| March is the unofficial beginning of the spring season, kicking off a visual arts fever that’s being caught in galleries across the city.
At the Nickle Arts Museum is Made in Afghanistan: Rugs and Resistance, 1979-2005. Not usually thought of as a tool of politics, these pile- woven carpets were made in an era marked by a Soviet invasion and international squabbling over the region, which continues to this day. These war rugs translate their creators’ tumultuous histories in a country stained with blood. The show, curated by Robert Fyke and Michele Hardy, is at the Nickle until the end of May.
On March 4, Banff’s Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies hosts Jon Goodman, lecturing on how he creates photogravures from original negatives, featuring works from some of the best known photographers of the 20th century. This event is part of Exposure 2006 at the Banff-Calgary photography festival.
An opening that, according to Quab Gallery, promises to be "the strangest exhibition reception you’ll ever attend," will take place at Art Central on March 5. With the exhibition Sold Out, you can get your head shaved, deface a landscape painting, receive a free T-shirt and drink wine while musing over Jim Jewitt’s darkly humorous explorations about the art world. Jewitt asks the question: "Will your art be worth more when you’re dead?" Sold Out features paintings, sculptures and installations throughout the month of March.
Not to be outdone, local documentary photographer Lawrence Chrismas is launching his own unorthodox arts-related event with the Barely Seen Butt Often Heard Calendar Release Party. Known for his photographs of Canada’s coal miners, Chrismas has this time pointed his lens at musicians in the nude. With only their instruments to hide all of their talents, the resulting 18-month calendar (July 2006 — December 2007) will be a fundraiser for the Calgary Dream Centre. A reception to launch the calendar will be held at FourbyFive Gallery (Art Central) on March 16 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Truck Gallery has an exhibition of paintings (on display until March 18) titled Message in a Bottle. Using the smallest paintbrushes available, Chris Millar creates paintings that tell the stories of characters from Batman to Spock, which he has described as "gestures of excess."
The black-and-white photography of George Hunter is at Stone Fish Gallery until March 19 in an exhibition entitled Inuit of the High Arctic. At 85, Hunter is known as one of Canada’s most widely travelled photographers, criss-crossing the planet to document its people. Taken in the 1940s, these crisp prints of the Inuit are some of Hunter’s best work. For more information about this former National Film Board photographer, go to www.georgehunterphotography.com.
Stride Gallery has an installation titled Primers by Toronto-based artist Ian Carr-Harris. A former librarian, Carr-Harris explores the connections between classification systems and social values. Stride says the works in Primers "revisit our introduction to language." The installation is on display until March 18.
And finally, at Skew Gallery (1615-10 Ave. S.W.), the French impressionist inspired photography of Dianne Bos in the exhibition Tournesol, a sure symbol of the warm months ahead. Part-time Calgarian, part-time European, Bos has carved out a global career in photography by creating images that transcend time and place, using pinhole cameras. |
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