ABSTRACT
Labours and Love: Issues of Domesticity and
Marginalization In the Works of Paraskeva Clark
Kathryn O'Rourke
1995
Paraskeva Clark (1898-1986) was a Russian born Canadian
painter whose life was wedged tightly into the specific place where three separate worlds
collide. In this thesis, I will try to establish the connections between Clark's
separate identities as "mother-homemaker", "artist" and
"immigrant", and how Clark at this point of connection translates her reactions
to her life and its particular circumstances into the concrete forms of her artistic
production. Historically, the domestic situation of female artists is rarely considered as
a viable condition of artistic production, however, women painters throughout history have
incorporated domestic work and artistic production. For Paraskeva Clark, the artistic work
done in the domestic realm was hindered by many factors such as housework and childcare.
In addition to this, Clark was adjusting to a new life in a new place with cultural
beliefs and social expectations different from her own. Clark felt a strong sense of
alienation from what she perceived to be an undefined cultural environment in Canada. This
thesis will explore Clark's life and her artistic production as an immigrant woman working
in the home.
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