George Webber

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Portrait by George Webber, Cowboy Wild by David Campion & LOTS by Milutin Gubash
Art Gallery of Calgary
Friday, September 5 - Saturday, January 3

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Art Gallery of Calgary

Three contemporary Canadian photographers — David Campion, Milutin Gubash and George Webber — have each reflected upon the Wild West we call home, making strong use of the documentary tradition to tell it like it is, to reveal our roots in the pioneering communities of the Prairies, and the contradictions in our gleaming cities.

David Campion has been documenting every aspect of the Calgary Stampede—the spectators, crowds, costumes and kiosks—for 10 years. Thirty-six black-and-white photographs are lined against the walls of the Art Gallery of Calgary’s Top Gallery in smooth, white-painted wooden frames. The title Cowboy Wild evokes the nostalgic idea of the Wild West, which Campion reveals as a myth; exposed by its theatricality and multimillion-dollar production costs and set against the modern backdrop of Calgary’s tame working world.

Campion’s critical distance from his subject matter shows in the fearful gaze of a boy in a rain smock, standing alone among backs turned in neglectful distraction. Not shying away from issues such as over-consumption, poor treatment of animals, deception, violence and exploitation, the artist seems to be asking whether we can celebrate our culture — present and past — in a more conscientious way.

The gritty, weighty Portraits by Webber occupies the main gallery space and confronts us with captivating descriptions of life beyond the city (the real Wild West). Webber’s sensitivity to the isolation and rawness in the rural Prairies finds expression in his selenium-toned silver prints, which render the skies, the hair, the water and the blood all in the same stark black.

The wiry farming communities and isolated small towns in Alberta and Saskatchewan recall the work of Dorothea Lange or Walker Evans, who photographed people suffering through crop failures and economic disaster during the Great Depression. Webber’s work demonstrates an earnest respect for fact while conveying subjective interpretations through composition, light and the inclusion of telling visual signs. A Nike swoosh, fly paper, calendar girls, railroad tracks and a road sign pointing to the town of Forget, among countless others, are carefully chosen to tell richly detailed stories of transition, survival, tradition and perseverance. Though never ironic, the contrast between name-brand newness and dusty old ways in photos such as ­­­­­Boys, Neudorf, Saskatchewan reveals the willingness (or necessity) of westerners to accept and integrate difference or change into their identity.

Gubash’s work explores personal spiritual meaning. His half-fictive, half-biographical vignettes round out the other two exhibitions with a more conceptual response to the question of finding identity. His series of large-scale colour prints titled Up, and a collection of short video pieces, Lots, are a vibrant and in-your-face punctuation to the exhibition.

In Up, bright life-sized portraits of the artist’s family and friends are mounted on the wall at eye level and positioned in tight groups as if the figures were socializing around us. Gubash places the viewer amongst the artificial crowd gathered to witness the baffling moment of his levitation; an event frozen in time and suspended in the space of a digital print. This theatrical event at the centre of Up is in keeping with the artist’s themes of detachment, transcendence, spectacle and peculiarity. As an immigrant in the heart of the new West, Gubash constantly challenges norms and explores the various relationships between insiders and outsiders.

This theme — being an artist or outsider — is reinforced in the fantastical video cycle Lots, in which a mysterious stranger urges the artist to “find who and what you are supposed to find.” The video questions the role of faith and Christianity in artistic practice.

Taking insights from the three distinct shows, which all focus on “us,” we are shown an objective, multifaceted picture of the West. At the same time, these images demonstrate our concerns for sustainable economies, a multicultural awareness and respect, and a strong identity that embraces the beauty and historical character of the West.