ARTIST VS. SUBJECT
ARTIST VS. SUBJECT
“Indian Church” was created by Canadian painter Emily Carr in 1929. The work is based on the artist’s experiences while visiting Nootka island near Vancouver. Carr traveled often and fostered an appreciation and fascination for the culture of Indingenous people of the pacific northwest. Known as one of the first Canadian modernist painters, Carr is best known for her landscapes containing cultural and religious motifs. Carr passed away in 1945.
In 2018, the Art Gallery of Ontario changed the painting’s name to “Church at Yuquot Village” due to the perceived negative connotation of the word “Indian.” AGO curators Georgiana Uhlyarik and Wanda Nanibush affirm the decision because they first received approval and permission from the Nuu-chah-nulth community (native to the painting’s setting). The exhibit display in Ontario features an asterisk indicating the original name of the work.
Some find comfort that the affected indigenous group can have control over cultural representation through art. Others criticize the move as revisionist, denying the artist creative control of her own work. Currently, the Art Gallery of Ontario does not have a standardized policy on amending titles, but aims to correct discriminatory terms according to today’s standards.
