Presentation Title
Deicing/Decolonizing: Hockey Histories in Canadian Contemporary Art
Location
Room 306, School of Social Work
Start Date
28-9-2018 10:15 AM
End Date
28-9-2018 11:45 AM
Presentation Types
Paper
Abstract
Hockey is a symbol for inclusivity, exclusivity, and subsequently Canadian identity in Canadian art. In this proposal, which draws from my research for the upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor, Deicing/Decolonizing: Hockey Histories in Canadian Contemporary Art, I will consider a postcolonial and feminist investigation into the sport, and the culture that the sport perpetuates. Embedded within my research on cultural diversity and the feminist body, this paper will draw upon hockey as a metaphorical and mythological connotation for the ways in which a national identity is constructed and understood in Canadian popular culture. In keeping with Benedict Anderson’s 1983 claim that nations are social constructions that perpetuate "imagined communities," hockey, in Canada has come to perpetuate an imagined national identity.
Through works of art by Canadian contemporary artists, such as Judy Anderson, Jim Logan, Lisa Lipton, Clifford Maracle, Brian Jungen, Robert Bozak, Diana Thorneycroft, Wanda Koop, Aganetha Dyck, and Barrie Jones, the many myths surrounding hockey will be the subject of critical debate. With reference to the sport's history, spirituality in First Nations communities and culture, and the notion that hockey represents an imperialist conquest, artists will offer new perspectives on the sport; its history of exclusivity, and its misconceived contributions to Canadian identity. Through a feminist lens, the inherent patriarchy that continues to frame hockey will be destabilized through material investigations of hockey equipment, representations of the game and portraits of hockey icons. After all, let's not forget that women play hockey too!
Bio Statement
Dr. Jaclyn Meloche completed an interdisciplinary PhD in Humanities (Visual Arts, Performance Studies, Art History and Communication Studies) at Concordia University in 2015. Since 2016, she has held the position of Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Windsor. Most recently, her curatorial projects include The Sandwich Project (2017), Downtown/s: The 2017 Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary (2017), Isabelle Hayeur: Corps Etranger (2017), The Sandwich Project (2018), Deicing/Decolonizing: Histories of Hockey in Canadian Contemporary Art (2019), and Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive (2019). Between 2011-2014, she co-curated the touring exhibition Alma hosted by the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Varley Art Gallery, the Judith and Norman ALIX Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Windsor. Meloche is the editor of the forthcoming publication What is our Role: Artists in Academia and the Post-Knowledge Economy (YYZ BOOKS, 2018) and author of the forthcoming book chapters: “Camera Performed: Visualizing the Behaviours of Technology in Digital Performance,” (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), “The Politics of Perception: Re/Constructing Meaning Inside the Frame of War,” (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), and “Houses, Homes and the Horrors of a Suburban Identity Politic,” (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
Deicing/Decolonizing: Hockey Histories in Canadian Contemporary Art
Room 306, School of Social Work
Hockey is a symbol for inclusivity, exclusivity, and subsequently Canadian identity in Canadian art. In this proposal, which draws from my research for the upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor, Deicing/Decolonizing: Hockey Histories in Canadian Contemporary Art, I will consider a postcolonial and feminist investigation into the sport, and the culture that the sport perpetuates. Embedded within my research on cultural diversity and the feminist body, this paper will draw upon hockey as a metaphorical and mythological connotation for the ways in which a national identity is constructed and understood in Canadian popular culture. In keeping with Benedict Anderson’s 1983 claim that nations are social constructions that perpetuate "imagined communities," hockey, in Canada has come to perpetuate an imagined national identity.
Through works of art by Canadian contemporary artists, such as Judy Anderson, Jim Logan, Lisa Lipton, Clifford Maracle, Brian Jungen, Robert Bozak, Diana Thorneycroft, Wanda Koop, Aganetha Dyck, and Barrie Jones, the many myths surrounding hockey will be the subject of critical debate. With reference to the sport's history, spirituality in First Nations communities and culture, and the notion that hockey represents an imperialist conquest, artists will offer new perspectives on the sport; its history of exclusivity, and its misconceived contributions to Canadian identity. Through a feminist lens, the inherent patriarchy that continues to frame hockey will be destabilized through material investigations of hockey equipment, representations of the game and portraits of hockey icons. After all, let's not forget that women play hockey too!
