In response to the Wonders of Canada session on CBC1 Sounds Like Canada:
Canada is filled with Great Empty Spaces. We use this in paintings, film and theatre. In
the arts, an empty space allows the viewer to project themselves into that place: where
nothing else is. Perhaps it is because we are like nature; we abhor a vacuum. Canadian
artists aren't the only ones who realize this phenomena. In Japanese comics, the main
character often has an almost featureless face. A sense of wonder occurs when an
individual is forced to contemplate what might be beyond the horizon, or behind that blank
stare...
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2 comments:
actually, i think that notion of "empty space" has been criticized soundly, at least in its colonial aspect - i.e. there was no "empty" nature upon which to project the colonial "project" of exploitation and accomplishment. and then there is the big bad narcissist aspect - "bad" love/hate or desire/revulsion is not recognizing when we are projecting ourselves "onto/into" the "void" of the other i.e. obsessively loving/hating ourselves (shame, shame!) sometimes in public, and always unconsciously (triple shame!).
i did a piece in 2004 featuring loads of faceless people. it was interesting to hear the interpretations - is it a mask stopping the viewer from seeing and privileging the art object "viewer"? is it a "void" upon which to project? for me it was an attempt to facilitate the "viewer" feeling as if they were in the situation depicted as opposed to empathizing remotely.
anyway, that's my comment. canada's open spaces are someone/something else's breeding grounds, hunting grounds, etc., etc. - those square inches or feet or acres have many existences all at the same time and historically i guess - and the notion of emptiness is itself something to consider
:)
I grew up on the Prairie, and we would think of nothing of driving for several hours to go visit someone. Our perception of the emptiness did not preclude the homes these environs created for any number of living things. The space allowed for such wonders as Drive-in movies - always a treat for the German foreign exchange students, accrding to a friend in the TESL department at Brock. These same Germans would tell us to explain distance in kilometres or metres. They complained to us that we Canadians described how far away a place was in terms of how long it would take to drive there. "Toronto is about an hour and a half away." Of course there are exceptions, there always are...
The Buddhist literature and community are full of reminders for us to remember all the living creatures of the world - and again, I myself have let people know that the Prairies where I grew up were not so 'empty' as they perceived them. I may still have a little of the Prairie Person notion that folks from Ontario are always in such a hurry to get through the Prairies. We have put rumble strips on the highways approaching intersections to remind them they do share the space with others.
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