Saturday, December 4, 2010

Upcoming Events and Inspiration

I'm just about to drop off my Eggs and Legs functional ceramic sculpture to be shown in the Gallery of Student Art (GOSA) this coming week in commemoration of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Dec. 6). "December 6th was declared by Canada's Parliament as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women following the murder of 14 women at L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal on this day in 1989. Remembering this horrific event has become the basis of recognizing and supporting action against widespread violence committed against women in our society." So if you're at the U of M this week stop by GOSA in University Center to see the art!

Eggs and Legs

I'm also heading to Chutney Mayhem tonight, a fundraiser put on by the head of painting at the U of M, Kevin Kelly. I have recently added a painting to be auctioned off for the cause.


"Chutney Mayhem is a an art-based fundraiser for the Jagruthi Orpahanage in Bangalore, India. This institution houses 96 children, all are children of sex workers and 1/3 are living with HIV & AIDS. The money raised last year wen to help to feed, house, provide medications and a few of the teens went on to college.

I had the opportunity to visit the orphanage in 2007 and saw the need for greatly needed funds to help keep this children safe and from exploitation. I have first hand knowledge that the money sent is being used wisely and know Renu Appachu, the head of the orphanage, who takes great care of the children.

Featured performances by Andrew Harwood, Rachael Schappart, Miss Lyndsay Ladobruk, Michael Dudeck, Arlene Chelsey Spanish Dancing Group and many more.

Featured Visual Art will be auctioned by Geoffrey Hendricks, David MacMillan, Aganetha Dyck, Kevin Fredrick, Kevin Kelly, Karen Hibbard, Andrew Harwood, Cliff Eyland and many more please check here as we update our artist list." - Kevin Kelly

In other news, Gallery Ingenue will have its very first opening of 'Faces of the City - Selected works by Dee Barsy and Rick Rosario' this Friday Dec.10 from 7-10pm at Stella's Cafe and Bakery 166 Osborne Street. I'm really looking forward to the big debut and it will be a great introduction to the gallery and a chance to meet the artists! If you're able to make it that would be grand and if not the work will be up til January 1st!



I am on student council with both of these wonderful ladies and their area of focus is sculpture so expect BIG, magical things! If I can I'm going to try to make it but I have a feeling I'll have to catch their work later in the week since I'll have my hands full (in a good way) at Gallery Ingenue!

And the next night is our winter SOFA fundraiser! It's called Nouveau Riche (aka New Money) so the idea is to dress in over the top attire of someone who has just stumbled across an enormous amount of money and doesn't know what to do with it. Think lots and lots of glitter and jewels...


There will also be a silent art auction including works by myself, Fred Fandard, Kara Passey, Lauren McPhaden, and Cliff Eyland - and this list will be growing over the week!

Along with that we will be selling our SOFA t-shirts at a discounted price! Think Christmas presents!

Some other things I wanted to share with you are where I'm getting my inspiration nowadays. The art is in quite a different realm than the art I was looking at last year. I am now very engrossed in the animal rights theme and exploring different facets of feminism, sexuality, and animal consumption so the work I'm looking at reflects that. Here are a handful of artists who I've been looking at...

Beth Cavener-Stichter - "I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits."





Roxanne Jackson - "I am concerned with confronting the shadows of the unconscious, having a dialogue with the grotesque and, therein, discovering beauty. The tenor of my work is macabre and emotional as I deal with extreme axioms to dramatize the dualities of our nature; these polar aspects reside within us and include vulnerability and strength, the light and the dark, the human and the inhuman."



Sue Coe - "Sue Coe is one of the most important politically oriented artists living in the U.S. today. From the outset of her career working as an illustrator for such publications as the New York Times andTime Magazine, Coe was committed to reaching a broad audience through the print media. Later, she began creating extended visual discourses on subjects (such as racial discrimination or animal rights) that she felt were not being adequately addressed by conventional news organizations. Widely written about and exhibited, Coe has appeared on the cover of Art News and been the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Her work is in the collections of many major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York."






I've found that my blog posts have turned into marathon blog posts lately. I hope you don't mind - I just don't seem to think one topic is sufficient for a post so I've jam packed this one aswell.

That brings us to a new site I've stumbled across - The Selby. I've always been very into how people decorate their living spaces so this site is a winner in my books. It was also very strange because when I was scrolling through I hit something familiar - my thesis advisor, Kevin Kelly's friend, hrafnhildur arnardottir aka shoplifter. Kevin just finished showing us his hundreds of photos from his recent trip to New York where he stayed with her and this photo was especially recognizable because Kevin had a picture of himself in this hair monster!


hrafnhildur arnardottir is a visual artist who works with hair and is known for doing Bjork's hair. The world is very small...


And here are some images from different living spaces in The Selby that tickle my fancy. In general I have a very busy colourful aestheic so that's what I'm drawn to






and this last one's for Darrin because I know it would be his dream living space - clean and crisp with wall to wall bookshelves and a little sleeping loft

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

4 comments:

  1. oh my heavens
    all of this work is SO amazing

    xoxo
    bB

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  2. Glad you like it! I think so too :)

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  3. gill you two should check out http://freundevonfreunden.com if you like the selby

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  4. Ooooh yes I definitely like this one - sad I can't understand German though :)

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