Canada at Expo 2005: Nation, Audience, and the Branded Display Complex: by Laurie J. Dalton A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Canadian Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2014 Laurie Dalton Abstract Popular culture events, such as world’s fairs, are important objects of study as they demonstrate how visual culture functions as an agent of nation branding on a global scale. Much of the research on these events has focused on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as sites of imperialism and modernism. Although less attention has been paid to contemporary world’s fairs, this study argues that these continue to be critical areas of study. Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan was the first world’s fair held in Asia in the twenty-first century. As global power dynamics shift to Asia, an examination of cultural events allows us to explore how countries hope to position themselves in this shift. My case study of the Canadian pavilion at Expo 2005 demonstrates how the display simultaneously projected a federal brand and reflected tourist expectations of Canada for the Japanese audience. I use a visual analysis drawing from iconology and visual semiotics to understand how the design of the pavilion represented the unique expectations of three different stakeholders: the organizers of the Aichi expo who sought to position Japan within a wider global framework, the Canadian federal planners who wanted to project a distinct Canadian identity abroad, and the attending public, who went to be entertained. I draw from critical studies in museology and nation branding to develop a framework, which I term the branded display complex to explain this complex form of representation. At Aichi, the brand of Canada continued to emphasize meta-narratives such as ‘Logs and Rocks,’ ‘Great White North,’ and ‘Unity in Diversity.’ Furthermore, I show that nations are branding themselves in a way that is coded for the audience. Tourism strategies such as collecting and digital interfaces that promote participation result in an experience that personalizes the nation, which in turn contributes to its capacity of being internalized. The branded display complex suggests that in the competitive global exchange such as a world’s fair, pavilions must rely on systems of differentiation, which alter how we come to engage with, and know, the nation on display. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Allan Ryan, not only for his thorough feedback on my dissertation, but also for his support and belief in me, and my work. I would like to express my gratitude to my external, Dr. Evan Potter, whose insightful comments on my framework for the branded display complex helped me to think it through more fully. To my Trent representative, Dr. Keith Walden, thank you for your commitment to the project and to your constructive feedback. To my remaining committee members at Carleton, Dr. Angela Carr and Dr. Anne Trepanier, thank your for your focused questions. There have been many individuals who have provided helpful feedback, and more importantly, support during this process. I want to thank Sue Easun for editing suggestions in earlier versions. This process has taught me that it is important to share struggles and triumphs with those around you, and the importance of community. This acknowledgement would be as long as this dissertation if I listed everyone, but you know who you are. To Jennifer, Kat, Burc, Beth, Phyllis and Matthew, thank you for being there. In particular I would like to offer a special thanks to Rachel and Zelda, whose insightful comments and whose unwavering support and friendship is invaluable to me. Merci, again. My deepest gratitude goes to Sean who is always up for another one of my adventures and whose unfaltering belief in me leaves me speechless. All I can say is ‘franks and beans.’ And to the boys - Toby, Murray and Howard. iii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... iv Illustrations ................................................................................................................. v 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 2 Framework for Analysis: Context of Production and Access ........................... 23 I: Situating Context: Panofsky and Iconography ........................................................... 23 II: Context of Production: Nation Branding and Tourism ............................................ 35 III: Context of Access: Thinking Through Display ......................................................... 49 3 Situating Canada at World’s Fairs ...................................................................... 70 I: Government Hegemony and Universal Expositions .................................................. 72 II: Display at Universal Expositions: ............................................................................... 82 Cabinet of Curiosity to Digital Technologies III: Picturing Landscape in Universal Expositions ......................................................... 93 4 Setting the Stage for Branding: Layout, Participation and Technology at Aichi ................................................................................................................. 111 I: Locating the Canadian pavilion at Aichi: ................................................................... 112 An Exercise in Foreign Relations II: World's Fairs as Social Space: Global Loop, Pulsing, and Organization of Visitors .......................................................................................... 127 III. Technology and Object Lessons ............................................................................... 135 5 Projecting Canada: Multiculturalism and Landscape ..................................... 154 I. Fractured Display: The Trope of Multiculturalism ................................................... 155 II: Greening Canada: Reading the Maple Leaf ............................................................... 170 6 Selling Canada to Japan: Tourist Images and Collected Objects ................... 192 I: Tourism and Place: Signifying Canada ....................................................................... 192 II. Place and Imagination: The Aurora Borealis ............................................................ 197 III. Place and People: Anne of Green Gables ................................................................. 206 IV: Making it Personal: Souvenirs .................................................................................. 213 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 226 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 246 iv Illustrations Figure 3.1. Crystal Palace, Great Exhibition 1851, London. | source: Illustrated London News, British Library, MS 35255, 83. Figure 3.2. Crystal Palace, Great Exhibition 1851, London. | source: Official Descriptive Catalogue and Illustrated Catalogue: Great Exhibition 1851, (London: 1851), 84. Figure 3.3. Canadian Section, Great Exhibition 1851, London. | source: Official Descriptive Catalogue and Illustrated Catalogue: Great Exhibition 1851, (London: 1851), 88. Figure 3.4. Film Still, Polar Life, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Graeme Ferguson, 91. Figure 3.5. Installation view, Canada ‘67, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Library and Archives Canada, 92. Figure 3.6. Canadian Timber Trophy, Canadian Section, Great Exhibition 1851, London. | source: Official Descriptive Catalogue and Illustrated Catalogue: Great Exhibition 1851, (London: 1851), 95. Figure 3.7. Sleigh, Canadian Section, Great Exhibition 1851, London. | source: Official Descriptive Catalogue and Illustrated Catalogue: Great Exhibition 1851, (London: 1851). 98. Figure 3.8. Overview of Canadian section, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Library and Archives Canada, 101. Figure 3.9. Architectural Plan, Man the Producer, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Library and Archives Canada, 103. Figure 3.10. Pulp and Paper pavilion, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Bill Cotter of www.worldsfairphotos.com, 104. Figure 3.11. Steel pavilion, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Bill Cotter of www.worldsfairphotos.com,105. Figure 3.12. People Tree showing detail of Canadian flag, Expo 1967, Montreal, Canada. | source: Bill Cotter of www.worldsfairphotos.com, 106. Figure 4.1. Overview of expo grounds, Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan. | source: Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition. Official Guidebook, (Japan: 2005), 120. Figure 4.2. Global Loop, Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan. | source: Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition. Official Guidebook, (Japan: 2005), 121. Figure 4.3. Birds-Eye View of Canadian pavilion on Global Commons 2, Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan. | source: Laurie Dalton, 124. Figure 4.4. Exterior of Canadian pavilion, Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan. | source: Laurie Dalton, 127. v Figure 4.5. Blueprint of Canadian pavilion,