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Finding wonder in the world
Artists have been using found objects in their art ever since Picasso's first collage, Still Life With Chair Caning (1912) in which real rope and chair caning wallpaper were an important part of the composition. The found object is now very commonplace in art and is often used in a lackadaisical manner with little consideration to form or meaning. Geoffrey Farmer brings its use to a new level in his recent retrospective How Do I Fit This Ghost in My Mouth? at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG). Using the entire second floor of the gallery, the work fills viewers with wonder, delight and surprise as they are immersed in this labour-intensive imaginative world made from very ordinary everyday things. Farmer makes us think about our history, our contemporary culture and our relationship to the printed page in a digital age.
Included in this exhibition is Farmer's first paper cut work, The Last Two Million Years (2007). Farmer walked around the streets near his studio in search of potential subject matter (following the legacy of Robert Rauschenberg who also collected items from the street for inspiration), and found a large tome with a faux marble cover called The Last Two Million Years. He took apart the book and cut out every individual image and then backed the cut-outs with a small paper support. The images range from large to super-tiny and are positioned single file or in groups on plinths of different heights and dimensions. One of the wonders of this piece is its simplicity in idea and material. Who knew you could create such a monumental piece with one book? Another room contains an installation called The Surgeon and the Photographer filled with 365 figures made from cut outs from books and magazines of the 1950s, 60s and 70s that were bought at Vancouver's most renowned secondhand bookstore: MacLeod's. Farmer's practice involves research in the form of collecting and a very process-oriented method of production. Each of the 365 figures (one made each day of the year) is constructed of cut out photographs and fabric mounted on a delicate stand. Farmer gives new meanings to found material by juxtaposing both congruous and incongruous images in a poetic and engaging way. Accompanying this exhibition is a thick paperback book comprised of fragments of found numbered texts corresponding to each of the numbers on the figures. Farmer uses found text in the same way he uses found objects, allowing viewers to create their own meaning for these multi-layered juxtapositions.
The VAG owns this piece so if you didn't have the pleasure of seeing it this summer, you will have another opportunity to see it in the gallery space. A catalog of Farmer's work, called The Surgeon and the Photographer will be available November 15.
What I really appreciate about Farmer's work is that everything is extremely well-thought out and elegantly put together. With so many artists assembling found objects together without much consideration, his work stands out as being well-crafted and constructed with a sense of poetry and grace. The Catriona Jeffries Gallery in Vancouver, where Farmer exhibits on a regular basis, has a comprehensive collection of images of his work on their website.
In the meantime if you'd like to explore the idea of using materials that are at hand such as papers, fabrics, books or other found objects, I recommend you check out my course Collage: Investigation of Material that starts next week. There will be definitely be a Farmer-inspired project in this course! 
Wendy Welch
Executive Director
Vancouver Island School of Art
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Fall Courses Start Next Week (Sept 15) - REGISTER TODAY
 We've got a great menu of fall courses for you to choose from, including drawing, painting, collage, photography, sculpture, art history and critical studies. Courses range from being for complete beginners to more advanced artists.
Some of our courses are full and some are filling up quickly. If you are interested in any of the fall courses, we recommend you register soon.
All courses are $395 for 3 hours per week for 12 weeks.
Image: Julie Mehretu
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Collage: Investigation of Materials
Starts Tuesday Sept 15, 6-9pm  This is a great course for people who want to get started in art and can't make up their mind. You will be introduced to many genres such as drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and installation through the medium of collage. This course follows the development of collage from its inception with Picasso to its use by many contemporary artists. The focus is on becoming aware of the material world and making use of things that are 'at hand'. Students learn how to transform everyday materials into dynamic components of a work of art. No experience is necessary.
Instructor: Wendy Welch
Collage (right): Lucy Ives
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Drawing: Advanced I
Starts Tuesday Sept 15, 2-5pm  Do you have experience in drawing but would like to develop your own direction or work on a series? Drawing: Advanced I would be an excellent choice for you in this case. Students will learn how to focus on one idea and develop it into a series of related works. Course includes presentations of artists making contemporary drawings, discussions, critiques, readings and written assignments. If you are interested in registering and you are not already a VISA student, you will need to submit a few images of your work to the office to obtain permission from the Director to take course. Instructor: Wendy Welch
Image(right): Detail of work by Jill Ehlert (work inspired by Drawing: Advanced course at VISA)
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PUB NIGHT! This Friday, Sept 11, 6-10pm
If you are registered for an upcoming course, Pub Night is a great way to get to meet some of your fellow students, instructors and VISA staff. Also Pub Night will include a fabulous Art Book Sale as well as live music by Mather Hewison
. You don't have to be a student to attend! Feel free to bring friends, family members, colleagues or anybody else you know.
More about the live music:
Mather Hewison formed the Irish band Duffy Nelson and played with the Irish Rovers at the Unicorn Pub at Expo 86. Mather came to Victoria in 1995 he has played here at many different venues in the city as well as private parties. Mather has a rich baritone voice well suited to Irish songs and brings a wealth of knowledge of Irish songs and poems Mather particularly loves The Dubliners and the poems of Dominic Behan.
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Art Books Wanted
 We are having a special Art Book Sale Fundraiser to coincide with our next Pub Night on September 11, 7-10pm.
We are looking for good quality art books that we can sell at our book sale.
If you have any extra special coffee table type art books, we will use them as part of our Silent Auction.
We can issue a tax receipt for 50% (approx) of the book's retail value when new. Tax receipts are only issued for books (or groups of books) valued at $20 or more.
Bring books to the school during opening hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm). Deadline to receive books is Friday, September 11 at noon.
Sorry, we cannot accept books that are water-damaged, mildewed, smelly, or that look very worn out or have pages missing or images cut out.
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Do you have crafts, artwork or supplies to sell?
There are still some spaces left for our upcoming Art Fare.
Vendor tables (70 x 30") are available for $25 each at our upcoming Art Fare to sell any art-related goods. The proceeds for anything sold will go directly to the vendor.
The Art Fare will take place in the backyard of VISA along with a "Carnivale" fundraiser for the Slide Room Gallery. There will be food, drink, music, Tarot and tea card reading, portrait drawing, collage making, magic and more.
Art Fare & Carnivale takes place Saturday, September 26, 1-5pm.
Image: work by Melissa Gignac
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Deluge Contemporary Art Sept 11, 7-10pm
Fundraiser to celebrate 25 years of contemporary art at Deluge
25: Multiples Toward a Past and Future
Stephanie Aitken | Mowry Baden | Christina Battle & Adán De La Garza | Blue Republic | Tamsin Clark | Adam Davis | Todd A Davis | Michael Doerksen | Michelle Forsyth | Kevin Haas | Patrick Howlett | Jessica Karuhanga | Daniel Laskarin | Alex MacKenzie | Mike Andrew McLean | Sandra Meigs | Erik Moskowitz & Amanda Trager | Tara Nicholson | Steven Rayner | Jennet Thomas | Matt Trahan | Paul Walde | Kendra Wallace | Jess Willa Wheaton | Robert Youds
Opening Friday, September 11, 7 to 10 pm. Exhibition continues to Oct 10.
Shop Online: 25% Off Pre Exhibition Sale
Deluge Contemporary Art is located at 636 Yates Street 
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Xchanges "Breaking Point" Christopher Savage
Exhibition runs through Sunday, September 20, 2015. Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 12 to 4 pm, or by appointment.
Christopher Savage's recent work conveys, through a decorative aesthetic, a feeling of anxiety towards our relationship with the environment. The drawings and objects examine the paradox of progress and the temporality of how viewing resources as commodity disrupts the balance between human needs and our effect on the environment. Re-appropriating the style of blue and white delftware ceramics, Savage subverts the imagery of the classic Dutch, Chinese, and English designs to show dystopian scenes culled from the news, the internet, and his imagination, highlighting the growing disconnect. His formal presentation of the circular designs allows for a combination of the symbolic with more literal imagery which brings out the falseness of the customary, idealized beauty. Through the examination of our current condition, Savage hopes to allow for reflection on our increasingly homogenized historical experience. For more info: Xchanges
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Volunteers Needed
We are looking for some volunteers for our upcoming Pub Night and Art Fare/Carnivale. We need people to help with the set-up prior to the event, to help out at event and for the clean-up afterwards.
Please contact Melissa in the office if you are interested.
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For more information contact Melissa in the office |
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