Cultural embossing: The layering of East Indian identity revealed through the visions and voices, of three Trinidadian visual artists of East Indian heritage [electronic resource]
說明
224 p
附註
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1640
Adviser: Graeme Sullivan
Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 2008
This study focused on the objective meaning of what it means to be "culturally embossed" by British colonialism in Trinidad. And the ramifications Indentureship and postcolonial Trinidad had on the lives of three artists of East Indian descent. The art stories of Alexis Ballie, Shastri Maharaj, and Glenn Roopchand were used to investigate the idea of cultural embossing. Several research questions were addressed which were explored through five themes of: colonialism, indentureship, culture, identity, and art education in Trinidad. The themes were intersected with the artists' stories and the overlapping contributed to the process of cultural embossing
The method used was based on Denzin's theory of interpretative biography, which includes life stories and self stories. The use of this method allowed me to interview the artists and insert my self-story in italics within the framed experiences of the artists' stories. The data collected consisted of both narratives and visual representations such as artworks, texts, and historical documents. The stories were examined and deconstructed through content analysis, and dominant themes were discussed within historical parallels and used as frames for the artists' stories, which were written in the first person singular
The results of the study explored how the artists used their artworks to represent their layering of identity and to convey their attitudes towards their East Indian heritage, which was transported from India to Trinidad from 1845--1917, while breaking through the force of British hegemony
The principle objective of recalling cultural experiences of displaced people warrants investigation, interrogation, and preservation through inquiry and scholarship. The visions, voices and visuals of the artists in this study provided a new benchmark, which served as historical reference for the East Indian Diaspora in Trinidad and the Caribbean
