Museum Pieces: Toward the Indigenization of Canadian Museums (McGill-Queen's/Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation Studies in Art History) (Volume 6)

The ways in which Aboriginal people and museums work together have changed drastically in recent decades. This historic process of decolonization, including distinctive attempts to institutionalize multiculturalism, has pushed Canadian museums to pioneer new practices that can accommodate both difference and inclusivity. Ruth Phillips argues that these practices are "indigenous" not only because they originate in Aboriginal activism but because they draw on a distinctively Canadian preference for compromise and tolerance for ambiguity. Phillips dissects seminal exhibitions of Indigenous art to show how changes in display, curatorial voice, and authority stem from broad social, economic, and political forces outside the museum and moves beyond Canadian institutions and practices to discuss historically interrelated developments and exhibitions in the United States, Britain, Australia, and elsewhere. Drawing on forty years of experience as an art historian, curator, exhibition critic, and museum director, she emphasizes the complex and situated nature of the problems that face museums, introducing new perspectives on controversial exhibitions and moments of contestation. A manifesto that calls on us to re-imagine the museum as a place to embrace global interconnectedness, Museum Pieces emphasizes the transformative power of museum controversy and analyses shifting ideas about art, authenticity, and power in the modern museum. -- Publisher's blurb Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 14 A Note on Names and Terms 16 A Preface – by Way of an Introduction 20 PART ONE: CONFRO NTATION AND CONTESTATION 40 Undoing the Settler Museum: Showing Off and Showing Up 41 1 "Arrow of Truth": The Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 with Sherry Brydon 44 2 Moment of Truth: The Spirit Sings asCritical Event and the Exhibition Inside It 65 3 APEC at the Museum of Anthropology:The Politics of Site and the Poetics of Sight Bite 88 PART TWO: RE-DISCIPLINING THE MUSEUM 108 Exclusions and Inclusions: Authenticity, Sacrality, and Possession 109 4 How Museums Marginalize:Naming Domains of Inclusion and Exclusion 112 5 Fielding Culture: Dialogues between Art History and Anthropology 119 6 Disappearing Acts: Traditions ofExposure, Traditions of Enclosure,and the Sacrality of Onkwehonwe Medicine Masks 128 7 The Global Travels of a Mi'kmaq Coat:Colonial Legacies, Repatriation, and the New Cosmopolitanism 149 PART THREE: WOR KING IT OUT 172 Indigenizing Exhibitions: Experiments and Practices 173 8 Making Space: First Nations Artists, theNational Museums, and the Columbus Quincentennial (1992) 178 9 Cancelling White Noise:Gerald McMaster's Savage Graces (1994) 185 10 Threads of the Land at theCanadian Museum of Civilization (1995) 196 11 Toward a Dialogic Paradigm:New Models of Collaborative Curatorial Practice 202 12 Inside-Out and Outside-In:Re-presenting Native North America atthe Canadian Museum of Civilization andthe National Museum of the American Indian (2003–2004) 222 PART FOUR: THE SECOND MUSEUM AGE 244 Working with Hybridity 245 13 From Harmony to Antiphony:The Indigenous Presence in a (Future) Portrait Gallery of Canada 248 14 Modes of Inclusion: Indigenous Art atthe National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario 269 15 The Digital (R)Evolution of Museum-Based Research 294 16 "Learning to Feed off Controversies": Meeting the Challenges of Translation and Recovery in Canadian Museums 314 Notes 334 Index 376 A 376 B 377 C 378 D 380 E 381 F 381 G 382 H 383 I 384 J 384 K 385 L 385 M 386 N 387 O 388 P 389 Q 390 R 390 S 390 T 391 U 392 V 392 W 393 Y 393 Z 393 Pt. 1. Confrontation And Contestation. Undoing The Settler Museum: Showing Off And Showing Up. -- Arrow Of Truth: The Indians Of Canada Pavilion At Expo 67 / With Sherry Brydon. -- Moment Of Truth: The Spirit Sings As Critical Event And The Exhibition Inside It. -- Apec At The Muesum Of Anthropology: The Politics Of Site And The Poetics Of Sight Bite. Pt. 2. Re-disciplining The Museum. Exclusions And Inclusions: Authenticity, Sacrality, And Possession. -- How Museums Marginalize: Naming Domains Of Inclusion And Exclusion. -- Fielding Culture: Dialogues Between Art History And Anthropology. -- Disappearing Acts: Traditions Of Exposure, Traditions Of Enclosure, And The Sacrality Of Onkwehonwe Medicine Masks. -- The Global Travels Of A Mi'kmaq Coat: Colonial Legacies, Repatriation, And The New Cosmopolitanism. Pt. 3. Working It Out. Indigenizing Exhibitions: Experiments And Practices. -- Making Space: First Nations Artists, The National Museums, And The Columbus Quincentennial (1992). -- Cancelling White Noise: Gerald Mcmaster's Savage Graces (1994). -- Threads Of The Land At The Canadian Museum Of Civlization (1995). -- Toward A Dialogic Paradigm: New Models Of Collaborative Curatorial Practice. -- Inside-out And Outside-in: Re-presenting Native North America At The Canadian Museum Of Civilization And The National Museum Of American Indian (2003-2004). Pt. 4. The Second Museum Age. Working With Hybridity. -- From Harmony To Antiphony: The Indigenous Presence In A (future) Portrait Gallery Of Canada. -- Modes Of Inclusion: Indigenous Art At The National Gallery Of Canada And The Art Gallery Of Ontario. -- The Digital (r)evolution Of Museums-based Research. -- Learning To Feed Off Controversies: Meeting The Challenges Of Translation And Recovery In Canadian Museums. Ruth B. Phillips. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The ways in which Aboriginal [Native peoples, First Nations] people and museums work together have changed drastically in recent decades. This historic process of decolonization, including distinctive attempts to institutionalize multiculturalism, has pushed Canadian museums to pioneer new practices that can accommodate both difference and inclusivity A manifesto that calls on us to re-imagine the museum as a place to embrace global interconnectedness, Museum Pieces emphasizes the transformative power of museum controversy and analyses shifting ideas about art, authenticity, and power in the modern museum."--Pub. desc