Making Paul Kane Useful: A Critical Conversation about Paul Kane’s Travels in Indigenous North America
23 October, 4:00 – 6:00pm
Free & Open to the Public
Ian MacLaren’s four-volume publication, Paul Kane’s Travels in Indigenous North America: Writings and Art, Life and Times (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024)
Richard William Hill, Smith-Jarislowsky Senior Curator of Canadian Art, Vancouver Art Gallery
Ian MacLaren, Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta
Anne Whitelaw, Provost and Vice-president Academic and professor, Concordia University
Stéphanie Hornstein, Doctoral candidate, Concordia University
With painstaking archival research and close analysis of Kane’s field notes and sketches, MacLaren has cleared away the myths and misconceptions surrounding the artist’s documentary record. Critic Kate Taylor lists the discoveries and contributions to knowledge of MacLaren’s monumental publication yet feels compelled to ask: “Given the problems with Kane’s work, you might wonder why study him at all” (Globe and Mail, 10 Aug. 2024). This round table will pursue that very question.
