Colonialism revisited

The steamroller ethos adopted by European colonialists, and their denigration of other cultures, particularly from the 3rd World, is the theme of a video work by New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana.

By BARRY DAVIS
MULTIDISCIPLINARY NEW ZEALAND Maori artist Lisa Reinhana has gained global acclaim for her enlightening video work in 'In Pursuit of Venus [infected].' (photo credit: LISA REINHANA)
MULTIDISCIPLINARY NEW ZEALAND Maori artist Lisa Reinhana has gained global acclaim for her enlightening video work in 'In Pursuit of Venus [infected].'
(photo credit: LISA REINHANA)
In this post-modern world of ours, it seems nothing is taken for granted. That is probably a good thing generally – and in particular when it comes to historical injustices perpetrated when the world was a more naïve place, and the imperial powers basically acted as they pleased.
The steamroller ethos adopted by European colonialists, and their denigration of other cultures, particularly from what came to be known as the Third World, is the principal theme of a beguiling video work by New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana. Lisa is a multidisciplinary artist whose vast oeuvre takes in film, sculpture, costume and body adornment, text and photography. Much of the aforementioned comes into play in the generously proportioned video installation In Pursuit of Venus [infected], which opened at the Israel Museum a couple of weeks ago, curated by Dorit Shafir, and will run through until December 19.
The timing of the current showing is particularly apt, as a certain Captain James Cook set sail from England and headed to the far southeastern corner of world map in search of areas previously uncharted by Western powers. The feted explorer and cartographer was the first white man to reach what is now Australia and New Zealand, thereby providing the world’s greatest imperial power a foothold in far-flung climes. However, as we have learned over the years, it is never a one-way street. There is always peripheral stuff that often comes into play, frequently unkindly for the unsuspecting locals.
Reihana is keen to convey that in a highly intricate work that measures a full 32 meters across and was a decade in the making.
“I have met many different people from different islands and I wanted to invite them in, to be part of this project. Captain Cook is considered a discoverer of the Pacific, so there was this idea that these lands were empty, but of course they were not. People were already there.”
The encounter/clash between the indigenous population and the foreign newcomers, from a very different world and mind-set, with very different intent, is portrayed in the vast work. The stellar leader of the expedition is front and center, as is famed botanist Joseph Banks, who is seen mistreating some of the islanders. Also among the leading characters is Tupaia, an ambitious Machiavellian Tahitian who was a gifted navigator, politician and artist, and also Cook’s trusted companion.
The video work occupies an entire long side of the darkened exhibition niche, which suits the setting of the source aesthetic catalyst.
“I was in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, in 2009, where I saw Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique,” Reihana recalls. She was drawn to the expansive work, but also taken aback by its complete lack of authenticity with regard to “Pacific people.”
“I couldn’t see anything I recognized.”
THE ARTIST was not only shocked, her muse was duly fired, and she set about reimagining the 18th century creation by French painter, designer and draftsman Jean-Gabriel Charvet, who had visited the Caribbean on business, and ended up spending four years there. During that time, he produced numerous studies of flora and fauna, but became best known for his design of the 20-panel wall covering with an idealized, Western interpretation of the facts on the ground of the remote neck of the woods.
Much like the orientalist drawings, prints and paintings that offered a stylized reading of life in the Middle East around the same time by the likes of David Roberts, Gustav Adolf Bauernfeind and Edwin Lord Weeks, Charvet did not exactly agonize over the finer details of his portrayal, which, after all, was for consumption by a Western public that knew no better. That warped view is referenced by the [infected] part of Reihana’s title, while “Venus” is a nod to one of Cook’s stated assignments, to get a better handle on the said planetary body.
SCENE FROM 'In Pursuit of Venus [infected],' which sheds light on colonial misdemeanors. (Credit: LISA REINHANA)
SCENE FROM 'In Pursuit of Venus [infected],' which sheds light on colonial misdemeanors. (Credit: LISA REINHANA)
As the daughter of a man whose Maori heritage goes back at least seven centuries, Reihana has a personal vested interest in utilizing cutting-edge 21st century digital technology to revisit Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique.
Reihana was looking to right some two century-plus wrongs.
“For me, the way that Cook and Banks talked about Aboriginal people from Australia, they created this kind of hierarchy. I wanted to bring them forward, to give them status, so including scenes with some Aboriginal folk was really important to me. I have spent a lot of time working in Australia, and their work is quite phenomenal, their knowledge systems are very long and deep.”
In the video installation, we see traditional dance and ritual, and also blithe behavior by the overseas intruders. There are dark slots alongside some humorous scenes, in a work that is engaging, illuminating, visually appealing and entertaining.
WHILE YOU’RE moseying on through the Israel Museum, you might want to get yourself over to the Robert and Rena (Fisch) Lewin Gallery, where you can grab several eyefuls of the “A Modern Love” show. The collection of prints is subtitled “Remarkable Photographs” from the Israel Museum, and it is a well-earned epexegetical add-on.
GERMAN-BORN ISRAELI photographer Liselotte Grschebina was keen to present manifold sides of pre-state Zionist pioneering. (Credit: THE ISRAEL MUSEUM)
GERMAN-BORN ISRAELI photographer Liselotte Grschebina was keen to present manifold sides of pre-state Zionist pioneering. (Credit: THE ISRAEL MUSEUM)
The spread of works, following a timeline from 1900 to 1945, was curated by Noam Gal and designed by Alexandra Topaz and Shirly Yahalomi. All concerned have done a good job. As you enter the large display area, you immediately get a sense of coziness and intimacy, spacious berth notwithstanding.
“There are no labels on the walls,” Gal notes. “We bring you photography just as it is, with no frills.”
Then again, that is not quite accurate. The black and white framed prints are hung quite low on the walls of the hall, at observer-friendly heights, much as you might place them in the confines of your own domicile. That sense is enhanced by the mantelpiece-like fixture that juts out beneath many of the pictures.
“It is only when you get close up to the photographs that you see that, on the shelf, right around the exhibition, the labels are dotted around.”
'Frances with Flower,' taken in 1931-1932 by pacesetting female American photographer Consuelo Kanaga. (Credit: ESTATE OF CONSUELO KANAGA)
'Frances with Flower,' taken in 1931-1932 by pacesetting female American photographer Consuelo Kanaga. (Credit: ESTATE OF CONSUELO KANAGA)
That’s a neat touch, and one that draws on the traditional approach to photographic creations, whereby they were generally exhibited within one’s own home, rather than put on show in some public repository for all to see.
And there is plenty to marvel at in “A Modern Love.” For starters, there’s the original print of that famous Man Ray shot, Noire at Blanche (Black and White) from 1926 with, for an intriguing comparison purposes, a touched-up version from the following year. “You can make up your own mind about which one you prefer,” laughs Gal.
There is something of interest everywhere you look around the hall, with some fascinating pictures tucked away in some of the niches, too. Female snappers are given pride of place, with works by the likes of 20th century American photographer Consuelo Kanaga, who is represented by a surrealistic-looking Frances with Flower from 1931-32, a similarly intentioned shot by compatriot artist Imogen Cunningham, in the form of her Magnolia Blossom, Tower of Jewels from 1925, while a German-born Israeli photographer was clearly fired by a strong Zionist bent as she produced a slew of works clearly designed to stoke local ideological embers.
Hollywood silent movie star Gloria Swanson was one of several iconic figures captured by early 20th century Luxembourg-born American photographer Edward Jean Steichen. (Credit: © 2019 THE ESTATE OF EDWARD STEICHEN / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS) NEW YORK)
Hollywood silent movie star Gloria Swanson was one of several iconic figures captured by early 20th century Luxembourg-born American photographer Edward Jean Steichen. (Credit: © 2019 THE ESTATE OF EDWARD STEICHEN / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS) NEW YORK)
The exhibition presents a range of modernist perspectives, interspersed by some specific emphases on approach or a specific artist or phenomenon. The 1924 gelatin silver print, Solitude and Glasses, by Czech artist Jaromir Funke, is certainly an evocative somewhat surrealist standout, and The Steerage, one of the earlier exhibits, taken in 1907 by late 19th century-early 20th century Jewish American pioneer Alfred Stieglitz, is a definitive showstopper.
Gal found some room for a clutch of rich-and-famous portraits, including an alluring shot of Greta Garbo, from 1928, by Luxembourg-born American photographer Edward Jean Steichen who, incidentally, ran the “Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession” exhibition venture together with Stieglitz from 1905 to 1917. And there is a slightly mysterious portrayal of celebrated painter, photographer and poet Dora Maar by French-based, Hungarian-born photographer Rogi André.
Other photographic standouts include Film-Régisseur H.L., by French-born photographer Helmar Lerski, who lived and worked in pre-state Palestine for a while, and a lovely shot of 1930s industrial Sheffield, in northeast England, by German-born British snapper Bill Brandt, and Austrian-born Herbert Bayer’s strikingly and aptly titled surrealist Humanely Impossible from 1932.
For more information: https://www.imj.org.il/en


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