UNews - David Smith

They're back!

caroline.zentner — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 22:43:53 +0000

After a two-year absence, the six maquettes, or preliminary models, that were perched on the seventh-floor plant deck of the Atrium are back pointing, waving and peering after being reinstalled in their boxes.

From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of an anonymous supporter, 1995. Workers install Man & Child next to the Waver and Pointer figures.

They’ve been joined by four new figures and all are characters from The Audience sculpture by Canadian artist Michael Snow. They are about a third of the size of the final figures that are suspended above the two main entrances to Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

“Each character has such a strong personality and, after two years, it’s really good to see your friends again,” said David Smith, assistant curator/preparator with the Art Gallery.

The original six, including Pointer, Bruiser, Binoculars, Point-to-Sky, Man & Child and Waver, were taken down after a structural problem with the deck was identified in 2016. The statues were not in danger of falling but a restraining handrail was beginning to bend as a result of pressure from two steel cables attached to two of the sculptures. They were moved to the U of L’s Art Vault while reinforcements were made to the plant deck.

Ribbon Bronx Cheer

While they were in storage, students in Museum Studies helped to clean the sculptures using

Binoculars

cotton swabs and a special conservation detergent. Given to the U of L by an anonymous donor in 1995, the maquettes are made of wood, foam, burlap and plaster. They vary in size with an average weight between 75 and 85 kilograms.

“While we missed the sculptures the two years they were down, it gave our students the chance to learn about hands-on collection care, cleaning, repairing and the whole process of doing a project,” says Juliet Graham, Art Gallery registrar.

The four new maquettes installed include Ribbon Bronx Cheer, Blow-a-Kiss, Fatso and Thumbs Down. Still in storage are Heart Attack, Nose Thumber, Camera and V-for-Victory. Art Gallery staff hoped to display all 14, but the final four can’t be installed yet because their box interferes with a drop-down screen attached to a nearby concrete beam.

The Canada Collection

david.kirby — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:55:03 +0000

Last summer, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge fine arts students –Arianna Richardson (BFA ’13), a Lethbridge artist, and David Smith, an emerging curator and intern in Art History/Museum Studies – worked together to create a travelling exhibition titled The Canada Collection.

This show was mounted at both the Forestburg and District Museum in Forestburg, Alta., as well as the Mountain View Museum and Archives in Olds, Alta. The exhibit examined the constructed nature of Canadian identity through the tourism industry, and how symbols of Canada have been produced in popular culture.

The exhibition featured a photographic series titled Frontier that had been created upon Richardson’s receipt of the Roloff Beny Foundation Fellowship in Photography Award in 2012. This series documented the presence of “Frontier” brand motor homes across the Prairies in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.

As a visible example of how Canadian identity has been marketed in relation to the wild and untamed landscape, the repeated encounters represent a reminder of a changing idea about what it means to be Canadian.

Also present in the exhibition were Richardson’s custom-made craft kits. Paralleling commercial sales in the tourism industry, her kits reflected the notion of a supply-and-demand model for the definition of “Canadian.” A custom pennant and make-your-own pennant kit were each created for the Forestburg installation with a portion of the proceeds going to the host museum. Similarly a finished lunch bag and self-assembled lunch-bag kit were produced for the Mountain View Museum and Archives in Olds. At both venues, her works and items from the collection generated plenty of conversation with the artist and among the visitors.

The exhibition derives its name from a third component that is the collected artifacts of Canadiana. Assembled from Richardson’s visits to thrift shops, yard sales and antique shops, the collection reflects both the serious and playful way that Canadian identity has been merchandised over many years.

Like moulted feathers found as traces of a bird, these objects represent ideas that may not be useful anymore and demonstrate the ever-changing nature of Canadian imagery.

The exhibition derives its name from a component that is the collected artifacts of Canadiana, such as these. (Image by Arianna Richardson (BFA '13))

Drawing inspiration from historic Canadian artists with a shared interest in the relationship between Canadian identity and landscape as well as more contemporary artists evaluating its shortcomings in a variety of media, Richardson’s work has precedent in the canon of Canadian art.

Presenting this exhibition in the museum (which is a key player in the tourism industry and the proliferation of regional identity) inspired viewers to witness the ideologies at work around them. In The Canada Collection, visitors were able to see the ways in which Canadian identity has been constructed through the variety of different approaches envisioned by Richardson.

Student art awards announced

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:53:56 +0000

As part of the annual Art Student Open House, the Department of Art in the Faculty of Fine Arts presented student awards recognizing excellence in Art History/Museum Studies and Art Studio.

Awards and winners were as follows:

Southern Alberta Art Gallery Award – Christina Olson, Kasia Sosnowski

Students' Union Award – Lisa Spinelli

David Lanier Memorial Award – Kalen Hussey

Art History and Museum Studies Gallery Award – David Smith

Excellence in Art History and Museum Studies Award – Jennifer VanderFluit

Trapdoor Artist Run Centre Award – Evan Peacock

Excellence in Digital Art Award – Kasia Sosnowski

Excellence in Art Studio Award – Neysa Hale

Faculty of Fine Arts Award – Arianna Richardson

Studio Art Supplies Painting Award – Sarah Stringam

Art Department Purchase Prize – Bonnie Patton, Nicole Lalonde

Roloff Beny Award – Arianna Richardson, Nicole Lalonde

Lasting Images - Roloff Beny

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:42:42 +0000

Through the museum studies internship program, I am both entrusted with the responsibility and granted the opportunity to co-curate an exhibition for the Helen Christou Gallery.

During the research and planning phase for the 1950s exhibition, I came across Arctic Vertical by Roloff Beny, and was disappointed that I couldn't include this drawing because it was produced in the 1960s. What I love about this piece is that it reminds me of works both by Vincent Van Gogh, in its parallel echoing strokes, but also of Piet Mondrian's works, which are stripped down to simplified geometric forms.

Roloff Beny, Arctic Vertical, 1964 From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Bequest of the artist, 1989.

Discovering works like this one is one of my favourite aspects of participating in the Museum Studies Internship program. I am continually amazed at the beautiful works that find their home in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection.

Roloff Beny was born in Medicine Hat in 1924 and then spent a large portion of his life living abroad working as a photographer. His formal training took place at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto, the Banff Centre for the Arts and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Iowa. Beny is best known for his photographic work later in his career, but earlier he explored a wide range of media. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge acquired many of Beny's prints, drawings and paintings, as well as works by other significant artists from his personal collection, when Beny bequeathed his entire art collection to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ upon his death in 1984.

David Smith, Museum Studies Intern

Historic Festival involves U of L

trevor.kenney — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:37:45 +0000

The 1950s are the focus of the 2011 Historic Lethbridge Festival, May 3-8, with myriad activities planned for everyone in the family. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is hosting two events as part of the festivities.

The U of L Art Gallery has an exhibition entitled, The 1950s: Works from the U of L Art Collection & Galt Museum & Archives, in both the Main Gallery and Helen Christou Gallery.

"The exhibition was created from the perspective of the younger generation," says Dr. Josephine Mills, director/curator. "It highlights areas of artistic developments and social issues from the 1950s."

The exhibition was curated by museum studies interns David Smith and Allison Spencer.

The official festival kick-off opens with a fashion show (7 p.m., May 3) of 1950s-style clothing, hosted by Leslie Robison-Greene, costume designer and professor in the U of L's Dept. of Theatre & Dramatic Arts.

Following the fashion show, enjoy a Hot Rock & Cool Jazz performance by U of L music faculty and students.

For a complete list of events, visit historiclethbridge.org.

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Historic festival

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:18:43 +0000

The U of L Art Gallery has an exhibition entitled, The 1950s: Works from the U of L Art Collection & Galt Museum & Archives, in both the Main Gallery and Helen Christou Gallery.

The exhibition was curated by museum studies interns David Smith and Allison Spencer.

Following the fashion show, enjoy a Hot Rock & Cool Jazz performance by
U of L music faculty and students.

For a complete list of events, visit historiclethbridge.org.

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - David Smith

They're back!

Related Topics

The Canada Collection

Related Topics

Student art awards announced

Related Topics

Lasting Images - Roloff Beny

Related Topics

Historic Festival involves U of L

Related Topics

Historic festival

Related Topics