Marisa C. Sánchez
This dissertation on the “Beckett effect” explores the continuing impact of Samuel Beckett’s literary and dramatic texts on contemporary art practices. Since the 1960s, visual artists working in a variety of media have turned to Beckett’s literary productions as sources. I propose that the mediating function of Beckett’s texts extends beyond influence to produce a plurality of functions in the visual arts, which I have identified as the “Beckett effect.” By setting influence aside, I am able to ask: what is the art historical and theoretical significance of the frequency of the use of Beckett’s texts within contemporary art practices? How have these texts dispersed across North American and European contemporary art practices? Exactly what do Beckett’s writings offer contemporary visual artists? More specifically, this dissertation focuses on the effect of Beckett's interventions into the works of three artists: Stan Douglas (b. 1960), Paul Chan (b. 1973), and Tania Bruguera (b. 1968).
I first explore Beckett’s reverberations in the visual arts with particular attention to the dispersal of his texts among key artists beginning in the sixties. From there, I argue that Beckett’s oeuvre constitutes a critical intervention into our understanding of contemporary modes of being subjects. Using Beckett’s texts, Douglas, Chan and Bruguera made films, videos, multi-media installations, and theatrical adaptations that allow the viewer to experience the work of art as an immersion in both the historical sense of time and their own present predicament(s). As such, Beckett’s texts serve the visual artist as the means to negotiate between a socially engaged practice and the specific, political or social issue they seek to address. When these artists use Beckett, the work of art moves away from the primacy of vision so that the viewer’s contemporary political and social contexts may be considered.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Catherine M. Soussloff, for her guidance and support throughout my studies at the University of British Columbia. Our meetings in her office would inevitably open more avenues of thought, and I would leave challenged and excited by our conversations. Her patience and commitment to this project were invaluable anchors throughout the research and writing of this dissertation as was her confidence in my work. The dissertation also greatly benefitted from the perspectives and knowledge of my Committee members, Dr. T’ai Smith and Dr. Sima Godfrey, whose perceptive inquiries moved my thinking forwards. For their lucid feedback and efforts, especially during the editing phase, I am forever grateful.
I would like to acknowledge the faculty and my fellow students in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory at UBC, whose scholarship challenged me to think more rigorously about my own approach to the discipline. I especially thank my peers, Dr. Anton Lee and Jessica Law for engaging with my research and for sharing their work and theoretical discussions with me over the years. Their intellectual rigor inspired me, and their feedback encouraged the development of my ideas.
Further, I owe particular thanks to the Beckett Foundation at the University of Reading in England for the time to research in the Collection. I would also like to thank the following archives as well as the librarians and archivists who helped me access material related to my research: Artangel, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Library and Archives, London; and Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia;. Thanks to Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) for access to Bruce Nauman’s videos. To artists, Stan Douglas and Paul Chan, who welcomed interviews with me to discuss their interest in Beckett’s work, I am thankful for your insights and time. I’d like to particularly acknowledge Douglas’s assistants, Linda Chinfen and Peter Courtemanche, who facilitated my engagement with the artist’s art works. I am also in gratitude to the Samuel Beckett Society and its members for their warm welcome and engagement.
This dissertation could not have been written without the love, support and encouragement of my parents, Guillermo and Earline, and my siblings, Cristina, Peter and Sarah. Special thanks go to my dear nephew, Van, whose playtime together nourished me and allowed me to get out of my head. I am also grateful to my late grandmother, Carolina Sánchez Parladé, whose warmth, courage, strength, and curiosity continues to be an inspiration. I am humbled as well by the kindness of my friends. I am grateful for your friendships, which have sustained me throughout the years by sharing time and conversations, offering your sound advice, and looking at art together.