Unboxing the Canon

Episode 5: Taken from the Headlines

Episode 5: Taken from the Headlines

 

October 7, 2020

 

 “Taken from the Headlines” considers European history painting, its roots and its legacies. What exactly are history paintings? And why are they significant in the canon of Western art? In this episode of “Unboxing the Canon” Dr. Steer examines these questions along with some historical examples before turning to the present moment to consider how artists use this genre today and reflect on some of its limitations. This episode covers the concept of istoria and Renaissance narrative paintings, dramatic 19^th century history paintings in France and their relationship to politics, and contemporary Indigenous work dealing with the trauma of the residential school system in Canada.

 

Sources + further reading:

Alberti, Leon Battista. On Painting. [First appeared 1435-36] Translated with Introduction and Notes by John R. Spencer. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1970 [First printed 1956]. http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Alberti/index.htm

 

David, Jacques-Louis. The Oath of the Horatii. 1784. 3.30 m x 4.25 m. Louvre. https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/oath-horatii

 

Géricault Théodore. The Raft of the Medusa. Salon de 1819. 4.91 m x 7.16 m. Louvre. https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/raft-medusa.

 

Garneau, David. “Writing About Indigenous Art with Critical Care.” C Magazine 145 (March 10, 2020). https://cmagazine.com/issues/145/writing-about-indigenous-art-with-critical-care.

 

Madill, Shirley. “Key Works: Robert Houle, Sandy Bay Residential School Series, 2009.” Robert Houle: Life and Work. Art Canada Institute - Institut de l’art canadien. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/robert-houle/key-works/sandy-bay-residential-school-series

 

Monkman, Kent. Painting. https://www.kentmonkman.com/painting

 

Morgan-Feir, Caoimhe. “Kent Monkman: History Painting for a Colonized Canada.” Canadian Art. January 26, 2017. https://canadianart.ca/features/kent-monkman-critiques-canada-150/.

 

Zappella, Christine. “Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.” i Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed October 1, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-ceiling-of-the-sistine-chapel

 

Zucker, Steven and Beth Harris “Raphael, School of Athens.” Smarthistory, December 15, 2015, accessed October 1, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/raphael-school-of-athens

 

 

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0. Sound effects in this episode obtained from www.zapsplat.com

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.

Episode 4: Swallowed Whole

In this episode, called “Swallowed Whole,” Dr. Steer considers Gothic cathedrals as an art form and examines their relationship to European power structures. The episode begins with the earliest Christian art, in the catacombs of Rome, and ends with a brief consideration of the role and function of Western European churches today. This episode also covers the important role of relics in Medieval Christianity, the rise of pilgrimage culture in Europe and its connections to economics and architectural innovation, as well as the affective impact of the interior spaces of cathedrals.

 

Sources + further reading:

 “A Beginner’s Guide to Romanesque Art – Smarthistory.” https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-romanesque-art/.

“Basilica of San Vitale.” http://www.turismo.ra.it/eng/Discover-the-area/Art-and-culture/Unesco-world-heritage/Basilica-of-San-Vitale.

“Feminae: Details Page.” https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=31968.

Harris, Beth and Steven Zucker. "Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres." in Smarthistory, December 18, 2015. https://smarthistory.org/cathedral-of-notre-dame-de-chartres-part-1-of-3/.

“Medieval Chartres- The North Transept Rose Window.” http://www.medart.pitt.edu/image/France/Chartres/Chartres-Cathedral/Windows/Transept-windows/121A-North-Rose/Chartres-121NorthRose.HTM.

“More Oude Kerk - Amsterdam Art.” https://www.amsterdamart.com/events/516/more-oude-kerk.

Oude kerk. “Sarah van Sonsbeeck.” https://oudekerk.nl/en/programma/sarah-van-sonsbeeck/.

Sorabella, Jean. “Pilgrimage in Medieval Europe.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pilg/hd_pilg.htm.

 “Visit the Catacombs.” http://www.catacombepriscilla.com/visita_catacomba_en.html.

 

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0. The Gregorian chanting was adapted from ramagochi’s “Binaural catholic gregorian chant mass liturgy” licensed under CC BY 3.0.

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.

 

 

Episode 3: Tear Down the Monuments!

This episode takes a look at the history of monuments and examines some of the issues surrounding monuments today. It considers the history of the Robert E Lee monument Richmond Virginia, its signification in relation to the history of equestrian sculptures, and considers its role now.

The removal of confederate statues in the American South is part of a worldwide movement to confront the violent legacy of colonialism, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the attempted genocide of Indigenous people, and other atrocities committed by Europeans and settlers.  In the wake of the #blm movement and the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada, this episode asks: what should we do with these monuments now?

Dr. Steer examines several options and their implications, such as putting the monuments in a museum or park, contextualizing them, creating new monuments and new works of art, destroying the monuments, or leaving them as is.   

 

Sources + further reading:

artnet news. “Tear Down the Confederate Monuments—But What Next? 12 Art Historians and Scholars on the Way Forward.” artnet news. August 23, 2017. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/confederate-monuments-experts-1058411.

“Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.  Accessed September 21, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/equestrian-sculpture-of-marcus-aurelius/.

France-Amérique. “The French Origin of Robert E. Lee’s Statue in Virginia.” France-Amérique, June 25, 2020. https://france-amerique.com/the-french-origin-of-robert-e-lees-statue-in-virginia/.

“Jen Reid: Bristol Black Lives Matter Statue Removed.” BBC News, July 16, 2020, sec. Bristol. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-53427014.

“Leopold II: Belgium ‘wakes up’ to Its Bloody Colonial Past.” BBC News, June 12, 2020, sec. Europe. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53017188.

“Musée d’Orsay: Antonin Mercié David.” Musée d’Orsay website. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/sculpture/commentaire_id/david-331.html?cHash=0ab0a872c7.

“Sights | Memento Park Budapest.” Accessed September 16, 2020. http://www.mementopark.hu/pages/sights/.

Squires, Camille. “Defend History. Tear down the Confederate Statues.” Mother Jones (blog). Accessed September 21, 2020. https://www.motherjones.com/anti-racism-police-protest/2020/07/confederate-monuments-iconoclasm/.

Tait, Allison Anna. “Dead White Men Get Their Say in Court as Virginia Tries to Remove Robert E. Lee Statues.” The Conversation. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://theconversation.com/dead-white-men-get-their-say-in-court-as-virginia-tries-to-remove-robert-e-lee-statues-140813.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. 2015. http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

 

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.

Episode 2: Reversing the Gaze

In this episode we examine contemporary Cree artist Kent Monkman's diptych mistikôsiwak on view now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  The monumental paintings were completed in 2019 and are called Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the People. 

In his words, Monkman aims to “reverse the gaze” from white settlers looking at Indigenous people to Indigenous people looking at settlers. Welcoming the Newcomers adapts figures and poses from a variety of works of art that depict the Indigenous people of Turtle Island from the point of view of white Europeans and settlers to present a different story and a different point of view about first contact. Resurgence of the People uses Emmanuel Leutze's 1851 Washington Crossing the Delaware as a source to picture contemporary immigration from Monkman's point of view.

 

Sources + Further Reading

Artist Interview—Kent Monkman: mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 20, 2019.  https://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/modern/kent-monkman-great-hall-mistikosiwak-wooden-boat-people

Delacroix, Eugène. The Natchez. 1823–24 and 1835. Oil on canvas. 35 1/2 x 46 in. (90.2 x 116.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436180.

Gotthardt, Alexxa. “How Contemporary Artists Have Used ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ to Challenge History.” Artsy, February 14, 2020. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-contemporary-artists-washington-crossing-delaware-challenge-history.

Griffey, Randall. “Kent Monkman Reverses Art History’s Colonial Gaze.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 17, 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2019/kent-monkman-mistikosiwak-wooden-boat-people-colonial-gaze.

Loggans, Regan de. “Mistikôsiwak: Monkman at the Met.” Canadian Art, April 29, 2020. https://canadianart.ca/essays/mistikosiwak-kent-monkman-at-the-met/.

Madill, Shirley. “Introducing Miss Chief by Shirley Madill,” Art Canada Institute - Institut de l’art canadien. https://www.aci-iac.ca/the-essay/introducing-miss-chief-by-shirley-madill.

Michelson, Alan. “Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware.” In “Native Perspectives,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/the-american-wing/native-perspectives.

Monkman, Kent. Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 132 x 264 in. (335.28 x 670.6 cm).

Monkman, Kent. Resurgence of the People, 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 132 x 264 in. (335.28 x 670.6 cm).

Phillips, Ruth B. and Mark Salber Phillips. “‘Welcoming the Newcomers: Decolonizing History Painting, Revisioning History.’” Art Canada Institute - Institut de l’art canadien. https://www.aci-iac.ca/the-essay/decolonizing-history-painting-by-ruth-b-phillips-and-mark-salber-phillips.

Tuck, Eve and K. Wayne Yang.  “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education and Society 1.1 (2012): 1-40. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/18630/15554

Zygmont, Bryan. "Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware." Smarthistory, August 9, 2015. https://smarthistory.org/leutze-washington-crossing-the-delaware/.

 

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.

 

Episode 1: Revealing a Portrait

Episode 1, "Revealing a Portrait," considers what the canon of art history is, and looks to a painting by contemporary African American artist Titus Kaphar to consider what it excludes. It also addresses the notion of “subject positions,” a way of acknowledging  who we are and how that influences what we see and how we look at art.

Kaphar’s work aims to make the invisible visible, and to reveal those figures that have been excluded from art history. His work highlights the Black experience, which has been overlooked in traditional art history courses, museums and other art institutions.   

In his powerful 2017 TED Talk, Kaphar demonstrates to the audience how European art has erased Black people, and how those people might be brought to the forefront. He uncovers his slightly altered copy of a 17^th century family portrait by Dutch artist Franz Hals. He then proceeds to white out the prominent figures with a mixture of white paint and linseed oil, eventually revealing a small Black boy in the group.   Kaphar notes that “Historically speaking, in research on these kinds of paintings, I can find out more about the lace that the woman is wearing in this painting -- the manufacturer of the lace -- than I can about this character here, about his dreams, about his hopes, about what he wanted out of life” (Kaphar, Can Art Amend History?).

Episode 1 asks listeners to think about the role of history in art and the ways in which historical art is connected to contemporary culture.

Sources + further reading:

Brock University. “Human Rights and Equity.” Accessed August 28, 2020. https://brocku.ca/human-rights/.

Gagosian. “Titus Kaphar,” May 3, 2020. https://gagosian.com/news/2020/05/03/titus-kaphar-macarthur-foundation-fellow-video/.

Hals, Frans. Family Group in a Landscape. 1645-1648. Oil on canvas, 202 x 285 cm. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Inv. no. 179 (1934.8). Available from: https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/hals-frans/family-group-landscape

Kaphar, Titus. Shifting the Gaze, 2017. Oil on canvas, 83 × 103 1/4 in. (210.8 × 262.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs Jr., Fund, 2017.34. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Image courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery, CUR.2017.34_Jack_Shainman_Gallery.jpg). Available from: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/224267

Kaphar, Titus. Can Art Amend History? 2017. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/titus_kaphar_can_art_amend_history.

Kaphar, Titus. Can Beauty Open Our Hearts to Difficult Conversations? 2020. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/titus_kaphar_can_beauty_open_our_hearts_to_difficult_conversations.

Kaphar, Titus. https://kapharstudio.com/.

Mar Borobia. “Family Group in a Landscape.” Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Accessed August 28, 2020. https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/hals-frans/family-group-landscape.

Museum of Ontario Archaeology. “Wampum,” January 23, 2015. http://archaeologymuseum.ca/wampum/.

van Welie, Rik. "“What Happened in the Colonies Stayed in the Colonies: The Dutch and the Slave-Free Paradox." In Misevich, Philip, and Mann, Kristin, eds. The Rise and Demise of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Atlantic World. Melton: University of Rochester Press, 2016. 100-127.

 

Credits

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey, who is also reading these credits. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from “Night in Venice” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod. Both are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.

Unboxing the Canon - Trailer

“Unboxing the Canon” will take a deeper look at the history of Western art. The first episode airs September 9.

 

Credits:

Unboxing the Canon is hosted and produced by Linda Steer for her course “Introduction to the History of Western Art” in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. Brock University is located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishaabe peoples.

Our sound designer and editor is Devin Dempsey. Our logo was created by Cherie Michels. The music for this podcast has been adapted from Night In Venice by Kevin MacLeod and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0.

We are grateful to Alison Innes from the Faculty of Humanities for her sharing her podcasting wisdom and offering support.

This podcast is funded by the Humanities Research Institute at Brock University.