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A Great Canadian Story Told Interactively

On the surface, the story of Paul Kane epitomizes the North American dream of fame and fortune. On another level, his experience as an itinerant artist and semi-literate writer who becomes a cultural celebrity tells us a great deal about the political and social life of British North America in the mid-nineteenth century. In particular, Kane's forays into the vast lands of the northwest, which were totally guided and paid for by the Hudson's Bay Company, contrast sharply with his life in Toronto as a heralded artist. Ultimately, Paul Kane was a man caught between two worlds - the old and the new. While his heart remained with the people and life ways of the wilderness, the demands of the marketplace and its patrons pushed his career, and his art, in the direction of progress and change. His paintings and published travelogue were created in collaboration with an audience yearning for romance and Jean Jacques Rousseau's "noble savage". However, his field work provides us with a unique documentary picture of what life was like before the dawning of the railroad age. The cross curricular nature of the material makes it suitable for a variety of subject areas including Art, English, History, Native Studies, Social Studies, and Canadian Studies.

Interactive Documentary

The DVD Video is intended for DVD players (although it can also be played on a computer). Users interact with the documentary through their television sets by using buttons on a standard remote control in a similar way to a keyboard or a computer mouse. With From Field to Studio: The Art of Paul Kane, users can access additional information either through drill-down points in the documentary or directly from an additional content section. Using the documentary as an interface, users are able to pause the documentary and watch video commentary from curators and Native elders, or take a more detailed look at examples of Kane's artworks that are relevant to that part of the program. Users can then return to the documentary and keep watching. They will also be able to go directly to interactive points in the documentary through the Site Map with Links option.

A New Way To Experience History

Hear what Aboriginal artists say about the significance of Paul Kane's work.

Evaluate Kane's field sketches and studio paintings.

Compare the differences between Kane's field notes and the book published under his name.

See some of the landmarks that appear in Kane's paintings and sketches and compare them to how they look today.

Allow users to make their own judgments about Kane's legacy.

Gain a better understanding of how this early form of media helped to shape the subsequent portrayal of Aboriginal people in films, history books and advertising.

Release Dates:
Prototype - December, 2004
DVD - October, 2006
Exhibit - Winter 2007