phART

You Blew it: Blair Taylor at the AGGV Lab

2011-04-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Blair is at the LAB. Come on by and take a look.

Victoria artist Blair Taylor transforms the lab into an archive of his subconscious illustrating the eerie and absurd narratives that play out night after night in his dreams. His installation of models are “simplified to their barest elements” and “can also serve as a starting point for new associations and extrapolations by those who experience them.” Taylor, who is an artist and archivist, extracts meaning from the chaos of his dreams by imposing order and structure in the form of these pristine sculptures. He delights in how “something that was a hazy or barely remembered memory could be turned into a concrete physical presence.” The works in this exhibition are three dimensional representations of his archive of dreams that he has recorded and documented over many years.

You Blew it
Blair Taylor
The Lab Gallery located inside the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Show runs until July 3rd

"Divergent Space" by Shannon Scanlan

2011-03-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Window installation at the Ministry of Casual Living. Opens this Friday.

Shannon Scanlan

Divergent Space

Ministry of Casual Living

Sunday, 20 March, 2011 - Wednesday, 30 March, 2011

Opening Reception Friday March 25th 2011 8pm

Shelly Miller in Waddington Alley

2011-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Shelly Miller's public mural Stained will be unveiled this Saturday on March 26 in Waddington Alley at four o'clock. There will be tea and cookies! The mural will remain in place throughout April and May until it disintegrates. It is best viewed repeatedly as it changes.

Earlier in the afternoon Miller will present an artist talk at Open Space, 510 Fort Street at 3:00 p.m. discussing her past work and this new public installation. Shelley Miller created her ‘confecious’ mural during her residency at Open Space. The mural mimics Portuguese colonial tiles but is constructed entirely of sugar. Miller’s ephemeral installations are like history itself, eroding and dissolving over time, subject to the distortions of told and retold stories, lore and myth.

Shelly Miller
Waddington Alley
March 26 - ?

Silent as Glue

2011-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

Silent As Glue brings together work from three established North American artists, Lynda Gammon (Victoria, BC), Matt Harle (Beacon, NY) and Elspeth Pratt (Vancouver, BC). The common thread in their work is that it allows for a contemplative exploration of the relationships between architecture and space; handmade processes; the vernacular; humble everyday materials.The process for these three artists is derived from a strong studio based practice of exploration and experimentation with materials, form and structure. Curator Micah Lexier describes the works in this exhibition as the result of “large doses of intuition, a dialogue with art history, a play between restraint and love of materials, and the ambition of the artists to surprise and delight themselves and others.”

As a former student of Linda's this should be great! Come one, come all!

Silent as Glue
Linda Gammon, Matt Harle, and Elspeth Pratt
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Show runs February 18th to June 5th
Opening night is February 17th at seven thirty

Wunder Worry at Open Space

2010-10-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

I helped curate a show that is now on at Open Space. Take a peek. I hope you like it!

It's A Sound Massage Parlor!

2010-09-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

One of the world’s foremost trombonists and didjeriduists, ‘sound gatherer’ Stuart Dempster soothes aches, pains, and psychic sores with his meditative and playful Sound Massage Parlor.

Stuart Dempster
Sound Massage Parlor
Open Space
510 Fort Street
October 2nd two and eight o' clock
October 3rd two o' clock
October 5th five thirty
$10/$8 (members, students and seniors)

I've been pumping up my Canadian Muscles!

2010-09-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight Caleb Speller shows his drawings at Deluge. Looks like a neat show. Makes me think of my kick ass waffle maker.

Once upon a time, there were factories in Canada that made thousands of useful things. Nails, stamp pads, pencils, batteries, hand salve, doorknobs, records—you name it, chances are we made it. Made in Canada was stamped on each of these products; a certain pride contained in those three words.

Canadian Muscle is a series of drawings which document and celebrate this disappeared DIY aesthetic and keep-it-in-Canada attitude. Each drawing represents a unique piece of our industrial and patriotic history which employed countless Canadians over the decades. This spirit of self-reliance is enjoying a renaissance, with locally farmed produce, local craftsmen/artisans and domestic industry promoted and newly appreciated. Speller's work is an appeal to further this trend by actively sourcing available alternatives to foreign imports, and demanding Canadian made goods.

Canadian Muscle
Caleb Speller
Deluge
636 Yates Street
Victoria BC
Show opens September 3rd
Show runs till October 2nd

FASTWURMS | Hood Woad

2010-07-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

A message from the Ministry!

Tarot and divinatory readings Saturday, July 24 all evening and Sunday July 25 from afternoon into the evening. Times are approximate, do drop by.

The Ministry welcomes FASTWURMS for a weekend of participatory performance. FASTWURMS is an ongoing cultural project (1979- ), the trademark and the joint authorship of Kim Kozzi and Dai Skuse.

FASTWURMS' art practice is based on a DIY sensibility, an allegiance towards working class, artist collaborations and queer alliance, a practice predicated on the exchange and circulation of aesthetic knowledge as a performative and public narrative.

As a Witch identified practice and a subversive participant in bent identity politics, FASTWURMS brings a "twisted" critical perspective to investigations of the "other", difference, agency and authenticity.

Hood Woad is an experimental storefront Drop In Center.

Following the guidelines of the Witch Nation Public Health Protocol(WNPHP), Hood Woad will be using several diagnostic tools for at risk youth assessment. (Youth is defined as any person under 55, or any Witch with less than a 1,000 incarnations on this planet)

Counselors will be screening for Sexual Addiction Potential (SAP) using Tarot Cards and the seminal text The Sexual Key to the Tarot by Theodor Laurence.

Counselors will also be using the Witch Nation Alienation Index (WNAI) to identify wage slaves and quantify their degree of alienated labour. Alienation from nature will also be assessed and advice on the adoption of familiars will be proffered.

Hood Woad will also give free advice to any at risk youth for transforming standard pathologies into unusual gifts, for example, the conversion of standard Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) into Attention Surplus Advantage (ASA).

Unique Divinatory techniques created for Hood Woad include the Long Board Spread (LBS), a tarot card reading developed for long boards, and Truck Clairvoyance Bearings (TCB), the interpretation of subtle spinning bearing noise patterns for clues to the Querent's future.
Hood Woad is dedicated to getting our at risk youth off the streets and into Mental Health Magic (MHM), under the aegis of Witch Nation directive #2, Love is the Law.

Interim

2010-07-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Interim is a group exhibition showcasing works by first year UVic MFA students Laura Dutton, Megan Press, Dickson Bou, and Dan Bernyk

Interim
Laura Dutton, Megan Press, Dickson Bou and Dan Bernyk
Xchanges
2333 Government Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night is July 9th at seven
Show runs until July 25th

Mo Monkeys!

2010-06-22T16:49:00.001-07:00

Monkey Business Workshop
Open Space, 510 Fort St.
Saturday June 26 at 1pm
Fee, $10
Artist, Tracey Nelson (Victoria)

In conjunction with her show Walls of Intrigue and Cabinets of Curiosity, local artist Tracey Nelson is sharing her extensive knowledge in the art of constructing monkeys.

Come to Open Space on Saturday, the 26th of June at 1 p.m. for a hands on sock monkey
making workshop.

Walls of Intrigue and Cabinets of Curiosity makes the most of our shared delight in monkey business. Nelson places “monkey” imagery at the centre of her installation, bringing the nostalgic affection for sock monkeys into a compelling study of DIY cultures, collecting, crafting, play theory and the tangled relationships between culture, nature and technology.

To cover the cost of materials there is a $10 workshop fee. This event is open to all ages, but children under 10 must be accompanied by helping hands. Please pre-register before Wednesday June 23, at 5pm by calling Anna Bald or Aubrey Burke at 250-383-8833 or email openspace@openspace.ca with ‘monkey business workshop’ in the subject ﬁeld.

Performance Actions: John G Boehme and Friends

2010-06-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, June 25 around 5:30pm, the Ministry will stage a variety of performance actions that will continue for 2-3 hours.

The Ministry will become the first location of a performance/action event series that will occur once a month with an unknown number of participants where the site becomes the fulcrum for ideas and actions.

Guided by John G. Boehme.

Performance Actions
John G Boehme
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria BC
June 25th at five thirty

Alison Pebworth at Open Space

2010-06-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Alison Pebworth
Beautiful Possibility
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Closing Reception
June 23rd
seven thirty

Peter Morin at Open Space

2010-06-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Peter Morin will close his residency with a performance and artist talk at Open Space on June 11th. Marvel at the magic of The Great Giffoni, share food and listen to the stories that have been gathered.

A Memory Talking Stick
Peter Morin
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Performance and Artist Talk Friday June 11th at six

Megan Dickie at Deluge

2010-06-04T23:25:00.001-07:00

"Contact Games focuses on novelty as a means to promote amusement. Large interactive sculptures combine with absurd serigraph prints to reference the artificial obsession with the new. For Dickie the novelty object is the quintessential example of a form that rejoices in excess and is truthful about its moral shortcomings. It is an object of play but is created from a place of science, physics and reason. This conflict that occurs between pleasure and logic is the basis for the competition in Contact Games."

Megan Dickie
Contact Games
Deluge
636 Yates Street
Victoria, BC
Opening Friday June 11th at seven
Show runs till July 10th

Art Sale at the Ministry MOVED to June 12th

2010-06-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

$20 Art Sale

2010-06-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Ministry's block busting $20 Art Sale will once again take place Friday, June 11 starting at 8pm.
All works are $20. Confirmed artists include: Peter Sandmark, Hailey Finnigan, Ami Muranetz, Leslie Wiegand, FASTWURMS, Michael Comeau, Marlaina Buch, Ross Macaulay, Adam Ungstad, Michael Furtado and Jessica Rowland, with more to come!

If you'd like to submit work, drop off at 1442 Haultain St Thursday June 10 from 5-9pm or just before the show opens on Friday the 11th.

The first person to submit to the sale has won a mystery show which will be mounted the week following the sale...stay tuned...

Digital Time Capsule from a Really Weird Kid

2010-06-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Erin Frayne has made digital drawings using obsolete computer "paint" programs since email was novelty. A recently recovered archive of bizarre observations from her 7 year old self has been converted from hard disks and printed, offering pixelated chunks of the random and often puzzling concerns of childhood.

A limited number of zines featuring the best of the time capsule's contents will be available for barter.

Digital Time Capsule from a Really Weird Kid
Erin Frayne
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Show runs until June 3rd

Beautiful Possibility

2010-05-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

"Like the medicine wagon or the Wild West show, Beautiful Possibility tours the Northern United States and Southern Canada. San Francisco artist Alison Pebworth journeys to Victoria with her painted canvas sideshow banners re-telling American history."

Beautiful Possibility
Alison Pebworth
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Opening is Friday May 28th at seven thirty
Show runs till June 24th

Walls of Intrigue and Cabinets of Curiosity

2010-05-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

"Walls of Intrigue and Cabinets of Curiosity makes the most of our shared delight in monkey business. Victoria artist Tracey Nelson places “monkey” imagery at the centre of her installation with scores of handcrafted monkeys as well as paintings and video with monkey characters and a robotic drawing machine. "

Who doesn't like monkey business?

Walls of Intrigue and Cabinets of Curiosity
Tracey Nelson
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Opening Friday May 28th at seven thirty
Show runs till July 3rd

Ruffle Photos

2010-05-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

"On May 14th, the BALCONY gallery @ Xchanges opens with it's first installation, the Ruffle. A 100 foot long confection made of pink tulle, the Ruffle presides over a concrete parking lot usually reserved for auto-mechanics and carpet cleaning vans. Within this context, the Ruffle flirts with the old sexual stereotypes; the Ruffle is feminine, just as cars and concrete are masculine. the Ruffle is a pretty, quirky and thought-provoking comment on the role of the nonsensical in a practical space. the Ruffle runs until June 10th at 2333 Government Street."

Photos from Pedestrian Colour

2010-05-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

Pedestrian Colour opened at the Slide Room Gallery tonight. I was lucky enough to sample drinking water from three different Victoria locations. Personally I like the VISA water best, maybe it's the clay pipes?

Michael Comeau at the Ministry

2010-05-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Michael Comeau has printed himself into a carpal tunnel. Inside that fantastic tunnel, you'll find a massive archive of posters from the Toronto music, comic, queer and film scenes - thousands of kung fu masters, pornicorns, gangsters, divas, space invaders and hot babes! This is the output of legend, the cave paintings of a folk hero.
Comeau is so famous Universal Pictures is making a HOLLYWOOD movie that includes his character from the Scott Pilgrim comic series starring Michael Cera! Comeau tried out for the part of himself and was rejected, probably because the most authentic thing a casting agent has ever seen are their own turds.

Ouch. Sorry casting agents. Am I the only one who has had their fill of Michael Cera?

Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night is May 14th
Show runs until May 20th
Sale of the posters will be May 15th and 16th 2pm till late

No Fixed Address at the Ministry of Casual Living

2010-05-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

THE INSTITUTE FOR THE SCIENCE OF IDENTITY is comprised of a nomadic band of inquirers working to develop platforms for grassroots skill-sharing strengthened by collaboration and potluck. We have no designated facilities or authority structures; information is disseminated through a loosely connected system of localized bulletin boards and word of mouth. Dedicated to the rhizomatic transfer of ideas and technical knowledge, we utilize working methods that are akin to those of the old guilds. With a utopian desire to circumvent bureaucratic hierarchies we have no wish to be recognized in academic, scientific or political circles. Everyone is welcome!

No Fixed Address
The Institute for the Science of Identity
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Monday to Thursday May 10-13
Office Hours 1:00 - 6:00 pm
Refreshments will be served each day at 4:00 pm
Office Party and Book Launch Thursday, May 13 from 1:00 - 7:00 or 8:00 pm

Be there or be square.

Spring Ahead Art Festival

2010-04-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is a free event and looks like lots of fun. Visit the VISA website for more information. Bid on paintings while they're still wet? Yikes! Looks like there will be some groovy tunes too. My my, that school is really hopping these days. Check it out! Buy your mom a painting for Mother's Day.

Pedestrian Colour

2010-04-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

"Robert Rauschenberg coined the phrase, Pedestrian Colour, to convey his involvement with unconventional art materials and activities related to wandering, watching, collecting and combining. Curator John Luna picks up the trail, observing artists who present unconventional relationships to material and text."

Featured artists include:

Sean Alward
Marlene Bouchard
Jonathan Dowdall
Alexander Grewal
June Higgins
Michael Jess
Paul La Farge
Nathan Paine
Wendy Welch

Pedestrian Colour
Slide Room Gallery
2549 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC
Show Runs May 7th to May 28th
Opening night is Friday May 7th at seven thirty (artist talk at eight)

Snake Mountain Logistics Group

2010-04-29T21:21:00.001-07:00

Snake Mountain Logistics Group are a crack team of computer scientists, musicians and makers who through collective genius will turn the Ministry window into an interactive touch screen. You touch the window, crazy things happen. As simulated as bacon bits, SMLG's piece brings the fourth dimension a little closer. Here are their notes:
"It may be a good idea to regurgitate some of MSA's open code to save implementation time since most of us are probably super busy."

"My hypothesis was: if you used optical flow as forces applied to a fluid dynamics simulation, that you could create a gesture-controlled interface."

"This is the XCode version, it requires the openFrameworks addon ofxOsc (comes with OF), and a very recent version of openCV (the OF version is too old to have the FAST detector I used, so you will have to download the latest binaries or build it from the SVN repo)."

"So, Burning Man...anyone got tickets?"

Holy, that's all madness! Weeee!

Snake Mountain Logistics Group
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Show runs April 30th to May 6th
Opening night is May 1st

Mo Money Mo Problems

2010-04-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

a counting
a visual representations of my accounts
counting out
account numbers
numbers of accounts
numbers in accounts
Some drawings reflecting my current financial identity. The sum of the arbitrary numbers given to attach me to my accounts, and sum of the amounts in my accounts.

Sam Kinsley
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Show runs April 23rd to April 29th
Opening night is most likely this Friday April 23rd, but check Ministry website.

Don't forget RPM

2010-04-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Opening is May 21st. Don't forget about it just because I posted about it in March.

The Victoria Fine Art Festival Society Funraiser

2010-04-21T17:32:00.001-07:00

The Victoria Fine Art Festival Society is holding it's first annual Fundraiser, this Friday, April 23rd, 6-10pm. The event is being held at the same location as the "Homeless Awareness Exhibition", 705 Johnson Street, Downtown Victoria.

There will be a silent auction featuring original artwork and items from: Toni Onley, Ken Faulks, Corre Alice, Yuri Arajs, Shepard Fairey, Amy Rice, Rachel Berman, Herbert Siebner, Jack Hambleton, PK Page, Brian Johnson, Katherine Surridge, Charles van Sandwyk, Luke Garrison, Hide Kawanishi, The Cabins in Uclulet, OPUS framing & art supplies, Fol Epi, Sunfire Creations, Knotty By Nature Fibre Arts, and more.

A special preview of artwork by Anne Grgich, featured artist from our August exhibition "Outsider Art Today", will be on display.

Tickets are only $10 (cash & cheque only) available at the door or at the View Street gallery. Savories and sweets and other refreshments will be served.

All proceeds from the event will go to support our future exhibitions which include: "Outsider Art Today" in August 2010 which will feature artworks from 12 internationally acclaimed artists. In October, we will bring "One in Five: An Exhibition of Artworks by People Living with Mental Illness"

Call to reserve tickets. 250-213-1162.

Victoria Fine Art Festival Society Fundraiser
705 Johnson Street
Victoria, BC
April 23rd six to ten
Tickets are ten dollars

Roshi Clark and Leyla Mitchell at Open Space

2010-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Open Space presents new work by emerging artists Leyla Mitchell and Roshi Clark.

"Clark's Things To Do addresses the mental abundance of to-do lists in contemporary culture. His installation uses a plethora of sticky notes to make significant connections between people's intended actions, routines and relationships to public space."

"Leyla Mitchell's Confessional foregrounds secrets and private thoughts. The artist's "honesty box" serves as a confessional: a vessel of anonymous confessions which serves to physically contribute to the construction of her installation."

Roshi Clark,
Things To Do
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Opening: Thursday April 22nd, seven thirty, Picnic, below Open Space. 508 Fort St.
Show runs till May 5th

Leyla Mitchell
Confessional
Open Space
510 Fort Street
Victoria, BC
Opening Thursday May 6th seven thirty
Show runs till May 19th

phART is on Facebook

2010-04-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Which is super lame. I don't know if this will last for too long.

Pumping Party at Uvic Grad Show

2010-04-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

I knew it was going to be a good party when I heard screaming from across the parking lot.

University of Victoria Grad Show

2010-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Uvic grad show! Rooms upon rooms of students work. Try to slip in after all the speeches.

The Martlet has an excellent interview with some of the students.

Now Here
Uvic Visual Arts Grad Show
Uvic Visual Arts Building
Opening night is April 16th starting at six (speeches at seven)
Show runs until April 23rd

Darren Larose, Jennifer Toke and Liam Hanna-Lloyd Showing at Boucherat

2010-04-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

Neato! Get out there y'all cause it's a really nice day for an opening.

Manufacturing Suburbia
Darren Larose, Jennifer Toke and Liam Hanna-Lloyd
Boucherat Gallery
16 Fan Tan Alley
Victoria, BC
Opening night April 15th at seven thirty
Show runs till April 25th

Mei Han and Randy Raine-Reusch at Open Space

2010-04-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

I saw the concert at Open Space tonight. "New Directions for Asian Instruments." I got to play a nose whistle. Who knew you could play a whistle with your nose?!

"A Sequence of Spaces" Independent Studio Program Grad Show

2010-04-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

"The Slide Room Gallery is pleased to host the first graduates of the Vancouver Island School of Art's new Independent Studio Program. The Independent Studio Program is a post-diploma or 'fourth year' program where students work in a shared studio space under the advisement of a Independent Studio Program supervisor. Most of the work in the exhibition has been completed in the last six months of the program."

A Sequence of Spaces
Irma Argyriou, Kumiko Fujinami and Jillian Player
Slide Room Gallery
2549 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC
Opening Friday, April 9 at seven thirty

John Luna at the Ministry of Casual Living

2010-04-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

My guess is this will be happening Saturday night!

"At an undisclosed time I will present a lecture on the subject of the artist’s studio in the window space of the Ministry of Casual Living. As a record of the lecture, I will leave a chalkboard diagram and some demonstration paintings made during the course of the lecture."

Lesson Plan
John Luna
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Be there Saturday night

Photos from "Dios Nunca Muere" at Open Space

2010-04-04T12:48:00.001-07:00

It was fun fun fun! Here is more information.

Point Of Reference : Christian Nicolay and Yuri Arajs

2010-04-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

From the View Street Gallery:

"The gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by two BC artists, Christian Nicolay and Yuri Arajs, April 9th to May 8th. The opening reception is Friday, April 9th, 6-9 pm and we sincerely hope you will be able to attend. Both artists will be present at the opening.

Christian Nicolay's interdisciplinary art practice combines performance, mixed media drawing, sound recording, installation and video; often simultaneously playing with notions of chance, spontaneity and humour, exploring the relationships between order and chaos, and the unity of opposites. He summarizes his art and life by "paying attention to systematic confusion".

Yuri Arajs' landscapes are painted on carefully selected wood panel where the grain and warmth of the wood are integral parts of the painting. Painted elements are precise and he only paints what is absolutely necessary to the work. A horizon might be a perfect subtle graphite or painted line. Other paintings are on pieces of found metal where all precision is abandoned in the riot of rust and distressed elements.

As a sponsor of the Victoria Fine Art Festival Society, View Art Gallery would also like to invite you to attend a Fundraiser on April 23rd, at 705 Johnson Street, 6-10 pm. VFAF has two exhibitions planned for the Fall: "Outsider Art Today",in August, which will feature 12 contemporary Outsider Artists from around the world. Also, in October, "One In Five", an exhibition of art work by people living with mental illness. See the attached invitation. For more information please go to VFAF's website at www.victoriafineartfestival.org."

Point Of Reference
Christian Nicolay and Yuri Arajs
View Street Gallery
104-860 View Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night is April 9th starting at six
Show runs till May 8th

Chimera: Victoria College of Art 2010 Graduation Exhibition

2010-04-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

A Special Artists’ Opening Reception is being held on Friday, April 16 at 7pm to celebrate three of the Victoria College of Arts’ graduating students:

Cameron Martin - Coastal Small Towns. “By depicting small towns in my set of works I hope to show their warmth and full character. Their surroundings curiously seem muted to them, but not us. Holding true to my roots, I try to show experiences, left with me while travelling our vast land”.

Cait Helten - “My work is focused on portraits using tone, texture and light to create an individual atmosphere for each subject”.

Cara Makkinga - “All of my works are created though mixed media techniques. Instead of being linked through common subject matter my mixed media paintings are linked with colour scheme, techniques and they all express a word starting with the letter M. They are in the world of abstract, based on simple images that are meant to bring a bigger concept to the mind of the viewer”.

Chimera
Cara Makkinga, Cait Helten and Cameron Martin
Xchanges
2333 Government Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night is Friday April 16th seven to nine
Show will run (open on the weekends) until April 25th

Fill in the blank

2010-03-31T22:48:00.001-07:00

Rock and Roll

2010-03-31T22:27:00.001-07:00

"The art of the record sleeve," again at Deluge. This one is always fun. Be there of be square. Bring your pocket money!

RPM: The Lost Art of LP Covers
Lots of different artists will be showing
Deluge
636 Yates Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night is Friday May 21st (enough time to save your allowance?)
Show runs till June 5th

Pop Mythology at the Fifty!

2010-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

I saw this one being set up as I flew by on Douglas Street. I'm going to have to take a closer look.

"Inspired by mythology and fairy tales, illustrator Renee Nault presents a collection of new Pop Surrealist paintings that are dreamy, dark, playful and beautiful."

Pop Mythology
Renee Nault
Fifty Fifty Arts Collective
2516 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC
Show runs until April 3rd

Contemporary Oaxacan art at Deluge and Open Space

2010-03-27T22:41:00.001-07:00

Holy censored vagina!

"Deluge Contemporary Art and Open Space are proud to present Dios Nunca Muere: the visual politics of transmutation in contemporary Oaxacan art. Featuring the work of 17 artists from the region, the exhibition is notable for the presentation of established artists with celebrated international reputations (Daniel Guzman, Dr. Lakra) with a younger generation of emerging and mid-career artists, the majority of whom have not exhibited in Canada.

Dios Nunca Muere explores the seismic shift in contemporary art practice in Oaxaca, Mexico over the last two decades. The work of these artists -- both individually and collectively -- parallels and reflects widespread social, political and economic changes in the region. Informed by such social and material conditions, this new wave of artist/provocateurs is dismantling the prevailing hegemony of the Romantic artist/auteur in favour of collaborative approaches, social practice and self-examination. As they embrace the area’s unique geographical isolation and historical reputation as a ground zero for resistance, transformation and revelation, the artists in this exhibition do so through an international perspective and critical dialogue with the art world at large.

Curated by Deborah de Boer (Victoria) and Luis Hampshire (Oaxaca), Dios Nunca Muere is the first exhibition of its kind to engage with a sporadically recognised, but generally unheralded group of artists in order to provide a unique and immersive experience of a vitally important but virtually occult chapter in the contemporary art history of Mexico.

Dios Nunca Muere is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue with essays from both Mexican and Canadian contributors. The exhibition will tour Mexico in 2010/11."

Featured Artists include:
José Arnaud Bello
Alfonso Barranco Sánchez
Ana Belén Paizanni
Arian Dylan
Moisés García Nava
Joel Gómez
Mariana Gullco
Daniel Guzmán
Luis Hampshire
Saúl Hernández
Dr. Lakra
Morelos León Celis
Roberto López Flores
Saúl López Velarde
Rolando Martínez
Rosa Vallejo
Jessica Wozny

"Dios Nunca Muere"
Deluge Contemporary Art (636 Yates Street) and Open Space (510 Fort Street)
Victoria, BC
Opening Night Friday, April 2: 7 to 10pm at Deluge, 9pm to 12am at Open Space
Show runs April 2nd to May 1st 2010
Artists/Curators Talk is Saturday, April 3, 3pm at Open Space

Oral Buffet at Hermann's Jazz Club

2010-03-11T23:07:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Oral Buffet. It was a night full of fun, and fund raising. Lots was made for the Ministry of Casual Living and the Slide Room Gallery. Thanks to everyone who came! I heard some awesome stories and I got to tell one of my own too! Hey, I even heard Robert Amos showed up and took a bunch of notes. Good on you Robert Amos for getting out and having a good time! To find out more on what happened and who presented, check out the Ministry's page.

ALTERED STATES

2010-03-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

ALTERED STATES
March 26 to April 5th 2010

A series of paintings and photographs by Anne Marie McPartlin that question the existence, context, and intent of the subjects they feature. With an emphasis on architecture and discarded items, the work highlights ideas of deterioration, abandonment, and eccentricity. This is work that Anne Marie completed during Independent Studies courses with d bradley muir and Wendy Welch.

Opening reception, Friday, March 26 @ 7:30 pm
Artist talk, Friday, March 26 @ 8 pm

Vancouver Island School of Art
2549 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC
(250) 380-3500
Gallery is open Monday to Friday nine to five. Weekends and evenings by appointment.

Coles out MacDonald in

2010-03-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Change of plans!

A message from the Ministry:

Aston Coles' exhibition has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances! We are so very sorry! Instead Brian MacDonald will be presenting Video Art Therapy #1: Journey To A Distant Planet. This video work features one of Aston's zoetrobes. Brian was the one who originally organized for Aston's work to be in Victoria. We suspect that it was all a ruse to secure a Ministry show for himself!

We will be having an opening for this work on Saturday, March 6 at 9pm. The exhibition will be up from March 6 to March 10.

The first in a series of videos that aspires to make video art a useful commodity by providing therapeutic benefits for the viewer. A reassuring voice will help those who wish to escape depression or anxiety by guiding them on a fantastic virtual journey to an unexplored planet. Images of pretty lights, magic tricks, and ingenious sculptures are set to soothing music to facilitate relaxation and enable a temporary escape from a stressful world. Featuring sculptures by Aston Coles, Scott Evans, Emi Honda, Jordan McKenzie; video art by Tor Jørgen van Eijk; music by Bryce Janssens; voice by Kate Lackey; and magic by The Great Giffoni!

"A Passion for Print"

2010-03-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks for passing the word on to me!

Got plans for tonight?

A Passion for Print- a celebration of printmaking by three Victoria visual artists Judith Welbourn, Lorraine Thorarinson Betts and Thekla Albrecht-Iribarne.

A Passion for Print

Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria

G6-1001 Douglas Street

Victoria, BC

Opening night Saturday March 6, 7pm

Gallery Hours are Monday to Friday ten to five, Saturday and Sunday twelve to four

"Method for viewing 104 sculpture parts in fast succession" By Aston Coles

2010-03-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

Help send Aston Coles' zoetrope back to Winnipeg! Money collected during the opening on Friday March 5 will be used to send the wayward work back to the prairies. Aston Coles is an artist in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His work in animation and sculpture serves as a study of the mechanics of flight toward the ultimate goal of unassisted human flight on earth, and the expansion of the known world and its contents by artistic invention.

Aston is part of the independent art production body known as Planet Goatsucker, creators of art, film, and noise events. He plays an instrument called The Swamp Badger in the noise band Deaf Squab. He is the assistant production technician at Plug In ICA.

"I am making machines which delineate movement in space. Specifically by animating my sculpture-making process. The machines are working models of the themselves. I find that mirrors are tools which propagate images of other things. Shadows are useful in the same way for looking at sculpture. These things are vision multipliers. My aim is to expand the parameters of the known world by the addition of new features." - Aston Coles

"Method for viewing 104 sculpture parts in fast succession"
Aston Coles
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Opening Friday March 5, 7-10pm. Three nights only!
Friday, 5 March, 2010 - Sunday, 7 March, 2010

Photos from "Fantasy Island"

2010-02-27T10:54:00.001-08:00

That's John Luna who curated the show. He is explaining to me that if I wear Rachel Evans' mask for 48 hours chances are my eyes will adjust to the parascopes that are inside them. I think I'd be eaten by a predator before that, or wander out onto the road.

Photos from "Preserves"

2010-02-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

More info on the show here.

June Higgins Article on Vibrant Victoria

2010-02-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

I wrote an article for Vibrant Victoria about June Higgins and her recent shows!

"Preserves" June Higgins at the Ministry of Casual Living

2010-02-23T10:12:00.000-08:00

I met June last Friday at the "Fantasy Island" opening at the Slide Room Gallery. She has three paintings in that show, and this show will open this Friday (busy lady). There should be a Vibrant Victoria article soon to follow - stay tuned. As I was writing it, I realized I had seen her work before, and that I really liked it! I wrote about it after I had been to the VISA Open House. Please come on out this Friday to take a look at June's work.

"An installation of objects exploring themes of nostalgia and hand-made versus mass produced. The objects are created from left-over craft and home project materials saved from destruction by combining them into hand-made, hand-sized preserves. The intimate sizes and tactile materials make the viewer want to touch them. In contrast the objects are attached to mass-produced kitschy plaques and pennants that are designed to produce an artificial feeling of nostalgia."

By the way, take a look at the revamped Ministry website. It's super glam!

"Preserves"
June Higgins
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night Friday February 26th seven o' clock
Show runs till Tuesday may 4th

Don't be an Amos! Opening night should be experienced at the gallery, not at home!

"Relics of Prester John" at Deluge

2010-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

"Grison's drawings are exhibited in an apparent condition of incompletion to emphasize two conditions of art that are always present: its conceptual transience and its ephemeral existence. While recalling memories of the artist's life, the drawings imagine relics of the mythic ruler of a medieval kingdom."

To learn more about Brian visit the Deluge website.

Brian Grison

Relics of Prester John

Deluge

636 Yates Street

Victoria, BC

Opening night is this Friday February 19th at seven o' clock

Show runs until March 20th

Don't be an Amos! Opening night should be experienced at the gallery, not at home!

Great Blue Heron by Mike Andrew McLean at The Ministry

2010-02-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

A new photographic transparency produced from an image made during McLean's six week "residency" at the Royal British Columbia Museum in October, 2004.

Join us for "wetlands appreciation" night February 19, 7-9 p.m.

Blue Heron
Mike Andrew McLean
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain
Victoria, BC
Opening nigh Friday February 19th seven o'clock
Show runs until February 23rd

Don't be an Amos! Opening night should be experienced at the gallery, not at home!

Introducing....

2010-02-16T10:47:00.001-08:00

Don't be a Robert Amos and stay at home instead of going out and enjoying an art opening. As Amos mentioned in his letter to Marlene Bouchard...

"I avoid going to openings - not a good time to experience the art work - but as you can imagine I have been to more art shows in this city than any other person living or dead."

So don't be a wet towel and stay at home. Get outside, make some friends, talk about art with strangers and share ideas!

Dallas Doubaitis to participate in Fantasy Island

2010-02-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Dallas Doubaitis has been invited to redo his last show at a group exhibition at the Slide Room Gallery this week. His last show "Ad-Hoc Trajectories" (pictured above) was held at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective. The show, curated by Wendy Welch and John Luna, opens this Friday - be there at seven thirty. Click here to see the details, or visit the Slide Room Gallery website.

Jess Wheaton Responds to Amos Review

2010-02-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Jess Wheaton responds to Amos' review:

I could construct an amused response to each of Robert's passages-in-response-to-Marlene's-constructive-critiques, but will instead focus on what I am most qualified to discuss- his specific thoughts on my show with Jon Tracy at Deluge. In the interest of making sense to Robert, this is going to be long, and I thank you in advance for reading on if you choose to.

Firstly, I've just gotta say that the fact that Robert doesn't receive a "coherent thought" from my work is somewhat intentional! My "layers of information" have nothing to do with "the randomness of it all," as Robert says. (Did he actually read and digest our statement?) Instead, much of my work in the show instead comments on the impossibility of objective understanding, as our show statement explains, and the interesting aesthetic SIMILARITIES between diagrams invented to convey completely different types of data. I assembled preexisting diagrams in different (handmade, painstaking, intricate, what have you) ways to suggest their failure to transmit information "universally," to draw attention to their aesthetic properties, and to represent the continuum of human discoveries, and the accompanying human attempts to encapsulate and share those discoveries in useful ways. All in all, I have set out to translate a small slice of already-visualized human knowledge into an even greater visual experience. I think this is interesting and worthwhile. Plus, many viewers arrived at this and other similar interpretations on their own.

Also of note is that I assembled 48 diagrams dating from the 1700s to the present in one unified collection. I think that, contrary to what Robert suggested, one probably does have to go to a gallery to experience this.

One last note about my own work is that some of my paintings use existing diagrams' aesthetics to construct new, more subjective receptacles for meaning. I would have loved to explain to Robert at the opening the information each has been individually designed by me to contain.

The specific drawing of Jon Tracy's that Robert mentioned, the "two virgin Marys, one listening to the abdomen of a Neanderthal..." in fact shows the newly-discovered human ancestor Ardipithecus ramidus, which was all over the news in October. I'm surprised Robert didn't make the connection. The importance of this discovery is that "Ardi" shows, according to a paleontologist, "that the last common ancestor with chimps didn't look like a chimp, or a human..." but is "... some funny thing in between." I believe the significance of pairing this female ancestor with the mother of Jesus CAN be deduced with careful viewing. Our show statement describes that Jon's work marries disparate elements to suggest the nature of globalization, which in turn implies cultural clash and recombination- in this case, the meeting of advanced scientific discovery and religion. This work also communicates Jon's own recent abandonment of his faith. The stage-like background and arrangement of the figures, the multiple Marys, Ardi's dominant posture compared to the Marys' submissive postures, the Marys' acknowledgement of Ardi... all of this visually speaks to Christianity as a tampered-with, perhaps staged event. I have interpreted most of this from the work on my own, and believe Robert could have too if he had wanted to.

Lastly, I'd just also like to point out that the message of Robert's quasi-impressionistic landscape paintings is not "getting through to me" either, and in fact, they seem hopelessly mute.

Finally, I would like to say that I'm very glad my regular community is that of San Francisco and the greater art world, where the culture of critique tends to be ripe, vibrant, and multi-perspectival. Robert's column would never fly in mine or many towns, and I find it funny and surreal but nonetheless interesting that Robert, Marlene, and I are even having this conversation. Lastly, I'd like to thank Hailey for providing this forum, and hope my loooong comment here is welcome.

John Luna Responds to Amos Review

2010-02-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

John Luna responds to the Amos review and responce to Bouchard's letter.

Hi Robert,

There has been a fair amount of talk about your recent review of work at Open Space, Deluge Contemporary Art and The Slide Room Gallery (“Some art leaves you scratching your head”, in the Times Colonist, January 25th, 2010[1]), and I confess I have been eavesdropping. I want to take up a few points from the review with you, as well as a reply you wrote to Marlene Bouchard (reprinted in full below), who wrote to you on the subject of the review. I apologize in advance if it seems unfair to take up the reply from a private correspondence in this way, but I would cite the truism that a critic is obliged to conduct his education in public, and add that some of the areas of your writing which I take exception to are ones in which I feel a personal rather than professional agenda is coming through.

First let me say that I thought it was good of you to write back to Ms. Bouchard, promptly and at length. I’d like to look closely at a few points you made in your reply. I hope these quotations won’t seem taken out of context.

"It must be easy to imagine that I don't pay attention to the art world you inhabit.But please be aware that, as well as attending each of the exhibitions (Caleb's twice), I have read the press releases and artists statements from all these shows, and that I have been able to listen to the artists statements and see the openings on http://www.exhibit-v/.I avoid going to openings - not a good time to experience the art work - but as you can imagine I have been to more art shows in this city than any other person living or dead. Mostly I have written very positive comments in more than a million words which I have published in the Times Colonist. And I give considerable thought to what I am going to say before I wade in and offend readers such as yourself."

I wanted to quote you at length here because I think that there are important misconceptions to avoid on both your side and those of some of your detractors. One problem is the common complaint that the critic hasn’t looked thoroughly at work or lacks crucial background information in formulating an evaluation. This is a problematic complaint, because there is no telling how much a rigour a critic has applied to looking at art, even if he or she gathers every scrap of information possible. On the flip side however, I would point out that commenting on how many art shows you have seen does not necessarily promise insight on your part. Exposure and information gathering is a critic’s professional obligation. Citing your accumulated body of experience doesn’t alter your success or failure in negotiating effectively between the artwork and your reader.

There is a bigger issue, however. Lack of imagination or a narrow preconception can render any amount of exposure to artworks a confirmation of one’s prejudices rather than a challenge to them. I’m afraid I think that this is reflected in your itemizing of ingredients in both the Deluge and Slide Room Gallery shows. From your letter:

"Two virgin Maries [sic], one listening to the abdomen of a Neanderthal... two dancers with their top halfs replaced with collage...Layers of information surround us everywhere, always. Is it necessary to go to a gallery to think about the randomness of it all?"

[And]

"A circle of pencil radii on black paper... a skull drawn on black paper... coloured construction paper cut in radii... pie slices of coloured felt on the floor. In his speech he mentioned that the 12 stones might represent the twelve apostles."

I don’t think that there is anything inherently wrong with this kind of inventory as a writing device. Lots of critics use it to reflect the fragmentary experience that an intimate encounter with artwork frequently entails, a sense of alienating, even offensive disjuncture of parts that don’t seem to logically assemble themselves into continuity. When the critic runs down such a list, it momentarily robs the work of its power to surround (an environmental experience becoming a linear narrative, as it were.) It can also be a very good way of making sure nothing has been missed, a flat-footed calling out of devices that cuts short the mystification that sometimes attends our response to the new. Many writers use it as a dramatic introduction to more involved interpretation.

As a painter, however, I’m sure you’d agree that the material facts of almost any artwork alone are not what make the work engaging (‘hmm, I see R.A. has used a stroke of cadmium red here next to another of yellow ochre…’) It is relationships that matter: juxtaposition, closure, defeat of expectation, call and response, replication, ambiguous attachment, implied depth, etc. I often tell students to think of the forms in their work as both nouns (‘red blob’) and verbs (‘seething’, ‘revelling’, ‘attacking’, ‘absorbing,’ ‘placating.’) To list an inventory of artefact without using your imagination to react to what the inventory does, how it works, is to never even begin the process of seeing how it might fail to work.

The problem is that I really don’t see you trying to engage with the phenomena you inventory (at least not in print.) It is as if citing such a demonstrably heterogeneous mix were itself justification for a refusal to take up the task of writing about it with attention. Try this: make a similar inventory of artworks you cherish. Not only is this revelatory (‘gosh, why is there a well-groomed spaniel in Rubens’ Raising of the Cross?’), but it also reveals the tendency for inventories to break things up into parts that can’t be appreciated unless in terms of imagined wholes. By not working on behalf of assembling a whole vision, you are in effect submitting that no such vision exists. After such a claim, why even begin?

Do all artworks deserve to be considered as wholes? Let’s look at the next fallacy, the notion of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ criticism as praise or blame:

Bouchard: you have failed to use your power as a community arts representative to infuse our current situation with positivity and backbone.

Amos: It is not my task to be a cheerleader.

First, we ought to look at Ms. Bouchard’s assertion that you as the critic ought to supply “positivity and backbone,” to “encourage” artists, and your defence, “It’s not my task to be a cheerleader.” Equating a “positive” approach with being a “cheerleader” invites a dangerous fallacy, that of the critic as one who either celebrates or denounces work. Bouchard has not demanded that you celebrate the work, per se. ‘Positive’ can imply other things than being ‘uncritical’, and does so in most uses in our language. Positive can generally mean pro-active, participatory and affirmative (affirmation by no means excluding difference of opinion or constructive calls for change or transparency.)

Positive or pro-active criticism assumes that the art is doing something, is participating with its audience and context in seeking out its fullest potential. Positive criticism encourages by virtue of making a constructive effort to discern and interpret that potential. Contrast this model with what could be described as ‘negative’ criticism…so called not because it is negative in a broad sense (mean spirited or destructive) but because it judges a work in accordance to its deficit to a preconceived model. Negative criticism seeks to liberate an art that is perceived as needing rescuing or protection. The paternalistic curtailment of the work’s potential by the negative critic is imagined to be ‘for its own good.’ The abuse being covered up is an insistence upon preconceived models of what the art ought to be. If the work fails to meet them, it fails to be anything at all.

The question is: can you be accused of covering up a model or agenda, a set of biases or prejudices that cause you to constrain your involvement with the art you write about?
To get to the heart of the matter, I’d like to quote a succession of excerpts from your letter. I think you would agree that they are not atypical. Please note that all italics are my own.

Am I the only one who believes that art should communicate, visually, a coherent thought? Or is the desire for such resolution passé´?

[And]

The Bomfords referred to the Bamberton connection frequently but does art always need to explained in an "artist's talk"?

[And]

Unwillingness to draw conclusions often seems like a cop-out. Resolving your ideas is so much more difficult.

[And]

Who are the Masters of Fine Arts speaking to? If they learn neither technique nor an ability to communicate clearly, art will be a hermetic study, of less and less relevance.

[And, from the original review]

[Jess Wheaton and Jon Tracy] belong to a certain sector of the art world in which it is considered a sell-out to actually make sense.

It is very common for artists and viewers in regional areas to fall prey to any number of versions of what Australian-born art critic Robert Hughes once called ‘the colonial cringe,’ The fear that other authorities in larger centers know more about art and what we experience must necessarily be a second-hand and trickle-down. One version of this cringe is to defer to these perceived authorities, to pass on received language undigested, developing a jargon of assumed validity without firsthand experience. I suspect that this is the kind of attitude you feel that you are fighting against.

Many of your comments (a reference to your viewpoint possibly being “passé”, the unnecessary quotes around the phrase ‘artist’s talk’, and the prophetic tone of “art will be a hermetic study”) suppose a set of conventions that you feel need redressing. These conventions would seem to include authorities that might judge something as fashionable or passé, artists who for some reason are compelled to make art that doesn’t make sense (there’s another fallacy), and “artist talks” that contribute unnecessary information when the work should stand alone, and a general current sweeping art in one direction, ‘hermeticism,’ because of a general lack of technique and clear communication, a resolving of ideas. I hope I am not limiting you as a writer to say that I think this is an agenda you would be willing to own up to. If it is not, I can only assume that you imagine it to be your reader’s.

The irony is that the way you approached this article actually confirms rather than combats ‘the colonial cringe’. For instance, your review implies that there is little separating the installation at Open Space from a child’s tree fort except high minded language. In the end, this criticism still cedes power to some absent authority figure by proposing that your imaginative involvement need go no further than the vague reverie of the review’s introduction because deceitful language lies in wait on the far shore. Rather than challenge the authority of that language by supplying a constructive interpretation of your own, you imply that the installation’s content has been unworthily inflated by the fact that both artists possess MFA degrees. It is a posture of disingenuous disengagement, a signal characteristic of a review that obstinately fails to acknowledge that the art is completed in a social encounter in which everyone takes on a responsible role. I’ll finish with an anecdote to illustrate my point.

Your review interested me because I attended the opening and heard the talk and found the connection between the means and the subject matter problematic. I too thought the construction was impressive, but felt challenged to connect it to the information about Bamberton. I was excited by the drama of the installation (everything from Jones Town to Joseph Conrad came to mind), but felt at a deficit to relate to the Bamberton concept because, admittedly, I don’t know the whole story, and wondered in any case if it could relate to the structure in any way other than as local colouring.

The talk itself was frankly unremarkable, the artists too dazed I suspect from the intense process of recently installing their work to shift gears that quickly into detached commentators (this is a common occurrence at openings, stage jitters aside.[2]) So then why hear the talk? Well, there are other cues besides language, of course. It spoke volumes to me to see the way that the two artists were supported by their parents and family, the subtle body language that united two generations who clearly had very different ways of being involved in this issue.

The unity and discrepancy of parents and sons made me think about the boyhood content you allude to in your review, and whether it was not after all part of the way the installation worked. There was an aspect of play involved, as if the overall matrix were a drama or game, and several stations functioned as both episodes in the play and the evocation of the players themselves…the board room with its oppressive low ceiling and monolithic table, the overseer’s shack with its prudish, paired chairs, the pulpit that communicated a sense of Jury-rigged authority. Odd, eventful moments (like reaching the top of a rickety catwalk to see an Open Space attendant huddled over his computer desk) opened up the building’s history and mingled it provocatively with the history of the venue. To watch the way attendees at the opening moved through the space, momentarily robbed of their usual social configurations, to see the piece being played as it were, like an instrument, by a game crowd, took longer than “twenty minutes of pondering.” It was also not something you would have been able to experience watching the opening on the internet. This is what it means to be a participant.

These were only impressions; I needed an ordering structure to attach them to. The structure was experiential: not located in the facts of the installation alone, but in the rhythmic repetition of walking the planks and climbing the ladders, with and without company. Later, other notions about the authority of the public space as real or supposed, about the herd attraction to reinvented space (both in the gallery and in up island development), and about historical re-enactment as inevitably pastiche, began to form in my mind and colour my experience. I can’t ascribe all of these thoughts to any one agent.

There were points of the show I found less resolved (the interior space filled with pamphlets seemed incomplete to me for instance), but the overall vision was something that I could apprehend and become involved in. Its connection to the real events at Bamberton was not a priori, as you seemed to expect in your review and letter, but something formed during and after experiencing the show in its own right, through imaginatively projecting those impressions back onto the land use dispute and related tangents provoked by the encounter. I was more involved that interrupted, and in becoming involved I was changed.

Bouchard: that is truly what the role of and arts writer is, to act as a binding force in the fabric of the community, to be present, to engage, to continuously learn and research and in turn showcase the strengths and pose questions about the weaknesses.

Amos: I guess you didn't like the questions I posed.

In closing, I hope the account of the opening of Bamberton: Contested Landscapes serves to illustrate a fuller definition of what Ms. Bouchard meant when she referred to ‘a binding force:’ to borrow a painting analogy, a binder is also a vehicle. It isn’t your questions we take exception to, but your failure to pursue them with conviction.

Fantasy Island

2010-02-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

"Victoria, with its legislature buildings lit up like the castle from the opening sequence of the Wonderful World of Disney, provides a perfect backdrop for ideas around fantasy and the unreal. This group exhibition will showcase the work of Victoria-based artists whose work delves into the fantastical and the romantic while alluding to a darker subterfuge."

Fantasy Island
February 19 - March 15
Slide Room Gallery
2549 Quadra St
Victoria, BC
Opening reception - Friday, February 19 at seven thirty
Curator/artist talk - Friday, February 19 at eight

Robert Amos Response

2010-02-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Robert Amos responds to Marlene's letter.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my article.
It must be easy to imagine that I don't pay attention to the art world you inhabit.But please be aware that, as well as atttending each of the exhibitions (Caleb's twice), I have read the press releases and artists statements from all these shows, and that I have been able to listen to the artists statements and see the openings on http://www.exhibit-v.ca/. I avoid going to openings - not a good time to experience the art work - but as you can imagine I have been to more art shows in this city than any other person living or dead. Mostly I have written very positive comments in more than a million words which I have published in the Times Colonist.And I give considerable thought to what I am going to say before I wade in and offend readers such as yourself. that is truly what the role of and arts writer is, to act as a binding force in the fabric of the community, to be present, to engage, to continuously learn and research and in turn showcase the strengths and pose questions about the weaknesses. I guess you didn't like the questions I posed.
"there is a dire need for encouragement and reinforcement in Victoria due to recent arts cuts and the economy. you have failed to use your power as a community arts representative to infuse our current situation with positivity and backbone."
It is not my task to be a cheerleader. Most of these shows attracted a wealth of uncritical attention elsewhere.
"mfa studies should be regarded as valid like any post graduate study, people are serious about what they do and that's the bottom line."
Who are the Masters of Fine Arts speaking to? If they learn neither technique nor an ability to communicate clearly, art will be a hermetic study, of less and less relevance.
"the bamberton show has so many highlights, specially about comments on corporate takeover of land."
So the artists said, repeatedly. But I wonder what the Bamberton connection is (except for the photocopies pasted onto the wall of one of the silos). As I was considering the pulpit, prisoner dock, bleachers and the ramps, I thought that this construction might as well have referred to organized religion or to sports in society. The Bomfords referred to the Bamberton connection frequently but does art always need to explained in an "artist's talk"?
"i believe the york hotel show may have been more about the community coming together and completing a project."
Certainly it was a noble project. But do we need to champion inferior work with special pleading (homelessness at some point). Or could this exhibit really have addressed the issue of homelessness in some more engaged way - as have other shows on the subject (Elfreda Schragen, Jody Patterson)?
"the paintings at Deluge .. resolve did not seem to be an issue, i understood it as layers of information, possibly layers of wireless, unseen, bordeless information that we seldom stop to think about."
Two virgin Maries, one listening to the abdomen of a neanderthal... two dancers with their top halfs replaced with collage...Layers of information surround us everywhere, always. Is it necessary to go to a gallery to think about the randomness of it all? Unwillingness to draw conclusions often seems like a cop-out. Resolving your ideas is so much more difficult.
"the premise for caleb speller's exhibition...speaks about the self in a physical, often times disconnected world."
What do you mean by this? A circle of pencil radii on black paper... a skull drawn on black paper... coloured construction paper cut in radii... pie slices of coloured felt on the floor. In his speech he mentioned that the 12 stones might represent the twelve apostles.What does it mean to you?
What if I wrote this email "as layers of information, possibly layers of wireless, unseen, bordeless information"? I believe that I have to think through my ideas and communicate with my audience. But often the shows I go to fail to communicate, need special pleading or require further explanation by the artists. Am I the only one who believes that art should communicate, visually, a coherent thought? Or is the desire for such resolution passe´?
Very occasionally I feel the need to point out to artists that their message isn't getting through to me.I hope that you will find a forum to express what is getting through to you.
sincerely,
Robert Amos.

Responses to Robert Amos' Review

2010-02-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

So not suprisingly, Robert Amos got an earfull in responce to his lame review. I'm just throwing this out there, but maybe it's because the visual arts community had a tough year last year, and they aren't about to take any more shit. There are many letters here to post, but they all deserve to be read. I will start off by posting a letter written by Marlene Bouchard. Great job Marlene!

Hi Robert Amos,
I am writing to remind you that you are one of the only Arts Writers in Victoria.Although I feel you made some valid observations about the work you've cited, the article "some art leaves you scratching your head" written on January 24th is poor and pessimistic.It displays your disconnect to the arts community in Victoria.

The way an exhibition appears from one perspective: checking it out once, is a limiting and disengaged angle. asking the artists questions, researching their practice, making links with possible social, economic, environmental or political issues, returning to the exhibitions to view the works further and showing up at openings and artist talks are also part of it.that is truly what the role of and arts writer is, to act as a binding force in the fabric of the community, to be present, to engage, to continuously learn and research and in turn showcase the strengths and pose questions about the weaknesses.i feel you've done the artists a great disservice and have insulted their intelligence because you have not done your homework.

i'm not sure if you know this but many people are upset about the article, there is a dire need for encouragement and reinforcement in Victoria due to recent arts cuts and the economy. the artist run spaces you've paid a visit to are struggling to maintain enthusiasm and remain in operation. you have failed to use your power as a community arts representative to infuse our current situation with positivity and backbone. "dissing" fancy language that develops due to mfa studies is closed and discourages growth. arts language develops like any other discipline's whether it be science, math or music. mfa studies should be regarded as valid like any post graduate study, people are serious about what they do and that's the bottom line. it boggles me that someone such as yourself would illustrate such a negative tone about studying art!

the bamberton show has so many highlights, specially about comments on corporate
takeover of land (historical, current, and ongoing issues). i had the opportunity to speak with Nathan last saturday, he was in the gallery available for questions, his childhood was completely encapsulated with this issue. i believe the construction is linked to that. i believe the york hotel show may have been more about the community coming together and completing a project as a group who shares a common thread. you could ask Yuri, the curator, i'm sure he's easy to contact. using the phrase "as unsatisfying as listening to someone tell you their dreams" to describe the paintings at Deluge is a shortcut to attempting a true interpretation of the work. how much time did you actually spend with Jess Wheaton's drawings? resolve did
not seem to be an issue, i understood it as layers of information, possibly layers of wireless, unseen, bordeless information that we seldom stop to think about. the message is simple, strong and clear and ignites the imagination.

i know that you are a painter and this may be what you are most comfortable writing about but installation work is often just as embedded as paint. conceptual art is important. representational art is also important and the two can work together to create powerful messages. the premise for caleb speller's exhibition is focused and engaging, he has made up his mind and the exhibition speaks about the self in a physical, often times disconnected world. i went to his opening and artist talk, he was available for questions.

the fact that the art leaves you with a case of esthetic indigestion is a sign that the work is strong because it is far from being a one liner; an easily grasped message. the works demand engagement, not a new concept in the history of art. we need to take the time to really think about things, specially in an instantaneous, quick gratification
society such as ours. if you had titled the article "this is how i felt when i walked through that day", i would support it as an individual's initial response.in efforts to be constructive, i felt compelled to write you this note and hope that you have an open mind about the above comments. the above response represents one day of honestly thinking about what you have written.

i challenge you to write another article about the same
exhibitions.

marlene bouchard - concerned community member

Boo Robert Amos!

2010-02-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Victoria Times Colonist art writer Robert Amos writes a lame review of many of the shows happening in Victoria at the moment. Read the article on the Times Colonist website here. I am also posting a copy below. Stay tuned - the Victoria arts community responds.

When I was a child I built a treehouse with my friends. We called it "the fort" and it had spy holes, a crow's nest and a table made from old boards which we had scavenged.

Cedric and Nathan Bomford are no longer children, and they have access to power tools and more scrap lumber than we could drag home. Their big "fort" at the moment fills up Open Space (510 Fort St., 250-383-8833, until Feb. 20).

Their fort has bleachers and a pulpit, ramps and silos and a picket fence. And, since they both have master of fine arts degrees, we'll have to consider these structures as "site-specific installations that function as sculptural work" according to a recent press release. "The work reveals an interest in how architecture informs our experience and choreographs social interaction."

When did architecture not do that? Indeed this playland, concocted by a couple of fun-loving wood-butchers, is an amazing intervention into Open Space. It brings to mind the wooden bleachers that were a permanent feature there in the late 1970s when the same room was a performance space. About five years ago, a reconstruction of a derelict shack from Bamberton was installed in this room.

One of the Bomfords' constructed rooms has, pasted on its inside walls, photocopies of press notices relating to the proposed developments at Bamberton. Other than that, the connection of these wooden ramps and ladders to Bamberton eludes me.

- - -

The Victoria Fine Arts Festival is a grand name for a group show staged in the otherwise vacant space which was once the lobby of the York Hotel (705 Johnson St., 250-891-1901, until Feb. 27). The show is subtitled "an exhibition of artwork by people who have experienced homelessness."

The nine exhibiting artists are, of course, doing their best. Ian Morris's obsessively detailed ink drawings of an ancient tree emerging from snow are worthy of attention. I learned that he is the man who chalks copies of old masters on the sidewalk in front of Murchie's. Vicky Bailey's prints and paintings are also attractive.

But I am puzzled. Are these artists to be given special pleading because, at some point, they "have experienced homelessness"? Or are we to judge the art for its power to inform and inspire us? The theme of homelessness is rarely evident in the work and, without that special pleading, much of what is on show is of only passing interest.

- - -

Deluge Gallery presents Division of Labour, by Jon Tracy and Jess Wheaton (636 Yates St., until Feb. 13). As these are not collaborative works, the title doesn't help me understand what's going on. And after 20 minutes of pondering, I walked away confused and disappointed by the lack of resolution in this work.

At first, Jon Tracy enticed me with canvases richly painted, depicting figures set in a deep pictorial space. The largest centres on a hugely foreshortened character looming at me from under a tree. The character has apparently ripped the head off a puppet, which may have been taken from the box at his feet, which still contains something like a ginseng root. Tracy's paintings change the subject whenever the going gets rough. It is as unsatisfying as listening to someone tell you their dreams.

Jess Wheaton seems even less willing to resolve anything. One little painting shows a lens from a pair of binoculars sitting on a sort of swirl of grey. Another offers four white cubes set on a hexagon. These artists belong to a certain sector of the art world in which it is considered a sell-out to actually make sense.

- - -

And Caleb Speller can't make his mind up at all. His current show at the Slide Room Gallery in the Vancouver Island School of Art (2549 Quadra St., 259-380-3500, until Feb. 15) lured me by the promise of an installation of staged photographs set in Cathedral Grove. In addition he has set up a guitar between two piles of bricks; pie-slices of blanket material laid out in a circle on the floor; and a batch of drawings that hope to make a virtue out of aggressively bad technique and irresolute subject matter.

I came home with a case of esthetic indigestion.

robertamos@telus.net

VanHalentine's Day Party!

2010-02-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

"Dance Dance Dance with Diamond Dave! Bring someone to objectify! Spandex mandatory! Hot licks! Noise! Party til the cops come then try to sneak into the Fifty Fifty! Get kicked out and eat pie at Paul's! Parade around in jumpsuits and high kick all the couples eating bruschetta! YEAR OF THE TIGER!"

Holy crap! Doesn't that sound like fun?

VanHalentine's Day Dance Party
Saturday February 13 at 9 pm
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain
Victoria, BC

I wrote an article about Dallas' show!

2010-02-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Check out the article I wrote for Vibrant Victoria. I talk about the show that Dallas Duobaitis had at the Fify Fifty. Hooray!

Woah! Last minute show?

2010-01-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

I was sent this today, could it be a last minute show? Report back people!

Islander's Mind By Willie Seto

In “Islander’s Mind”, Willie Seto explores different shapes of people’s experience through his own islander’s eye. Using digital photo manipulation, Willie's photos become geometric works of optical illusion that distort one's perception of scale and object. Through his work, moments become islands in space and time: each both unique and familiar.

Opening Tonight!!!
8-11pm Show runs to Feb 19th
Fifty Fifty Arts Collective
2516 Douglas St
Victoria, BC

2010-01-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective presents:

VALENTINES PARTY!!
an evening of music, dancing, and love with

LISTENING PARTY
RUGGED UNCLE
LAKE COUNTRY
and a special secret band!

Tickets on sale as of Saturday January 23rd at Ditch. $8 advance $10 at door.
Doors at 7pm, Bands at 8pm sharp!
dancing will follow!

PLEASE NOTE: LIMITED CAPACITY. NO INS/OUTS. Please come on 'round the back!

Well that's the message. I think the Ministry may have something in the works too.

The Wright Stuff? - Jimmy Wright show at the View Street Gallery

2010-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Wright died in 2008. I've seen lots of his work around town. Well at the View Street Art gallery there will be a show and sale of his work. I have a feeling it's going to be expeeeeensive! But you might be able to score some snacks and a glass of wine there.

Jimmy Wright
"Magnum Opus"
View Street Art Gallery
104-860 View Street
Victoria, BC
Opening night Friday February 5th six to nine o' clock
Show runs until March 6th

Liam Hanna-Lloyd is Back!

2010-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Small Works by Liam Hanna-Lloyd will be at the Ministry of Casual Living!

Liam Hanna-Lloyd presents his new scavengings. A self-taught artist, he finds lessons in old movie posters, house sparrows, memories and the subconscience. Closing reception on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 8pm.

Take a peek at his website.

Small Works
Liam Hanna-Lloyd
Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC

Teachers of Teachers

2010-01-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

Bill Zuk, Bow Glacier, print on paper, 2010

Do we get to grade them? A new show at the McPherson Library Gallery! This is the 30th year in a row that Art Education Faculty display their own work.

"The exhibit, with the largest group of contributors on record, will show the work from 22 studios of art educators who practice what they teach. The work comes from a range of backgrounds, from retired professors to masters students working as teaching assistants. On view will be themes capturing traditional and realistic perspectives to newer media explorations that are ephemeral and mystical."

Teachers of Teachers: 30th Annual Art Education Faculty Exhibition

McPherson Library Gallery

University of Victoria

Show runs March 17th

It's free!

Conversational Cafe at the Legacy Art Gallery

2010-01-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

Lets cure our Saturday night hangovers by getting jittered up on coffee and listening to artists!

Conversational Cafe is in conjunction with the Coast Art Trust exhibit: "Cross Connections". The show is a selection of works by West Coast Artists. A large donation of more than one hundred works was made to the University of Victoria in June of last year, and Cross Connections is a peek at some of the works. The collection donated consists of fourty five different artists all who live on the west coast of British Columbia. There are paintings, sculpture, collage, mixed media and photography from three different decades of each artist's career, representing a historical overview of the works.

The talk will be Sunday January 31st and two of the artists in the show will be there: Gregg Simpson and Pnina Granirer. Martin Segger who is the Director of the Maltwood Gallery will also be tagging along. The topic of conversation? Why do people make stuff! Awesome.

Conversational Cafe

Legacy Art Gallery

630 Yates Street

Victoria, BC

Sunday January 31st, 1:30 to 2:30 in the afternoon

Admission is free but please reserve your place at 250-721-8480

Last chance to see "Watching Time" at Studio 16 1/2

2010-01-13T11:33:00.000-08:00

Stefan Thompson is exhibiting at Studio 16 1/2. Show will be coming down this Friday January 15th, so this is your last chance to see it. Very cool paintings, get out there.

"Watching Time"

Stefan Thompson

Studio 16 1/2

16 Fan Tan Alley

Victoria, BC

Gallery Hours Thursday through Sat eleven to five o' clock

Visit their website here.

Opening this Friday "Homeless Awareness: an Exhibition of Art Work by People Who Have Experienced Homelessness"

2010-01-13T11:02:00.001-08:00

Artists will recieve 100% of the sales.

"Homeless Awareness: an Exhibition of Art Work by People Who Have Experienced Homelessness"

Featured Artists Include:
George Williams
Vicki Bailey
Ian Morris
Robert MacDonald
Paula Johnson
Luke Garrison
Russell Maier
Taras Masciuch
Anne Campbell
Jerry Hayes

Show runs January 15 – February 27
705 Johnson Street
Victoria. BC
Hours are Wednesday to Saturday, eleven to five o'clock
Opening reception with the artists January 15, five to eight o' clock
Free event

For more information visit www.VictoriaFineArtFestival.org

Update: Show Me Your Wood

2010-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Photos from Cedric Bomford and Nathan Bomford's "Bamberton: Contested Landscapes" opening night at Open Space.

Bean to Xchanges Lately?

2010-01-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

I know you're all groaning at that one. I couldn't help myself! Suzanne Bean has her opening night at Xchanges tonight. Lots of action on this Friday night. Be sure to check this one out as well as the Bomford brothers at Open Space. Below is a small write up Suzanne did for the show.

“Transitory by-products is an exhibition about our changing perceptions based on new sculptural material and the dialogue that is generated from the work. I work with mass-produced commodity products such as balloons, styrofoam cups, and pipe cleaners, which leads me away from object reference and finite questions. My process-based work is about following a dialogue with the material and then allowing the viewer to create questions that bring about a transformation in our perception of the world.”

Suzanne Bean
"Transitory by-products"

Opening Reception Friday January 8th, seven to nine

Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, one to five in the afternoon

Exhibition runs through to Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Xchanges Gallery

2333 Government Street

Victoria, BC

Cedric Bomford and Nathan Bomford at Open Space

2010-01-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

Two brothers have been busy bees at Open Space. They get things done, just like the Sedins. So get on with making this new year a better one - get active and go out to the opening tonight. I'll see you there? Below is the media release.

"Inside the gallery space, artists Cedric Bomford and Nathan Bomford have built a massive installation entitled Bamberton: Contested Landscape. The brothers have transformed salvaged building materials into an overwhelming meditation on the built environment, density and spectacle. The Bomfords’ intuitive and collaborative working process drives the project—at times involving family members, volunteers and co-workers. This astonishing construction turns monumentalism inside out: in effect, it critiques systems of power expressed through architecture.

The Bomfords reuse materials from demolition sites and from their previous work. Bamberton: Contested Landscape confronts land use skirmishes of Bamberton (an abandoned cement plant on Vancouver Island site) through architectural references and a fabricated oratorical arena. The Bomfords have created structures that invite visitors to physically move through, over, under and around the installation. Tactile interaction heightens the theme of contested space and the artists’ playful, provocative strategies. Changes in elevation and position are coupled with the physicality of weathered wood and the Bomfords’ interventionist architecture.

Both Cedric and Nathan Bomford’s previous work is associated with photography. Cedric Bomford’s recent photographic and video work examines historically charged architectural subjects in documentary style images that betray “history” by highlighting the artifice rather than the actual subjects depicted. Similarly, Nathan Bomford’s previous work consists of photographs of empty theatrical scenes devoid of specific narratives. The brothers say their new direction towards a collaborative project represents a logical progression of their previous bodies of work and shared interests."

Cedric Bomford and Nathan Bomford

"Bamberton: Contested Landscapes"

Open Space

510 Fort Street

Victoria, BC

Opening Reception: Friday, January 8, 7:00 p.m.

Show runs until February 20

Panel Discussion Saturday February 20 at 2:00 p.m.

"Natural Disaster" Caleb Speller at the Slide Room Gallery

2010-01-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Check out this media release from Mr. Speller. I'll pass this on to my many naturalist buddies. Spread the word, or at least hug a tree.

"Natural Disaster presents five characters interacting with a Western Red Cedar in the lush and unique Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island. The old growth Western Red Hemlock and Douglas-fir trees found in Cathedral Grove have been both a source of wonder and aggravation for environmentalists. This one-of-a-kind forest has existed under the threat of logging and development since its discovery. If it weren’t for the few protestors who stood (and continue to stand) in the way of development, the giant trees would be long toppled, never to be enjoyed again. The characters in this project are presented in such a way as to reflect upon this problem that our province faces every day: the struggle to preserve the wilderness which surrounds us, while inviting the world to come and enjoy it with us. Everyone has a connection with nature, whether they acknowledge it or not, and the work which makes up Natural Disaster reflects the chain of command which sometimes breaks its hierarchal order as individuals begin to listen to one another. "

Visit Caleb's blog.

"Natural Disaster"
Caleb Speller
Opening Janurary 15th at seven thirty
Show runs until Feburary 15th
Slide Room Gallery
2549 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC

Division of Labor – Jess Wheaton & Jon Tracy at Deluge

2010-01-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hooray! New art for the new year! This exhibit looks neat. Take a gander at the media release.

"In summer 2006 a disquieting study undertaken by the General Social Survey was published in the American Sociological Review. It had been found that a quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. An increasingly fragmented society means that the psychological and civic benefits of intimate social ties are evaporating, and in these current hard times, far more people appear to suffer alone.

Wheaton and Tracy, both born near the first study, and both Americans who have lived in other countries, study both meanings of the phrase Division of Labor through their practice. Together they act as both a "contingent" of labor, laboring in the name of partnership, and as artists dividing between themselves the work they believe needs to be done. Tracy's paintings place people from his life in fantastic, combinative settings suggestive of the nature of globalization. Within these environments, his figures tackle real-world challenges through his lens of personal symbolism. Wheaton's paintings and installations explore ways of making both historically "universal," as well as subjective thought and understanding, readable. This method conveys a deep faith in visual logic, while commenting on the impossibility of objective understanding.

Jon Tracy holds a BFA from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, and spent this past summer studying art in Paris, France. His work has been shown at the State Capital in California, The Oliver Art Center in Oakland, and Ego Park in Oakland. Jon lives and works in Oakland, California.

Jess Wheaton is a painter currently living and working in San Francisco. She received her BFA from the California College of the Arts in December. Her work has been shown at Rare Device in San Francisco, the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective in Canada, and Artists Space in New York."

Holy moly! Objective understanding really is impossible ain't it?

"Division of Labor"
Jess Wheaton and Jon Tracy
Opening January 15th at seven o' clock
Show runs until Feburary 13th
Exhibition Hours: Wed to Sat, 12 to 5pm
Deluge Gallery
636 Yates Street
Victoria, BC

As Promised...

2009-12-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

Photos from Open Space's SAD (Seasonal pAgeant Disorder) party! Here The Great Giffoni scared the bejesus out of me.

I needed to recover with some light therapy.

Slim Sandy and the dance party.

As Promised...

2009-12-21T17:52:00.001-08:00

Photos from the Open House at the Vancouver Island School of Art. Alexis Oak's "Lure" was the best piece there!

June Higgins' sculptures was my second favorite.

Paintings by Tanta Pennington (My old boss the the fish and chips joint!)

Helen Mason

As Promised...

2009-12-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Photos of "The Horizontal Line/Landscape & Myth" at Slide Room Gallery

Kate Wilson's "Collages in Motion and Artificial Dreams"

2009-12-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

Drawings of space junk? Sounds great! I haven't thought about space junk in the longest time, and now I get to see drawings of it. Awesome.

"Toronto based artist Kate Wilson creates a wall-drawing project exploring small contained architectures. Wilson says, “It’s the idea of constructing ephemeral spaces, which permit a transitory experimentation. My work goes back and forth between computer generation and hand execution.” Using as sources architectural plans, images of space junk, botanical and arthropod forms to iconic imagery from pop culture, the results are baroque-like tattoos for the gallery space that “call attention to overlooked parts of our built environment while subtly altering the viewer’s experience of space.”

Kate Wilson

"Collages in Motion and Artificial Dreams"

December 4, 2009 to January 17, 2010

The Lab in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

1040 Moss Street

Victoria, BC

Go on January 5th, because entry is by donation!

ornaMENTAL - Xmas Respite Chamber - Had enough yet?

2009-12-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Awesome things are happening over at the Ministry. You'll have to drag me out of that "Xmas Respite Chamber" because I won't be coming out. I'm feeling pretty mental right now.

ornaMENTAL & Xmas Respite Chamber Show and Sale
Sunday Dec 20 1 to 4 pm

Ministry of Casual Living
1442 Haultain Street
Victoria, BC

Ornaments and cards by artists
"Hilarious and offensive handcrafted sentiments by artists instead of forgettable Ferrero Rocher. Enjoy our custom built "Xmas Respite Chamber" Tea House while you shop! Meet Cultural Sector Leader Ross Macaulay who will be telling fortunes!"

Update on SAD, and upcoming photos of the VISA Open House

2009-12-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

SAD (Seasonal pAgeant Disorder) is tonight at Open Space. Please come on by because it looks like it will be a real fun party. If you see me there keep your distance, I have a cold. Actually that is my excuse for not posting my photos from the VISA Open House that happened last weekend. They will be up, don't fret.

Update and Photos from the Winter Arts and Crafts Sale at the Fifty

2009-12-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Dallas' show "Ad-Hoc Trajectories" is still up. It was awesome to have the Winter Arts and Craft Sale beside his installation. Although, I felt a little silly when I used a stir stick for my coffee.

That's me! Rachel and I were selling wrapping paper, cards and pins among other things.

Turtle by Rachel Evans.

Jennifer Yurchak and her adorable felted creatures.

Visit Jennifer's shop on Etsy!

Levi Gogolinski and her fabric bags, hand warmers and paintings.

Petition in Support of the Arts

2009-12-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

I am going to repost an entry from the Art Matters Victoria blog in order to spread the word about the petition in support of the arts. Please become involved and spread the word.

"The petition launched at the November 26 rally is available here for download.This petition will be presented to the Legislature when the house resumes sitting in February. As budget decisions will be made between now and then, we will be making interim reports on the progress of the petition to media, and are asking that completed sheets be returned by December 14, January 14 and February 7.

Spread the Word

Please send this petition notice out as far and wide as possible, through as many mediums as possible. We are aiming for this to go huge, very quickly--we have a short window to let the government know what the people of BC want. The success of this depends on many people sending it out, and many gathering signatures.

When you send the notice out, it would be helpful if you send a quick note back to artspetitionbc@gmail.com so we can see what geographical areas and sectors are covered, and where our gaps are.

Facebook and Web: The petition and this info will be posted on the Art Matters blogspot http://artmattersvictoria.blogspot.com/and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204461113452during the week of December 1.

Please post it on your website and facebook pages.

Gathering: We need lots of people, all over the province, to gather signatures from people from as many walks of life as possible who value the arts, and agree with the need for a visionary arts funding policy.

Please print the petition, sign it, and get as many signatures as you can. Post it in your venue, circulate it at events, in classes, and one to one with friends, family and neighbours. Find a tube and put it in your pocket and take it wherever you go. It’s an opportunity to increase understanding of the issues, and what is at stake.

We would also appreciate if people gathering signatures could drop a quick line with the heading “Gatherer” to artspetitionbc@gmail.com to help us track our progress, and so we can insure that all petitions are returned.

Rules and Regs: All petitions must have original signatures in ink. There is no online petition as the House will only accept signed hard copies. Signers do NOT have to be 18 years of age.
Returning petitions: Please return petitions to: Arts Petition BC: 1813 B Crescent Rd. Victoria, BC. V8S 2G7 . You can get 5 pages in a business envelope for the basic rate of 54 cents (57 cents after Jan 11).

Please send completed sheets in by December 14, January 14 and February 7.

Info: artspetitionbc@gmail.com.

Thank-you!!!!!

If not us who? If not now, when?"

To learn more about the cuts to BC Arts Funding visit http://www.stopbcartscuts.ca

BUY ART NOW and "Muscle Fabulous" Whatever it is, it's a show and sale and the Ministry

2009-12-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

Luey Mustachio will be showing at the Ministry of Casual Living. I'm super excited! Other artists will also be there Ross Macaulay, Gedidiah McCaughey, Marlaina Buch, Allison Blake and possibly more? Word on the street says it will be a show and sale. Whatever it is, we are being told to BUY ART NOW, so we better do it. There will be original art work as well as strange treasures to purchase. Bring some pocket money and support the Ministry.

BUY ART NOW

Opening Night and sale, December 12th, 4 o' clock until late

The Ministry will also be open the next day! Sunday December 13th from 1 o' clock until 4.

1442 Haultain Street

Victoria, BC

Seasonal pAgeant Disorder: The only silent art auction/music show/dance party proven to cure S.A.D

2009-12-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I'm suffering, are you? Well in that case, let's get ready to partaaay!

The big holiday party at Open Space is upon us! Music all over the place, yummy food and drinks, art being made, art to purchase. The press release explains it better than I can so away we go!

"Victoria - With the reddest of red-letter days fast approaching, Open Space and MediaNet have resolved to decongest the holidays – to discharge the worst mutations of festive excess and waste like the gelatinous remnants of a co-dependent cold. Music, refreshment and gifts from local artists will support upcoming Open Space and MediaNet programming partnerships.

Like the age old, no-holds-barred grudge match between the Oak King and Holly King (who have been invited, by the way), we will wrestle your dogged winter blues to the ground. The merrymaking options abound:

Live drawing projections by Eden Veaudry with Jared Brandle’s cello accompaniment Magical acts performed by The Great Giffoni Sets from musicians Slim Sandy and Ry Moran.

Fill out your collection, or better yet, help someone start their very own personal art collection and explore investment opportunities during an art auction with wrap-able works by Megan Dickie, Ross Macaulay, Dallas Duobaitis, Marlaina Buch, Iain Baxter, Nathalie Daoust, Eden Veaudry, Rick Raxlen, Suzy Raxlen, Phil Osbourne, Tracey Nelson and more available for purchase.

Exceptional food and drink will be catered by local gastronome Kirk Schwartz, with sushi plates by Koto Japanese Restaurant (fish is high in vitamin D!)

Blasts of light therapy from our in-house SAD lamp.

Signature cocktails to chase the remaining malaise and exercise on the dance floor.

Slim Sandy will DJ pre-Elvis jams until the darkest minutes to midnight.

Give the gift of participation at this joint Open Space and MediaNet fundraiser.

Ry Moran recently won Best Original Score, for Tiga Talk, Season 1 at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Slim Sandy has a new album coming out on the HOG MAW RECORDS label from France, spring 2010."

Seasonal pAgeant Disorder

Open Space

510, Fort Street
Victoria, BC

Friday December 18, seven o'clock till midnight

"Ellipsis" and Xchanges Open House

2009-12-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

This Friday there will be the Xchanges Annual Members’ Exhibition, "Ellipsis." The show will open this Friday, followed by the Xchanges Open House the very next day. So I guess if you party too hard you can try to sneak a sleep spot and then attend the Open House when you wake up! I'm not recommending you try that by the way. Below is a short write up about the show. I am particularly excited about the fifty dollar wall. Get em' while they're hot!

“Ellipsis” [i-lip-sis] (n): the omission of one or more words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues... a sudden leap from one topic to another... a set of dots indicating an omission or a pause...”

"The member artists of Xchanges present an exhibition of their own highly individual takes on the rich array of concepts offered by the word “ellipsis”. As all art involves the selection of what to put in or omit, sudden leaps of inspiration, and pauses to think, those three little dots can serve as the artist’s mental model of the process of art-making. A connection as much as an omission, the ellipsis reminds us that communication in art relies on societal and experiential clues.

Meet the artists in their studios and experience the vibrant creative community that is Xchanges. Many artists will have small works and cards for sale in their studios, and refreshments will be served — come join us for this festive celebration of art and those who make it!

New this year — “The $50 Wall” — fundraiser sale of small works donated by members — proceeds benefit Xchanges

A Mustard Seed food donation box will be available if you wish to make a donation."

"Ellipsis"

Opening Night Friday, December 4th, seven o' clock to ten

Open House: Saturday, December 5th, eleven o' clock to five

2333 Government Street

Victoria, BC

Winter Arts and Crafts Sale at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective

2009-12-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 12th all afternoon will be the Fifty Fifty Winter Arts and Crafts Sale! Please bring some change in your pockets and purchase some little treasures to take home with you. Spread the word, tell your friends and family. Support Victoria's artists!

"Blarrgh" Makes Me Happy

2009-12-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

I found a strange little nugget of gold in my inbox this morning. It's local Victoria mayhem. It's a little bit of everything. I like it so I'm sharing. "Blarrgh."

"Passage" Portraits by Lisa Hebden at the McPherson Library Gallery

2009-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

Isn't it always after you graduate from somewhere that a bunch of amazing upgrades are made? In elementary school I missed out on a brand new playground, and now after university I'm missing out on a squeaky clean new library addition. It's beautiful, the library looks awesome. And in this fancy new library you can see a new exhibit of paintings at the McPherson Library Gallery. Here is a small write up I found about the show.

"Victoria-based artist Lisa Hebden explores the transformation from childhood to adulthood with a series of paintings of young girls, capturing the feelings of being small both physically and psychologically.

Influenced by film and drawn to media images of adolescent girls who appear both vulnerable and strong, Hebden says the foundation of her work lies in the fragility of childhood.

“I am captured by the moodiness of film lighting, the long pauses that focus only on a subject’s face or eyes, the expression pregnant with thought or emotion,” says Hebden. “Being a child is fun and overwhelming. Children endow their environments with meaning and imagination. A large empty room can be intimidating and magical. The big wood floor beckons for sliding across, while the shadowy corners are dark and ominous. An open field is an opportunity to get lost in the tall grass, an adventure both thrilling and scary.”

Passage

Lisa Hebden

McPherson Library Gallery, University of Victoria

Show runs until December 17th

Julie Karabenick Rocks My Socks Off

2009-11-30T16:18:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered the work of Julie Karabenick through Joanne Mattera's Art Blog. Needless to say, I am in love. Hope the upcomming solo show in Chicago, "Just Around The Block" is a success. Thanks for letting me share!

I wrote an article for Vibrant Victoria about Deryk Houston's show.

2009-11-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update, the show "Imagine Peace" runs until December 3rd, so be sure to catch a look if you haven't already. It's at the Collective Works Gallery. I wrote about the show in an article for Vibrant Victoria. Take a peek!

Collective Works Website
Deryk Houston's Homepage

Coverage of the Art Matters Rally

2009-11-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

Restore BC Arts Funding Now Rally - Victoria, BC Parliament Buildings - Nov 2009 from Christopher Ruffell on Vimeo.

If I wasn't at work I would have been there. I know lame excuse. I was a little upset to see no coverage of this in the Times Colonist. If I was blind and missed the article, please post the link below. I did however, hear from my dad that there was coverage of this on the evening news. It caught his attention because apparently some of the protesters ended up topless and he was worried I might have been one of them. Sheesh dad.

Stop the BC Arts Cuts Blog

Needing Savvy "Insights"?

2009-11-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

Pixmaven, is an online gallery. Lots of exciting photography, I suggest you take a peek. But to be honest, the reason I am mentioning them is because of one specific feature: The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator. It is a total riot. See?

"I agree/disagree with some of the things that have just been said, but the iconicity of the spatial relationships contextualize the exploration of montage elements."

Barf!

Holiday Celebration at Boucherat Gallery

2009-11-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Looks like the Boucherat Gallery is planning an excellent Holiday party!

"In partnership with our sister-store Regalia Boutique, Boucherat Gallery and Studio 16 1/2 will be mixing the best of all worlds in Fan Tan Alley to celebrate the holidays. In Boucherat we'll host a big fat group show of your favorite artists with all kinds of extras. Upstairs at Studio 16 1/2 on the eve of Dec. 4th we'll have a craft bazaar with great designers from Regalia and beyond. That evening we'll regale you with music, festivities and spirits of the liquid variety. Please consider this a celebration of 5 years in Fan Tan, 1 year at Regalia, and a true warming of the new Boucherat Gallery!"

Sounds like it will be lots of fun. I always have a blast when I am there. Please bring your pocket money as well. Doesn't everyone want a locally made treasure hidden in their Christmas stocking?

Holiday Party

Boucherat Gallery

December 4th evening

16 Fan Tan Alley

"Ad-hoc Trajectories" Dallas V Duobaitis at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective

2009-11-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

Looks like there will be a new sculpture show at the Fifty!

"Ad-Hoc Trajectories is a sculptural metaphor for the process of developing meaning or purpose from an otherwise chaotic background of experience. Small staircases, bridges, and boardwalks are used to take the form of linear trajectories, which are built upon a chaotic interconnected ad-hoc matrix of the same substances filling the gallery space in an immersive installation. Inspired by the post-modern philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, this work attempts to connect the concept of acquired experience as a perpetual trajectory within the classical duality of order and chaos. The defining of the linear trajectories is to compare the elements of order verses disorder, by putting into question the validity or purpose of such trajectories when based upon a chaotic but stable support. This piece is intended as a critique of the validity of inherent meaning, purpose and goals which are derived as linear constructs, or are considered quintessential within the movement of an ordered trajectory or otherwise put as part of a discernible experience."

Holy cow! Looks like I am going to have to brush up on some post modern philosophies. Be sure to make a linear trajectory to the Fifty next Friday. There will be cupcakes!

Dallas V Duobaitis

The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective

2516 Douglas Street

Victoria, BC

Show runs December 4th to 25th.

Opening night December 4th, 5 to 10 o'clock.

"Imagine Peace" Deryk Houston at Collective Works

2009-11-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

Deryk Houston has an exciting display of photographs at Collective Works Gallery in Fernwood. The photographs are of large egg sculptures he made and placed in different nest-like locations. I hope to catch up with Deryk soon and talk to him a little more about these enormous eggs and the photos that document them. Visit the Collective Works website for a nice write up on the show. And also be sure to visit Deryk's homepage.

"Imagine Peace"

Deryk Houston

Collective Works Gallery

1311 Gladstone Ave

Victoria, BC

Show runs November 20th to December 3rd

[re]Gifted at Deluge

2009-11-20T13:12:00.001-08:00

There appears to be a holiday themed show in the making at Deluge? Sounds great to me! The press release says the show is organized by the curatorial collective little rubber duck. I've never heard of this collective before, and I am very excited to learn more! Here is more of the press release, with a list of the participating artists.

PS. what is a seasonal art object? A Christmas tree? Snow man?

"Participating artists have been asked to reconsider and repackage the seasonal art object. Using as a point of departure the diseconomies of scale inherent in art production in relation to this season of über-consumption, (re)Gifted is a response to the culture of excess and redundancy in the midst of dwindling resources and collapsing financial institutions."

Suzanne Bean
Ali Bosworth
Megan Dickie
Jim Gaines
Chris Gillespie
Brian Grison
Daniel Laskarin
John Luna
J McLaughlin
Mary-Lynn Ogilvie
Robert Randall
Shawn Shepherd
Caleb Speller
Nathan Veldhoen
Robert Wise
The Woodpile Collective

[re]Gifted
Group Show
Deluge
636 Yates Street
Victoria, BC
Opening November 27th seven o' clock
Show runs until December 19th