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Tear Gas EpiphaniesProtest, Culture, Museums |
eBook Available
A groundbreaking book recounting the as-yet-untold story of political action at museums in Canada from 1900 to the present.
Museums are frequently sites of struggle and negotiation. They are key cultural institutions that occupy an oftentimes uncomfortable place at the crossroads of the arts, culture, various levels of government, corporate ventures, and the public. Because of this, museums are targeted by political action but can also provide support for contentious politics.
Though protests at museums are understudied, they are far from anomalous. Tear Gas Epiphanies traces the as-yet-untold story of political action at museums in Canada from the early twentieth century to the present. The book looks at how museums do or do not archive protest ephemera, examining a range of responses to actions taking place at their thresholds, from active encouragement to belligerent dismissal. Drawing together extensive primary-source research and analysis, Robertson questions widespread perceptions of museums, strongly arguing for a reconsideration of their role in contemporary society that takes into account political conflict and protest as key ingredients in museum life.
The sheer number of protest actions Robertson uncovers is compelling. Ambitious and wide-ranging, Tear Gas Epiphanies provides a thorough and conscientious survey of key points of intersection between museums and protest - a valuable resource for university students and scholars, as well as arts professionals working at and with museums.
Though protests at museums are understudied, they are far from anomalous. Tear Gas Epiphanies traces the as-yet-untold story of political action at museums in Canada from the early twentieth century to the present. The book looks at how museums do or do not archive protest ephemera, examining a range of responses to actions taking place at their thresholds, from active encouragement to belligerent dismissal. Drawing together extensive primary-source research and analysis, Robertson questions widespread perceptions of museums, strongly arguing for a reconsideration of their role in contemporary society that takes into account political conflict and protest as key ingredients in museum life.
The sheer number of protest actions Robertson uncovers is compelling. Ambitious and wide-ranging, Tear Gas Epiphanies provides a thorough and conscientious survey of key points of intersection between museums and protest - a valuable resource for university students and scholars, as well as arts professionals working at and with museums.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's/Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation Studies in Art History Series (number 27 in series)
432 Pages, 7.5 x 10
51 photos, colour section
ISBN 9780773557000
June 2019
Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook
“Tear Gas Epiphanies presents high-quality, well-designed, and well-examined case studies in the context of political debates around art, museums, and activism. It will be widely read by those interested in the politics of culture, national identity, and public history - its formation, models of resistance, and transformations over time.” Kylie Message, Australian National University Humanities Research Centre
“Tear Gas Epiphanies is an excellent contribution to the field of critical museum studies in Canada and globally. Robertson highlights exhilarating moments of protest, while also offering critical analysis, paying attention to the demands of intersectionality in theory and practice.” Shelley Ruth Butler, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and co-editor of Curatorial Dreams: Critics Imagine Exhibitions
"Tear Gas Epiphanies is a thoroughly researched and admirably written book. [It] provides a compelling account of museums cum protests/protests cum museums and constitutes a brilliant addition to existing scholarship." RACAR : Revue d'art Canadienne/Canadian Art Review
"For students of History, Art, Museum Studies, and Urban Planning, this book teaches the reader how museum spaces, art galleries, and movements around remembrance have been politicized, co-opted, and/or mobilized within these institutions in the Canadian context over the course of the twentieth century. Robertson's work remains important to the field at large and will continue to be interrogated by scholars for years to come." Historical Studies in Education / Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
“Tear Gas Epiphanies is an excellent contribution to the field of critical museum studies in Canada and globally. Robertson highlights exhilarating moments of protest, while also offering critical analysis, paying attention to the demands of intersectionality in theory and practice.” Shelley Ruth Butler, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and co-editor of Curatorial Dreams: Critics Imagine Exhibitions
"Tear Gas Epiphanies is a thoroughly researched and admirably written book. [It] provides a compelling account of museums cum protests/protests cum museums and constitutes a brilliant addition to existing scholarship." RACAR : Revue d'art Canadienne/Canadian Art Review
"For students of History, Art, Museum Studies, and Urban Planning, this book teaches the reader how museum spaces, art galleries, and movements around remembrance have been politicized, co-opted, and/or mobilized within these institutions in the Canadian context over the course of the twentieth century. Robertson's work remains important to the field at large and will continue to be interrogated by scholars for years to come." Historical Studies in Education / Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
Kirsty Robertson is associate professor of museum studies and contemporary art at the University of Western Ontario and co-editor and writer of a number of books, including Negotiations in a Vacant Lot: Studying the Visual in Canada.
Preface | xi
1 Introduction: Museums, Protest, and Cities | 3
1a Of Directors, Museums, and National Identity | 31
Part 1 Context
2 Protest at the Threshold: A Short History of Contentious Politics at Canadian Museums, 1900-96 | 39
2b The UBC Museum of Anthropology as Model | 71
3 Crossing the Threshold: Counter-Histories, Museum Exteriors, Interiors, and Archives | 76
3c “She walked in and removed her work from the wall”: Artists against Reed Paper at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 1976 | 103
Part 2 Case Studies
4 Reactionary Protest: The Warrior Nation and the Canadian War Museum | 111
4d The Postponement of The Lands within Me: Expressions by Canadian Artists of Arab Origin, 2001 | 142
5 “It takes a lot of wrongs to make a museum of rights”: Indigenous Resistance and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights | 145
5e Wendy Coburn: Anatomy of a Protest | 178
6 When the Land Comes First: Oil, Museums, and (Missing) Protest | 182
6f Reversing the Flow: Yes Men Tackle the Canadian Government | 219
7 “Intellectual Properties”: Real Estate, Occupy Vancouver, and the Vancouver Art Gallery | 223
7g Stan Douglas and the Woodward’s Redevelopment | 261
8 Conclusion | 267
Figures | 273
Notes | 277
Bibliography | 339
Index | 389
1 Introduction: Museums, Protest, and Cities | 3
1a Of Directors, Museums, and National Identity | 31
Part 1 Context
2 Protest at the Threshold: A Short History of Contentious Politics at Canadian Museums, 1900-96 | 39
2b The UBC Museum of Anthropology as Model | 71
3 Crossing the Threshold: Counter-Histories, Museum Exteriors, Interiors, and Archives | 76
3c “She walked in and removed her work from the wall”: Artists against Reed Paper at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 1976 | 103
Part 2 Case Studies
4 Reactionary Protest: The Warrior Nation and the Canadian War Museum | 111
4d The Postponement of The Lands within Me: Expressions by Canadian Artists of Arab Origin, 2001 | 142
5 “It takes a lot of wrongs to make a museum of rights”: Indigenous Resistance and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights | 145
5e Wendy Coburn: Anatomy of a Protest | 178
6 When the Land Comes First: Oil, Museums, and (Missing) Protest | 182
6f Reversing the Flow: Yes Men Tackle the Canadian Government | 219
7 “Intellectual Properties”: Real Estate, Occupy Vancouver, and the Vancouver Art Gallery | 223
7g Stan Douglas and the Woodward’s Redevelopment | 261
8 Conclusion | 267
Figures | 273
Notes | 277
Bibliography | 339
Index | 389
Winner
Melva J. Dwyer Award
Art Libraries Society of North America
2020
Melva J. Dwyer Award
Art Libraries Society of North America
2020
