University of Lethbridge Art Gallery » university of lethbridge art gallery

July 6 – August 10, 2013

admin — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:42:10 +0000

The Canada Collection in Forestburg

July 6 – August 10, 2013
The Forestburg and District Museum
An Off-Site Project
Reception: July 6, 2 – 5 pm

Curator: David Smith
Artist: Arianna Richardson

Investigations into the construction and propagation of national, provincial and regional identity drive my practice. I am interested in theories of semiotics and hyperreality and how, through the souvenir and tourism industries, they are put to use to build national identity. Signs of Canada are of particular interest because of the unique and fast-paced construction of nationalism that came with the 1967 Centennial, occurring simultaneously with the permeating introduction of television and mass culture in 1960s North America. Because of the firm grip of hyperreality on the Canadian image, it’s orchestrated nature can be discovered writhing beneath a superficial, often humorous veneer.

The Hobbyist project is an ongoing document of investigations into this specific period in Canada’s history and many Hobbyist products appropriate the imagery of discarded items found in thrift stores and garage sales that are reminiscent of the period. In utilizing this particular aesthetic, I aim to question the relevance of the items and the ideas they represent in our increasingly digital and fast-paced society.

As craft and mass production represent another major avenue of interest, The Hobbyist has been working towards the creation of a mail-order catalogue offering DIY craft kits (eg- paint by numbers, embroidery kits, knitting patterns), a variety of Canadian souvenirs, (toques, personalized cigarette holders, flags, apparel, etc.), topical essays, varied sundries and photo-books. All of these items are handmade in a pseudo-mass produced manner and are intended to provoke the viewer out of passivity, engaging them in the active development of a new sort of consumer market aimed at promoting human interaction, creativity and critical thinking.

The series, Frontier, consists of 27 snapshots taken from across Alberta and Saskatchewan in the Summer of 2012. The particularly mythical ideals that are represented by these recreational vehicles: the rugged, wild frontier of the west and the freedom of the wilderness-braving Canadian, reveal themselves as signs made irrelevant by the passage of time. In various states of use and abandonment, these vehicles and their faded facades hearken back to a time not long past when the propagation of identity through consumerism was readily apparent. The series prompts inquiry into current projections of Canadian nationalism, heightening awareness and opening up a critical discourse when it comes to the meaning of contemporary Canadian-ness in a time of utmost ambiguity in the matter.

The Forestburg and District Museum

(art + people) x science = x

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:25:27 +0000

Drawing the Canada-Wide Science Fair

Monday, May 13, 9am – 12pm
Thursday, May 16, 9am – 12pm
Friday, May 17, 9am – 12pm
U of L Centre for Sport and Wellness
Reception: May 16, 4 – 6 pm, Andy’s Place Terrace (AH100), U of L

Drawing the Canada-Wide Science Fair is a collective of fifteen artists who have come together to interpret and play with the spectacle of a national science fair through visual language. By drawing on-site during the Canada-Wide Science Fair, the artists will create and immediately broadcast drawings of selected projects on display. The idea is to expand the notion of drawing around science themes to include the potentials of visual priority, cross-disciplinary work, collaborative drawing, multi-perspectival drawing, non-precious drawing, interactions with people, live tweeting, 5-second-delay blogging, and other unexpected possibilities. #drawingscience #cwsf2013 #ulethimpact

For more information on the project and the participating artists, visit Search & Research.

For more information on the science fair visit Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Participating Artists:

Leila Armstrong
Cindy Baker – (U of L MFA Art Candidate)
Christine Clark – (U of L MFA New Media Candidate)
Kelaine Devine
Leanne Elias – (U of L New Media Instructor)
Mandy Espezel – (U of L MFA Art 2012)
Denton Fredrickson – (U of L, Art Instructor, BFA Multidisciplinary 2001)
David Hoffos – (U of L BFA 1994)
Emily Luce
Glen MacKinnon – (U of L Art instructor)
Petra Mala Miller
Mary-Anne McTrowe – (U of L Art Technician, BFA 1998)
Megan Mormon
Shanell Papp – (U of L BFA 2006)
Rod Sayers
Corinne Thiessen Hepher – (BFA 2009, MFA candidate)

Images of Drawings by participating artists:

Images of Drawings by Visitors from Lethbridge Area Schools:

May 16 – 17, 2013

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:11:40 +0000

The Cardiff/Miller House

Thursday, May 16, 9am – 6pm
Friday, May 17, 9am – 12pm
Andy’s Place Terrace
Reception: May 16, 4 – 6 pm, Andy’s Place Terrace (AH100), U of L

Artists: Emily Luce with Major Collaborators Rodney Sayers and Alan Maten

Featuring the work of:
Taylor Ackerman, Leila Armstrong, Cindy Baker, Victoria Baster, Karen Campbell, Christine Clark, Adrian Cooke, Dana Cooley, Jennifer Crane, Dagmar Dahle, Annelaure Djaballah, Chai Duncan, Jane Edmundson, Leanne Elias, Mandy Espezel, Denton Fredrickson, Don Gill, Marianne Gerlinger, Fred Greene, David Hoffos, Patricia Horrocks, Andrew Jensen, Emily Luce, Jared Klok, Glen MacKinnon, Petra Mala Miller, Billy McCarroll, Mary-Anne McTrowe, Greg Moody, Christopher Moore, Monica Nobert, Chad Patterson, Taras Polatiako, Beth Porter, Arianna Richardson, Catherine Ross, John Savill, Rodney Sayers, Jeff Spalding, Melinda Spooner, Corinne Thiessen Hepher

Domesticity in the Art World, Sustainable Architecture (and Living), Community/Collaborative Aspects, and the Pleasure of Tiny

The Cardiff/Miller House is a miniaturized but inhabitable replica on wheels of an infamous art house in Lethbridge Alberta. Exploring notions of domesticity in the art world, the line between the art life and art history, and sustainability and the tiny house movement, the house is a transitive portrait containing tiny work by over 40 artists who have ties to the house.

Artist Statement:
I live in a suite in a house owned by the artists Janet Cardiff and George Burres-Miller in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. At one time, they lived here, as have a slew of other Canadian artists who invited people in, made their work, and were a part of the arts community over the years. Throughout the house one can find a collection of ‘artist repairs,’ slightly left of center solutions to problems. The storage spaces are goldmines, collections of discarded art projects, furniture finds from the thrift store (mostly broken, alot orange,) and usable, random art supplies. The house has started to establish somewhat of a mythic quality for itself. Locals are curious about who is living in the suites; everyone has an opinion about how it should be repaired. It’s a place that’s right on the brink of a certain history—someday it could become a significant art site. Then again, it could be sold and renovated by someone who wants to take advantage of its large footprint and strategic location.

I am interested in this tipping point. Through the construction of a miniature portrait of the Cardiff-Miller house, I aim to explore the qualities of this building in the present moment, and its domestic presence in Canadian art history.

The work presented is an 8 x 16′ replica on a trailer of the Cardiff/Miller House. Inside, the house is furnished with tiny works by over 40 artists with ties to the house, in addition to a sleeping loft, a tiny kitchen area, and a waterless bathroom. Both interior and exterior architectural details refer to the original house, creating a miniature, interactive portrait of the complex life of an art house.

The Cardiff-Miller House is the first stage in a multi-part project to develop tiny but inhabitable replicas of significant art houses across Canada. Future houses in the series include the Agnes Martin Family Homestead, located in Macklin, Saskatchewan, the Emily Carr House in Victoria, BC, and the Maud Lewis House in Halifax/Digby, Nova Scotia.

With Assistance From:
Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors, Storage Town, Savill Group Architects, Duane’s Drywall, The Nikkei Cultural Society of Lethbridge, Davis GMC Buick, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts

May 13 – 17, 2013

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:40:51 +0000

Drawing the Canada-Wide Science Fair

Monday, May 13, 9am – 12pm
Thursday, May 16, 9am – 12pm
Friday, May 17, 9am – 12pm
U of L Centre for Sport and Wellness
Reception: May 16, 4 – 6 pm, Andy’s Place Terrace (AH100), U of L

For more information on the project and the participating artists, visit Search & Research.

For more information on the science fair visit Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Participating Artists:

Images of Drawings by participating artists:

Images of Drawings by Visitors from Lethbridge Area Schools:

art + people = x

admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:16:13 +0000

art + people = x

The University of Lethbridge is renowned for its excellent art collection. People on campus and throughout the city take pride in knowing that a wonderfully diverse range of art work is housed here. The high profile of the collection also means that there are many rumours that circulate about it. One of my favourites is that the collection is stored in a vault under the lake. Given that it is important to maintain constant humidity and avoid catastrophic damage, why would we store a collection of art under a body of water? This kind of outlandish story does not concern me because it adds to the interest in the art collection, but I am concerned when I hear that people think the collection is inaccessible and people are not able to see and engage with the works. The truth is quite the opposite: the U of L Art Gallery has a remarkable record of providing access to the collection with our innovative on-line database; supporting class visits and other tours – 2486 participants in 48 different events; 72 works loaned to other galleries in 2011 including to Paris and New York; touring our own exhibitions; and including 103 works from the collection in our exhibitions on campus last year.

There are many ways that the art collection plays an active role for people on campus and in the local community. In order to help make these connections more visible, and to encourage new routes of access, Josephine Mills started the art + people = x series in 2009. An idea that grew from an interest in supporting research by local artists and at the same time creating a project that would allow the broader public to have a sense of the importance that public art collections play in generating ideas and sparking artist’s creative practice.

Archives

2013

(art + people) x science = x “Drawing the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2013″

2012

On Landscape Images by Dr. Josephine Mills, Director/Curator, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, from the Fall 2012 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, November 20, 2012

Revising the Canonical Landscape Form by Elizabeth Diggon

The Art of Caring for Collections, from the Spring 2012 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, April 23, 2012

2011

The Important Things to Know About Eating and Drinking (In Lethbridge): A Project by Lisa Hirmer and Andrew Hunter as Dodolab, from the Fall 2011 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, November 21, 2011

Notebook: A Bowman Arts Centre/University of Lethbridge Art Gallery partnership, workshop, and exhibition

A little history on the prairies: Essay “Home Pain” by Jim Coutts, from the Spring 2011 issue of SAM-Southern Alberta Magazine, March 28, 2011

2010