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April 12, 2013
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Vancouver Island School of Art Newsletter
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Dear Students and Friends of VISA,
I often talk to students about the importance of not thinking of their work as too precious; but rather to think of each piece as part of a greater continuum where some work will turn out and other work will fail. Thoughts about preciousness lead me to think about the fire at the Pratt Institute last month where many students lost all their work and students were forced to come to terms with not thinking of their work as precious. I appreciated some of the attitudes the students presented in coming to terms with this tragedy and they made me take a moment to think about the impact of loss: The Local. The fire revealed the endless resilience of the creative mind as indicated in this Wall Street Journal story. Larry Gagosian, one of the most powerful art dealers in the world, (who is not known necessarily known for being a nice guy) has arranged for the Pratt students to have an exhibition in downtown Manhattan. So while the event of the fire was terrible loss, many interesting experiences were made possible through this tragedy.
There is a Los Angeles artist who uses burning as part of his work, Jay McCafferty. McCafferty process of solar burn drawing is quite fascinating (if you are not a fan of cheesy new age overly dramatic soundtracks, I suggest you turn down the sound while watching this fascinating video). When you see how McCafferty's paper lights up in flames when he aims a magnifying glass to catch the sun, you realize how incredibly fragile this process is. He is using the most dangerous medium for a paper surface: fire. As the paper gets more and more burnt, it becomes more and more delicate and fragile (the image below is an example of a solar burn drawing). Two other artists who use burning are David Nash and Toshikatsu Endo. Nash and Endo are sculptors who use fire as a way to create a transformed surface; wood becomes black charcoal. While these artists all use fire in different way, the burnt surfaces in all their work act as metaphor and become an important part of the meaning of the work. In a sense they are all testing the preciousness of their materials and their work in the very making of it.
I realize that getting works burned in a fire and making work with fire, are two completely different scenarios, but the connection is about artists who take the idea of preciousness to its furthest extreme by making work with an inherently destructive and unpredictable element such as fire. These artists must always be ready for the work not to turn out, to fail or to be extinguished forever by the very medium used to create it. For them nothing can be precious. And at the same time, perhaps paradoxically, a work that survives McCafferty's intense solar burn process probably becomes immensely more precious than a simple drawing or painting on paper.
Its a delicate balance to make work that you are intensely engaged with while at the same time knowing that the work is an object that is vulnerable to the elements and time. In the end the main thing artists can always hold onto is the experience of making. A work that takes months to make, and then for some reason doesn't turn out, is not a loss of time; all the time spent making that piece goes into the next piece. Artmaking is a cumulative experience. Nothing is lost. The experience of making each work builds onto the depth and quality of the next work made.
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OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW: Saturday, April 13, noon-4pm
1:00 pm Creative Writing students read from their work
2:00 pm Tales from the Backyard opens in Slide Room Gallery (Graduation exhibition of Independent Studio Program student, Cat Thom)
2:30 pm Storytellling by Juniper Tree (Cat and Megan Thom)
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm Collage making (all materials supplied)
Caffe Fantastico coffee, Silk Road tea and many other delightful treats available.
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CAT THOM: IN THE BACKYARD
Slide Room Gallery, April 13 at 2pm (during VISA's Open House)
Cat Thom has just completed the one-year Independent Studio Program and this exhibition will showcase the results of her time at VISA.
Cat lives down the street from VISA where she keeps a yard full of chickens, ducks, plants and insects which have slowly made their way into her dreamlike paintings and collages. She is also an incorrigible collector of stuff, and incorporates a wide range of 'junk' into her work from old book covers and scrap metal to dry leaves and gadgetry.
There will be a storytelling and music performance by Juniper Tree at 2:30 pm. Juniper Tree is a musical storytelling duo composed of storyteller Cat Thom and singer-songwriter Megan Thom.
They combine original and traditional tales with music, weaving songs in and out of the stories. These tales are alternatively lively, funny, beautiful and haunting, and are aimed at an all-ages audience.
Exhibition continues until April 29
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NEW WORKSHOP: ARCHI-SCULPTURE
Saturday and Sunday May 4 & 5, 10am - 5pm
A great design workshop that combines sculpture and architecture
This workshop is an exploration of the crossover between architecture and sculpture. Students discover how architectural design principles can be used in the creation of sculptures, and how artistic objects can be understood as architectural models. Contemporary examples, drawn from both architecture and the fine arts, are discussed and may be used as starting points for participants' own creative work. Buildings and other structures in Victoria will also be considered for the development idea in artworks. Various suitable materials, and how they may be used creatively, are discussed throughout the workshop. Students design and build their own artistic object(s) and there will be individual mentoring for all participants.
Instructor: Marie Ulber
Tuition: $175.00 (12 hrs)
Material Fee: $10 |
Check out our amazing line-up of six week courses starting May 14
This spring we are offering a range of drawing, painting, sculpture and photography courses. The courses are all six-weeks long for the low rate of $225 per course. We have plenty of courses for beginners as well as courses for artists with some experience.
The Spring semester with its shorter courses is a great way to try out an art course without having to make the full commitment of a regular 12-week course. All these courses can be applied for credit to a Certificate of Diploma program. Check out this new course offering: Drawing: Science & Nature
Summer Workshops are also on-line. There is something for everyone: 1 day, 2 day, 3, day, 4, day and 5 day. Plan your creative summer now. To register
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Check out the great animated drawings made by VISA students
in Rachel Hellnor's Drawing II: Intermediate course this semester:
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Do you know any talented Grade 12 students?
Be sure to let them know about this opportunity to exhibit in a professional gallery (The Slide Room Gallery) and win full tuition for the Certificate of Visual Arts program (value: $5530). DEADLINE is APRIL 30, 2013
For more information: Art Finale
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For more information about our courses or events contact
Linda or Jen at the office: 250-380-3500 or info@vancouverislandschoolart.com
Website
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