Emily Carr’s Legacy in Canadian Art History

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Emily, Carr: At the Edge of the World
Emily Carr: Historical Moment
Emily Carr: Cybermuse
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Over the years, several artists have sprung up, however, very few of them have lived up to Emily Carr’s legacy. During her times, in the late nineteenth century, it was quite rare to find female artists; moreover, the family was not supportive of her artistry. However, this did not deter her, it instead spurred her love for painting, which now shifted from aboriginal artifacts to landscape themes. The former involved various works on Indian culture, while the latter involved landscape themes, and in particular forest scenes. This helped in conveying her style as a post-impressionist painter. She stood out as one of the first chroniclers of life in her native, British Columbia. This brought her fame, even referred to as the Canadian Icon in Canadian encyclopedia. Such was her influence and contribution to Canadian artifacts that she wrote several inspiring books on her life and nature conservation. Her remembrance was greatly attributed to the paintings she made, with the main highlights being her pursuit of Canadian spirit in a modern way as was represented in several of her paintings. Her themes were considered of great influence to Canadian population and painting in general, for instance, her focus on nature and natives spurred environmental awareness throughout the country. This essay paper examines and analyses the diversity of Carr’s art as well as historical narratives by comparing and scrutinizing three different sources on her work. This is done by considering notable differences in her approach, methodology, language, point of view, presentation, and the targeted audience, among others (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

Emily Carr was the second last-born in a house of six. She was born in 1871, in Victoria. This was the year when British Columbia became a Canadian province. Her parents, Richard and Emily, were of English origin. Carr’s father was very supportive of her artistry, although they did not live long enough to witness their daughter’s fame in paintings. Having studied arts in San Francisco Institute for Art, she returned home and developed her paintings, initially focusing on aboriginal theme. She then made several travels across Canada, United States, U.K., and France , which she helped her gain more experience and knowledge in painting. These trips exposed her to the world, helping her through the ladder of fame and having the opportunity to meet other intellectuals in arts, for instance the group of seven. Old age and illness led her introduction into writings, which were mainly autobiographical and stood the test of verification for facts and figures. She died of heart attack in 1945 just before she could receive an honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

Emily, Carr: At the Edge of the World

This is a book authored by Jo Ellen and Maxwell Newhouse. It is a work piece that shows excellent quality of Emily Carr’s work. It gives both her paintings and writings, which mainly depicts the day-to-day lives of native people in the Pacific Coast. The picture book that mostly gives her biography from childhood to adulthood depicts early Canadian history and artistic struggles. Moreover, it conveys the battles of her lifetime, health and painting trips, which were seen in her life (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

The language used in this book is a simple straightforward writing with some elements of sophistication. Since sophisticated languages rarely capture young readers, it has been blended with Carr’s pictures and straightforward writings. Through this, the author shows both an admirable and a complex, difficult artist behind the scenes. Young readers as well as older ones are therefore, able to gain from these writings and paintings, which spur them on their artistic prowess (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

The methods used in conveying Carr’s artistry in this book marches its target group. The well-illustrated pictures , straightforward figures, as well as use of sophisticated language , among others, are designed specifically to reach out to different readers. In essence, it serves its purpose in all levels of its target groups and this is credited to the method of writing that incorporates paintings and illustrations as well as bibliographies for mature readers (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

The book was designed to target students from 4^th grade, all the way to 8^th. This is aimed at giving them an inclusive and systematic understanding, acquisition and mastery of artifacts as well as a better understanding of Canadian history, to spur the Canadian spirit. As students develop, they get to understand, their surroundings better, this helps them internalize the meanings as well as image development and illustrations (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

‘At the edge of the world’ is a brilliant introduction of Emily Carr’s paintings to students. The book describes Emily’s history in pictures and illustrations as well as her struggles in life; that is, living at the edge of her society and artistry. She had to live in poor health, in addition to family’s disapproval of her artistry. The source also conveys her love for pets, which included dogs, parrots and a monkey; her writings came much later, when illness stopped her from painting. This book therefore gives its audience the psychological and physical strength to survive any obstacles that may hinder their passion. Consequently, it is considered a pleasant book for young readers, who are yet to undergo several challenges in life (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

Its presentation, full of illustrations, diagrams, direct language, and some sophisticated complexities, allow for student’s growth in artistic analysis. This brilliant book is therefore ideal for a wide range of readers, who are interested in learning Canadian history as well as Carr’s remarkable paintings. It also acts as an introduction to Carr’s paintings and writings (Bogart and Newhouse 1-40).

Emily Carr: Historical Moment

‘Historica minutes’ is another work, casted on behalf of Emily Carr, her remembrance was always put forward to honor her contributions to Canadian arts, women, nature and history. This is a casted episode of Emily Carr’s biography and her influence on the world of arts. It gives a description of her autobiography and the works of painting that were associated with her. It also gives an illustrative description of her life, with two impersonators in Bette Thompson and Roslyn Prieco as her in youthful and old age respectively (Historica Dominion 1).

The language used in the cast is more sophisticated than that of first source. This is mainly because much of her works required interpretations for their significance, which was not easy for young readers. The casts are more sophisticated in language and relevance; it requires some level of understanding to grasp fully, its theme and relevance. This gives a clue of her targeted audience, which is of significance. However, it does not put aside its relevance to upcoming young artists and painters, since its visuals are very effective to young stars. Besides, it also gives an exclusive view of her paintings and history, which is much easier to follow in visual terms than to read. Visual show is therefore significant in instigating development of audience, especially for those at a tender age (Historica Dominion 1).

The method employed in this film is important in that, very complicated scenes are well illustrated by images and actions, which are easier to grasp and master. The support given to its complex language through visual illustrations and images ensures that the audience’s attention is captured throughout the episode. The elaborative aspects of Carr’s paintings and trips throughout her career are a representative of well-laid sourcing in the cast (Historica Dominion 1).

‘Historica minute’ cast is intended for an all round audience, this is because it is accompanied with visuals and illustration of Carr’s life. Given that it conveys both her tender and older life, the casting is equally representative of both the young and old. It is however much complicated for the young, as it requires many interpretations since its language is more sophisticated. Students can therefore learn and develop from one level of understanding to another as they keep watching the cast both in their childhood and in adulthood. This is because every moment brings with it a new understanding of the elements formerly seen as complicated in the cast (Historica Dominion 1).

This cast is therefore intended to develop the minds of young audience as well as expose them to Carr’s artistic works and history of Canada. It brings to them an understanding of Canadian culture, spirit and concerns. The casts are therefore significant in overlaying a firm foundation of Carr’s works and paintings on aspiring artists. This is important as it helps develop their visual, comparative and analyzing techniques for artifacts. The mode of presentation is therefore ideal for the targeted groups and stands a chance of reaping from a wide range of people, for instance, the young and old, both genders, scholars as well as laymen are welcomed during play of the film (Historica Dominion 1).

Emily Carr: Cybermuse

Cybermuse, a research site for art education describes Carr as a writer and painter whose motivation throughout her life was on environment of the Coastal British Colombia. It gives a detailed autobiography of Carr, beginning with her education at San Francisco, then to her exploits in artifacts throughout the world, to her death in 1945. The source relates her works in artistry and seeks to enlighten audience on Carr’s works as well as environmental awareness in Canadian History (The National Gallery of Canada 1).

The language used is simple with a descriptive/ reflective view of Carr’s life and works. It is straightforward and gives an autobiography that appeal to all groups of scholars. It specifically stresses her attachment to nature and the environment, pegging her paintings to nature, which she claimed in her famous statement to be made by an artist’s soul. This, she kept as her inspiration to upcoming artists who intended to walk in her steps (The National Gallery of Canada 1).

The source uses descriptive /reflective techniques to analyze Carr’s life with critical analysis given priority in this case. These methods are very important in laying down foundation for critical analysis of audience, which they can employ in even in other works. The audience develops critical analysis techniques as well as an understanding of the relation between artifacts and nature. Being an educative source with various categories for kids, youths, teachers as well as researchers, it provides a platform for learning in all levels of education (The National Gallery of Canada 1).

The audience targeted by this source is open to all scholars: kids, youths, and teachers as well as researchers, who can access it at will. This is important in exposing everyone to the learning of history of Canada. It is quite imperative to note that, it brings together views and interests from all ages and levels of education (The National Gallery of Canada 1).

The views presented of Carr in the source are based on facts and figures, as well as artifacts collected from her paintings. This is a true representation of Carr’s works and paintings, which have been of great influence on Canadian History. It is a representation of her struggles, achievements, inspiration for paintings and writing, which were aimed at promoting environmental awareness as well as Canadian culture and history. Emily Carr has been represented as an Icon of Canadian History, with great attributions to her name and honors given in her memory. It is therefore a wonderful biography with the intuition of promoting aspiring artists, women and Canadian history as well as the inclination towards environmental conservation (The National Gallery of Canada 1).

Conclusion

Emily Carr was regarded as one of the earliest chroniclers of her time, standing out as the main artists in painting and Canadian history. She started with aboriginal themes and Canadian culture, before settling on landscape themes, and in particular forestry. All the three sources confirm this; they describe her to have been of great significance to Canadian history and environmental conservation, which is majorly stressed in cybermuse. Various approaches were used in the sources, for instance, ‘At the edge of the world’ used pictures and illustrations, ‘Historica minutes’ used castings, while cybermuse used reflective /descriptive approach. Of all these, ‘historica minutes’ had a more sophisticated language with some elements of interpretations required. In general, the sources attributed Carr’s efforts to environmental conservation, Canadian history, and Canadian aboriginal traditional culture.

References

The National Gallery of Canada. “Emily Carr.” Cybermuse. 2010. Web.

Historica Dominion. “The Arts: Emily Carr.” Historica minutes. 2010. Web.

Bogart , Ellen and Newhouse Maxwell. “Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World.” Tundra Books. 2003.

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