Essay

One could not have asked for a better topic, the Black Body, as a metaphor and symbol of identity in Canadian art, or place to introduce the works of black artists within their Canadian space than Nova Scotia, it being the place where the first black community was founded.

Anthony Joyette

I am a naturalized Canadian artist. Over two decades ago I came to Canada and have experienced elements of its racial nature, but more disheartening was the low level of appreciation, black folks themselves held for the art and literature they produced. I realized, if my art or the works of black artists in Canada are to have any meaningful purpose beyond themselves, an understanding of its presence and values must be cultivated from a codified evolution of our culture. That became my purpose as an artist - to influence a discourse that fits the racial nature of Canadian culture and cultivate a black perspective in Canadian art. I want to help to put that art in a place for future generations to experience and talk about, and to add to as part of our legacy.

The Black Body is not new to Canadian art. White Canadian artists have had interest in the black body long before the idea of a black Canadian art evolved. François Malépart de Beaucourt's, Portrait of a Negro Slave (1786), Dorothy Stevens', Coloured Nude (1933), Prudence Heward's, Dark Girl (1935), Lawren P. Harris', Negress (1937) Louis Muhlstock's Eva, Spring (1947) and John Lyman's Sun Bathing (1955), are among the first depictions of black subject matter in Canadian art, but these images are outside their Canadian space. Vibrant colours, tropical vegetation and other supporting images, suggest a different location. The racial context of these works was discussed by Charmaine Nelson in her commentary on the exhibition Through An-Other’s Eyes: White Canadian artists - Black Female Subjects, which threw light on the black presence in early Canadian art and demonstrated that the white Canadian artists evidently subscribed to a racist culture, but not quite in the same imperialist manner as European or American artists. (Editor's note: Through An-Other's Eyes: White Canadian artists - Black Female Subjects was displayed at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in 20000 in conjunction with the exhibition SisterVisions III: Through Our Eyes which was co-curated by Pamela Edmonds and Rebecca Fisk). In art, the Black Body represents both the native and the naturalized black perspectives, categories that embody the experiences and ideas in black Canadian thought. The "native" perspective relates to all the ideas expressed by black people who are born in Canada and the "naturalized" perspective represents all the ideas expressed by black people who were born elsewhere and took up residency in Canada, through the legal process of naturalization. Each perspective brings it unique way of expression that evolves from different cultural mind sets, awarenesses and influences that are at the foundation of black creativity in Canada today. I feel such categories make it easier for one to look at styles, symbolism, interpretative meanings and develop comparative themes.

The native and naturalized perspectives in relation to the development of black Canadian aesthetic are significant as they articulate the complexity of our experiences as black people and as diasporic people. I question whether our diversity undervalued because we come under this racial category as black or because we have not been able to contextualize our ideas of blackness from experiences and backgrounds that have been rarely discussed. I think it is important to discuss our culture and creativity with as many perspectives, voices and theories as possible. It is especially important at this time when people on a global scale are looking at the notions of place, origin, nationality, race and identity in new ways.

The Black Body in Canadian art is proactive and at times aggressive in its desire to become an element of mainstream consumption. Black Canadian art is comprised of distinct forms from traditional schools. Native Canadian and naturalized black artists show strong affinities to North American schools. This can be seen in the works of artists from the Maritimes and Western Canada, where there is a history of black American migration. Many contemporary naturalized and native artists express a style steeped social realism-the social, political and racial struggle of black folk life-influenced by American Black Consciousness and the racial nature of North American culture. Naturalized artists from cultures outside North America, often adopt European styles of modernism and post modernism that relate to their colonial past. Other influences are the African and Haitian schools, whose forms and compositions are distinctly rich in symbolism and meaning. Most of this art can be found in the urban centers of British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario, where a number of naturalized artists exist.

Black artists work from similar pools of traditions that are at the foundation of all Canadian art, but their works are often not viewed within the idea and traditions of this place. This makes it difficult for the uniqueness of black art in Canada to be understood. Black artists in Canada are viewed from their cultural origins rather than their Canadian reality, thus keeping the Black Body outside its Canadian space.

Some of the things we need to do in order to keep the focus of the Black Body within its Canadian sphere are: The term "Canadian art" should no longer be interpreted as exclusively art by natives and mainly white artists in Canada, but also applied to the works of black Canadian artists and other artists of colour. Until this happens, contemporary Canadian art history will not reflect the complete range of its multiethnic or pluralist culture. The Black Body must come to terms with its own diversity and white exclusionism by focusing on a dialogue of its own making from the ideas of black writers, artists, historians, critics and cultural commentators in our community. We need to seek the ideological underpinnings of our artworks, history and culture, as well as an understanding of the varied symbolic and aesthetic values of black Canadian art. We need philosophical theories that will ground the Black Body within this nation, this place and time, and to educate people about, encourage a greater appreciation for, its value as currency of black Canadian culture.