The Derelicte 5 fashion show is a must see. It mixes the
practical with the fantastic where local designers show their latest fashions,
interspersed with wonderful creations and performances by local artists who
spend weeks creating elaborate costumes that are both brilliant and humorous
works of art. Bring your camera! Live bands, belly dancers, raffles, and DJs
stoke the pace and spirits throughout the night. For details, go to www.definitelysuperior.com.
Seriously, this is a fantastic show.
In Gallery One at the DEFSUP galleries, local artist Ann
Clarke’s works are featured in a show called Groundwork. Clarke is a professor
of fine art at Lakehead University and a distinguished member of the Royal
Canadian Academy of Arts.
Clarke’s smaller paintings hold together as finished
colourful works. They are fun and have a sense of play about them, but the
larger paintings, similar in style, fall apart. With Clarke’s smaller works the
eye can find a focal point more easily, and rest for a moment. With the larger
works, it’s as if two biological entities were trying to eat each other. As
disharmonious compositions, the clean and colourful 1960s Op art sections appear
to be dropped randomly on 1970s woolly rugs. The effect is jarring, but could
be intentional. It’s hard to tell.
When there is no focal point, and no subject in a painting
the eyes dance aimlessly around, as does the mind, which goes wandering, trying
to relate what is seen with what is known outside of the art world, looking for
a story. Often that story can be found either in the written description of the
work, or from the Acoustiguide audio tour that a museum might provide, or in the
life of the artist.
Paintings such as Clarke’s can only be judged by what is on
the picture plain as there are no references to subject matter, nor any visual
clues or history suggested, unless you can compare these aesthetics to another
artist’s aesthetic choices. But this is more of a game for art aficionados
requiring an extensive knowledge of modern art. The result is that appreciation
for this kind of art is limited, where approval for one kind of aesthetic
choice over another is similar to a choice of what’s in fashion or not.
Playing with aesthetic styles without resolution or a human
subject, theme or action can give the appearance that the paintings are part of
a learning process, as if the artist is still in school. Which is why many
contemporary artists tend to stick to one style. This is great for marketing
purposes, but can show commitment, which most fine art students are taught
reveals maturity on the part of the artist.
Which leads to Bob Chaudri’s collection in Gallery Two
called Redux 13, a sampling of Canadian contemporary artists. The artists’
works that Bob has collected over the years are famous for their very
individual styles, styles immediately recognizable as belonging to particular
artists because the aesthetics are so distinct and the artists are pretty much dedicated
to one style for their career. Again, subject matter is limited, but the
feelings generated from mystery, doubt, anger, ugliness, humour, and occasional
beauty, make this little eclectic show interesting and a good sampling of the
kinds of modernist works that were produced in the 1990s and beyond
Gallery Three features video
projections of some amazing work by contemporary artists that stretch both
terms “engineer” and “art,” mixing the two wildly. The creative people here are
referred to as “technical poets” and it’s an apt description for some
mind-boggling imagery and ideas. The massive “thing” that walks on the beach,
for instance, is fascinating, but also unsettling. You’ll love it or find it
creepy, but you won’t forget it.
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