Adventures of a Cyborg Hybrid
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Tansis!
I feel that this trip has come at a good time in my life. I have been denying so many things for so long, and age is finally giving me some wisdom, albeit little. In 2001, I finally started to embrace my Indigenous culture, it started at a 5 day workshop at the Banff Centre where I met Cheryl L'Hondelle and she gave me precious knowledge which gave me courage to step out of the preverbial Indigenous closet. I have always admitted to being part Scottish and Cree but I felt that my rights to learn about my heritage died along with my Great Grandparents. I was in Canada, who cares about my past? Watching First Nation drunks on main street in Winnipeg and negative headlines of Indigenous people in the paper was my learning ground. Why would I want to associate myself with that? Even my history teacher taught me that the problems of the First Nations in Canada was based on their stubbornness to stay segregated and fight amongst themselves...if they had only worked together, then they might of had a better chance in life. When reading April Raintree as a naive young school girl, I was unsympathetic. I asked myself 'Why couldn't she just embrace her white background and just move on?' Now that I am closing in on 40, I realize that I still have a little bit of that childhood ignorance, but I am making an effort to educate myself. Culture is not something that you can roll up in a ball and throw away. There is a strength in it, a sense of well being, and a comfort. Especially when I have been denied it a large portion of my life. Now that I am embracing my culture, it feels like coming in from the cold and being wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire. There may be many ugly parts to this journey, but I know that there will also be many a wonderful discovery. I do this not just for myself, but it is a legacy that I want to pass on to my son.
tiniki ¶ 10/16/2010 01:57:00 a.m. 0 Comments
I feel that this trip has come at a good time in my life. I have been denying so many things for so long, and age is finally giving me some wisdom, albeit little. In 2001, I finally started to embrace my Indigenous culture, it started at a 5 day workshop at the Banff Centre where I met Cheryl L'Hondelle and she gave me precious knowledge which gave me courage to step out of the preverbial Indigenous closet. I have always admitted to being part Scottish and Cree but I felt that my rights to learn about my heritage died along with my Great Grandparents. I was in Canada, who cares about my past? Watching First Nation drunks on main street in Winnipeg and negative headlines of Indigenous people in the paper was my learning ground. Why would I want to associate myself with that? Even my history teacher taught me that the problems of the First Nations in Canada was based on their stubbornness to stay segregated and fight amongst themselves...if they had only worked together, then they might of had a better chance in life. When reading April Raintree as a naive young school girl, I was unsympathetic. I asked myself 'Why couldn't she just embrace her white background and just move on?' Now that I am closing in on 40, I realize that I still have a little bit of that childhood ignorance, but I am making an effort to educate myself. Culture is not something that you can roll up in a ball and throw away. There is a strength in it, a sense of well being, and a comfort. Especially when I have been denied it a large portion of my life. Now that I am embracing my culture, it feels like coming in from the cold and being wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire. There may be many ugly parts to this journey, but I know that there will also be many a wonderful discovery. I do this not just for myself, but it is a legacy that I want to pass on to my son.
tiniki ¶ 10/16/2010 01:57:00 a.m. 0 Comments
Monday, October 11, 2010
I wish I could say that I have much to report since landing down under, but alas there is not much to write. I haven't been able to move into my studio yet because the previous tenant is still clearing out, therefore the physical work towards my project will have to wait. Josh, Mac and I have been slow to explore our surroundings. Josh is a tad paranoid so he isn't always interested in exploring and I am inherently lazy so I can be a bad travel companion. As for Mac, he is outnumbered and is pretty obedient, so he doesn't go out as often as he would like. (Josh enters the room with a cup of tea and an Arrowroot biscuit)
"I resent that accusation of paranoia!" he booms, having overheard the blog from the foyer. "These urchins have it in for both me AND my t-shirts!" [1]
Since writing the above text, guilt has set in and both Josh and I are making an effort to get out so our son can get some fresh air. However it doesn't help that both Mac and myself have a cold, so I have been doing research on the computer sitting/laying on the couch while Josh and Mac are out playing. Being the cyborg hyrbid that I am, I often have the t.v. going while I work on the computer. Through my channel surfing I found a lecture given by Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis. In 2009 Davis delivered a series of talks for the CBC Massey Lectures entitled The Wayfinders, which has also been published as a book under the same name. It was picked up here in Australia on one of the channels so I was able to watch part of a lecture, but it is unclear whether the station will show more. So with my curiosity piqued I set off to find more, check out Wade Davis on Wayfinders and then check out
Light at the Edge of the World
I am completely excited about what he has to say especially about how we are all genetically the same and that 'race' does not exist. However it is culture that defines the make up or our moral and ethical self. That there is no one right culture but rather different points of view and how important language and culture needs to be honored and protected, with the same understanding that culture is always evolving. I would be interested in hearing what other people think of these videos.
I will go now and get back to my research, Josh and Mac just got in.
KC Adams
[1] Josh and Mac were both wearing 'I love NY' t-shirts in the park when a girl shouted "If you love it so much, why do you go there!?" ¶ 10/11/2010 11:03:00 p.m. 0 Comments
"I resent that accusation of paranoia!" he booms, having overheard the blog from the foyer. "These urchins have it in for both me AND my t-shirts!" [1]
Since writing the above text, guilt has set in and both Josh and I are making an effort to get out so our son can get some fresh air. However it doesn't help that both Mac and myself have a cold, so I have been doing research on the computer sitting/laying on the couch while Josh and Mac are out playing. Being the cyborg hyrbid that I am, I often have the t.v. going while I work on the computer. Through my channel surfing I found a lecture given by Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis. In 2009 Davis delivered a series of talks for the CBC Massey Lectures entitled The Wayfinders, which has also been published as a book under the same name. It was picked up here in Australia on one of the channels so I was able to watch part of a lecture, but it is unclear whether the station will show more. So with my curiosity piqued I set off to find more, check out Wade Davis on Wayfinders and then check out
Light at the Edge of the World
I am completely excited about what he has to say especially about how we are all genetically the same and that 'race' does not exist. However it is culture that defines the make up or our moral and ethical self. That there is no one right culture but rather different points of view and how important language and culture needs to be honored and protected, with the same understanding that culture is always evolving. I would be interested in hearing what other people think of these videos.
I will go now and get back to my research, Josh and Mac just got in.
KC Adams
[1] Josh and Mac were both wearing 'I love NY' t-shirts in the park when a girl shouted "If you love it so much, why do you go there!?" ¶ 10/11/2010 11:03:00 p.m. 0 Comments
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Just arrived in Sydney, Australia after traveling with a toddler from Winnipeg for the past 23 hours...I can't say that it was totally a pleasant experience. My son can be amusing and is pretty obedient but he has his limits, and he was testing them during our travels. Despite it all, I enjoyed seeing people smile at him, watch his antics and enjoy his performance. He is a good kid even with his tantrums.
We arrived in the Sydney airport Wednesday Oct 6, 2010 around 9:35 am and spent an hour and half waiting for our luggage and going through customs. This is where I think I had my toughest time, lugging so much luggage on a cart and just using my voice to keep my son in line. Doing the count to five and threatening timeouts worked great. But I had to raise my voice so he could hear me which lead to a lot of snickers and people looking at me like I was crazy. I can understand why, my hair became frizzy with all the humidity, I had dark circles under my eyes and knowing that my husband and my ride was in the next room made me shake with anticipation. Finally after the border guard grilled me for 15 minutes about why I was bringing a wooden train set into his country, I was finally released. Just like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle my release was dropping Josh's guitar on the ramp scaring everyone around me because it sounded like a gun going off. Thankfully Josh was there and helped me with the fiasco, otherwise all of my luggage would have rolled down the ramp out of control.
I finally met Michael Dagostino, the coordinator of the Parramatta Artist Studios, in the flesh after so many months of cyber talking. My hat is off to him, we had a hell of a time getting me a visitor's visa, there was a lot of hoop jumping just to get me one and he managed to get it three days before I left! Thank goodness he knew someone in the government otherwise I would have postponed my trip. I am happy to hear that he has three boys and one is Mac's age. I hope they can play together since we are not sure if Mac will get many chances to play with other kids.
Sydney is just as I remembered from our last trip almost three years ago. Humid but lovely.
Will write again when jet lag is less of a factor.
KC Adams
We arrived in the Sydney airport Wednesday Oct 6, 2010 around 9:35 am and spent an hour and half waiting for our luggage and going through customs. This is where I think I had my toughest time, lugging so much luggage on a cart and just using my voice to keep my son in line. Doing the count to five and threatening timeouts worked great. But I had to raise my voice so he could hear me which lead to a lot of snickers and people looking at me like I was crazy. I can understand why, my hair became frizzy with all the humidity, I had dark circles under my eyes and knowing that my husband and my ride was in the next room made me shake with anticipation. Finally after the border guard grilled me for 15 minutes about why I was bringing a wooden train set into his country, I was finally released. Just like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle my release was dropping Josh's guitar on the ramp scaring everyone around me because it sounded like a gun going off. Thankfully Josh was there and helped me with the fiasco, otherwise all of my luggage would have rolled down the ramp out of control.
I finally met Michael Dagostino, the coordinator of the Parramatta Artist Studios, in the flesh after so many months of cyber talking. My hat is off to him, we had a hell of a time getting me a visitor's visa, there was a lot of hoop jumping just to get me one and he managed to get it three days before I left! Thank goodness he knew someone in the government otherwise I would have postponed my trip. I am happy to hear that he has three boys and one is Mac's age. I hope they can play together since we are not sure if Mac will get many chances to play with other kids.
Sydney is just as I remembered from our last trip almost three years ago. Humid but lovely.
Will write again when jet lag is less of a factor.
KC Adams
Labels: Cyborg Hybrid adventure in down under
¶ 10/06/2010 03:47:00 p.m. 1 Comments
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
"Become a Cyborg Hybrid"
Cyborg Hybrids is a digitally altered photo series that attempts to challenge our views towards mixed race classifications by using humorous text and imagery from two cultures. The subjects are Euro-Aboriginal artists who are forward thinkers and plugged in with technology. They follow the doctrine of Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto [1], which states that a cyborg is a creature in a technological, post-gender world, free of traditional western stereotypes towards race and gender. I am Scottish and Oji-Cree descent and I started exploring this new classification when I felt pressured to culturally identify, amongst the many existing stereotypes and misconceptions about those of mixed ancestry. When society refers to Aboriginal people, there is an inevitable linking to the past and I was tired of this assumption placed on myself so I focused on creating a new structure using the cyborg as the base to represent the influence of technology on my own sense of cultural identity.
(see Cyborg Hybrids , "photography" link for more details).
[1] http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Haraway/CyborgManifesto.html
You are a Cyborg Hybrid if you are:
- Artistic
- Plugged into Technology (ie use email to communicate)
- of both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal descent
- A positive influence to your community
To participate in this project follow these easy steps.
1) Put on a white t-shirt and place yourself in front of a white wall.
2) Snap a portrait photo of you posing like a Cyborg Hybrid. Make sure that the top of your head to your mid-chest is visable.
3) Email* the picture including your name, location, what kind of artist you are and your choice of beading text that you would like to have on your t-shirt to art.kcadams@gmail.com
4) I will photoshop your image and add you to the project
Beading text, please choose one for your t-shirt:
ASK ME ABOUT MY SWEETGRASS
AUTHORITY ON ALL ABORIGINAL ISSUES
FORMER LAND OWNER
GANG MEMBER
HALFBREED
INDIAN GIVER
INDIAN PRINCESS
I'M NOT FROM INDIA
I'M ON INDIAN TIME
IROQUOIS SCOUT
IT'S OK, I'M WHITE TOO
MOHAWK GAS
NOBLE SAVAGE
POCAHONTAS
SAVAGE
SCALPING IS IN MY BLOOD
SPIRITUAL BY DEFAULT
TEEPEE CREEPER
TOKEN INDIAN
WAGON BURNER
Thank you in advance.
Please check back regularly to view new pictures from this project.
*Please read the model release page, by emailing me the photos for the project you are consenting to the model release of your image. http://www.kcadams.net/info/modelrelease.html/
Labels: Call for Participation
¶ 4/17/2007 09:26:00 p.m. 0 Comments
