RESEARCH PROPOSAL Draft

‘CULTURAL FUSION’

INTRODUCTION

I have been interested in the North American natives for a long time, studying their motifs for my A level. Also for my BA getting involved with the politics of the natives through the use of the Sundance ceremony to obstruct and manipulate the BP gas company to gain some control of the destruction of their reservation for the sake of oil.

The mission of the Canadian government was to assimilate the natives into the mainstream society. They are guilty of a mass cultural genocide and as a result this ancient culture has endured a massive hiccup by being denied in the past the right to practice their own ways, the evolution of cultures has been rapid and the greed of governments destructive.

The museums on the other hand have tried to preserve the native culture but have only succeeded in stripping native artefacts of their aesthetic and social context. They are relics of a culture reminding us of what has been lost and destroyed. In museums we never see them in the settings of the socio-religious events that they were intended for.

The combination of missionary activity, racism and greed has ensured the near total destruction of these native environments and ways of life. What are the implications of the domination of one culture by another the exploitation and destruction of the natural resources of an environment and the undermining of an indigenous culture. .

This has happened to numerous cultures world wide and consequently their traditions are being diluted and diffused slowly into western mainstream society. The overwhelming influences from western society have caused them to slowly evolve and morph into something new and original but with elements reminiscent of the past. It is inevitable that these cultures will eventually disappear altogether, all we can do as human beings is document as much as possible about these cultures to pass on to future generations.

METHODOLOGY

As I grew up along side these displaced Canadian Native people, my own unique point of view has led my research to look at the fusions of cultures. I was feeling uncomfortable with using native influences, being white. Who owns native culture is the dilemma, a matter of conscience, I don’t have the rights. Is it playing at being native? Or are we facing up to important issues? But to ignore them seems to deny the achievements of these people. Is my interest and own brand of fusion valid? And is the inevitable going to happen? Are we all just going to blend into one big pot of soup?

I have been researching artist who are dealing with these issues, Marcus Coates and Guillermo Gomez-Pena. Marcus Coates, at the moment questionable, need to research more. Is it because he is white, whereas Guillermo Gomez-Pena seems more legit why, he is a Hispanic Mexican? Is it a question of where you come from and who you are, does this legitimise it?

A new modernity is emerging reconfigured to an age of globalisation. Communication, travel and migration are affecting the way that we live and explore our world. The Altermodern Manifesto suggests that ‘today’s artists are responding to a new globalised perception moving away from art generated by personal cultural identity.’(N. Bourriaud) Can artists’ practices be rooted in individual origins while they engage with multiple cultural influences? Through the medium of performance art I intend to create my own unique fusion of ‘cultural performance’.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

J. Diamond. ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel the Fates of Human Societies’ 1999

M.F.Brown ‘Who Owns Native Culture?’ 2003

BBC 2 Documentary Series ‘Around world in 80 Faiths’ by an Anglican Priest Peter Owen Jones.

Nicolas Bourriaud Altermodern – Tate Triennial 2009

G. Gomez-Pena ‘ethno-techno writings on performance, activism, and pedagogy’ 2005

C. F. Feest ‘The Culture of Native North Americans’

N. Smart ‘The world’s Religions’ 1992

J. Mark ‘Mask’s The Art of expressions’ ‘1994’

B. Geoffrey-Schneitier ‘Primal Arts Native Indians, Eskimos, Aborigines.’ ‘2006