Social Connections
From Object to Icon: Art and Identity in Samoa View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anne Allen
On January 1, 1962, Western Samoa became the first Pacific Island country to gain independence. In an increasingly globalized world, Samoan families, communities, and as a country turned to art and architecture that spoke to indigenous traditions while also communicating a newly emerging identity as a modern nation-state. Although contact with Western powers had been part of the Samoan experience for almost 150 years, the achievement of independence can be seen as a pivotal moment in this evolution. Often the results were hybrdic forms or substitutes that retained some aspect of the original art. The transformation of indigenous architectural styles and siapo (tapa, bark cloth) from cultural objects to semiotic icons is evident in 21st century Samoa at several layers of society. This paper focuses on how the arts functioned as markers of identity within villages in pre and early colonial times and their transformation to icons of national identity post-independence.
“windows, black holes, helium”: Somatic Sourcing in Trauma-focused Collaborative Choreographic Practice View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Louis Laberge-Côté, Marie France Forcier
In the current North American socio-cultural climate, performers face employment scarcity, creating a culture where they tend to hang on to any employment they find. This situation often results in dancers choosing to remain silent when asked to perform in conditions with which they feel uncomfortable. Since trauma has recently become a buzzword in creative research and its notion is rapidly permeating the creative zeitgeist, how can directors gauge and sustain their performers' emotional well-being while aiming to harvest genuinely sourced material, especially when looking at trauma specifically at the core of their creative research question, going beyond trauma-informed practice, and into the trauma-focussed territory? This collaborative research-creation project, led by Principal Investigator Marie France Forcier, explored this difficult question. It aimed to discover and articulate strategies for lead creators and performers to deal with those issues. Throughout various creative, interview- and focus group-based research processes, Forcier devised "windows, black holes, helium", a new contemporary choreographic work on four professional dancers who self-identify as trauma survivors, in consultation with clinical psychiatrist and scholar Dr. Allison Crawford. Data collection — achieved through note-taking and video recording, cross-referenced to dancers' on-camera testimonials of their experience during rehearsals — continued during the entire process and post-performance. This paper, co-presented by Forcier and Louis Laberge-Côté — who acted as collaborator/performer in the project — disseminates various aspects of the research and creative process.
Healing Through Art: Exploring the Intersection of Trauma, Memory, and Healing in Visual Art View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mahsa Tabatabaei Mehrizi
Art has consistently served as a powerful medium for addressing and processing trauma, offering a conduit for both individual healing and societal reflection. This research delves into the intricate relationship between trauma and visual art, examining how artists capture the psychological and cultural dimensions of trauma in their creative expressions. Through an interdisciplinary lens, this study analyzes diverse art forms, including paintings, installations, and digital media, to uncover techniques that articulate narratives of loss, resilience, and recovery. The research utilizes trauma theory, semiotics, and psychoanalytic perspectives to investigate how aesthetic elements such as color, texture, and composition evoke emotional responses and communicate complex experiences. It explores the transformation of collective traumas into symbolic imagery that fosters empathy and dialogue. Special attention is given to contemporary artists whose works navigate the delicate interplay between personal and collective memory. This includes installations by Doris Salcedo, whose use of everyday materials encapsulates mourning, and the digital collages of Alfredo Jaar, which critique societal apathy toward suffering. Emerging artists leveraging immersive technologies like augmented reality are also explored for their innovative approaches to recreating traumatic experiences and promoting empathy. This research proposes a framework for understanding how art operates as a non-verbal language of healing, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers. By bridging theoretical insights with practical applications, it underscores art's critical role in psychological recovery and social justice. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions about art's transformative potential, positioning it as an essential element in fostering resilience and inspiring collective healing.
Feasts, Favors, and Fates: The Role of Hospitality in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session John Hansen
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales offers a rich exploration of medieval society -- with themes ranging from social class and morality to love and pilgrimage. One significant yet often overlooked theme in the work is hospitality. This paper explores the role of hospitality in The Canterbury Tales: analyzing how the treatment of guests reflects broader social and ethical concerns within the text. Hospitality, in its medieval context, was more than a mere gesture of kindness; it was a social contract that shaped relationships, defined social status, and expressed Christian virtues. My analysis focuses on key tales where hospitality is a central theme, including "The Knight's Tale," "The Franklin's Tale," and "The Host's Role in the General Prologue." These stories highlight different manifestations of hospitality that include noble acts of generosity to more self-serving or morally ambiguous behaviors. In "The Franklin's Tale," for example, hospitality is intertwined with ideas of generosity, reciprocity, and duty, while in "The Knight's Tale," it is linked to chivalric values and honor. Moreover, the character of the Host in the General Prologue serves as a focal point for examining hospitality as a social practice. His role in organizing the pilgrimage, providing accommodation, and guiding the storytelling underscores the intersection of hospitality, authority, and communal bonds. By investigating these elements, this paper argues that Chaucer uses hospitality as a lens through which to critique and illuminate the complexities of medieval social norms and moral expectations.
Unbelonging in Gyeongseong: Negotiating Identity and Hostile Spaces in Hongjacga's Delusion View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jessie Ming Sin Wong
Hongjacga's acclaimed webtoon Delusion, set in the charged atmosphere of 1930s colonial Gyeongseong (Seoul), offers a compelling lens for, "The Art of Hospitality." This paper argues, however, that Delusion primarily explores the limits and critique of hospitality, focusing instead on pervasive states of unbelonging. Analyzing the narrative, visual style, and character dynamics, it examines how both the politically oppressive colonial city and the enigmatic patron Jeonghwa's secluded mansion function as fundamentally hostile spaces, undermining genuine welcome. The central relationship between the struggling artist Iho and his mysterious commissioner Jeonghwa exemplifies conditional hospitality, revealing unequal power dynamics and the exchange of hidden "currencies" far exceeding the financial transaction. Within these fraught environments, characters are forced into precarious negotiations of identity, struggling against social marginalization, colonial constraints, and concealed monstrous truths. Through its depiction of compromised welcome and inescapable isolation — even for the powerful "host" Jeonghwa — Delusion challenges idealized notions of belonging. This paper contends that Hongjacga utilizes the Gothic romance framework within the unique affordances of the webtoon medium to expose how historical context, power imbalances, and hidden realities fundamentally disrupt genuine hospitality, rendering belonging an elusive, perhaps impossible, state in the world portrayed.
