“Unboxing the Canon” takes a closer look at the history of Western art. We might be seduced by the pretty packaging, such as soft brush strokes, brilliant colours, grand gestures, expert carving, even traditional iconography. But what happens when we take a deeper look? When we open the packaging and see what might have been invisible, or what is a cultural blind spot? Join Professor Linda Steer and listen in for a take on art history that connects the past to the present, critiques the canon, and reveals what might not be immediately apparent in Western art and its institutions.
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“Unboxing the Canon” takes a closer look at the history of Western art. We might be seduced by the pretty packaging, such as soft brush strokes, brilliant colours, grand gestures, expert carving, even traditional iconography. But what happens when we take a deeper look? When we open the packaging and see what might have been invisible, or what is a cultural blind spot? Join Professor Linda Steer and listen in for a take on art history that connects the past to the present, critiques the canon, and reveals what might not be immediately apparent in Western art and its institutions.
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.
Unboxing the Canon
“Unboxing the Canon” takes a closer look at the history of Western art. We might be seduced by the pretty packaging, such as soft brush strokes, brilliant colours, grand gestures, expert carving, even traditional iconography. But what happens when we take a deeper look? When we open the packaging and see what might have been invisible, or what is a cultural blind spot? Join Professor Linda Steer and listen in for a take on art history that connects the past to the present, critiques the canon, and reveals what might not be immediately apparent in Western art and its institutions.
