On Saturday Linda Lebrun joined me for the drive out to UBC. We arrived at the Museum of Anthropology in time to find seats in the Great Hall for ‘Catching Fire: Artists in Conversation’ at 11am. We were invited to listen to a thought-provoking afternoon of conversation with eight artists whose work is in ‘Playing with Fire’, as they discuss the pressing issues of our time. Carol, the show’s curator, started the day by asking questions of Brendan Tang and Judy Chartrand.
The second trio was Tam Irving with Glenn Lewis and Debra Sloan. After lunch we heard Paul Mathieu in conversation with Ying Yueh Chuang and Alwyn O’Brien and the last trio was Alwyn O’Brien with Ian Johnston and Jeremy Hatch.
The other three artists? David Lambert died long ago, Bill Rennie died just recently and we did not see somewhat elderly Gathie Falk at the opening or on this day.
Carol assigned a word to each group to start conversation. In each case it led to interesting thoughts from the invited speakers and a chance for us, the audience, to hear more about their careers, their processes and intentions.
Multi-racial Brendan Lee Satish Tang and indigenous Judy Chartrand were give RACISM as a starting point. Judy, a Manitoba Cree, very definitely addresses racism in all her work. We have seen and understood the jolly cockroaches inhabiting her signature bowls as a reminder of poverty in the SROs of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Being included in a large gallery exhibition has given us a chance to see her other installations which deal with White Racism. She wants white people to be pissed off.
Brendan talked of the interminable question he gets.. ‘where are you from?’.. Nanaimo is his first answer, but his work is a mish-mash of cultures. His Manga-Ormolu pieces combine Japanese Manga forms with bending earthenware shapes eerily reminiscant of Oriental vases embellished in the European Ormolu fashion. He is interested in extending the seven seconds viewers normally spend looking at an art piece by having them wonder how it was made, or why, or by giving it an intriguing title.
These two artists, whose work can be expected to sell, were asked if it does. Brendan agreed that artists make lifestyle choices, they have financial support, ‘marry rich’, ‘don’t have kids’ and teach. Judy balances her art-making in between hours working in the downtown eastside and has a collecter of all that she makes. Both have gallery representation. We are grateful that they were frank about their lifestyles.
I’ll show the work of Glenn Lewis and Debra Sloan in my next blog.
