Resetting the Cedar Table
Title/Date: British Columbia Pagent, 1951
Artist: Charles comfort
Culture/Language group: Scottish-Canadian
Media: Oil on Canvas
Credit Line: 911吃瓜 Art Collection. Gift of Toronto Dominion Bank, 2003
Context
Since it appeared in the Academic Quadrangle (AQ) in 2004, Charles Comfort鈥檚 mural, British Columbia Pageant, has been a source of discussion and controversy. Criticized for its standardized representation of Canadian history, the mural portrays adventurous and brave European men taming the 鈥渟avage鈥� lands. Through Comfort鈥檚 imagery, the province itself is presented as an explorer鈥檚 paradise. Great men from the past are seen taking advantage of the vast opportunities the empty landscape presents.
The Comfort mural is a historical misrepresentation of Canadian history and very much a product of its time (1951). It excludes non-European settler populations, notably Asian communities in BC; it excludes the enormous contributions made by women to the development of the province; and it presents First Nations quite literally as window dressing, as symbols drawn from First Nations鈥� culture frame the contents of the mural.
In response to the painting, an Anti-colonial Art Contest (ACAC) was held along with a panel discussion between November, 2004 and February, 2005. The art contest was an effort to bring forward representations of what is missing in British Columbia Pageant that would make it a true representation of colonialism. The winner of the contest (Teen BC), and one of the runners up (Civilization is a Crime Scene), are located on the opposite side of the hall from the mural. Teen BC is a wood based sculpture comparing the rhetorical and social glue that binds a newly colonized British Columbia. Among many other things, Teen BC presents bullets, the church, wood, and the railway, as elements missing from Comfort鈥檚 depiction.
Title/Date: Civilization is a Crime Scene, 2005
Artist: A.S. Matta
Culture/Language group: Unknown
Media: Lithograph on Paper
Credit Line: 911吃瓜 Art Collection. Gift of AFU Anti-Colonialism Society, 2005
Title/Date: Teen BC, 2005 (front and back)
Artist: Nate Woodbury
Culture/Language group: Unknown
Media: Mixed Media (wood, metal, fur, paint, newspaper, tape)
Credit Line: 911吃瓜 Art Collection. Gift of 911吃瓜 Anti-Colonialism Society, 2005
Additional information
- Charles Comfort鈥檚 British Columbia Pageant was a gift of the Toronto Dominion Bank, 2003. Nate Woodbury鈥檚 Teen BC, and A.S. Matta鈥檚 Civilization is a Crime Scene were gifts of 911吃瓜鈥檚 Anit-Colonialism Society.
- The Cedar Table Series Anti-Colonial Art Contest (CTS-ACAC) was co-organized by the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) and the First Nations Student Society between November 2004 and and February 2005.
Sources
- Murphy, Ryan A. 鈥淎nti-Colonial Art: A cure for Amnesia and eyesores?鈥� in What is Colonialism. Spec. issue of The West Coast Line. Vol. 41, Issue 3. (2007): 4-25. Web.
- Strother, Miguel. 鈥淐omfort Controversy鈥� 911吃瓜 News Archive: 911吃瓜. January 27, 2005. Web.
- Vanderhill, Jason. 鈥淚llustrated Vancouver Vol 15 鈥� BC Pageant by Charles Comfort鈥�. In Vancouver is Awesome. November 12, 2011. Web.
Colonial Representation
- Anonymous. 鈥淲hat is Colonialism鈥� in What is Colonialism. Spec. issue of The West Coast Line. Vol. 41, Issue 3. (2007): 4-25. Web.
- Thomas, Nicholas. Colonialism鈥檚 Culture: Anthropology, Travel, and Government. 1994. Oxford: Polity Press: Print.
The Artists
- Anonymous. 鈥淲inners of the Anti-Colonial Art Contest鈥� in What is Colonialism. Spec. issue of The West Coast Line. Vol. 41, Issue 3. (2007): 4-25. Web.
- 鈥淐harles Comfort.鈥� Wikipedia. 2015. Web.