"The Canadian Plains have been characterized by a number of glowing titles over the years: last best West, breadbasket of the nation, Prairie heartland, land of opportunity. These titles conjure up images of Red River carts, fields of stooks, tidy farmyards, and elevators at sunset. But these titles do more than evoke a lingering nostalgia for the past. Like a claim made at the Land Titles office, they assert ownership and define a relationship to place." (The MacKenzie Art Gallery)
I'll admit willingly that investigating the perceptions we have of places and spaces gives me great pleasure. So when a recent guest from New York shared with me how she had loved her visit to the MacKenzie Art Gallery, I absolutely had to go experience almost immediately some of the sensations she had enjoyed.
The MacKenzie figures on my list of local places to revisit two or three times a year. It is easy to forget that this is a remarkable facility. It's just the right size. Not so big that it challenges our capacity to take in all its offerings in one visit; yet, it is large enough a public space to allow for a certain "atmospheric" quality to emanate with each exhibit. In this sense, every visit nourishes the mind.
There is nothing quite like standing in front of a painting that could cover entire walls of your living room and feeling that you can fully appreciate some of the impact the artist wished his or her work to have on the observer. Endowed with high ceilings and plenty of display space, the "New" MacKenzie really does take after the expansive quality of the plains landscape. Something the old location on College Avenue could only aspire to.
The MacKenzie grounds us into the territory we inhabit through the personal interpretations of the Saskatchewan artists whose work is lovingly displayed here. The current Land Titles exhibit on show until September 26 is an eloquent statement to that effect.
The journalist in me is always seeking to experience the "lived reportage" of the exhibits and events we are invited to attend. This is the themed and articulated story that informs us on a range of topics. In this case we are invited to share worldviews that stem from the relationship to the land Prairie settlement has engendered. Land Titles succeeds.
And until December 3, the exquisite new exhibit of prints and still life paintings by Canadian artist Mary Pratt allows us to dwell even further on our relationship with commonplace objects. Pratt's hyperrealist renderings keep you thinking about the companion things of sedentary life.
In an unusual development, guests are invited backstage into the printmaking process itself. Between 1993 and 2003, Mary Pratt worked closely with Japanese master print maker Masato Arikushi, based in Vancouver. This collaboration culminated into Transformations, and a rare opportunity to see the actual woodblocks that are used. Apparently, print makers usually destroy them. As you scan the woodblocks on the wall, you start to understand how print images come together.
True to form, the MacKenzie is offering school tours to interpret the exhibit free of charge. For more information contact Marina at (306) 584-4292. These public interpretations always add value to the exhibit itself by making it more accessible. They always help bring the art to life; they help keep the MacKenzie organic.
I'll admit willingly that investigating the perceptions we have of places and spaces gives me great pleasure. So when a recent guest from New York shared with me how she had loved her visit to the MacKenzie Art Gallery, I absolutely had to go experience almost immediately some of the sensations she had enjoyed.
The MacKenzie figures on my list of local places to revisit two or three times a year. It is easy to forget that this is a remarkable facility. It's just the right size. Not so big that it challenges our capacity to take in all its offerings in one visit; yet, it is large enough a public space to allow for a certain "atmospheric" quality to emanate with each exhibit. In this sense, every visit nourishes the mind.
There is nothing quite like standing in front of a painting that could cover entire walls of your living room and feeling that you can fully appreciate some of the impact the artist wished his or her work to have on the observer. Endowed with high ceilings and plenty of display space, the "New" MacKenzie really does take after the expansive quality of the plains landscape. Something the old location on College Avenue could only aspire to.
The MacKenzie grounds us into the territory we inhabit through the personal interpretations of the Saskatchewan artists whose work is lovingly displayed here. The current Land Titles exhibit on show until September 26 is an eloquent statement to that effect.
The journalist in me is always seeking to experience the "lived reportage" of the exhibits and events we are invited to attend. This is the themed and articulated story that informs us on a range of topics. In this case we are invited to share worldviews that stem from the relationship to the land Prairie settlement has engendered. Land Titles succeeds.
And until December 3, the exquisite new exhibit of prints and still life paintings by Canadian artist Mary Pratt allows us to dwell even further on our relationship with commonplace objects. Pratt's hyperrealist renderings keep you thinking about the companion things of sedentary life.
In an unusual development, guests are invited backstage into the printmaking process itself. Between 1993 and 2003, Mary Pratt worked closely with Japanese master print maker Masato Arikushi, based in Vancouver. This collaboration culminated into Transformations, and a rare opportunity to see the actual woodblocks that are used. Apparently, print makers usually destroy them. As you scan the woodblocks on the wall, you start to understand how print images come together.
True to form, the MacKenzie is offering school tours to interpret the exhibit free of charge. For more information contact Marina at (306) 584-4292. These public interpretations always add value to the exhibit itself by making it more accessible. They always help bring the art to life; they help keep the MacKenzie organic.
Comments