|
|
|
February 15, 2013
| |
Vancouver Island School of Art Newsletter
|
|
|
|
Dear Students and Friends of VISA,
I've been thinking about time. I'm wondering when exactly did everybody become so busy. Instead of answering the question 'how are you?' with the standard 'I'm fine, and how are you?' the standard answer now is: 'busy', 'crazy busy', 'too busy', or 'super busy'. Everybody is busy. Was it always like this? Were we always so busy? In light of all this busyness, I am so appreciative of all the busy people who are making time to take an art course or workshop. I say this not just because I have a personal interest in having more people come to VISA, but more because I know how important art is to a person's state of well-being. Whether or not you intend to become a professional artist, art has a profound ability to change how you live your life. Making art allows you stop time and step out of the busyness for a short while. I am a strong advocate of a six hour per week (minimum) allocation of time to make art. I am talking about six hours of uninterrupted time. You don't necessarily have to be 'making' the entire six hours. The point of this is to allow yourself a focussed block of time where you are not thinking about anything else but art; you could use this time to clean out your studio space, to read, to write but the idea it is your creative time. No matter how busy I am (and yes, I am super busy too with the running of an art school), I make sure I allocate the six hour studio time at least once a week.
And also no matter how busy I am, I continue to offer Saturday day-long (six hours) workshops with all supplies included so that people can experience what it is like to sit down for six hours and do nothing but art. No computers, no phones, no devices for six hours. Do you know how rare this kind of engagement is these days? You just have to show up, sit down and then spend the day thinking about art. It is worth trying out one of these workshops just so you can experience dedicated focus on one thing, an activity which is becoming more and more rarified. On a related theme, here is an article in the New York Times promoting idleness. We also need to allocate time for daydreaming. And we need to spend more time doing things that are meaningful to our sense of well-being. The Guardian recently had an article that listed the five major regrets of the dying, the main regret was "I wished I hadn't worked so hard".
In the light of thinking about time, I find myself particularly attracted to artwork that flagrantly reveals a time-intensive practice. I like to imagine the focus and hours spent on the work. This kind of work provides validation that art is an activity worthy of time. The work of James Siena is a good example of work that makes you think about focus and time. Here is an video of Siena's opening at the Pace Gallery in New York by James Kalm. (Kalm does lo-tech, somewhat shakey videos of art openings in New York. Sometimes they are hard to watch, but I do love seeing all the people in the gallery; its great to know that there is an audience out there for art). And if you'd like to know more, here is Siena in his studio. That said, there is a lot of great art that takes a huge amount of time to make, but the labour isn't necessarily visible. I'm just saying that I do get pleasure from seeing the visible labour as a reminder that this is a good and valid way to spend time. Spend some time with art. Making it, reading about it or looking at. It will be time well spent.
|
|
NEWS:
VISA and the University of Gloucestershire
We are pleased to announce that the Vancouver Island School of Art has finalized an articulation agreement with the University of Gloucestershire in the UK. This means that a student who completes a 3-year Diploma of Fine Arts at VISA can transfer into the 4th year of a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts at the University of Gloucestershire. Students will complete a Bachelor degree after eight months of study.
The university is two hours outside of London and will offer students a great opportunity to study at an institution with a dynamic contemporary art program while being in close proximity to all the art galleries and museums in London. For more information: University of Gloucestershire, Fine Arts
There will be an information session with a representative from the University of Gloucestershire on Thursday, March 7 at 3pm. Everybody is welcome.
|
A few spaces left in tomorrow's workshop:
Saturday, February 16
10am-5pm
You will learn how to have fun with watercolours and let the natural processes and tendencies of the media become part of your work in this one-day workshop. This workshop will inspire you to take out your watercolour paints on a regular basis to enjoy endless hours of relaxation and contemplation as you play around with this delightful and versatile medium.
Instructor: Wendy Welch
Tuition: $100
Material fee: $25 (everything included)
|
Thursday, February 21 at 7pm
Ben Reeves is a Vancouver artist and teacher with a materially and conceptually based drawing and painting practice. His recent work focuses on the potential of the brushstroke for densely layered signification along with its simultaneous and implacable material immediacy. He has exhibited extensively in national venues as well as in the US, England and China. Reeves is represented by the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver and Jessica Bradley Gallery in Toronto. He is currently Associate Professor in the Faculty of Visual Art + Material Practice and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Emily Carr University in Vancouver.
Talk is in the Slide Room Gallery in the lower level of VISA 2549 Quadra
|
Slide Room Gallery opening Friday, February 22 at 7:30 pm
CONSTRUCTED GEOMETRIES
Kyler Clement, Linda Peters and Jennifer Smyly
The work in this exhibition addresses the use of geometric structures to reveal narratives embedded in abstract forms. Clement's collages are based an panaromic urban landscapes as remembered by her experiences of encountering 'the city' after hours of driving on the MacKenzie Highway. Geometry and gesture collide in Peter's paintings as veils of transparent and opaque stripes cover fragments of phrases written in cursive script. Smyly's enigmatic architectural drawings are based on her memories of a house she has lived in for the last 38 years.
Curator's talk: Friday, February 22 at 8pm
Exhibition continues until April 1
Slide Room Gallery is located on the lower level of VISA at 2549 Quadra Street
|
Performance Art this weekend at Open Space
Richard Martel and Julie Andrée T are two of Quebec's acclaimed performance artists join local artists for Officially Bilingual/Officiellement bilingue, a weekend of performance art. Officially Bilingual/ Officiellement bilingue continues Open Space's history of hosting performance art influenced, in large part, by the practice of local artists John Boehme and Judith Price. Boehme and Price have initiated this project as an opportunity to present work from well-known Quebec artists who have rarely been invited to perform in Victoria. The title of this project suggests an active engagement with the unique language of performance actions as much as a play on Canada's national language policy.
Richard Martel: Friday, February 15, 8pm
Julie Andrée T.: Saturday, February 16, 8pm
Open Space 510 Fort St
Admission by donaton
|
PHOTOETCHING WORKSHOP
Feb 28-March 21 (four Thursdays)
1:00pm-5:30pm
This workshop is designed to explore numerous alternatives in image creation in both intaglio and relief print while using a photopolymer plate in conjunction with the sun rays, or a simple ultra-violet exposure system. Participants will create miniature works of art on paper using simple mark-making, altered imagery or memorabilia. The completed work is ideal as a 'stand alone' print or combined with mixed media works of art. Hand-created imagery is emphasized in this workshop. This process offers new possibilities where various images & materials are recreated in a whole new way. All levels of experience are welcome.
Instructor: Jenn Robins
Tuition: $225 (18 hours)
Material fee: $30 (all materials included)
|
smART phone on-line exhibition
Call for submissions to an online exhibition of art created with your smart phone.
Guidelines:
All works should be created exclusively with apps on your smart phone
You can submit up to 3 works
Works should be submitted in a jpg format
Works should include info such as: Artist name, City, Country, Title, Type of smart phone used and if you want the name of the app (s) you used to create the work
The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2013
The works will be on display at www.exhibit-v.ca from March 1, 2013 to April 31, 2013
|
|
|
|
SLIDE ROOM GALLERY
LOOKING FOR BOARD MEMBERS
The Slide Room Gallery is a non-profit gallery in the lower level VISA that was established in 2006. It is run as an independent organization from the school with a separate Board of Directors. The Slide Room Gallery board is directly involved in the programming of the gallery and all board members are encouraged to present curatorial proposals for consideration as exhibitions in the gallery.
If you are interested in getting curatorial experience or learning the ins and outs of how a gallery is run, this would be a great opportunity for you. The board meetings 2-3 times a year. For more information on the gallery: Slide Room Gallery Website
If you are interested in becoming involved with the Slide Room Gallery, please contact Slide Room Gallery.
|
For more information about our courses or events contact
Linda or Jen at the office: 250-380-3500 or info@vancouverislandschoolart.com
Website
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
