The conclusion of one year and the start of another is the
time of year for "best of" lists and awards. The world of craft is no different and
2017 was something of a bumper crop for publications across Canada. Galleries West, an Alberta-based
digital art publication, which started as a print magazine in 2002 and went
digital in 2016, put out their list of publications to check out.
If you are not familiar with Galleries West, here is their
link: http://www.gallerieswest.ca/
I was very happy to see the Canadian Craft Biennial
publication make it onto the list but I was gob-smacked to see my essay, which
was one of nine by some of my most esteemed colleagues, recognized:
In a broader context, the best observation comes from
independent curator and writer Gloria Hickey, who considers craft’s deep
engagement with object making. She argues that conceptualism in the visual arts
in the 1960s and 1970s “created a vacuum where material-based practices (i.e.,
studio craft) could flourish.” And thrive, I might add, because nothing beats
relating to something tactile.
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| This title also made the list. MacPherson's creatures have long fascinated me. |
It is gratifying to see that Galleries West understood that
exhibition catalogues, which often weigh in at over a 100 pages, can compete
with books and take a comparable amount of money and human resources to
produce. My hat goes off to Denis
Longchamps and Emma Quin for finding the resources and passion to make the
publication that accompanied the Canadian Craft Biennial exhibit and symposium
happen–and in French and English!
All of the titles on the Galleries West list are definitely worth
considering and are on now on my "to read" list for 2018. Check it out for yourself:http://www.gallerieswest.ca/art-reviews/books/craft-and-design-five-to-check-out/
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