FFWD Weekly
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| VISUAL ARTS Just for the Love of It! Canadian Prints Visual stories are what I was left with after talking with Peter Savage, a major inspiration for these two exhibitions on block prints. Each image contained tales of what the print was about, who the artist was, and the Savages' own experiences as they searched out each print. Pete started with the story of being moved by the contrast and detail of these intimate hand-held images when he was reading an illustrated book as a child. Sharing his delight with his life-long partner Shirley, the two of them started looking at the printed images as separate from the text. Their purchases started "just for the love of it" and grew into stimulating friendships and a collection that is having a significant impact on the Calgary art scene. The narrative quality of the prints is one of the reasons they are so accessible in a post-modern, democratic manner. The simplicity of the block-printing process makes these striking representations easily recognizable, and yet abstract enough to require us to bring in our own experiences to complete the encounter. Once we are drawn in, it is easy to start asking questions. The creative, experimental process of making original prints gained fresh importance in the late 1800s as new mechanical technologies took over the mass production function of printmaking in Europe. These functional origins still cast a shadow on the fine art of printmaking, just as with photography, ceramics, textiles and other art forms with craft beginnings. At the same time, the art world was reflecting a new, more subjective way of seeing as the Impressionist movement and Japanese wood-block prints gained importance. The informal nature of block prints gave them a new freedom in creation. Making multiples encouraged experimentation in different papers, colors and such, making no two prints exactly alike. The personal casualness of the print sometimes led to the ritual exchange of greeting cards, especially at Christmas. The simplicity and individual nature of the process has drawn in many artists from other mediums. Peter Savage himself now makes his own cards to reciprocate. It seems logical that Canadian prints are concerned with stories about the country's geography. Canada started to shape its own identity in the early 1900s with the painted landscapes by the Group of Seven. Canadian identity is rooted in nature, and remains romantic in its youth as a settled country. The subjects are about life, not art for art's sake - a significant European and New York concern - or the social and political concerns of much of American art. The power of the land still looms in an accessible representational nature influenced by our conservative British tradition. How could the importance of the original, handmade print have been overlooked in the history of Canadian art? The Savages became intent on rectifying that, as they were lured into being collectors. The wrongs to be righted and the thrill of the hunt for that missing print developed into a collection of 742 prints by 217 Canadian artists, which the Savages generously donated to the Glenbow. The museum considers them "the most comprehensive documentation of the use of the block print in 20th century Canada from a private collection." Why are these exhibitions happening now? Advances in technology have made us aware of the humanness of the handmade print. Computers and photo-mechanical processes have shifted a common interpretation of the word "print" back into mass production replicas and confused the issue. Conversely, the handmade block print reflects humanity and we see who we are as individuals rather than as products of machines. There may be even more appreciation as the source of the wood-block is becoming challenged with environmental concerns. The stories that Shirley and Peter Savage have to tell us are about humanity, the creative process and Canada. |