Statement for Promotion to Full Professor

Professional Contribution and Standing

Photographic Work
Filmography
Teaching
Service
Summary

Submitted April 15, 2016

PROFESSIONAL STANDING AND CONTRIBUTION

Support documentation available on website www.katherineknight.ca

PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK
I came to photography as an undergraduate student at NSCAD in the late seventies through
an encounter with Robert Frank. Advised by Frank to leave school and make work, I travelled
by boat to the North Shore of Quebec and then to Labrador in the summer of 1979. These
experiences laid a methodological foundation for my practice. I embraced the camera as
a tool to locate my creative voice.
My journey to Labrador helped me establish ways of working. A short stop in Cartwright,
Labrador resulted in a chance meeting with a woman called Blanche, an amateur folklorist living
at a subsistence level in a house with no indoor plumbing.
From this encounter I would create a five-part photo/text
work that paired her portrait with long exposures of landscapes taken at night. These images were accompanied
by cryptic aphorisms about the approaching winter.
This mix of daytime portrait, unsettling night images
and short texts functioned as opposites held in tension.
The portrait of Blanche is the anchor reference. Eccentric,
intelligent, resilient and courageous, Blanche attracted
me as an individual but also as a personification of human
struggle in a harsh landscape and a unique social context.

Blanche, 1979

This early voyage by boat continues to reverberate in my practice. I retraced a segment

of this journey in 2002 in my work, Navigate: Sorel to Harve Saint Pierre. Again, in 2010
I set my documentary portrait of artist Wanda Koop on the freighter Birchglen travelling the St.
Lawrence. To travel by ship, to view the shore, document landscape and find stories populated
by idiosyncratic and courageous individuals are threads in all my photographs and films.

Marguerite 1992
A similar theme of creative resistance underscores my work, Marguerite, which brings to life
a little known Canadian historical character.
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Touring Montreal convents in 1980 I found two portraits

of Marguerite Bourgeoys, Canadas first un-cloistered
teaching nun. The first, a death portrait, painted by
Pierre Leber in 1700 depicts a fierce, determined
character. The second, more popular version, dates
from the 1960s when the Congregation Notre Dame
commissioned an update that rendered the stern
visage into a softer, rounder, happier countenance.
Giving voice to Lebers Marguerite became my task.
The biography I imagined for Marguerite begins with
fact, I am Marguerite and ends with the metaphor,

Crypt of the Congregation Notre Dame, 1980

I am root black left after rain. Poetic prose describes Marguerites experiences arriving in
Ville Marie in 1640 without official sanction to build a religious order in a context of patriarchal
resistance and physical hardship. To understand Marguerite, I staged a self-portrait. Wearing
the white cowl, and black headdress muffled sound and directed my gaze straight ahead. The
dark robes weighed on me. These physical sensations were important and resurfaced when
Sister Quigley took me into the Orders crypt, filled with the remains of long dead sisters, and
said, Dont step off the path, the ground is uneven. This phrase became an unspoken
mantra throughout the making of Marguerite.

I became unconscious 1995

WHY, from I became unconscious, 1995

I approach archives and history as primary sources that are accurate yet open to interpretation.
Stories such as the 1891 sinking of the sternwheeler Victoria in London Ontario, allow me to
amass vivid details grounded in fact. Reaching back into history also allows me to fill in gaps
and to imagine new narratives. In the archives, I found a survivors report from the day,
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describing how he sunk to the river bottom, lost consciousness and would have drowned if not
saved. This triggered my project, I became unconscious. A key phrase taken from its original
context is both descriptive yet suggestive of the idea of creative release, a combination of risk
and trust.

Caribou Mottos 2009-ongoing

Caribou Motto #005

Researching existing archives attuned me to the potential of archives in waiting. I am always on

the lookout! In 2006, I encountered a century old house decorated salon style, floor to ceiling,
with 173 Victorian era needlepoint mottos. From this discovery, I went on to create a digital
database to share this living museum with others.

Boat 2015
I am currently developing a new body of photographic
work that explores model boats as historical artefacts
and as props in imagined scenes of maritime disaster
and activity. A tribute to a beloved dory, a memory of
passing ship, a mash-up of several ferries rolled into
one, these memories are examples of the sensorial
triggers that motivate model makers. The premise of,

Claytons Punt, 2015

Boat, is to visualize the allure of the model while also exploring material culture to tell stories.
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FILMOGRAPHY
I began to experiment with moving image in 1998 when I recreated a component of
Marguerite, as a short video with voice over. Then in 2002, I worked with cinematographer
Marcia Connolly to document buoys marking the entrance to Caribou Harbour, NS. We circled
the buoys at close range by boat to capture the constant movement and portray a bodily
connection to the sculptural buoys. A commissioned score by Rick Sacks layers the sound
of the bell buoy with ambient music achieving an orchestral fullness that ebbs and flows.
My involvement with the moving image grew when I began teaching large format lecture
classes at York University. Seeking Canadian art documentaries for my lectures, I realized
that few existed. More importantly I was ready to work with complex intersections of
narrative and image.
In 2006, I established a film production company, Site Media Inc., and produced my first
broadcast documentary, a portrait of Inuit artist, Annie Pootoogook, directed by Marcia
Connolly. Working creatively with Connolly and Pootoogook was a turning point.

Statement on collaboration
The six films produced by my company, Site Media Inc. are the result of collaborations between
myself as writer, producer and filmmaker, David Craig as producer and Marcia Connolly as
filmmaker and cinematographer. Connolly and I work together in the field to gather the content.
My strength in driving projects organizationally and creatively determines the subject matter
while the look and feel of the final films reflects Connollys ability to achieve intimacy and visual
staging of the subject. The creative collaboration between Connolly and myself is a close one
and roles have shifted in formal responsibilities from film to film. Below is a summary of each
film and a clarification on the creative roles within each production

Annie Pootoogook
23 minutes, 2006

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/44538476/75dce417ea
Password: Pootoogook
A portrait of Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook shot in Kinngiat, Baffin Island and Toronto.
Producers: Katherine Knight and David Craig. Director: Marcia Connolly.

Cinematographer: Marcia Connolly with additional camera Katherine Knight.

Synopsis and treatment: Katherine Knight. Broadcast: Bravo Canada, APTN, Knowledge.
Awards: nominated for Golden Sheaf Award, Yorkton Film festival

Pretend Not to See Me the art of Colette Urban

47.5 minutes, 2010

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/34593118/136055b3e6
Password: 20PNTSM12
Artist Colette Urban restages 12 career-defining performances at her remote farm in
western Newfoundland.
Producers: Katherine Knight and David Craig. Director: Katherine Knight, Cinematographer:

Marcia Connolly with additional camera Katherine Knight. Synopsis and treatment:
Katherine Knight.

Awards: Special Mention, Mid Length Documentary, Ecofilms Festival, Rhodos, Greece, 2010

Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World

Kakulu Saggiaktok at Kinngait Studios

64 minutes, 2010

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/132264471/a6af2b41aa
This film provides an overview of the art and artists of the Kinngait Cooperative in Cape
Dorset, Baffin Island, home to the highest per capita number of artists in Canada.
Producers: Katherine Knight and David Craig. Director: Annette Mangaard. Cinematography:
Marcia Connolly and John Price. Synopsis and treatment: David Craig. Broadcast on Bravo
Canada, APTN, TVO, Knowledge Network.

KOOP

47 minutes, 2010

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/20631045/36660b7953
Password: wanda
A journey by freighter boat provides artist Wanda Koop with ever changing landscapes for her
drawing and note taking.
Producers: Katherine Knight and David Craig. Director Katherine Knight, Cinematographer
Marcia Connolly with additional camera by Katherine Knight. Synopsis and treatment:
Katherine Knight. Broadcast on Knowledge Network. 11 festival screenings to date.

Nominated: Colin Low Award for Innovation in Canadian Documentary,DOXA, Vancouver,BC, 2011

Spring & Arnaud

Photograph by Marcia Connolly

52 minutes, 2013

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/64644918/a192fb0ba7
Password: Site2013
This work offers two distinctive portraits of artists Spring Hurlbut and Arnaud Maggs linked by
scenes exploring love and mortality.
Producer Katherine Knight, David Craig and Marcia Connolly. Director Katherine

Knight and Marcia Connolly. Cinematographer Marcia Connolly. Synopsis and treatment:
Katherine Knight. Broadcast on Knowledge, TVO, AVROTROS (Netherlands.) 22
festival screenings to date.
Awards: Top Ten Audience Choice Award, Hot Docs, Toronto, ON, 2013, Golden Hare Award,
Festival Temps DImage, Filmes Sobre Arte, Lisbon, Portugal, 2015

Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island

52 minutes, 2014

Link: https://vimeo.com/sitemedia/review/110596655/91ca319061
Password: 902strange
This record of the building of the Fogo Island Inn captures the stories of philanthropist Zita
Cobb, architect Todd Saunders and community members as the inn takes shape in this
traditional Newfoundland fishing community.

Producers: Katherine Knight and David Craig. Director: Katherine Knight. Director:

Marcia Connolly. Cinematographer: Marcia Connolly. Synopsis and treatment: David Craig
and Katherine Knight. Broadcast on Knowledge, TVO, AVROTROS (Netherlands) and SVT
(Sweden) 40 festival screenings to date
Awards: Best Canadian Documentary, International Festival of Films on Art, Montreal, Quebec,
2015, Best Atlantic Documentary, Atlantic Film Festival 2015, Best Atlantic Cinematography
(Marcia Connolly), Atlantic Film Festival 2015.

TEACHING

Screenshot of course title from moodle online site for VISA 1000. Course Director Katherine Knight, Fall 2015

My teaching is focused on the development and delivery of photography curriculum. I am solely

responsible for black and white darkroom courses at the introductory level and intermediate level.
In 2014 I developed a hybrid BW course combining analog and digital methods. Alongside my
responsibilities for analog photography I regularly teach digital courses.
Teaching has shaped my professional life beyond the classroom. After several years using the
documentary series, Art 21 by PBS, I established Site Media Inc. in 2006 to produce films on
Canadian art and artists. While my accomplishments through Site Media are covered elsewhere
in this document, it is important to note the reciprocity I feel between teaching and film production.
The films I have directed, co directed or/and produced are integrated in the courses I teach and
are found in post secondary libraries worldwide.
In 2014 I began to incorporate Yorks online teaching platform Moodle into my courses. Robust
moodle sites now underpin all my courses.
In 2014 I volunteered to take on, VISA 1006 Photographic Experience, a large format lecture
for approximately 200 non-majors. I was interested in experiencing the extreme pendulum
where creative content is delivered in a lecture with no hands on component.
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In 2015 I took over course development for,VISA 1000 Critical Issues in the Studio. This required
class for all incoming BFA majors introduces critical thinking and basic visual vocabulary.
Through development and delivery of VISA 1006 and VISA 1000 I have entered a new phrase
focused on the development of online content and resources. I am working actively with experts
within York to test new online tools suited to studio teaching. In fall 2016 I was the first faculty
member at York to implement the Media Collection tool in beta form to create gallery assignments
for students. I have also been an early adapter of journals as a learning activity that steps
students through a weekly set of READ/WATCH/REFLECT/CREATE exercises. The screenshot
below from VISA 1000 illustrates the READ component of the weekly online classroom I have
designed. After completing these tasks, students move to the tasks outlined in each successive
tab in order to complete 1.5 of independent online work.

Four out of five of my 2015-16 courses integrate a weekly online classroom that steps students
through reviewing, reflecting and creating. In May 2016, I will share this teaching research and
experience at the conference, Teaching in Focus. My presentation will discuss the logistics of
implementing media galleries in small and large format classes. I will also review how the book
option in Moodle can act as a resource management tool for audiovisual resources. In the
coming years I look forward to further exploring online and blended learning and customizing
tools to promote effective pedagogy.

SERVICE
I have consistently served the Department of Visual Art, AMPD and York University through
administrative tasks and committee work. Though teaching in an area staffed with three full
time faculty, sick leaves and accommodations have often required me to take on the role of
area coordinator and provide leadership. Within photography, I am responsible for scheduling,
organizing exhibitions, consulting on technical needs and trouble shooting student and
administrative concerns. As a member of the Department I complete portfolio reviews,
undertake recruitment visits to high schools and participate in department activities.
I have served on the Tenure and Promotion committees at the Faculty and Department level
and on the undergraduate and curriculum committees within Visual Arts. I have participated
on all Department program reviews by writing assessments of the photography area. I have
prepared briefs on curriculum visions and on space/equipment needs for photography.
I have undertaken major program reviews at the undergraduate and graduate level at Emily Carr,
Guelph University, Concordia and the University of Manitoba. I have served as an assessor on
insight grant applications for SSHRC and completed multiple T&P promotion file reviews for York
and other institutions.

SUMMARY
The past decade has been a period of intense work focused on film projects as well as maintaining my teaching activities. Since the completion of my last film in 2014 I have returned to still
photography with renewed concentration. Ahead is a period of research, fieldwork and production
as I prepare a new body of work from my project Boat. This will also mark a return to exhibiting
my work in a gallery context.
My strengths as a professor developing and delivering curriculum has always been inspired and
informed by my commitment to my own creative practice. My achievements in the past decade
have invigorated my teaching and have provided the experience of working in multiple media and
varied platforms that informed my initiatives in developing curricula in the classroom as well as
new platforms such as Moodle.
Tallying my achievements over the past decade I believe I have established a new level in my
work both as an educator and artist. For this reason I confidently put forward my application for
full professorship with the firm conviction that I have and will continue to maintain a high standard
of achievement in my teaching and my creative practice.
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