Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
64669591
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
LAC copy
Author
Kingfisher, William,1958-
Title
Constructing locality in contemporary Canadian Aboriginal art.
Degree
M.A. -- Carleton University, 2004
Publisher
Ottawa : Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, [2005]
Description
2 microfiches.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
This thesis considers how contemporary art by First Nations artists can be 'read' as contributing to the construction of a distinct social 'space' for Aboriginal Canadians. Because social space in contemporary life is constructed and maintained in relation to larger global arenas, I refer to this Aboriginal social space as a particular 'locality.' I identify a distinct Aboriginal locality as one that is deliberately constructed and is a product of specific historical, social, and political conditions. I examine these conditions by investigating the period from the 1950-1980s to provide the context for the changing nature of contemporary Aboriginal art beginning in the early 1970s. Locality is constructed as an oppositional space to an already existing social space. To address this point, I argue that contemporary Aboriginal art, as a discursive strategy, plays an important role in its construction in opposition to the discourse of authenticity. Locality is also constructed in terms of materializing a distinct 'structure of feeling.' To provide an example of this concept I examine two exhibitions by the artists Rosalie Favell and Greg Staats.
ISBN
0612989771
9780612989771