| Art
is a manifestation of the interpretive nature of human interaction.
It provides a point of departure for engagement with cultural,
metaphorical, aesthetic, political and personal reflection. Native
artists work from a history grounded in the colonial experience. Yet
an aesthetic has developed in spite of cultural oppression and
repression that is distinct, vibrant and multi, as well as cross
disciplinary.
Experimentation in art by Aboriginal artists
challenges control by others of the resources and perception of
Aboriginal culture. In many ways, the work of Aboriginal media
artists can be seen as the outgrowth of distinctly Aboriginal visual
and literary cultures - a wide diversity of practices that maintain
a strong aesthetic relationship with oral storytelling traditions,
historical/traditional art and cultural production. One of the
essential components of Aboriginal artistic innovation has always
been the exploration of new forms, spaces and acknowledgement for
creative expressions that honour and celebrate the contemporary
vitality of Aboriginal history. Innovation based on strong
relationships to Aboriginal history is further invigorated because
this focal orientation also differs significantly from the generally
accepted foundations and practices of contemporary Canadian art and
society. The historic and contemporary imbalances within this
difference place extraordinary demands on creative negotiation and
rigorous analysis for continual rejuvenation and strength of
Aboriginal culture.
It goes beyond the notion of simple publication
and enters the realm of translation, exploring how media refashions
the logic of communication strategies to encompass a broader
understanding of contemporary cultural phenomena.
The ezine format of ConunDrum Online is an
articulation of creative and cultural space foregoing the
territorialized domains of cultural and artistic canons. It goes
beyond the notion of simple publication and enters the realm of
translation, exploring how media refashions the logic of
communication strategies to encompass a broader understanding of
contemporary cultural phenomena. For curator and theorist Catherine
Mattes, "translation can loosely be defined as the act of expressing
the sense of one language into another parlance or form of
representation. When applied to visual languages, translation can
transcend the boundaries of specific movements and discourses and
does not bind artists by locating them in (or up against) a
particular realm."
By using the internet as a publication vehicle,
information resource, discursive and interactive forum, and artistic
medium, ConunDrum
Online builds a greater audience for Aboriginal art, adds to the
body of critical dialogue around it, aids in the production of new
art, and contributes to the emergence and strength of new artists
and arts communities.
Steve Loft and Ahasiw Maskegon-Iskwew, March
2005 |
