if . . .

Another moment from last year at the rRemai mModern. We stood in a moment of meditative silence watching a window curtain flapping the breeze Michael Snow's Solar Breath (Northern Caryatids)  ... threw red balls BODY FLUID BLOOD by Puppies Puppies ( Jade Kuriki Olivo ) conceptual, performance and installation artist ... reflected on light gazing at Marie Lannoo's See Nothing, See Everything #6 ... ::Note:: ... video by colleague Gabe Penna ... a warm hearted, passionate educator ...

A wonderful moment at The Mendel Art Gallery of Saskatoon with the student artists talk. Since it's inauguration in 1972 the annual Spring School Art Exhibition has been a favorite of mine. "School Art is in keeping with the vision of Gallery founder Fred Mendel. It was Mendel's conviction that art is for people of all ages and walks of life. (Folio MendelArtGallery Vol. 39, Issue 2: Spring 2011) The young artist in the picture spoke with confidence and composure. Others were shy but all were received with genuine warmth. The Gallery was full of excitement and celebration articulating the joy of creativity. A grade one boy slouched against the wall hands in pockets casually confirmed "the cutting of his paper collage took a lot of time." Another self-composed youth produced a finished work which came from the study which now hung in the exhibition. Each work was treated with deserved respect. Afterall 200 artworks were selected from the 2,000 submitted pieces....

the faceless socialist by stefan montalbetti july'10 Uploaded by raYmon "the faceless socialist' is not faceless the face is not blacked out but whitened out, it is in fact the face which boldly demands attention … a distinctive etched face, ghost-like obliterated, beckons behind the white mask of this agrarian worker behind what? A plough, a gate, a tombstone … holding what in the left hand? A pitchfork, a flag, a spear … a prophet's staff ... are those fences? Flowing fences where the lone figure poses battle-ready protecting the furrowed earth … one-armed, one-eared, one-buttoned, half-rolled sleeve, the half-known icon, not full frontal, not fenced in, angled … resting, watching, waiting, retreating … he … though slightly showing … eyeless, mouthless & legless … sees, speaks & stands in the tradition of brothers and sisters proud, strong & free … there is no balance, no justice, no reparation … no thing can heal the outrage done to … the...

"The festival strives to bring together many divergent groups: artists, social movements, community groups, organized labour and non-unionized workers to work together to support each other’s struggles and issues. We believe in using the arts to do this." ( MayWorks ) - See: Politics :: note :: ... sadly a day full of apathy where i am ...

Joni Mitchell: green flag song "a new body of photographic work by iconic singer/songwriter and visual artist Joni Mitchell " ( Mendel Art Gallery ). ... had read that Joni was angry ... entering the gallery room for green flag song was more oppressive than angry ... the dark grey walls with over 120 green & rose hued grainy images hung in vertical triptychs were uninviting ... hurriedly left the room forcing myself to re-enter & each time staying a little longer to digest the images ... pictures of war, terror and solitude evoked pathos ... ... on a bench lay a piece of corrugated cardboard ... the catalogue ... a beautifully crafted work of documentation ... lost myself in words, songs and photos of the artist at work ... returning gaze to the walls noticed none of the individual images were particularly arresting it was their context which provoked ... the process of broken televisions & disposable cameras heightened the sense of decay, waste & destructi...

... imagine my surprise when out of the blue artist Chris Ashley offered to ship a work simply as an act of gratitude for my following his html pieces throughout the years ... asked if i had a request & shocked i replied whatever comes will be appreciated ... ... we don't "know" each other ... have never met ... a sporadic network connection at best ... the last few days he posted another of his gifts hanging ... here's where mine hangs ... above my computer work station flanked by my sons piece done at age 11 ... the reflected light line seems appropriate (to me) ... his recent work may be viewed at David Cunningham Projects in San Francisco & his most recent recent work may be viewed each day on his blog Look, See which links & reviews other work as well ... the last month has been particularly stunning as the daily practice demands & challenges both form & impulse ... daily looking means to see & to see I have discovered is to ...

"1. An interest in a performing art leads to a high state of motivation that produces the sustained attention necessary to improve performance and the training of attention that leads to improvement in other domains of cognition." ( Essay: Arts and Cognition: Findings Hint at Relationships The 2008 Progress Report on Brain Research | via ) & "Thirty-five thousand MFAs a semester, 90 percent of whom never make another work of art." ( The Art Critic: David Hickey | via ) - See: Education Arts :: note :: ... the paradox in these statements reveals the truth about ? ...

"Simple in concept, complex in execution, he makes us look at a tree in its natural surroundings, but separates the tree artificially from nature by presenting it on an immense white ground, as one would see a painting or photograph on a billboard." ( lensculture | Myoung Ho Lee ) - See: Art :: note :: ... seems like still theater ...

Manifesto of the Perfect Art Form Today's theater is in crisis. It has lost significance. To imagine a full powerful theater it must bring faith to humanity. We must rediscover a new language-on-theater. The new language-on-theater is not a parasite living on what society has built for Darwinian survival. It is a theater to reawaken our numbed sensibility by retracing the organicity on how to be human. The new language-on-theater is an action and voice in rhythm. First of all, we must destroy the text crafted by the playwright that leaves room for only interpretation or the debatable logic of intellect. Theater is not possibly understood through studies of aesthetics or accomplished by persuading the actor into action. Logical rational argument or reading of the text cannot create a theater. Theater must be composed of an intuitive re-action. Destroying the text, we destroy our enslavement to the text and text as a trap. Non-scripted text is then chosen. The text must be a means fo...

(from '05 class) . . . For me, I was kind of confused as to what I was supposed to be doing. I tried working with my text, but I didn't really understand where I was supposed to take it, what I was supposed to do. It seemed that working with full power, really high was working for me. But still, I was confused. I decided to stay after class for the extra session. And I am so thankful that I did!!! . . . It was great to work in a smaller group, to be able to see more people's work and how the emotions, and sounds, and actions tell the story. Raymon asked me near the end if I wanted to go. And as I was still sort of confused, I said, "I'd try". So I started with a vibrating tone, although, I didn't go as high as I could. I started saying my text and working my way up, louder and with more power. I tried to fight against my obstacle and gain power from that. . . . Raymon pulled on my shoulder and pushed on my back and I fought against him. My voice went loude...

Voodoo Bunny Series Artist & Story: Duane Dorgan Materials: water colours on paper . . . the music seemed to unfold as it had to each piece opening more and showing a bigger picture. It was an evening of completely original music. In the credits, the names of both composers appeared on all compositions. There were breath-taking solos by both. the four handed playing had a harmony and texture such that one could at times imagine hearing a cello or violins. At times trumpets, flutes and voices. There was no intermission. As this musical landscape opened there was more and more space. Voodoo Bunny Snowman Voodoo Bunny Silent Night Voodoo Bunny Mr. Frog at Home Voodoo Bunny Summer Voodoo Bunny Fall Voodoo Bunny Winter Voodoo Bunny Northern Lights Voodoo Bunny I hadn't seen Mr. Bunny for a couple years not since the new millenium I attended the concert at the invitation of a mutual friend.

Tanya Zuzak/Patrick Traer : Arc | A Response Walking down the stairs to the Saskatoon Mendel Art Gallery basement a series of mirrored pieces immediately caught my eye. Thin wire designs evoked the sense of whirling wind over the surface of the mirrors. Eight square mirrors, approximately 50 cm X 50 cm, placed in a tight, regularly, repetitive pattern allowed the the round, soft contoured volume of the space defined by the wires to breathe. The ends of the wire amazingly pierced the mirror or were glued with a clean precision. The wire shone brightly under the lights becoming almost a delicate silver thread light in visual weight. The mirror was a magical place holding and unifying this silver wind reflecting the real half and creating an illusionary half. The clearly divided negative and positive spaces existed transparently together. The mirror revealed my face through the dense wire and led me into an "Alice in Wonderland" atmosphere. It seemed that the mirror expanded t...

Follow the story: DUNLOP GALLERY REGINA SASKATCHEWAN The whole & continuing story: Friends of the Dunlop Art Gallery and Regina Public Library Writers' Union 'aghast' at library cut (CBC Saskatchewan | Jan 06 2004) Arts board seeks legal advice over Regina gallery closing (CBC Saskatchewan | Dec 24 2003) Library Board cuts another program (CBC Saskatchewan | Dec 22 2003) Regina library task force unveiled (CBC Saskatchewan | Dec 19 2003) Regina library petition being circulated (CBC Saskatchewan | Dec 10 2003 ) Storm gathers over library closures (CBC Saskatchewan | Dec 8 2003) Library closures delayed but still going ahead (CBC saskatchewan | Fri, 05 Dec 2003) Gallery closing sparks backlash (Global and Mail | News | Fri, 05 Dec 2003) Mayor calls for reversal of library closures (CBC Arts News |Thu, 04 Dec 2003) Artists, library supporters protest Dunlop closing (CBC Arts News | Wed, 03 Dec 2003 ) Canada Council rings in on gallery closing (CBC...

(Maria Miesenberger "Uncut" via robert mann gallery) :: comment :: . . . feeling vulnerable . . .

("Spring Scrolls," via nytimes: obituaries ) Skunder Boghossian

Kaethe Kollwitz lived in Berlin in the first half of the 20th century, but her prints and drawings remain as relevant, and disturbing, today. Her stark, black and white images of the victims of war, poverty and oppression are testament to Kollwitz's pacifist philosphy, born of her own witnessing of human suffering. Now, "Kaethe Kollwitz: The Art of Compassion" is on at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. It includes 75 prints, drawings and sculptures that explore Kollwitz's 50-year career as an artist. It's at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto until May 25.

In contemporary culture, the idea that the practice of art making is inherently beneficial to the human psyche is a surprisingly controversial one. It is only slightly less verboten in the mental-health professions, where it is grudgingly accorded a support role to more serious verbal or pharmaceutical therapies, with the caveat that if things get too touchy-feely, it's back to kindergarten with the finger paints and the modeling clay. Nevertheless, due to its repeatedly demonstrated effectiveness, art therapy has managed to adapt itself to every corner of the mental-health profession. ( LA Weekly: Art: Art Therapy )

" . . .theater is not just another genre, one among many. It is the only genre in which, today and every day, now and always, living beings address and speak to other human beings. Because of that, theater is more than just the performance of stories and tales. It is a place for human encounter, a space for authentic human existence, above all the kind of existence that transcends itself in order to give an account of the world and of itself. It is a place of living, specific, inimitable conversation about society and its tragedies, about people, their love, anger and hatred. Theater is a point at which the intellectual and spiritual life of the human community crystallizes. It is a space in which it can exercise its freedom and come to understanding." (wish more was available) - Vaclav Havel International Theater Institute World Theater Day 1994 ". . . The theatre is one of humanity's great inventions, equal to the discovery of the wheel and the taming of fire"...

REGINA - Acclaimed Regina artist and teacher Wynona Mulcaster has opened up her private studio in Mexico to a group of emerging painters from Saskatchewan. The 88-year-old painter, considered one of the most accomplished landscape artists in North America, will spend the next several weeks working as a private mentor. Mulcaster invited the artists to work with her at her San Miguel de Allende studio. "At age 88, to still be so committed to the giving of oneself is tremendous and I am really grateful that I have this opportunity to work with her," said artist Benita MacNeill, from Outlook, Saskatchewan. :: comment :: ... it was a decade ago that Wynona passed before my vision . . . through the eyes of Lindner and a project called "UpRooted" . . . need to document the experience . . . later . . .

(picture: Child and Seeing Hands - Hans Bellmer, c. 1950) . . . The life-as-art metaphor can parse two different ways. It can suggest immersion in process, or it can suggest the display of a finished product to an audience in order to garner applause. Life-as-arters always pretend they mean the first, but they're always enmeshed in the second. Those who really want to get their lives unmeshed generally find another metaphor for expressing their desire. . . ."(Turbulent Velvet) " . . . Of course, I thought, you can have all of my support. If you needed me to give you my skin, my lungs, my heart, to hand you the keys to my life, all of it. Whatever angels call you, go! Godspeed, Gregory Ford! I believe in nothing in heaven, but on earth, in this parking lot, I have faith in you." ( Ftrain.com/Paul Ford )