| Contemporary Aboriginal artists in Canada operate from a unique and arguably highly problematic position in the social, political and cultural landscape, at the crossroads of many intersecting relations of power that affect the production, exhibition and reception of their work. As producers of art that is consumed by members of mainstream society, these artists have the means to create discourses that influence this position. However, they are also subject to many conditions beyond their sphere of influence. Aboriginal artists' acquisition of various forms of capital is influenced by this nexus of social and historical conditions, organizational practices and discourses.;In this thesis, I address the question "What are the politics of representation that affect contemporary Canadian Aboriginal artists' access to social, financial and political capital?" I examine the discourses of practicing Aboriginal artists in order to uncover the representational politics that affect them. I argue that artists' access to various forms of capital is affected by their need to make a living, by the politics of educational institutions, by discourses regarding 'political' art, by the unwritten rules of the art world, by questions of identity and by cultural policies that result in artists becoming the gatekeepers to cultural authenticity. Artists experience these conditions as a double-edged sword, as these various interests and discourses place them in a challenging position, a false binary in which they must prioritize the acquisition of one form of capital over another. |
