1:34

hello everyone thank you for joining me today my name is Leon I’m cava ski and I am

1:41

the curator of interpretation and engagements at the autonomy of the data and this is AGA live now here at the

1:50

gallery we embrace the teachings of Tata Wow a Kree phrase meaning welcome there

1:56

is room and in our house even a virtual one everyone is welcome now as the world

2:04

slowly reopens itself is coming weeks we continue to make it our priority

2:10

priority to help you stay connected to our creativity and spend some time with

2:16

you looking it up together I am delighted to be your host for this hour

2:21

and share with you inspirational perspectives around the themes of our current exhibition mess for the end of

2:29

the world now before we dive into the subject I’d like to highlight that this

2:34

is an interactive event and thus I’d like to hear from you you’re welcome to

2:40

use the chat window on the side screen to share your comments as you follow

2:45

this presentation and of course to speak with each other as well if a question

2:52

gets unnoticed or an answer at the time please know that I will look at the chat

2:57

log afterwards and get back to you and we’ll also share on our websites a

3:02

bibliography and webliography of the links and articles that are referred to during the event now I’d like to start

3:11

this program a quoting Russian filmmaker and writer andré Tarkovsky which I think

3:18

sets the grounds for today’s conversation on this provoking exhibition so let me so he once said

3:31

some sort of pressure must exist the artist exists because the world is not

3:36

perfect out would be useless if the world were perfect as man wouldn’t look

3:42

for harmony but would simply live in it artists bomb out of ill design world so

3:50

for this exhibition the UTA commissioned five artists to envision and create a

3:55

nest to cope with the end of our world whether we think of the rise of

4:00

nationalism the clashing of belief systems the fight to mitigate climate

4:06

change or even a sudden surge of a pandemic for instance now the responses

4:14

that were created offer some hopeful and optimistic some also humorous but also

4:22

ironic and we won’t be seeing them all today but they are representative of a

4:28

wide range of emotions towards this topic now the nests created by these

4:33

five artists and AGA curators can be seen as other places of reprieve refuge

4:40

or rejuvenation in challenging times as we will discover and in these days of

4:47

physical distancing and even isolation their existence is even more relevant

4:53

and striking to us so this exhibition sparks conversations and inspires us to

5:02

think about what our own personal nests might be we all face challenges being

5:09

small in our daily life and we all wonder what the future might look like

5:15

so with that in mind let us commit to think about the role and purpose of

5:21

artistic creation in today’s worlds thinking about social political and

5:27

environmental context as well so here

5:33

are my first questions to you what is the purpose of art and what can it do

5:38

for us how do you connect with an artwork and by doing so participate in creating its

5:45

meanings I’d like to hear from you so please feel free to share your comments

5:51

in the chat window I realize that at times there might be a bit of a delay

5:58

with the streaming of the webinar so I will wait I will give you time some

6:03

breathing room to think about the questions that I just asked before moving along and I’m going to check if

6:17

there are any comments already

6:28

not yet you might take quite a bit of time all right so I see Dara says

6:41

transform our experience it can open our minds Erin says up to me is truth says

6:51

Theresa what else let’s see so you know

7:07

these are all very good answers we often say between us that you know

7:13

getting to know a work about is like getting to know a new friend it’s sometimes it’s love at first sight and

7:20

sometimes it takes time the goal of this time spent together is to feel

7:25

comfortable engaging with and questioning what we’re looking at as individuals but also as a group my focus

7:33

is on close looking on shared experience and collaborative running learning so

7:39

that that is my area of interest but let’s all think about what your goals

7:45

and expectations are as well what expectations have you set for today’s program or when you last visited the aga

7:53

or museum now it goes without saying that those are two different experiences

7:59

right but what are you looking for in a digital interaction like this one or in

8:06

an in-person gallery experience so please continue sharing your comments in

8:11

the chat of course but more importantly keep all those questions in the back of

8:17

your head and come back to it at the end of the conversation and see if it has

8:22

changed let’s talk about visiting museums in anticipation to your next

8:27

visit and I trust that this is something we will be able to do again very soon

8:33

visiting museums is about practicing the act of looking and looking at a work of

8:39

art implies engaging the whole body and mind have you ever wondered why

8:45

strolling in the galleries can be so tiring for your muscles for instance why

8:50

you may feel so drained after visiting an exhibition this is actually a

8:55

condition called Museum legs and it has its own definition the eight legs one

9:05

develops after a prolonged period of slow walking in a museum interspersed

9:10

with standing steer in other words your encounter with the artists all together

9:16

at physical sensorial and intellectual as well as a cultural experience it is a

9:22

super stimulus if you will that requires a recovery period and a time for you to

9:28

process the information so how do we grow from there how do we transform

9:34

first impressions or emotions into a more structured interpretation of a work

9:40

were looking at and to answer that I’d like to explore three specific works in

9:46

the nest exhibition that exemplify freeways or stages of interaction

9:51

without the first stage is the awareness and sensorial responds to what you are

9:58

experiencing you can simply feel it as it engages your five senses since we

10:05

cannot be in the gallery space just yet it is making it a little bit harder for me to convey this idea but I’ll give it

10:12

a go and I’d like to begin with installation of new key little and

10:18

burner Canadian here it is a title gifted and curated by adjunct curator

10:25

Francesca Elbe Spence it is a first-time collaboration for these two artists

10:30

through which they are questioning collective and contemporary curatorial

10:36

practices that is to say what is the role of the artist as well as the

10:41

responsibilities that we human being carry with us in an usual setting I

10:48

would invite you to do the following exercise and I trust we can somehow do

10:53

it here too so give it a go so imagine yourself approaching the work looking at it from

11:00

afar and then getting closer imagine yourself walking around it as well

11:05

imagine that what it would feel to touch it smell it now I have to say where are the

11:13

occasions where you can have that kind of interaction we will not work even

11:19

more so nowadays I would say so whenever possible you know whenever it’s possible

11:24

don’t be shy so try picturing how you can use your

11:30

body to change your perspective and appreciate the installation in fine details and I know it’s hard to project

11:37

yourself in the gallery space so if you haven’t seen the exhibition already I will share with you a video of what

11:44

experiencing this work could look like and for that I’d like to thank child

11:50

cousins our artistic director for documenting our exhibitions in such a beautiful way and also for taking us for

11:57

this exhibition space right now so remember this exercise during this

12:03

exercise try to take note of your sensations and feelings as you discover

12:10

the work

12:22

hello and welcome to the third floor here at the Art Gallery of Alberta we’re

12:28

going to be taking a quick look at gifted by brutal Canadian and Nick he’s

12:35

a little part of the exhibition nests for the end of the world

14:01

that’s what just go through here

14:55

so that’s just a quick now I’d like to

15:15

go back to this mental image that you’ve created and you can choose to close your eyes if you like no judgments laughs

15:22

that’s teacher word that describes best what you just saw just one word that you can share with us

15:29

in the chat window and I will go check

15:34

some of your comments and see what comes up I see Aaron is saying I wanted to

15:47

walk right into it from the moment I saw it

15:58

so till I saw your question about the projections and I will get back to it later now I’m looking for a worse

16:06

alright so Theresa is saying calm what else can I hear more works

16:26

so things that pop hold up in mind is encompassing protections or in any sense

16:35

yeah so very well you know I my word

16:41

would be as well Erie or maybe mysterious but let’s look at the

16:47

installation again put installation again and see how familiar we are with

16:54

it and if we can elaborate on its possible meanings already now this

17:00

installation contains 10-foot long ribbons that have been smoked through as

17:05

much of laboratory tarp and sage and both are is conceived it’s as an

17:11

invitation to an evocative experience of smell and touch and I think we can all

17:17

agree that this installation is also the work of labor we can appreciate the time

17:23

and hot shape that went into creating this structure to produce this piece hundreds of ribbons have been manually

17:31

tied up to the wooden frame hanging from the ceiling and I don’t know if you notice but they’re just you know not

17:37

hanging they’re not touching them not touching the floor the colors of the

17:44

ribbon is redline’s the colors of the woodland school of painting also named Woodlands file or legend painting that

17:52

is popular with me to needles community of Garden Hill first nation in northern Manitoba and it consists in using clean

18:00

and bright colors with a black outline to represent the natural landscape and

18:05

the wildlife of this region so series and examples from our own permanent

18:12

collection of the woodland style with two prints of novel novel more so on

18:21

your left you have a disco native unity and on your right is sermon to the birds

18:26

both from the nineteen eighties I just couldn’t resist to show you there’s two words from our permanent collection but

18:34

let’s continue our journey through this installation so the frame of a structure itself is

18:41

shaped as a star in reference to the seven pointed star its symbolism contains teachings from from both little

18:49

and Canadians cultures and it’s important to note of course that it has different meanings to different

18:55

indigenous cultures and around the world as well right in other cultures but one

19:02

meaning and that’s only one of the seven pointed star is the seventh generation

19:07

principal who is based on an ancient Iroquois philosophy that the decision we

19:13

make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future so that is something

19:22

interesting through notes remember moved on to the works title now

19:29

I invite you to think about and you know maybe share with us what the word gifted

19:35

evoke to you and all those the connotations around it so once again I

19:41

will go on the chat and see what are

19:47

some did some of the you know what do you think when you think about the word

19:52

gifted

20:08

so we’re waiting a little bit for some of your answers to load to show up um

20:15

meanwhile I see that Miriam shared that the installation made her think of

20:23

warmth and comfort all right so gifted can be to be blessed

20:32

yes to be enriched Della says to be enriched to have maybe special unique

20:37

abilities as Sharon says yes so this is all very true I mean to me the word

20:44

gifted refers to someone who sees the world differently someone who has an exceptional talent like an artist for

20:51

instance someone who can bring change and who has a certain knowledge to share

20:58

and precisely this installation explores how knowledge can be transferred and

21:04

shared through reciprocity if we look at the premise to creating this piece the

21:09

artist worked for process of exchange between each other it started with correspondence and a

21:16

transaction of materials that began with Nicky little smoking canvas with the

21:21

Labrador tea and sage and have family home in Manitoba then it traveled all the way to Alberta

21:28

where Breno Canadian wrapped the ribbons in that exact smoke canvas now the smoke

21:36

created by burning those sacred herbs is thought to purify the body and soul and

21:42

bring clarity to the mind and both art is connected and responded that way to

21:48

each other through this ritual bringing themselves comfort as it was mentioned

21:53

previously and spirituality to their practice but the work also incorporates

21:59

elements that have been gifted actually gifted to them by family members in

22:07

their community and let me show you what

22:12

I mean by that so as you might recall from the walk through on the two

22:18

opposite sides of the world our projections of heirlooms belonging to each artist and also in dialogue with

22:26

each other responding to each other we can recognize a traditional bidding design and as well what seemed to be

22:36

some dried sage or herbs used in rituals and ceremonies and referencing to the

22:42

smudging process so these gifts contain a particular knowledge linking them to

22:50

specific use and history and these were given to the artist as a legacy of

22:55

indigenous teachings now that brings us

23:01

all to think about how this installation also opens up the conversation on the

23:06

access to knowledge and how most of us feel entitled to knowing about

23:11

everything I feel confident to say that in everyday life I often have this

23:17

preconceived idea that if I want to know something I’m just gonna ask for an answer or I do a little bit of research

23:24

research online to access information so we often treat knowledge as a commodity

23:30

as something that is disposable as well because whatever chance the chances that

23:35

we will retain everything that we’ve learned but in oral traditions access to

23:42

knowledge is gained by merit you have to prove yourself worthy of carrying this

23:47

knowledge as you will be responsible to pass it down to future generations and

23:54

gift it is a piece that explores community reciprocity as a strategy to

23:59

thrive in the face of adversity as I also mentioned before it was made from

24:05

multiple levels of exchange between the two artists the process itself the materials chosen and the projections of

24:13

family heirlooms are the manifestation of memory moments where both artists

24:20

felt inspired and rejuvenated now in both of their practices bruno canadian

24:27

and nicky little explore the perceptions of indigenous identity and this artistic

24:34

caliber highlights the urgency for indigenous cultural workers from every nation in

24:41

every professional field to share world views that are fundamentally different

24:46

from the ones that are currently in place this installation is immersive and

24:52

experiential it incorporates the notion of sense and touch to evoke memory

24:59

teachings and indigenous resilience that is why I described it as you know with

25:08

the prompt village when we think about art today contemporary practices tend to be more

25:14

of an interactive and participative experiences for visitors you’re no

25:20

longer standing in front of the outward do you are now part of the work and by

25:26

creating immersive and tactile experiences contemporary artistic productions step away from a more

25:33

traditional approach such as looking at a painting for instance and by doing

25:38

that blur the limits of where our ends

25:43

and the world begins now let’s move on to the second type or stage of

25:50

interaction with a work of art which I call the structural response or simply

25:55

put how does it work how do we understand it and further on I have

26:01

chosen the installation called the mirror woman by textile artist one

26:07

matino curated by Catherine Christine so here is our friend again

26:14

Charles taking us in a tour give me a

26:19

second [Music] did you miss of its we love the work

26:33

so we are looking at another work here in nests this is landmark knows after

26:40

the Revolution I’m just going to pick up the garbage on Monday morning we’ll get

26:47

some close-ups of few portions of this for you as well but just to give you an

26:53

idea that’s what it looks like and I’ll

27:01

show you the mechanism that is doing the knitting and a few other parts involved

27:07

in that process [Music]

27:20

[Music]

27:30

[Music]

27:47

[Music]

27:55

[Music] so one Latinos research practice is a

28:04

critic of modern and contemporary artistic production the body of work explores the question of manufacture

28:12

that is to say the process of creating and producing our words using

28:18

traditional craft techniques and materials she is best known for herself belted warm sculptures happy Cesaro

28:26

famine politically and socially engaged and you know respond to connections

28:32

between connections made between the processes of craft and artistic creation

28:38

engine so for instance her work often refers to this long debated narratives

28:45

of the autism within the modern and contemporary art world so puts to work

28:58

so what we said about this piece from simply looking at it this is a

29:04

sculptural installation designed to produce an EDD code which is to be

29:09

turned into a rug what is interesting here is that the end product is

29:14

completely dependent on forces outside of the artists control first the young

29:19

donation by the public which ultimately impacts the aesthetic of the work the

29:26

colors and the size of Iraq depends on what is received from the community and

29:31

I’m secondly the the outcome of this work also relies solely on the gallery

29:37

staff to operate the machines we’ve stated and stitched the resulting eye code together into a rug this

29:44

installation emphasizes the maintenance work required for it to function and allow me to go slightly further in

29:53

details on how the machine works so here we have so here we have the yon place

30:01

into a yarn holder at the feet of a sculpture it is then passed through

30:08

the needles of a motorized flange meter which has been built specifically for

30:15

this installation the motor attached to the flange leader and then we have the

30:23

mechanism which is half hidden by the artist royal showing what can be read as

30:28

I would say instructions on how to pass the thread into the machine into the

30:33

spool in the head of of the sculpture in the movie mom once started the machine

30:40

produces and I called coming through her legs the resulting eye code is rolled up

30:46

into this ball to maintain a constant tension and prevent it from touching the floor as you would stop the mechanism

30:53

altogether right so so really all automated the sculpture needs to be

30:59

supervised at all times by the gallery staff every morning and every night

31:04

every evening during the gallery hours only the model is switched on and off

31:10

and these are the conditions that have to be met for it to work only with the

31:17

engagement and commitment of all parties it relies on the generosity from the

31:23

local community donating the yarn but it’s also tied to the operational hours of the gallery and the availability of

31:30

its – so this approach to creating the

31:36

work about is in contrast with the more traditional and maybe privileged development work of the artist that we

31:44

are familiar with it’s almost community work in a sense in

31:50

her artist statements Martino refers to the mill ladder manioc Alice and her

31:56

maintenance manifesto written in 1969 and I have with me here to share the

32:03

frame pages of that manifesto alongside with a proposal for an exhibition called

32:10

care so back then you kale has developed a series of work calling attention to

32:16

the place of odd development and maintenance within the art world think

32:21

about the socio-economic factors that led the act of creation as well as

32:26

thinking about the notion of maintenance as essentially and creative servicing or

32:32

the monitoring functions if you if you will so Ranma Tino has created

32:40

innovative textile works for over 20 years however she’s developed a virus in

32:47

her hands which make it difficult for her to do intricate stitching and knitting this led the artist to make

32:54

creating machine if you will to need for her wear the mechanism is in in the head

33:02

of a sculpture does all the kneading having said that what can be considered

33:09

as the object about all the final products one can consider whether it is

33:14

the machine itself or the wrap produced from using it or maybe both so let me

33:21

show you what the rug looked like at its

33:28

early stages this photo was taken in the first two three weeks after opening the

33:34

exhibition last January and after sharon one of our volunteers started stitching the icon into a rug

33:41

it has now doubled or tripled in size as the needle woman continued producing I

33:47

thought that that was before we closed the gallery and again the resulting I

33:55

called you know rug is a physical record of time labor service and care provided

34:04

within and by the exhibiting institution and its audience member now

34:10

after this exhibition closes both the Machine and the rug will be sent to the

34:15

Mac musee d’art contemporain de mujer later in September where the work will

34:21

be continued during Martinez retrospective exhibition there note that again you know due to the current coding

34:30

language situation this might have impacted the dates of the rich effective but I encourage you check

34:36

their website is you’re interested so

34:41

let’s bring together about the metaphor used by the artist to convey the idea of

34:46

creation or creative process now that we have a clear understanding of its

34:52

function what this culture does let’s look at its anatomy the needlewoman is a

34:59

kinetic mother figure that spins out the needed yarn manually fed to her the

35:05

figure itself but also the way the icon is produced within this body and how it emerges between the legs refers to the

35:13

role of the mother as comforting a reproductive figure engage in

35:19

never-ending work now there are many layers of meanings around this work and

35:27

surely I haven’t talked about all the elements or material like the papier-mache used to ornate the

35:34

sculpture for instance but it is interesting to note that the artist

35:40

chose the female body as a vessel to embody literally her idea and possibly

35:46

with the intention to create a piece if not in her own image to the least a

35:52

universal and primal image that we can all relate to and I will stop here for

35:59

this work because I could go on and move on to our last last stop so lastly I’d

36:08

like to take us to the final work exemplifying the third stage of interpretation which i call the cultural

36:15

response or when all happens when a special connection is made with a work

36:22

of art and for that I’d like to talk about the work of create attack Jake

36:27

check ISM called what a missile trickster builds a nest for the end of

36:32

the world curated by adjunct curator a Marie Calvet leash so the cultural term

36:43

wackiness L is a creep term used describe the ability to see a reflection

36:49

of oneself physically or mentally in the premeditated form to create an S for the

36:57

end of the world Chaka seemed looked to the past and present to find an architectural form with thousands of

37:04

years of enduring history his approach is a reflection on indigenous

37:09

philosophies in which the past and future are interconnected and and of

37:15

course support the idea that to survive the future we must look into the past

37:22

his nest combines the creation of nomadic structures that is the teepee

37:27

we’ve an institute approach the artist chose to build a structure out of

37:33

material materials from construction sites gathered in in momentum so let me

37:39

show you a close-up of this installation we can see here we can identify flagging

37:45

tape planks wire mesh now the only thing

37:51

that is the only two things actually that that are not from here are the

37:57

animal skin that you can see here and the skull that the artist brought with

38:04

him for the installation now the plain people developed a unique portable house

38:11

for the GPU which was which is still perfectly adapted to their mobile way of

38:19

life and let’s have a closer look at the function and symbolic role this object

38:25

architecture serves it is arguably with the structure most well adapted for a

38:31

nomadic lifestyle and historically many areas have a history of people using

38:37

conical hide or cover tents the lapse in

38:42

Europe for instance

38:49

so this is an example of a Sami family in front of a goatee a similar structure

38:56

as the teepee taken outside level in Norway around 1900 there are some more

39:03

contemporary to us we have tribes in Siberia as well so this particular image

39:11

is a feature of the work of it nog refer and documentary photographer allegra

39:16

Ally which I recommend for you to go discover online this image shows a chum

39:24

shelter which is another term for teepee another type of ticket of amenity people

39:31

and is taken from her expedition woman at the end of the land in the Yamal

39:36

Peninsula in Northwest Siberia her work was taken along 2015 and of course we

39:47

have the indigenous population of the Mackenzie area of Canada so this is a

39:52

photograph of Siksika Blackfoot teepee from the collection of the Canadian Museum of History for us to refer to the

40:01

structure itself is held very sacred by the crane peoples who developed powerful

40:07

symbolic associations between the teepee and the spiritual world it represents

40:13

many things home protection from the elements a sense of community and a

40:20

sacred space as well the floor of the teepee is in the shape of a circle which

40:26

represent the earth and the mother figure it also embodies how everything

40:31

in the world is connected the walls represent the sky and the father figure

40:38

the poles connect the earth to the sky providing trails along which the

40:44

people’s prayers and thoughts reach them Celestia spells sorry celestial spheres

40:49

if you will now this installation has

40:55

two parts the teepee structure that we saw previously and a life-size image of

41:02

you’re seated at the entrance of a similar structure the figure is animatic

41:08

and inaccessible they face away from the viewer as you can see turning inwards

41:14

into the Tiki and perhaps in contemplation the way these pieces

41:19

installed puts the viewer in between the two forcing us to contemplate each in

41:24

turn rather than together how and feel our

41:30

position in in between the two pieces so that is an important detail to

41:37

understand with them to work the structures clear reference to a cheapie

41:42

invites the viewer to consider it as a shelter of course and to imagine

41:47

entering it or attempting attempting to shelter in it but as we notice the

41:52

structure is mostly uncovered making it only potentially useful as a shelter

41:59

it’s missing the complete canvas covering that will make it functional and although they are holes in the frame

42:05

structure and the define entrance facing east none of the opening seems seem large

42:13

enough to easily accommodate a person as you can see shop wires and pitting the

42:19

the entrance so I’d like to conclude

42:27

this conversation by coming back to my initial questions what is all about and

42:34

why is it therefore well you know our is

42:39

a projection of ourselves and sometimes it’s critical it’s a projection of our

42:46

deal ideals and realities as we explored in these free artworks it can be a call

42:54

for collective actions a way to provide care and comfort or critical response as

43:01

well by sharing different world views and knowledge but how the how does art

43:08

manifest itself though we agree now that all exists because we look at it as as

43:14

if you were wondering for instance it exists because we think

43:19

and we write about it as scholars philosophers and critics too so our is a

43:25

conversation like the one we’re having now a conversation that can only happen when there is a receiver to the message

43:33

sent it is made by us it is an extension of us and and I think we are from the

43:40

site of the most obvious fact that our is a product of men in the most universal sense of the word and

43:48

therefore we are an essential part of its identity of its purpose and and its

43:53

meanings it stems from what we are what we want what we love what we dream about

43:59

idealize and even fear or worship so how

44:05

do I look at it in a mindful and meaningful way when when it comes to

44:11

appreciating or understanding the work of art it all begins with the following wrong wrong assumption that the moment

44:20

we set our eyes on an artwork we expect something to happen and it takes you

44:26

back to my question about the expectations and that you may have from the visit at the museum we expect to be

44:34

Wow we expect to be amazed at no cost or effort from our side most of time we

44:40

assume that the the simple act of viewing art is self-explanatory but it

44:46

requires work so maybe a more interesting question is whether or not

44:52

work work is able to grab your attention maybe what’s interesting is to think

45:01

about the ways of expression the artist has used to share his ideas and if

45:08

you’re not if an artwork doesn’t echo our humanity then it becomes a thing so

45:15

for it to be a successful and and a memorable experience it has to resonate

45:21

with us not only because we look at it but because it speaks to us only then

45:30

is truly transformative so we’ve come to

45:37

the end of our journey together the aga team continues to work how to bring you

45:44

art creative creative project to do at home and engage with you daily we also

45:51

look forward to welcoming you back at the gallery very soon so stay tuned for an announcement I thank you for all your

45:59

comments and if you have further questions on this exhibition or the artists mention please do not hesitate

46:05

to email us at marketing at your AGA at CAA until next time stay safe stay

46:14

curious and stay connected with us

No results found