The consequences of how you define art…

Fogo Island Inn is scheduled to open soon!  An exciting example of architecture, community development and inspired patronage by the Shorefast Foundation.

During the spring in NL it is time to roll out the red carpet and give out the awards.  Tonight is the Excellence in Visual Arts Awards ceremony at The Rooms.  So get out that extra red lipstick and celebrate.  We are also still reeling from the double whammy of cuts to funding, an explosion of arts festivals and fierce competition for a relatively small audience for "cultural products".  

I can't think of a single profession where an individual works so hard for so little dollars than the professional world of visual arts, music and attendant cultural industries like independent film and dance.  In the province of NL there has never been so much to choose from when it comes time to spend that arts and entertainment dollar.  In Canada, many of us look to our sponsors - some of them government- to pick up the slack between what it costs to put on a show and what it brings in.  Profit?  What's that?  And that's how art gets to be seen as a vocation…where you are expected to take a vow of poverty in order to practice your art.

But if you regard art as self-expression that's a different story.  If it tells the story of an individual, well let the individual get a day job.  If that story reflects cultural identity well it is at least good press for regionalism, etc…government.  Now, if art is seen as an education– something that teaches us– well that almost makes it an inalienable right in Canada where we regard education highly.  What about art as community building?  There's a whole new relationship to consider.

So, if you consider art as a luxury, an indulgence, a status object, a lesson it all has an impact on whether art deserves your time and money.  Think about it.

All hail matriarch Mary Pratt

CBC photo of Mary Pratt at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery May 11,2013.

The Friday evening reception for the Mary Pratt retrospective at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery was a major event that truly felt like a celebration.  It was a much-needed pick-me-up after the provincial government cutbacks, which matriarch Mary Pratt denounced on the Radio Noon call in program on CBC the following Monday.  She said that any government that put oil before art was doomed to failure because the oil would go but the art would remain.  Politics were put aside on opening night and the event was attended by all and sundry.  It was good to see the opening attracting not just the regular art community but also a wide cross section of the public.  In her remarks, Pratt expressed surprise that "so many of you apparently like painting".

Pratt took a very casual approach in her remarks and did not talk about her inspiration or process.  Instead, she talked about the loneliness of her early life in Newfoundland out in Salmonier, pointing out that she only learned to drive at age 52.  She was clearly thrilled by the attendance of her family members, particularly her children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild.  The show will be touring for three years after its summer at The Rooms and representatives from the other venues were present - as was Mary's commercial dealers such as Emma Butler (St. John's) and the Mira Goddard Gallery (Toronto).  (The Mira Goddard Gallery in Montreal was the first gallery I ever got thrown out of!  I think it was because my photographer from the Loyola News took a photograph of a Jackson Pollock without permission.)

Mary Pratt says this painting of her daughter with cold cream is the fastest painting she has ever done - 2 hours from start to finish.  Usually her paintings take months.

The exhibition is a grand sprawling show filled with riches including many of Pratt's best-known and iconic works.  One of my favourite images is of dainty porcelain figurines of gentlewomen that have been placed in a glass fruit bowl.  I believe it dates from 1997 and I recall discussing the painting with Mary when she first made it.  She explained that she had been dusting a shelf and put the figurines in the bowl for safety on a nearby table.  Boldly I commented, "so you felt trapped in your domesticity" to which Mary remarked that I was too smart for my own good.  Pratt has always avoided interpreting her painting.  She describes herself as a "visual artist not an intellectual one".  Pratt paints something because she likes the look of it.  I will be curious to see what curator Mireille Eagan had to say in her catalogue essay.  Eagan is still a relatively young curator (I remember when Mary Pratt first met Mireille she commented "you can't be a curator you look like your sixteen".) and this show will be a feather in her cap.  It is unfortunate that Eagan's position has been eliminated with the cuts but she couldn't be going out with a bigger bang.

Building a Bridge Between Business and the Arts

I love the caption for this photo of Ted Rogers on Google Images:  Cellular Guru.

I have had the pleasure of working in both the business and arts sectors.  Some of the most creative people that I have worked with were not artists but business folk.  I am thinking particularly of the late Ted Rogers, whom I admired.  He was a real pioneer with a sense of adventure, risk taking and long range thinking that I have not seen in many quarters.  He had the ability to make lots of things, like the evolution of technology or the cycles of the economy, make sense to me with only a sentence.  What Ted Rogers also understood superbly was the relationship between business and the community it served.  There is more than one way to make your client happy and loyal– and giving to the arts is one way of doing that.

The reason why the relationship between the arts or culture and the business world is on my mind is that I saw, about ten days ago, a posting for the CEO position of the Business and Arts NL.  Et voilå:

The arts in Newfoundland and Labrador are thriving, and the business community is supporting the arts at unprecedented levels. Business and Arts NL is a new organization whose aim is to build on this activity and expand the collaboration between arts organizations and business partners.

Business and Arts NL is looking for a Chief Executive Officer.  Reporting to a Board of Directors led by members of the business community, and including representation from Memorial University and cross-sectoral arts organizations, the CEO will initially focus attention on developing a three year operating plan, membership development and program development. The initial period of employment is three years.

What splendid news! Whether it is in the arts or business community or the minds' of the general public, it is characteristic to see the two communities as opposites or mutually exclusive.  I believe this is a misconception and despite the characterization of art as a vocation and business as profit driven there is much that unites the two.  Core values, standards of excellence, audience development and the need for communication are just a few of the things that could form a bridge or partnership between the two communities.

 Forging a partnership between the arts and business communities within this province is a key activity in the well being of Newfoundland and Labrador, where our cultural identity of independence and resourcefulness is reflected in both communities.  I wish Business and Arts NL every success in this endeavour.

CraftED Upstarts on the Make

Well, last week was the official launch of Crafted, Upstarts on the Make, so I can now offer an opinion on the Craft Council's latest publication.  It has a snazzy, energetic graphic design and Bennett's fresh take on studio photography in keeping with the subject: ten emerging talents on the Newfoundland and Labrador craft scene.  I really liked the tone Executive Director, Anne Manuel hit with her introduction.  In essence, she says to the featured newcomers and other new arrivals: "consider this book your welcome mat."  It is my opinion that craft today is struggling to keep all the good things of the past – that it is an alternative to industrialism for example– while remaining open to the fast paced changes that unfold daily in society.  It is easy to see the two sides of tradition and innovation in opposition to each other but it isn't especially productive, so I think it is strategic and healthy that Anne Manuel is extending the welcome mat.  This will mean that the craft community will remain supportive and can look forward to the future with optimism.

Maegan Black is adept in her writing of the profiles of the makers.  I particularly liked her analogies that situate individual practices in meaningful contexts.  For example, in Rosalind Ford's case she draws a parallel between Ford's practices as a scientist and maker, "Very much as she did when she was catching, tagging and releasing birds back into the wild.  Rosalind captures an idea, makes her mark through creation and sends that vision out into the world. … her artistic vision takes flight." And in Elias Semigak's case Black brings forward the theme of reciprocity and "paying it forward".  When you consider that Semigak was only born in 1980 but already is creating opportunity and employment with his own apprentice despite less than ideal beginnings you have to be impressed.

Black's profiles are useful not only in understanding the creativity of the individuals in the spotlight but in understanding craft practice as it exists today in general.  She touches on the difficulty of being self-taught and how Maaike Charron used her experience as an academic and her skills as a researcher to become a proficient potter.  I also think Black is insightful when she notes that Charron is a methodical thinker with a noticeable playful streak.  Whether it is how Heather Mills balances commission work with her own signature style or how Pick-Me-Up Press grew into its own support network, all of the individual features provide lessons on how successful young makers problem solve.  I believe that you have to face a problem to solve it.  Writing about craft has often been too romantic or overly positive.  I give Black credit for not being a cheerleader and instead writing something that is sensitive and useful.

After the individual profiles is a section that is more of a how-to with information about practical issues like exhibition proposals and resource listings.  I was involved with this section so it isn't fair for me to comment on it.  I will conclude with a list of the names of the featured makers, to your general applause:  Rosalind Ford, Elias Semigak, Maaike Charron, Pick-Me-Up Press, Jaclyn Humphries, Heather Mills, Sara Hodder, Jessica Butler, Cara Winsor Hehir, Michael Flaherty.

Here's a link to the Craft Council of NL if you'd like to learn more:  http://www.craftcouncil.nl.ca/news/media-release-crafted-book-launch-showcases-young-/

  

Greg Payce is the 2013 Winner of the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in Contemporary Craft

You would never confuse Greg Payce's ceramic work with anybody else's.

This isn't exactly fresh news but I have come across several folks in the professional craft community on the East Coast who weren't aware that the Bronfman had been awarded and that the worthy recipient is Greg Payce.  My heart did a little jump for joy when I learned this news a few weeks back and I sent a note of congratulations to Greg with the subject heading "you deserve it".  I told him that his work had hit such a consistently high standard over the years that I thought he really was a leader of the pack.  Or in more poetic terms,

“In his hands, the seemingly prosaic world of pottery takes on aspects of the illusionistic, the cinematic, the virtual..." – Steve Heinemann, Ceramist (nominator)

If you'd like to check out the Canada Council's website about the Governor General Awards and Greg Payce's in particular go to:

 http://ggavma.canadacouncil.ca/en/Archive/2013/Winners/GregPayce.aspx

There are some really worthwhile videos on the site too that give you a crash course in the wonders of Payce's stellar ceramics.

I couldn't get over how the years have past when I read that

"For 43 years, Greg Payce has been shaping his experiences and passions at the potter’s wheel. He pulls from design, film, photography, philosophy, history – all while reinforcing his connection to fellow potters through the ages.  He has been passing on this connection to the countless students he has influenced over his 24 years as an instructor in the ceramics program at the Alberta College of Art and Design."

Dear me, 43 years! (I must really be approaching venerable old fart status myself!)  Mind you the Bronfman is a lifetime achievement award.  I appreciate how humble Payce is when he responded "mostly i am glad the fuss is dieing down a bit. i am not that public a person, and really just want to get back in the studio and make things."   

I am looking forward to jury duty with Greg Payce and my other esteemed colleagues for the Burlington Arts Centre HOT MUD exhibition.

Get Acquainted with that rare human species: the curator

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of spending 3+ hours working with the artisanal gang at The Plantation here in St. John's, NL.  It was Business Mondays, a series that is custom tailored to give the craftspeople and artists in the workshops there a taste of the cultural industries that are especially relevant to their practices.  I was invited to speak on my curatorial practice and I jumped at the chance.

This is Mary McIntyre's Deer Mask that was featured in my Larger Than Life exhibition.

I have written in other places, and mentioned in interviews, that I think my father's work and habits as a detective influenced my observational skills and style of curating.  I have realized that was true of my interview style but until recently didn't appreciate how much it informs how I design exhibitions.  If I could give one thing to the gallery-going public it would be more confidence and skill as viewers.  Not just looking but really seeing…it wouldn't be art history, or craft techniques, or specialized knowledge about obscure things.  I'd say to them: relax, take you time, think about what you are looking, why are things the way they are?  Go ahead, ask questions!

While I was preparing for the session I was reflecting on my past as an artist's model.  My mother had posed a challenge for me as a kid:  if I wanted to continue with painting classes, I had to find a way to pay for it.  And that was why I started to model.  It was a bit of a hoot as a grade school student to go from my classes with the nuns, and the uniforms and saying the rosary on our knees in the afternoon and then to skip down the street, take off said uniform and get up on a velvet covered pedestal.  It was while I was modelling that I started to watch, carefully, how artists worked.  And I became fascinated. Why did they choose the colours they did?  I noticed habits, decisions, sequences, etc.  Gradually, I discovered that I was content to watch people create art.  I didn't need to do it myself.  It wasn't an itch I needed to scratch.  But I did want to know more about their process and the series of decisions that informed the artistic process.  I was hooked.

This is the Deer Mask being proudly worn by its owner as she received an Aboriginal Achievement Award.

I believe that on some level that's when I became a curator.  When I was 15 years old I started publishing as a journalist in the Suburban newspaper.  It was a by product of winning a city-wide writing competition for highschool students. That summer I did an internship with CBC TV.  This was followed by a qualifying university year at Carleton University's journalism program and eventually a stint of a four years as the Entertainments Editor of the Loyola newspaper.  Not surprisingly, I became an art critic and reviewer.

Still scratching that itch.

The artist as pseudo-scientist: Phillipa Jones

These are some of the "specimens" in MIRIAD: a flying fox and trifle jellyfish

For the third time since it opened on March 16th, I have been to Phillipa Jones' exhibition at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery.  I rarely visit a show on multiple occasions but this time I felt like I had no choice:  I was that intrigued.

Yes, I am there because I am writing about the show – a review for C magazine.  But the real reason is because I am trying to answer a nagging question in my brain.  "Why do artists adopt the guise of scientific inquiry and use the mock scientific institution as a mode of artistic expression?"  MIRIAD stands for the Ministry of Intuitive Research in Imagined and Actual Discoveries, which is an institution fabricated by Jones.  She uses the pseudo- institution as an artistic device and part of her narrative that posits the discovery of an island off the coast of Newfoundland, which, due to the most recent Ice Age, is home to a collection of unique and endangered, or extinct creatures.  Jones then took members of the public– equipped them with the guise of experts­­ such as a cartographer, anthropologist, or more fancifully plant whisperer and shaman– on an expedition to this island.  These expeditions are sampled as scenarios for the "mock-umentary" video in the exhibition.

It seems to me that the adoption of scientific institutions is actually part of a growing trend in art practice and I am not sure what it means.  Is it to acquire legitimacy - the kind that we normally accord science?  Is it meant to expand the role of art in society?  Is it a parody?  Is it a search for aesthetics or an expression of a sensibility?

This is a portion of an epic pen & ink drawing by Jones' it is a tour de force.

And then there is the whole adoption of scientific technology as a tool in and of itself.  I am thinking about, say the use of medical imaging as a device.  There are a growing number of artists who use CAT scans, X-rays and MRIs of bodies, sometimes but not always their own.  But I think this is built on the foundation of earlier artists who were intrigued by machines, robots and technology in general.  And let's not forget those artists like Stellarc, who use their own bodies in combination with machines as performance art.

The first artist I thought of is Mireille Peron, who is based at the Alberta College of Art & Design.  She straddles art and craft camps and is the founder of the Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics (2000).  I reached out to her to get her informed opinion on this question.  This is an excerpt from her response:

It is always nice to hear from you and what you are up too. It was a pleasure to

discover the work of Phillipa. Indeed very interesting and quite in the realm of

my Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics! I could see why you thought of me : )

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alfred Jarry invented and described the

indiscipline of ‘pataphysics as the science of imaginary solutions. Like its

companion —real physics— ‘pataphysics remains a predominantly male domain.  It was to remedy this evident lack, that I founded in 2000 (to celebrate the

millennium) the Laboratory of Feminist Pataphysics. Feminist pataphisicists like

to think of their work as the reinvention of normative science through gendered

fictive narratives. Pataphysics is the science of the particular, despite the

common opinion that the only science is that of the general. Feminist

Pataphysics like Jarry’s pataphysics’ examines the laws governing exceptions,

and explains a universe supplementary to this one, a pluriverse where exceptions

unfold. Its study always includes the games governing the exceptions and

sporadic accident. It seems that MIRIAD fits very well all these criteria.

Mireille Peron's response contained several, insightful paragraphs and succeeded in stirring up my thinking even more.  I will continue to chew away at the possibilities as I work towards my deadline of April 5th.

In the meantime, do go and see MIRIAD if you are in town or at least google Phillipa Jones' website: http://www.philippajones.com/2013/03/miriad-exhibition.html

The exhibition is a compilation of several things in addition to the video: three glowing, multicoloured circular window panels, exquisite pen and ink drawings, careful watercolour paintings, atmosphere-laden, leather bound notebooks, and fantastic specimens and artifacts that conjure up a Victorian aesthetic reminiscent of the early days of the Royal Society. It is a feast for the eyes and evidence of curator Mireille Eagan's quip that Phillipa is an over-achiever.  Yes, Jones clearly has substantial talent and a work ethic to match.

The show closes April 28th.