Winter Pond

Winter Pond #3  (Courtesy of Equinox Gallery)

A pond with raindrops rippling means fall is here. As water descends from the sky and kids go back to school, new art shows are opening all around town.

Gordon Smith at the age of 91 is still producing magnificent and modern representations of nature as he sees it. Spending much time photographing trees, thickets and ponds he comes back to the studio to then create large works on canvas, which are now on display at Equinox Gallery on South Granville.

Included in the sold out show, were colourful spring and fall scenes, but what struck me most was a longer canvas entitled “Winter Pond #3” tucked upstairs in the gallery and how intricate the detail the effect of rippling water. Not unlike the Impressionist painters who were trying to illustrate the playfulness of light, the work instantly reminded me of Monet’s water lily paintings, which I was blessed to have seen in person on my trip to Paris last year.

In Smith’s work we can see how the light is captured when a ripple occurs with the reflection of the branches and sky above. Unfortunately a small rendition of the painting does not do it justice, but the up close it is superb.

People may look at this painting and see a very dark and dreary display of winter, but I would implore you to realize how incredibly talented an artist must be in order to create a modern work so tactile that you feel you could step into it.

Tavi

Adults just don’t understand. When the youth of the world are eager, engaged and excited to explore a subject or past time far beyond the norm of what their peers are doing, it is often met with criticism. Tavi Gevinson is one of these so-called youths.

In 2008 at the age of 11 from her bedroom in Chicago, she began writing a blog entitled “Style Rookie” to explore her passion and love of fashion.  It wasn’t the fabulous life of models or the glitzy parties that drew her in; it was the creativity and artistic expression created by the famous fashion houses that spurred her to create many scrapbooks and written posts.

Her voice and style are so articulate that many in the industry have accused her of having others write for her.  On the other hand, she has risen in popularity and been asked to write articles for French and Teen Vogue, as well as a guest correspondence at NY fashion week for Fashion Television.  Recently she graced the cover of POP magazine, which was designed by the infamous contemporary artist Damien Hurst.  All this before her 14^th birthday!

So what is it about this so-called “precocious” teenager that gives her validity in the cultural hotbed of fashion? I feel it is because she brings youthful, down to earth and unabashed realism to a hyper-sexualized, egocentric and plastic industry.  Her wealth of knowledge about fashion is astonishing, and not about teen-wear but about real icons such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood just to name a few. Her own playful fashion style is also an ode to her creative nature, as seen in the pink bow she wore for a show she attended recently.

The new generation is increasingly embracing being ‘different’ without being fake. They resist the urge to be like everyone else their age, grade or community. Their need and want to share their creativity and passions with the world is something to be embraced, even if it is not fashionable.

Kooza

The lights go out and a creative and magical world is revealed, an experience only found in a tent. Where else would you be with 2500 other people but at Kooza, Cirque de Soleil’s new show? Having seen their other Vancouver show visits I was once again spellbound by the mystery and intrigue of what this masterful group of musicians, entertainers and athletes can do.

Playful and theatrical, this artistic reinterpretation of the circus invites the audience to take in the sights, sounds and movement on stage and throughout the Big Top. As my senses were heightening I realized how important they were to my enjoyment of the whole experience.   

While watching Kooza, a story based about a character named Innocent - a loner trying to find his place in the world, I found myself also feeling quite alone with my thoughts and feelings while taking in the show. My eyes kept being drawn to the beautiful set designs and exquisite costumes, let alone the sleek and chiseled bodies of the performers. What was moving still was the often-melancholy music that flowed in intervals between intense rock music and quiet vignettes with funny clowns. 

This sensual rollercoaster of the senses is the beauty of what Cirque de Soleil continues to add to the world of visual mastery and entertainment; something that all should experience at least once in a lifetime.

 

Driftwood

Beach Tangle by Gordon Smith

Driftwood has never looked so beautiful. The instillation “Beach Tangle” 2009, by Gordon Smith on display at the West Van Community Centre, highlights the beauty of collected flotsam and jetsam we take for granted along the west coast. 

I was lucky to have witnessed the work of art in progress, to which many close friends brought over found objects for him to incorporate… amongst them a bright orange tire.

In situ at West Van Community Centre

Although technically a sculpture, it reads like one of his iconic painting, incorporating many layers of colour and texture. The tactile nature of this piece makes you wish you could run up and touch it, really inspect it.

It makes you wonder from where the wood drifted; either lost logs from a boom or broken branches from windstorms. Each piece has a story of its passage from the root of the forest to a beautiful work of art that showcases the next chapter in the life of a forest.

Naked

Tagging people in photos on Facebook is risky. If it is a good photo of you, you are pleased to be recognized, and if it is a terrible photo you might consider un-tagging yourself.

Thus when I was recently tagged in a photo of the Sydney Opera House in the background, and what looked like to me an infestation of shrimp I was bemused.  Having never been to Australia, and not knowing what this photo was about, I needed to understand why this would be of interest to anyone.

What my research unearthed was that the infestation of shrimp was actually a sea of naked bodies lined up in front of the iconic Australian landmark, and was taken by New York photographer Spencer Tunick. As it turns out, this was the latest of his photos from his travels around the world, soliciting thousands of volunteers to pose nude on mass, early in the morning, in front of famous landmarks.

So is this art? Why would anyone want to see thousands of naked bodies outdoors in front of buildings or places of interest? After all it is illegal to be outdoors without clothes in many countries, and the photographer has been arrested many times for taking such photos. So why do artists continue to make art with naked bodies, and why do we continue to accept, appreciate and acknowledge them as art?

I believe it comes down to our humanistic questioning of the human form and it’s place in society. We walk around all day in our own flesh and bones and we all have flaws - things we would change about our bodies and things we hide with clothing, accessories and makeup.

What I find fascinating about these photos by Tunick, is that on mass we do not objectify or pick out the body flaws of the participants. Instead the viewer is asked to see how the colour and composition of many human forms together play with the landscape or architecture surrounding it. It shows the amazing juxtaposition between the softness of the human form against the harsh landscape. Thus the viewer can appreciate it as an art form and not feel uncomfortable with personal issues of body image.

Although I was not a willing participant in the actual photo at the Opera House, I am thankful for friends who introduce me to new images and ideas about art. 

MoMA on my mind

New York city has been on my mind a lot this week. It started while watching my new favorite show called "How to Make it in America" which is set in NYC and captures the raw desperation of breaking into a career in the Big Apple when I happened upon a link to "Every Painting in the MoMA on 10 April 2010".

Out of the many of works of art in this photo montage, every few seconds I am hit with an image that moved me to the core when I saw it in the flesh for the first time at the age of 18.

It is one thing to see reproductions of art in magazines, books and even prints, but it is quite another to see them up close. I will never forget coming within inches of the luscious texture on the canvas of “Starry Night” by Vincent VanGogh.

Coming face to face with a work of art that was made, touched and conjured up by creative marvels such as VanGogh, Picasso or Pollack is like no other experience; the likes of which often brings me to tears.

What moves me when visiting galleries such as the MoMA is that we get to experience and take in modern masterpieces that were not created with our viewing pleasure in mind, but yet we reap the visual benefits of their genius.

Original works of art should be seen up close.. but as I rarely get to New York, I will continue to visit with some of my favorite paintings through this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3QHkFc3NZw

The shock of Miss Mao

Walk through a park or to work in the lower mainland and you will most certainly be engaged in a dialogue with public art.

The Vancouver Biennale pursuing the theme of “in-TRANSIT-ion” started in 2009 and on until 2011 is an exhibition with an emphasis on physical movement of people and changing our societies view towards public art.

Photo by Danielle Dewonck

I remember the moment I first came across one of the sculptural pieces of the biennale, while working in Richmond before the Olympics. The buzz was that just outside the hotel was a giant reproduction of Lenin’s head with a tiny figure balanced with a high-wire walkers pole on top entitled “Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head” by Beijing artist brothers Zhen and Qiang Gao.

My initial reaction was one of astonishment that an art piece such as this would be placed in the epicenter of Asian culture in Richmond just before the Olympics; and that city officials would embrace starting such a conversation when under the spotlight on the world stage.

After visiting Beijing and the center of their art district called 789 just before the 2009 Summer Olympics, I was pleasantly surprised that many artists from China were producing politically charged and controversial art such as this and increasingly being recognized internationally for their artistic contributions.

If public art starts the conversation, I enlist you to seek out, enjoy and perhaps stop to questioning what story might it tell rather than simply whether you love it or hate it.