Art for a N[ot]ation: An Ethics of Curating the Group of Seven and Their Contemporaries
Loading...
Authors
Boyle, Will
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Group of Seven , Curatorial Studies , Art History , Canadian Art , Curating , Museum Studies
Alternative Title
Abstract
The familiar and fabled Canadian group of landscape painters known as the Group of Seven and their contemporaries hold a commanding space in a certain national cultural memory. Their legacies are steadily being reconsidered by scholars and curators of Canadian historical art today. This paper deepens the conversations around ethical curating of these canonical Canadian artworks from a settler curator’s perspective. It considers the leading narratives about the Group of Seven, the institutions that supported them, and the exhibitions, programs, and texts that mythologized them. As part of a larger project in research-creation this paper takes an empathic position of not-knowing to responsibly produce an ethical standard for curators of today to proceed in their practices. It does so through a personal investigation of curatorial practice and relationships to modernist Canadian landscape painting by curator Will Boyle who is actively curating an adjacent exhibition called Art for a N[ot]ation (2021). This text presents a series of important moments in the story of the Group of Seven and considers the role of the curator in each rendition. It presents the leading literature on both curatorial methodologies and those curatorial decisions that concern the Group of Seven and other practicing landscape artists of the time. It presents these critical writings in relation to these important moments and meditates on their effect today. It does a deep critical analysis of three fiercely different current and recent exhibitions that in some capacity deal with the legacy of these painters. It does these things to inform the conjunctive exhibition and create a space so that exhibitions of our time can ethically respond to dominant Canadian art histories.
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
CC0 1.0 Universal
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
CC0 1.0 Universal