Catherine Hahn - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Saint-Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
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Papers by Catherine Hahn
Identities, 2016
Taking the view that national art museums should represent the multifarious populations they serv... more Taking the view that national art museums should represent the multifarious populations they serve, this article explores racial material in Tate Britain's high-profile exhibition Artist and Empire: Facing Britain's Imperial Past (2015). The exhibition gave extensive coverage to two aspects of empire: hybrid fusions and the myth of white heroism, but gave limited attention to colonization as a maximally coercive system built on racist imaginings and abuse. Through cross-examination of the exhibition's content and absences, I explore whether Tate Britain is setting out the 'building blocks' for more diverse practice.
The thesis analyses modes of representation in the South African National Gallery (SANG) between ... more The thesis analyses modes of representation in the South African National Gallery (SANG) between 1930 and 2009. Built in 1930, for the larger part of its history SANG was situated in a white state that disenfranchised the black populace. Whiteness, as citizenship, was normalised and glorified in the state’s museums. Analysis of evidence collected from the archive, decor, art collection, exhibitions, attendance of walking tours and semi-structured interviews with staff demonstrates that SANG’s historic practice does not fit neatly within the dominant theoretical understanding of the art museum, namely a sacred space in which power has been obscured through the ‘art for art’s sake’ model. Instead, the thesis finds at SANG invisible symbolic capital resided alongside the more muscular capital of the colony, which derived its strength from an overt relationship with commerce, politics and race. The thesis further finds that SANG developed a close relationship with its white audience thr...
Identities, 2016
Taking the view that national art museums should represent the multifarious populations they serv... more Taking the view that national art museums should represent the multifarious populations they serve, this article explores racial material in Tate Britain's high-profile exhibition Artist and Empire: Facing Britain's Imperial Past (2015). The exhibition gave extensive coverage to two aspects of empire: hybrid fusions and the myth of white heroism, but gave limited attention to colonization as a maximally coercive system built on racist imaginings and abuse. Through cross-examination of the exhibition's content and absences, I explore whether Tate Britain is setting out the 'building blocks' for more diverse practice.
The thesis analyses modes of representation in the South African National Gallery (SANG) between ... more The thesis analyses modes of representation in the South African National Gallery (SANG) between 1930 and 2009. Built in 1930, for the larger part of its history SANG was situated in a white state that disenfranchised the black populace. Whiteness, as citizenship, was normalised and glorified in the state’s museums. Analysis of evidence collected from the archive, decor, art collection, exhibitions, attendance of walking tours and semi-structured interviews with staff demonstrates that SANG’s historic practice does not fit neatly within the dominant theoretical understanding of the art museum, namely a sacred space in which power has been obscured through the ‘art for art’s sake’ model. Instead, the thesis finds at SANG invisible symbolic capital resided alongside the more muscular capital of the colony, which derived its strength from an overt relationship with commerce, politics and race. The thesis further finds that SANG developed a close relationship with its white audience thr...