Stan Douglas: Western Movies
Stan Douglas Klatsassin 2006 Film still Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner Gallery New York
Canadian artist Stan Douglas is well known for breaking and twisting linear, unified narratives into more complex, loop-like structures. This is true whether he’s presenting a film with almost infinite permutations, like 2003’s Suspiria, or reinserting a historical scene into a present location, as he did more recently with the Woodward’s building installation Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971. Now, it seems the presentation of Douglas’ work has also twisted inward on itself. Following a 2006 premiere at the Vienna Secession and a 2009 presentation at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Douglas’ Klatsassin is currently installed at the Kamloops Art Gallery—a location that is (so far) closest to the area and the narrative that the work portrays.
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Stan Douglas Klatsassin 2006 Film still Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner Gallery New York |
Largely set in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region north of Kamloops, Klatsassin interprets possible events leading to the Chilcotin war of 1864. As the official story goes, Klatsassin was a Tsilhqot’in chief during the gold rush who was accused of murder and was tried and executed for what he perceived as an attempt to defend his people from smallpox and other threats. This being Douglas at work, however, the events are broken apart, altered and extensively recombined—according to Michael Ned Holte, it would take 3 days to watch all 840 permutations of the story in Douglas’ filmic projection.
Also, as with Douglas’ other works, there’s the potential for uncanny similarities to be drawn between past and present. As Douglas put it in the October 2006 issue of Artforum, “I looked at the history of this area—the way people dressed, the way they interacted, where they came from, and so on. In Klatsassin, I don't think any two characters are the same nationality or speak the same language. They're all from different places, scrambling to get their gold. It reminded me of today—people from the US and Europe trying to get the most valuable thing in the world out of the earth in a place where they're not really welcome.” While Douglas might have aimed that observation at Middle Eastern military operations, it also evokes ongoing First Nations land claims debates in BC. As such, Douglas’ massive, international project is likely to strike some strong local chords during this timely Kamloops presentation. (465 Victoria St, Kamloops BC)
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Stan Douglas Klatsassin 2006 Film still Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner Gallery New York |
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