I THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY accumulation/ablation by Diane Edith Colwell A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ART CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2010 ©Diane Edith Colwell 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-69413-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-69413-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada Ill ABSTRACT This support paper accompanies the thesis exhibition "accumulation/ablation" held at The Nickle Arts Museum from August 13 to September 17, 2010. The paper is structured into three chapters with the first section providing the background and the theoretical and cultural influences that have contributed to and inspired my work. Here I examine my research involving the socio-political concerns of landscape, nature and experience and the critical dialogue on art and photography. In the second chapter I survey some of my previous work and address issues relating to representation and reproduction. The final chapter and conclusion discuss the thesis exhibition and how the artworks refer to each other in regards to the real, the reproduction and illusion. The installation is comprised of three related and complementary bodies of work that incorporate photographs, mixed-media images, found objects, artefacts, documents and books. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Clyde McConnell whose support and guidance throughout my program was greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank my committee members for their support and professional expertise: Christine Sowiak, Peter Deacon and Doug Brown assisted me with their pertinent dialogues and questions. I gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Alberta Art Foundation and the Calgary Board of Education. Many other faculty members have also contributed to my MFA program and I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Linda Carreiro, Paul Woodrow and Eric Cameron for their dedication, expertise and commitment in guiding my course and studio work. I also wish to thank Arthur Nishimura, Geoffrey Simmons, Bill Laing, Jean-Rene LeBlanc, John Stocking and Linda MacCannell for their friendly and constructive help and encouragement. I am grateful to the excellent and friendly support staff, including; Samira Jaffer, Sheila Harland, Rick Caulkins, Nathan Tremblay, Jim Williams, Julia Ross-Roustan, Anthony Reimer, The Nickle Arts Museum staff and The Banff Centre faculty. I appreciate the contributions and camaraderie from my fellow graduate students. Many friends and family have supported me with their skills and wisdom these past two years and have contributed a great deal to my progress. I would especially like to thank Ialeen, Bob, Diane, Doug and James Colwell, Maurice de St. Jorre, John Will, Shaun Fluker, Chris Cran, Noel Begin, Emilie van der Hoorn, Melissa Malkas and my friends at Stride Gallery who have kept me grounded in the community. V TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL PAGE II ABSTRACT Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV TABLE OF CONTENTS V CHAPTER ONE: SOURCES OF INSPIRATION, THEORY AND HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS IN MY WORK 1 Introduction 1 Relationships Between Art Theory and My Work 3 The Human/Nature Dichotomy in Relation to Direct Experience 5 Cultural Construction of Landscape and Nature 8 Imagination, Beauty and The Sublime 9 Environmentalism and Spirituality 13 History of Canadian Art: Romanticism, Pictorialism and Realism 17 Contemporary Artists Who Respond to Nature and Environment 20 CHAPTER TWO: PREVIOUS BODIES OF WORK, IDEAS AND COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS 23 The Containment and Packaging of Nature (Resourcism) 23 Research in Archives and Collections in Relation to My Work 26 Straight Photography and "The Real" 27 Painting and Photography: The Manipulated Polaroid Photographs & Reproduction..31 CHAPTER THREE: MY WORK IN THE MFA EXHIBITION 36 "accumulation/ablation" (2010) 36 "Illusions of a Mediated Experience of Time, Place and Self (2010) 37 "backyard: a quotidian chronicle" (July 2008 - August 2010) 38 "Mountains and Memory: The Real and The Reproduction" (2010) 40 Conclusion 42 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPY 43 APPENDIX A 47 Diane Colwell "Mountains and Memory: The Real and The Reproduction", (2010); Legend: Identification list and diagrams of items and locations in left plinth: 47 APPENDIX B 49 Diane Colwell "Mountains and Memory: The Real and The Reproduction", (2010); Legend: Identification list and diagrams of items and locations in right plinth: 49 1 CHAPTER ONE: SOURCES OF INSPIRATION, THEORY AND HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS IN MY WORK Introduction I investigate ways of understanding the world through different systems of visual response and interpretation along with concerns among disciplines of science, environmentalism and law. My work explores and tries to reveal the affinities and common processes that various disciplines may share in theory, research methodology and documentation, specifically the working methods of artists, scientists, explorers and mountaineers. Through research into their histories I seek relationships to my own experiences as an artist and a mountaineer. The historical idealized and romantic views of nature may no longer be possible, but there is still a need to find a balance in our co-existence with nature and a sustainable relationship with it. When the environment is perceived in an objectified manner as a resource intended for mankind's use what are the implications? Can a search for meaning, truth and beauty through the artist collaborative process of discovery, response and creation aid in our appreciation of the conservation of our selves? My research also involves critical investigations of the contemporary, conceptual and formal aspects inherent in photography. My work explores ideas of representation through time, memory, myth and reality. Some of the questions that guide this aspect of my research are: What is photography's responsibility now, compared to the role of photography in the past, in regards to its role and effect in portraying reality or a moment 2 of truth? With the advent of new digital media and powerful technologies has the responsibility and interpretation of photography shifted to new ways of constructing and understanding reality? The Canadian Arctic and the Rocky Mountains can be considered as frontiers not only in how they operate as colonial property or as something to be conquered, but also in the realm of myth and identity. Wilderness can be experienced as a vast and remote milieu and/or as an "idea" that can function as a spiritual source in our imaginations. In my art practice I investigate the connections to the landscape and nature on a collaborative and experiential level, engaging the ideas and meanings of beauty and The Sublime. My work involves mapping, borders, ownership and possession; these investigations facilitate my long-standing concerns with the conservation of the environmental, political and geographic borders and the legal aspects of resource use. Within these fields I use a visual language based on narrative; grids and series are utilized indicating the ideas of place, personal identity, memory and relationships. I pursue and respond to these ideas structured within dualities including; life/death, human/nature, wilderness/development, exhaustion/renewal and beauty/The Sublime. My mountaineering background has influenced and directed my aims as an artist in dealing with nature, the landscape and the environment. Previous bodies of work have dealt with the ideas of the containment, packaging and consuming of nature. For this research rather than implementing an indirect "looking out at" or ironic