Two Items of Note

Some fabulous things are afoot for Patrick John Mills Gallery artists. Although I do not have details at present, I understand that Bruce Stewart was interviewed by CBC earlier in the week. He spoke about two pieces which were bought by the Canadian War Museum. I plan to phone Bruce and to get details about this excellent news. In the meantime, here are two brief items featuring Bruce that were prepared by Patrick John Mills more than a year ago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tredcP0zfOc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEe7B3Nhd18


And just a heads-up. On Friday, October 12, Renfrew sculptor/painter, Jack Stekelenburg will be having a vernissage of his solo show at Brush Strokes in Carleton Place, ON. The opening runs from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Details to follow.

Edgy Artists Wanted

It says women but men are welcome to submit proposals, too. The venue is in Montreal at a boxing arena. Deadline is mid-October.

Edgy Women 2013: Call for proposals                          

EDGY WOMEN 2013 - 20th anniversary: ARTS / SPORTS / GENDER
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Performance / Video / Installation
Deadline: October 15th 2012

We are seeking works to complete the Blue Cat Boxing Club program (March 8-10, 2013). All proposals will be considered (lectures, performances, visual art, short videos, and installations) as long as they reflect a strong awareness of thematic context, and when pertinent, shared space and audience flow.

Produced by Studio 303, EDGY WOMEN is an annual feminist fiesta that presents politicized, experimental and playful performance as well as workshops and lectures - addressing evolving issues around gender and/or feminism. Highlighting new artistic practices, Edgy is open to emerging and established professional artists of any gender. For artists new to Studio 303, we recommend that you submit finished pieces vs. new creations. Honorariums are paid, but there is no budget at this time for travel or hosting.

Details and application form: http://www.edgywomen.ca/en/call-for-submissions/

On the edge of arts, disciplines and gender politics, Edgy Women (is) Studio 303's annual celebration of boundary-pushing artists.
- Lina Harper, Montreal Mirror, March 2009

"The Edgy Women Festival pushes performance to its furthest reaches, revealing just how complex and multifaceted women - and society in general, relationships, community, feminism, art itself - really are."
- Hour, March 2010

Studio 303
372 Sainte-Catherine Ouest Montreal, Qc, H3B 1A2 514.393.3771
www.studio303.ca, info@studio303.ca

Shades of Bansky

And guess where?
On the back streets of Ottawa. Behind an abandoned school board building.

Has anyone else noticed similar art-on-the-street?
Please post!

Keyboard Pink Slip Pinata Makes a Political Statement

What it looked like installed at Confederation Park.

It certainly would have been grand to have had more artists at the Day of Action this past Saturday at Confederation Park in downtown Ottawa but I held down the fort in all of our names. It was fun and not too long a day at four hours requested presence.

Sometimes, art can be political in nature and in this case, in keeping with the theme of the day, We Are All Affected, my point was that government output rises and falls on the use of computers. Many people have been laid-off and this will perforce have ramifications for them and their families but also for their communities.

Rear view.

And yes, it did look fabulous when the wind blew.

Driftin' Doug points out that this was one of the best displays at the Day of Action.

Artists Continue to be Creative

A call went out from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) via ArtEngine a couple weeks ago whereby three artists were sought, each to create an art installation suitable for a park setting. The stated  themes were, Harper Hates Us, and/or We Are All Affected. These refer to the thousands of people who've lost their government jobs, 50% of StatsCan, alone, more than 19,000 civil service jobs in all. PSAC is the union representing many of these workers and has called for a National Day of Action which should result in a huge rally at Confederation Park in Ottawa. Cities across Canada will be holding similar rallies.

Fisheye effect.

I saw the request and immediately submitted my idea which was to create a pinata comprised of keyboards, partly because I am a keyboard artist and partly because the government rises and falls on the output of more than a million computers across the nation.

My original idea was to create a keyboard pinata  by cable-tieing six keyboards to form a loose box that would then be stuffed with pink slips, universal symbol of getting the sack. This would then be suspended and people would be invited to strike it in order to make the pink slips rain down. This may have worked only there is nowhere to suspend the pinata from at the park and having people flail about in a crowd might have been asking for problems.

I have ended up keeping the keyboard pinata, four keyboards affixed to a reinforced cardboard box with printed circuit acetates on the sides, and then went on to create hundreds of pink slips attached to ribbons which have then been glued to two inverted keyboards. This is a variation on the strike-and-break pinata. Some pinatas do have strings or ribbons attached, one of which will release the contents. But in this case, all cords have a pink slip attached, in keeping with the theme, We Are All Affected.

The addition of signs in red and black, overlaid with urethane that had glitter suspended in it completes the installation.

What is interesting about this project is that I am, apparently, the only artist who applied. The timeline was short, less than two weeks, but the PSAC people easy to work with and talk about wonderful exposure.
I am happy to be involved. 

Tassels are glued along the top edge which will look fabulous when the wind blows.

Before the glitter and tassels. 

The keyboard pinata atop its six-foot high perch.