The XXXII Venice Biennale, held in 1964, presented an important moment in the history of American art, for it was the first time that an American painter was awarded the major prize at the prestigious international show. The fact that Robert Rauschenberg captured the most coveted award of the Biennale, the Grand Prize for painting, had major repercussions for the art scene in the United States and the international art community. For the Americans, the prize was "proof" that American art had finally come into its own, that through its struggle for recognition over the European avant-garde, it had finally reached its well-deserved place as leader of the pack. For the Europeans, especially the French, the award represented the "last frontier" of American expansionism--for it seemed that the economic and military dominance of the United States finally had been supplemented by cultural dominance. It seems pertinent to this study to examine the French response in particular, since they had traditionally dominated Biennale prizes. By analyzing the French reviews and responses to the prize, and situating these in a broader political context, I will discuss how the U.S. was perceived as the new cultural leader, despite the vehement objections to the culture of the New Frontier, which seemed to be only Coke bottles, stuffed eagles and carelessly dripped paint. Given the vehement objections engendered by the Rauschenberg victory, it seems somewhat curious that the United States would choose Rauschenberg as a representative of American culture. In order to discover how the pop imagery in the work was linked to the image : of U.S. culture promoted by the U.S. Information Agency (the government agency responsible for the show), it is necessary to analyze the cultural and intellectual debates of the early 1960s. Rejecting earlier notions that high art should remain separate from mass culture, a prominent group of intellectuals argued for a "new sensibility" in art which would embrace popular culture, thereby elevating it. This positive notion of a single, all-embracing culture corresponds to a more general optimism among many intellectuals; their rallying cry was the "end of ideology," which disdained radical critique in favor of the promise of Kennedy's "progressivism" and the welfare state. These intellectuals argued that while the system was not perfect, any major problems could be averted by simply "fine-tuning" the existing state; in the meantime, the promise of Kennedy's New Frontier required a more affirmative than critical stance. The elements shared between these discourses on culture and society at this time were of seminal importance to the critical understanding of Rauschenberg's work, particularly as it was presented at the Biennale. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

Biennials, both historically and in the present, form a significant part of the contemporary art world. However, beyond simply acting as platforms for contemporary art, these extensive, recurring international exhibitions also facilitate complex dialogues involving a variety of agents, both cultural and political. With the inherently political nature of these exhibitions in mind, this thesis examines Canadian participation in the Venice and São Paulo biennials from 1951 to 1958. By examining what I identify as the triple purpose of the biennial - the exhibition of contemporary art, the facilitation of cultural diplomacy, and the creation and reinforcement of cultural nationalist narratives - this paper further explicates the National Gallery of Canada’s role in defining Canadian culture and the relationships between visual culture, cultural nationalism, cultural diplomacy and institutional politics in the postwar era. Drawing upon Judith Balfe’s conception of the utilization and manipulation of visual culture for nationalistic or diplomatic ends, I argue that participation in the Venice Biennale served as a means of reinforcing the presence of an NGC-defined culture of Canadian art to an international audience comprised mainly of artistic and diplomatic elite. Conversely, participation in the São Paulo Bienal served primarily as a conduit for the Department of External Affairs to project a positive image of Canadian culture to other nations and foster cordial relations between like-minded nations. I contend that a comparative analysis of Canadian participation in the two biennials highlights the complicated relationship between the NGC and the Department of External Affairs as well as the ideological adherence of both institutions towards liberalism and liberal democracy. / Thesis (Master, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-26 16:43:34.318