0346

    Issues raised in The Lesbian National Parks and Services article by Margot Francis are ones of gender identity, race identity, national identity and lesbian identity. The article speaks out on the masculine dominance surrounding Canada’s national identity which is based upon the wilderness shown the performance by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan. The article also speaks of a dominance of “white” culture and the exclusion of visible minorities in the national consciousness. The article discusses reasons why the performance worked and why it was not perceived as negative by most.
    The performance was inspiring because they were able to address the issues in a creative way and by performing in a public space it creates a wider audience. The article states that if the performance was done by non-white performers it would not have been so widely accepted. I agree with this thought because although we do come from what is perceived to be a multicultural society there is a difference between racial tolerance and acceptance. If the perception is that white people are responsible and trustworthy then the performance holds no grudge against anyone and only works to promote education on the issues. While if it were a non-white performer perhaps there would be assumption that bitterness is held against white people.
    The article discusses many issues which we address in the course. Such as studying performance art as an artifact, we looked at some of the performance work of Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan in class before. Themes of identity are also brought up in the article which are themes we also discuss in the course. Discovering the Canadian identity in contemporary art is something that has been developing throughout the course. The article also has us questioning our connection with the wilderness as a construct of imagination of an identity while the course examines exactly why Canadian art has been remembered mostly for the landscapes.
    I think that the article explains the performance well and gives the reader a feeling of what it would have actually been like to go to that recruitment table. It also addressed many of the issues discussed in our course and how those issues all relate to the Canadian identity and the myths of our history.

Amendments to Continental Refusal/ Refus Continental
Greg Curnoe

    In Greg Curnoe’s satirical amendment, he addresses issues of animosity between Canada and the US and also pokes fun at the Quebec revolutionary statement of Refus Global, in which Bordaus discusses the liberation of Quebec. The main points of the article discuss total separation of Canada and the United States. Beginning with severing all connections between Canada and the United States.

I see Curnoe’s article as a way to show how Refus Global is a notion which has no real means to an end. He highlights this by comparing the Refus Global to his Continental Refusal in which Canada would completely separate from the United States. I think that he has effectively raised issues of Canadian identity competing with the United States and also brings humor to the subject of Quebec separatist movement. Number 33 of the amendment states “Canada to recognize the sovereignty of all Indian reserves... all Eskimo communities... Quebec... any community or group that wishes to assert its independence.” this could be seen as his way of poking fun at Quebec and showing how they already do practice their own sovereignty.

I don’t agree or disagree with this article, simply because I don’t think I am informed enough about the issue. I have learned about the revolutions in Quebec and have read a bit of Refus Global but I still feel that I don’t fully understand what Quebeckers feel like in their nation which is seen as separate from the rest of Canada. I think that the article is not directly making fun of Quebec but rather is bringing attention to the importance of the discussion of separation in a fun way which would make people think.

How this article would fit in with the broader themes of VISA 2P51 is perhaps the fact that art plays such an important role in nation building and the importance of artists themselves. Refus Global was an art movement which lead to a sort of outlet for the people of Quebec. In that sense through art we learn about the history of our country and in that way it deals with the dialogue between national identity and art.

The Other Side of the Picture (NFB, 1998)

In this documentary film the lives of Canadian women artists are explored, their hardships in finding a place in a male-centric art world. The question is asked “are there no great women artists?”, statistics in the film definitely would make it seem so but this myth is de-spelled as we see the works of women throughout history.

The main points raised in this film were the unequal representation of women artists in galleries such as the Washington’s National Gallery where only 1 in every 30 paintings is by a woman. This point is supported by statistics and also through the evidence of speaking with women artists across Canada.

Artists such as Mary Pratt and Doris McCarthy are under represented not because of lack of talent but because they are female. In the film we are taken to an all female gallery which houses works only by women artists. The argument is then that there should not be a need to hold a separate gallery for women. When speaking with the curator of the Washington National Gallery he discusses the issue of the lack of representation of women and says that art should not be shown based on gender but based on the work. Basically he would not want to choose half male and half female artists because it would discredit the validity of the choices from being about the work and more about gender politics.

The dichotomy of women and men in the art world is uncovered in the film, through Judy Chicago’s remarks “You don’t get preserved, you get buried.”. Her piece The Dinner Party was a large scale collaborative piece of tapestry and pottery which stirred a great deal of interest but after the showing was stacked into boxes never to be seen again.     

I agree with the main ideas posed in this film, the fact is that women artists throughout history and evidently today are not equally represented. I do think that the state of things are perhaps getting better, as revisionist historians are working towards uncovering works that were never seen before. I wish there were not need for an all female art gallery but for now that is where we stand. The same issue is still relevant in the art world today, the statistics of women artists versus men artists in galleries would probably remain as the past because perhaps of lack of interest. Men always seem to have a voice for the majority while women seem to speak to a more specific audiences. Hopefully though one day this will change.

In VISA 2P5 critically examining the history of Canadian art is an important aspect of learning about our cultural history and also where we are today. Socio-political aspects of our society shape what we consume and know to be Canadian culture. The film relates to the course because it causes us to look at our past to know how our identity is formed today.

Contemporary Canadian Art: Locating Identity
by Christine Sowiak

    This article brings up topics which deal with Canadian art specifically. Issues of identity, influence, and the history behind Canadian art which has formed building blocks for the contemporary art scene. The main issues explored in the article is the notion that Canada lacks a singular cultural identity.  Sowiak discusses the many factors which prevent from a singular identity to ever be formed. In opposition to the former discussion is the important role the government has played in attempting to create a Canadian culture. Through establishments such as the Canadian Council for the Arts and the National Gallery of Canada it seems that the government supports the idea that art is an important aspect to create a new culture. Finally she converses of the state of our national identity now and how an artist mingles the past  with the present creating a dialogue of our evolving history.
 
 Canadian art began notably in the early days of the French settlements, when art was created and wholly influenced by European styles. This is a trend which continues throughout Canadian art, specifically with the landscape. The landscape in Canada is a defining feature in Canadian art and has developed throughout the years. From the beginning it was an entirely European look, a British stylized Canadian landscape which later evolved into a more romanticized wild aspect of the landscape. Sowiak discusses how through the heavy influence of European art throughout the development of Canadian art, it stifled a singular identity.
 
  The government in Canada saw a need for a national identity, especially after WWI in which Canada came back with a sense of national pride. One that had not been seen before hand, the establishment of art institutes came before WWI with the founding of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa as well as the Royal Academy. Both institutions wished to display the very best of Canadian art but in a very specific way. The Royal Academy informed what would be hung in the halls of the National Gallery as the diploma pieces from the Royal Academy would be chosen. The look was a proper, academic look, one that was very realistic and accurate. This style of painting was seen to be very British influenced and perhaps did not truly show was Canadian art was about. Nonetheless it was some kind of attempt to develop a Canadian art scene. 
 
  Thirdly the article discusses what the Canadian identity is now. Sowiak suggests that we are in a revisionist state that those who were excluded from Canadian art are now being recognized. Groups such as First nations, immigrants, gays and lesbians and women. Where Canadian art is now is the balancing act of acknowledging our cultural history as well as creating a new form of identity. Once again we find ourselves questioning what is Canadian art even today.
  
  I agree with the idea that there is no singular Canadian identity. In the article there is evidence of influence from all countries, even within the Group of Seven, they were inspired by a Scandinavian art show. It is hard to say that the works influenced by outside sources are not wholly Canadian because art is constantly borrowing and melding of cultures. I do agree though that because of Canada’s widespread population it is difficult to imagine an identity which represents everyone across Canada. With the development of the National Gallery the identity of Canadian art is formed with calculation. Certain artists are highlighted and therefore are chosen to represent Canadian art. I agree that the organizations did play a large role in the formation of a Canadian identity. The sense that Canadian national identity now is that of a revisionist state I find to be true as well. Through the works of Maria Tippett we are seeing a side of Canadian art that has not been discussed in the past, reshaping the history of Canadian art through a woman’s vantage point. Very important in rethinking what Canadian national identity is.    
 
  This article discusses many issues that deal with Canadian contemporary art. It discusses the foundations from which art today is founded upon, it de-spells myths surrounding the Canadian landscape as well as opens up topics of the formation of identity and how calculated it is. I think that it relates to the course because it looks to the past to create an identity for today, much like how we study contemporary Canadian art to get a sense of where our identity is today.

Conceptual Landscape Art
Johanne Sloan
January 23rd, 2008

The article Conceptual Landscape Art written by Joanne Sloan discusses the works of Joyce Wieland and Michael Snow. Both artists produced pieces between 1969 and 1977 using photography, film and many other unconventional materials to redefine the look of Canadian landscape art. Snow captures landscape using films, producing films which expand the Canadian landscape from the traditional and immerse the viewer into the wilderness. Both artists work to utilize technology to redefine the national identity tied to landscape.

The conventions Western art-making has primarily used a horizontally hung rectangular framing device, Wieland and Snow want to break free of this convention. This departure from tradition is what places their artwork into the conceptual landscape art category. Through the use of modern technology the two artists want to create modern landscape art comparable to the greats such as Cezanne, Poussin, Corot, Monet, Matisse and the Group of Seven. To compare oneself to Matisse and Monet is a challenge to prove but the article proves this comparison by explaining that those impressionist artists transformed the landscape into experiments in sensation and perception. Such experiments seen in the works of Snow and Wieland.

 I agree with this article in that Canadian landscape art limits itself to a rectangle. I also agree with their attempts to come out of that rectangle to reintroduce the wilderness of Canada. This article discusses Canadian issues with identity and it’s ties to landscape art, in this aspect it ties into the broader themes of VISA 2P51. Also it shows how artists are always reinventing and creating new ways to look at the world around us, also something that we learn in VISA 2P51.