Preview
DOCUMENTS: SURVEY OF CONCEPTUAL ART
Iain Baxter, Eric Cameron, Garry Neill Kennedy and Ian Wallace
Runs until May 8
Triangle Gallery (104, 800 Macleod Trail S.E.)
Conceptual artists are a strange lot. Holed up in their studios, effectively cut off from the rest of civilization for days, even months at a time, they tend to become absorbed by the minutiae of the world they construct for themselves.
And sometimes what seems the very essence of self-absorption can somehow be transformed into works that are then shared with anyone who has an interest in how process plays a critical part in the creation of art.
The Triangle Gallery exhibition Documents: Survey of Conceptual Art, which includes work by four recipients of this year’s Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, articulates artists as thinkers in the most effective of terms.
"Conceptual art" is a term attributed to American minimalist painter Sol LeWitt who, in 1967, published Paragraphs on Conceptual Art. From that moment he emerged as the de facto spokesperson for a contingent of artists who believe that the thought that goes into the art is more important than the end result. "What the work of art looks like isn’t too important," said LeWitt. "No matter what form it may finally have it must begin with an idea."
Calgary’s Eric Cameron epitomizes this idea in his series of "Thick Paintings." Starting out with ordinary, everyday objects Cameron methodically applies thousands of half-layers of acrylic gesso (a plaster-like material) and acrylic paint onto the object. Over the years it takes to create such a piece, the mundane object is changed into an otherworldly thing that has no resemblance to its humble origins.
In this exhibition, Cameron’s Matilda’s Chestnut resembles a pod that has fallen from the sky and is about to burst open as it warms under the gallery’s lights. Conceived in 1979 when Cameron’s daughter was seven years old, the chestnut-cum-painting dates back to a time when the artist was still teaching in Halifax at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and just months after his Thick series was first born.
Joining Cameron in this journey of discovery is Garry Neill Kennedy. Since the 1960s, Kennedy, the former president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, has consistently produced works that highlight the properties and physical characteristics of the materials he uses to make art.
Kennedy’s Black Painting #2 is a physically large work whose heft seems to be barely supported on the gallery wall. With layers of paint applied to Formica over plywood, the surface has become matte black with the exception of one long, shiny black stripe that streaks down the middle of the work. The contrast of shiny next to dull focuses the viewer’s attention on the paint and underscores the basic tenets of Kennedy’s methodology.
Iain Baxter and Ian Wallace are the other two Governor General’s winners represented in the exhibition. Baxter is a professor emeritus at the University of Windsor whose diverse body of work includes photography, light boxes and sculpture. Wallace, considered the "grandfather" of Vancouver’s conceptual art scene, is one of the leaders in the area of conceptual photography.
When this year’s Governor General’s Awards were announced, Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson issued a statement that said, in part, "This year’s laureates show us Canadian art which is profound, deeply insightful, humorous and often playful." She could have easily added, "dogged, rebellious and obsessive" when referring to Cameron, Kennedy, Baxter and Wallace. Those are words that describe all of the artists included in this engaging overview of conceptual art. |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.