EXHIBIT PREVIEW
TIME PASSING
Ken Esler
Runs until ???
Nickle Arts Museum (U of C)
Too often it’s only a person's absence that makes their importance to the community apparent. The recent passing of John Kenneth Esler caused the art community to pause and consider the legacy that the printmaker left behind. Printmaker Bill Laing mentions that someone described Esler's death as the end of an era. Taking the time to consider this statement for what it means reveals its truth. Even those who didn't know Esler personally can still experience the ripples of his influence.
Arts communities consist of more than a collection of artists. They function through the hard work of a number of individuals in many capacities. Since 1965, Esler occupied several roles in Calgary's art community. As an artist, he helped bridge the claustrophobic provincialism of the arts, and established an international reputation for himself as an innovative printmaker. His prints incorporated everyday found objects, including, most famously, a crumpled lunch box in his aptly named 1968 piece "Lunchbox (relic of the 20th century)."
Esler’s influence extends beyond his work and persona. Along with master printmaker Ken Webb, Esler established Trojan Press, where local printmakers could produce work. Esler was also instrumental in developing the printmaking department at the then Alberta College of Art. Later, from 1972 to the early 1980s, he taught at the University of Calgary, where he and Harry Kiyooka invited printmakers Bill Laing, John Will and Noboru Sawaii to help expand the department along with them. Laing recalls that Esler was a positive role model for his students.
"Any project he took on, he went full gun and always made it work," says Laing. "By exhibiting internationally, he really showed that it was possible, even if you were from Calgary. For students, like (internationally recognized artist) Derek Besant, this was really influential."
Local artists Don Mabie (a former student) and Wendy Toogood note that Esler wasn't afraid of letting students apply for juried exhibitions, even if he was competing for them as well.
"He had a real sense of community," says Toogood. "He got people involved that were established, and younger students. He was established himself, but never held himself higher than others."
In celebration of Esler’s achievements and contributions, The Nickle Arts Museum is featuring Time Passing, an exhibition of his works from their collection.
Jacek Malec, director of the Triangle Gallery, is also planning a retrospective of Esler's work – and that of the late Eve Koch – for November. Esler and Koch were two of the founding members of the Triangle Gallery. For Malec, Esler's influence played out on a particularly personal level.
"Ken was my first connection to Canadian art when I was living in Poland," says Malec. "In 1970, I attended the International Biennale of Graphic Art in Krakow, and at that time Canadian art was terra incognita in Eastern Europe. So, when I saw his name and his print, it seemed like it was exotic art. I looked on a map, for Calgary, and then thought ‘Oh gosh, it's at the other side of Canada!' It really helped to give me a sense of what was going on in that country. I never dreamed I would be in Canada 16 years later, shaking hands with Ken." |
