular reference to the culture sectors in Britain and France it investigates how and why exhibits with African provenance have been ‘othered’ in both ethnographic and fine art contexts, drawing on fieldwork undertaken at four case study institutions: the British Museum, Tate, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Through the application of qualitative research methods – including walk-through reviews of permanent holdings on display, archive-based surveys of past exhibitions, visual analysis of selected exhibits, and semi-structured interviews with curators and other creative professionals – questions are addressed in relation to the nature and extent of othering, the impacts of Self/Other binarism, and amelioration strategies to improve museum and gallery experiences for more diverse audiences. As prior scholarship in this field has tended to concentrate on colonial-era constructions of selfhood and otherness, primarily articulated and exhibited via ethnographic collections, this discursive investigation also examines postcolonial manifestations and legacies of othering observed in 21st century, post-modern displays of fine art. The theoretical perspectives of selected black feminist scholars provide the framework for adopting a non- adjunctive position of resistance from which to read ‘against (as well as along) the grain’ of established Western canons of knowledge and prevailing curatorial orthodoxy. By tracing the historical palimpsests and contemporary networks that connect artists, curators, objects and audiences over time and space, the inherent tensions, instabilities paradoxes and limitations of Self/Other binarism are exposed – opening up opportunities to consider alternative, more conceptually nuanced, inclusive and internationally dialogical museum practices in the West informed by the dynamics of transnationalism, diaspora formation and globalisation. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express sincerest thanks to Professor Peter Jackson and Dr Patricia Noxolo for all the support and advice they have given as co-supervisors of this doctoral research project. Thanks are also extended to the ten curatorial interviewees who took time to share information with me about their creative professional practice as museum directors, curators, artists and scholars. Listed alphabetically (by last name) they are: Dr Pascal Blanchard; Professor Eddie Chambers; Dr Clémentine Deliss; Professor Paul Goodwin; Professor Lubaina Himid; Dr Michael McMillan; Dr Bernard Müller; Dr Mike Phillips; Dr Chris Spring; and Professor Françoise Vergès. I am particularly grateful for all the expertise these arts, culture and heritage professionals imparted about designing and developing exhibitions, establishing international portfolios and conceptualising work in progress, as well as their sharing of insights gleaned from extensive research detailing ways to improve the display and interpretation of museum collections and fine art works pertaining to Africa and the African diasporas within Western exhibiting contexts. The additional support provided by French/English interpreter Sean Sheahan and translator Céline Graciet was invaluable to the successful completion of my Paris-based fieldwork, and enabled me to converse and correspond more fluently with key contacts in the French capital than would have been achieved independently. Heartfelt thanks are also extended to my parents, Vincent and Iona Dixon, for their unconditional love and unwavering words of encouragement; and also to my dearest friends John Harbottle and Lois Williams for being such supportive and sympathetic readers of my chapters during the writing-up phase of this research process. Lastly, I would like to thank the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), White Rose Doctoral Training Centre, Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID) and the geography department at the University of Sheffield for supporting my applications for research enhancement funding to participate in three international, interdisciplinary conferences – held in Paris (Black Portraiture(s) I: The Black Body in the West , 2013), Florence (Black Portraiture(s) II: Imaging the Black Body and Re-staging Histories, 2015) and Münster (AfroEurope@ns V: Black Cultures and Identities in Europe, 2015) – through which I was able to share emerging findings from my research with fellow postgraduates, established academics and wider audiences beyond the UK and France. iv Notes “West” and “Western” are referred to throughout the text using an upper-case “W” to denote a specific grouping of nation-states that are primarily located in Western Europe and North America. This study considers the West as a socio-economic, political and ideological construction as much as a geographical grouping of places. In line with Eduard Glissant’s statement, “L’Occident n’est pas à l’Ouest, ce n’est pas un lieu, c’est un projet” [“The West is not in the West, it is a project, not a place”] (Glissant 1981: 12), there is an acknowledgement that so-called Western nations have historically operated together as an international collective of industrialised countries to maintain similarly hegemonic positions of power, wealth and influence on the global stage (see also Hall 1992: 185-9, 2000: 225, Bonnett 2004: 4-7). The term “diasporas” is used throughout this document in preference to the more conventional usage of “diaspora” to specifically denote the complex pluralities and heterogeneities of Africans located in all parts of the world as a result of centuries of forced and voluntary migrations and movements. Unless otherwise stated, “diasporan” refers to members of the black African diasporas. Within the UK the identity descriptors “black,” “brown,” “Black and Minority Ethnic” (BME), “Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic” (BAME), and “people of colour” are used to refer to individuals and groups of people with African, Asian, Caribbean and/or Middle Eastern heritage, as well as those who identify with certain socio-political issues, aspects of cultural expression and shared lived experiences of these visibly minoritized communities. In France, the term “black” [“noir/noire”] is similarly used in reference to people with African, Antillean, Arabic/Middle Eastern and/or Asian heritage. Quotations from French sources cited and discussed in this thesis may also feature more narrowly defined references to people of African descent – and, consequently, use “black” in conjunction with (and distinct from) references to Maghrebi/North African or (more colloquially) “Beur(ette)” cultural identities. All these terms are mentioned and discussed as identity descriptors within this thesis, and my usage of them only varies to retain and respect the personal preferences of quoted individuals, or the specific form of words to denote ethnic diversity categorisations listed in formal reports, statistical surveys and other published documentation. v Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... x Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Self/Other binaries: social constructions with real consequences ............ 12 Prelude: H. K. Bhabha’s review of “Black Male” (1994) at the Whitney ................................. 12 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Histories and legacies of othering in British and French exhibiting contexts ....... 17 1.3 Museum legislation in the UK and France ............................................................................ 23 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 26 Prelude: Constructed selves and their imagined others: some thoughts on identity, (in)visibility and ‘un/marked’ bodies ................................................................................................... 26 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2 Race, racism and postcolonial theory ..................................................................................... 28 2.3 Museum geographies ..................................................................................................................... 31 2.4 Issues of embodiment and corporeality ...............................................................................
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