FFWD Weekly
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Art of the city
Hastily Assembled Exhibit Offers Interesting Take on Local Art Scene
by Mark WaltonTradition Transformed: Calgary - The Urban Landscape
at the Triangle Gallery
until June 28If there was such a thing as a civic art gallery in town this show would be ideally suited for it.
As well as paintings from prominent galleries such as the Muttart, and videos and films from artist-run outfits like Quickdraw Animation Society, Tradition Transformed: Calgary - The Urban Landscape at Triangle Gallery also features art pieces from neighboring facilities like the Leighton Art Foundation and University of Lethbridge.
The subtitle Calgary - The Urban Landscape is a bit misleading. This exhibition was never intended as an artistic overview of the changing cityscape. What it does do reasonably well, though, is offer a guide to the nonprofit art organizations that exist in Calgary at this particular point in time. Local art facilitator Bart Habermiller came up with the show partly to pull in some of the people attracted to the reopening of the old city hall.
In all, 21 groups are taking part and artworks range from Margaret Shelton's 1941 linocut of east Calgary and Katie Ohe's chrome steel sculpture "Puddle" (which spreads out magically if you give it a nudge), to a pristine still life from noted photorealist John Hall and a selection of funky paintings by the Untitled Art Society (a crew of emerging artists working out of studios overlooking Stephen Avenue Mall).
Interestingly enough, not only was the exhibit arranged entirely by volunteers with no budget to speak of, it was put together in just two weeks - an admirable feat when you consider the number of artists and artworks involved and the logistics of hooking up displays such as a Room without Walls' cybergallery on the World Wide Web.
As Laura Mann, The Glenbow's representative on the four-member curatorial panel, points out, everyone was amazed by the high quality of the artworks that had to be quickly submitted by the different groups. In fact, in this case, the politically correct term "art facilitator" actually applies, since the participating groups were mainly responsible for deciding what went into the show.
Quite often exhibits of this sort tend to be, as the saying goes, a mile wide but only an inch deep. However, here the artworks were tastefully chosen and neatly deployed, and the result is a lean and mean yet enlightening exhibit.
At first glance it would seem as if the traditional pieces, i.e. landscapes, have been shunted into a corner, but Mann explains this was to keep vintage artworks out of the sunlight. The oddball bi-level layout of the gallery (originally designed as a restaurant) features huge front windows that are a curator's bane.
There is also an educational component in this show consisting of brochures and so on for IMCA and Habermiller's new baby, CAFA, among others, however, it doesn't overshadow the artwork itself.
Tradition Transformed is not a show for those in the know, those folks who dutifully trudge to every ArtWalk venue or faithfully attend as many art openings as possible.
Nevertheless, for people who aren't familiar with Calgary's diverse multi-functional art community, this exhibit serves as an excellent primer or CD sampler.
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