UNews - Museum Studies Intern

Lasting Images - Joanne Tod

trevor.kenney — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:02:25 +0000

As an intern at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery, I have been given the incredible opportunity to become more familiar with the institution's extensive art collection. In my third year of an Art History/ Museum Studies major, I have just scratched the surface in gaining knowledge about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's collection, which numbers over 14,000 objects. Of all these artworks, some of the most striking that I have seen are by Joanne Tod.

Joanne Tod, Flood Plain, 1993. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of Sandra Simpson, 1998.

Educated in the mid-1970s at Toronto's Ontario College of Art and Design, Tod pursued painting as her primary practice. Tod first gained critical attention in 1982 with her participation in the Toronto exhibition Monumenta. In a time when painting was considered to be ethically unjustifiable, she pushed the limits and brought out controversial subjects pertaining to identity, power, racism and cultural imperialism.

Tod constantly used unlikely combinations of subject matter, text and curious titles that were filled with clues to remind the viewer of the tricks a painting can pull on them. I think some of Tod's most interesting artworks come from her later series where she extends her strategies and experiments technically with the stretched canvas.

Joanne Tod, Sandwich, 1994. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of Sandra Simpson, 1998.

In Sandwich (1994) and Flood Plain (1993), she fragments the pictorial space further by creating a double-layered stretched canvas and incorporating semi-transparent nylon to literally make a division between the foreground and background of the painting.

I hope to come across more remarkable contemporary Canadian artists' works, like that of Joanne Tod, as I continue studying the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's significant art collection.

Allison Spencer, Museum Studies Intern, Faculty of Fine Arts

Lasting Images - Painters Eleven

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:32:29 +0000

In 1952, painter Alexandra Luke organized the first Canadian exhibition of abstract painting to be assembled on a national scale in Canada. In the brochure for the show, titled Canadian Abstract Exhibition, she wrote, "Painting should not stop with the already discovered beauty but continue searching."

Due to what the viewing public misunderstood as childish and insincere, abstract painting in Canada struggled to gain acceptance, especially in comparison to the nationally supported work of the Group of Seven, CP Rail's propagated images of the picturesque and traditional forms of landscape and portrait painting.

Kazuo Nakamura, Grey Day, 1954. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Purchased in 1988.

The abstract exhibition toured Canada in 1953, however it received mixed reviews. At a panel discussion at the Art Gallery of Toronto called Why Should We Buy Canadian Paintings?, writer and critic George Robertson suggested that department stores should be encouraged to sell original Canadian paintings using typical merchandising methods. Future Painters Eleven member William Ronald was in attendance, and his design work for the Robert Simpson Company prompted an exhibition of abstract and non-objective paintings at Simpson's department store. The subsequent show, titled Abstracts at Home, was meant to persuade the general public that abstract expressionist painting was just as much at home within the everyday as in an art gallery, and the exhibit featured works from various artists displayed in furnished rooms typical of modern living.

Harold Town, Reds, Greens, Browns, 1956. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of Jim Coutts, 2010.

The promotion was a success for the store and the seven participating artists, resulting in a discussion to show their work together as a group. After agreeing to invite four other like-minded artists, it was decided that a meeting would take place at Luke's studio to discuss the idea of a large group exhibition of their works. At the historic meeting, Jack Bush, Oscar Cahen, Hortense Gordon, Tom Hodgson, Alexandra Luke, Jock Macdonald, Ray Mead, Kazuo Nakamura, William Ronald, Harold Town and Walter Yarwood decided to call themselves Painters Eleven, and from Feb. 12-28, 1954, at the Roberts Gallery in Toronto, the largest crowds ever drawn to the gallery viewed work from some of the most influential artists in history.

The Painters Eleven legacy lives on in the form of artwork now held in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; an example of their influence and success. Unfortunately, after being acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1978, the same cannot be said for Simpson's department store.

William Ronald, Back Thru Autumn, 1954. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of Avrom Isaacs, 1986.

Chad Patterson
Museum Studies Intern, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery

This story first appeared in the Legend. To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Lasting Images - Daphne Odjig

trevor.kenney — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:04:46 +0000

As an Art History/Museum studies major, I have studied numerous types of art and artists. Over the last three years, some of the most influential courses I have taken are from the Native American Studies (NAS) Department.

It was in a NAS course that I was able to view significant First Nations Métis Inuit (FNMI) works from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery Collection. With the rest of my class, I was able to view works by Alex Janvier, Norval Morriseau and Daphne Odjig. All of these artists were members of the Professional National Indian Artists Inc., a group that the media famously labelled, "the Indian Group of Seven." Out of these three artists, the one who stood out the most, in my opinion, was Odjig, because of her graphic style and organic forms. As I further researched her and her work, I became aware of Odjig's positive impact on the arts in Canada.

Born in Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, this self-taught, half Pottawatomi, half English artist is known for painting, drawing, collage and printmaking. Odjig's images depict stories and beliefs from her culture. In addition to creating art, Odjig has been branded as the unofficial Ambassador of First Nations Culture within Canada because of her constant promotion of FNMI art and artists throughout the country. Odjig owned and operated Odjig Prints of Canada and the Warehouse Gallery, and was a co-founder and recruiter of the Professional Indian Artists Incorporation. Morgan Wood has noted that Odjig's goal in life has been "to keep the stories and beliefs alive and circulating for people to come and to inspire other artists to exhibit their culture-based works." It is because of her commitment to support artists and successfully exhibit her own work that Odjig's prints are some of my favourite works in the Gallery's collection.

Emily McCormick,
Museum Studies Intern, Department of Art

UNews - Museum Studies Intern

Lasting Images - Joanne Tod

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