Chinese Artist Encounters Censorship

Considering all the edgy art work out there that's capable of offending people based on religious, sexual, political and other grounds (like Serrano's famous Piss Christ, pictured), this seems pretty innocuous to me. Of course, the politician that the work references is an ass. (CBC)

Visual Art Lecture

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But this guy's work sounds pretty interesting.

His name's Don Ritter. He was born in Canada, and is currently based in Berlin. He creates large-scale interactive video and sound installations using all sorts of new media. He just got done doing a work for the Cultural Pavillion at the Vancouver Olympics. He's in Regina Saturday night to talk about his work at 8 p.m. at Neutual Ground (203-1856 Scarth)

Ritter's exhibited throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Check out the talk if you get the chance.

Diabolique Update

Earlier this year (July through October, to be precise), the Dunlop Art Gallery presented the two part exhibition Diabolique at its Central branch gallery. Curated by Amanda Cachia, the show featured 22 local, Canadian and international artists and explored the related themes of war and violence. We did two reviews on the show in prairie dog itself, and I did a couple or three blog posts as well. (DogBlog) If you check out the following link, you'll learn that the show made Canadian Art's top ten list of art exhibitions for 2009. So congrats to the Dunlop and to Amanda. Pictured above is a work by Scott Waters called Badlands that was in Diabolique II.

Mind the Gap! Catalogue and Website Released

Art exhibitions are nice, but let's suppose you're too cold to see one in person. Or maybe you didn't hear about the exhibition in time. Or perhaps you're not even born yet, and you're planning on someday wondering what kind of art was being made at a given point in time.

That's what exhibition catalogues are for.


Mind the Gap! is an expansive exhibition of contemporary Saskatchewan art curated by Amanda Cachia and Jeff Nye at the Dunlop Art Gallery. The curators traveled all over the province, meeting with artists in communities large and small, all in an effort to bring together a diverse collection of artwork currently being made in Saskatchewan.

The catalogue is a nice addition to the exhibition, as it gives readers a glimpse into the background and intent of the show. Nye's essay explores some of the related themes present in the artists' work. The book also features works of creative non-fiction and poetry by Alice Kuipers, Bonnie Dunlop, Carle Steel, and Matt Hall, commissioned for the catalogue.

The exhibition, which will be touring several Saskatchewan galleries beginning in 2010, also has a website containing much of the content found in the catalogue.

Being that the Dunlop is part of the RPL, I'm sure there is a copy you can read for free. Or, if you're the consumerist-type, there are also copies available for purchase. Just think, non-denominational-winter-gift-giving day is just around the corner!

Finally, for the sake of transparency, I feel I should note that I have a piece in the show. But don't let that deter you! It's a fine exhibition, and a very pretty book, so please check it out.

On the topic of graphic design...

In response to Stephen's previous post, someone named Olly Moss made these book covers based on video games.

Then, because this is the internet, a bunch of people started making them-- much to the overwhelming joy of those of us who enjoy looking at things that reference newer things but look like older things.



Ah, to live in a world where everything isn't generically airbrushed in Photoshop. I love these things! NERRRRRRrrrrr....

Today In Ridiculously, Stupidly, Beautiful Graphic Design

Wow, I love this stuff. Some dude has designed a retro-looking faux-book cover poster series for several of the biggest Web services. They're so gorgeous, just looking at them I feel like my face will melt faster than that Nazi's in Raiders Of The Lost Art. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty. The Youtube cover is probably my favourite, although the colour red works best with this style, to me.

I found this on Boingboing, Cory Doctorow's spectacular uberblog. You can buy work by this graphic designer here. His name's Stéphane Massa-Bidal, his handle's Retrofuturs, and I think I'm gonna break out my credit card now.

Musical Interlude*

This courtesy of a Department of Eagles video for their song "No One Does It Like You" which was directed byPatrick Daughters and Marcel Dzama and premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York this spring. (YouTube)

*Thanks to John Hampton for bringing this to my attention.

Cool-Lookin' Poster Documentary

Prairie dog's designer Alex apparently doesn't want the next issue to get to the printer on time. Why else would he be sending me distracting links to movie trailers for neat-looking documentaries on rock and roll posters? Links I would have to watch RIGHT NOW, then do a blog post about?

What a dumb troublemaker.

The film is American Artifact and like I said, it's a documentary about rock concert posters and the artists who make them. It's the same idea as a doc I blogged about earlier this year called Died Young, Stayed Pretty--but this looks heavier on illustrated posters and less on text- and design-intensive work, like the poster by Nashville's Hatch Show Print. (who are great; see more work here.)

It also looks a little slicker overall. But the important thing is there's an Art Chantry interview so it's a must-see for fans of this stuff.

Here's the trailer!


And the film's website is here.

Golden Years?

Pursuant to the feature article in our Sept. 10 Fall Arts & Culture Guide on the underappreciated role of artists in our society, a group of arts organizations are conducting a series of information gathering sessions across the country on how to better serve the needs of senior artists. Because of chronic neglect for the arts over the decades, many seniors who have made major contributions to building and enriching our cultural fabric do not enjoy the same level of comfort and security as other seniors as they approach retirement age. Sessions will be held at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon on Oct. 1 from 7-9 p.m. and the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina on Oct. 2 from 2-4 p.m. to gather input from artists 60 years and older. For more info, check out this website. (Hill Strategies Research)

Pitter Patter Let's Get At'er

Part performance art, part good old fashioned party, complete with food, drink, decorations, music and dancing. That's probably the best description for an event being held Saturday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. at the Dunlop Art Gallery's Sherwood Village Branch location as part of the group exhibition Block Party. For six weeks or so now three artists--Jen Delos Reyes, Lori Gordon and Jessica James Lansdon-- have been engaging with residents in northwest Regina through various means to explore and critique concepts of neighbourhood identity and community spirit. For the party, Lansdon has created a wire armature in the shape of a bear. At the end of the afternoon, attendees will be invited to assist the artist in tearing down the decorations and stuffing them into the armature to create a sculpture that will remain on display in the gallery until the show closes Oct. 11.

Nightwatching

I caught British director Peter Greenaway's film Nightwatching at the RPL Theatre Sunday night. I wouldn't say I'm a fan. But when I was just getting into the arts in the late '80s the Dunlop Gallery held a mini-Greenaway festival. He's a very visual director, and like a painter really knows how to work with colour and composition, and his surreal style really broadened my perception of film.


Nightwatching has a really neat premise. It suggests that when Rembrandt did his famous painting of prominent Amsterdam militia members The Night Watch in 1642, he inserted several visual clues that accused them of murdering a fellow militia member a few months prior to the portrait being painted. Kind of like Emile Zola's J'Accuse in France 250 or so years later, but in the form of a grand painting.

At 134 minutes, I found Nightwatching a bit long. The visuals are certainly stunning. Bone up on your Rembrandt catalogue before you go and you're sure to recognize several famous tableaux as they distill from live-action scenes. Greenaway, through his characters, also does a reasonable job of discussing the symbolism inherent in the style of representational painting that was in fashion then.

The film shouldn't be mistaken for a documentary. It is highly stylized, and in certain sections feels more like a stage play that's been filmed than an actual movie. But there are many graphic reminders of the brutality of life in the 15th century. Not to mention numerous F-bombs -- most dropped courtesy of Rembrandt. Overall, definitely worth a look. Here's the trailer. (YouTube)

There is a bit of nudity, so be warned.

Really Great Band Posters

For reasons of a cover-art situation I spent some time this afternoon Googling "gig posters" and similar search terms. Along the way I found this post about great concert posters on a website for photoshop users. The band posters they've got up are all gorgeous in that arty, decadent and maybe a little vapid way Whitworth-pleasing posters are. Those of you into pictures, drawrings and rockaroll should check these out. And if you're in a band...something to aspire to!

Obama Joker Artist Interviewed

The scoundrel behind that portrait of Obama as the Joker has been found--and he's not the conservative you'd think he is. From the Los Angeles Times:

When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from "Batman" began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image? Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group or a disgruntled street artist going against the grain? Nope, it turns out, just a 20-year-old college student from Chicago. Bored during his winter school break, Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe's Photoshop software. Alkhateeb had been tinkering with the program to improve the looks of photos he had taken on his clunky Kodak camera. The Joker project was his grandest undertaking yet. Using a tutorial he'd found online about how to "Jokerize" portraits, he downloaded the October 23 Time Magazine cover of Obama and began digitally painting over it. Four or five hours later, he happily had his product.

Full, very interesting story here.

The pictures, of course, have been used by right-wingnuts to attack Obama as a socialist. The artist's critism of the President, however, is that there "wasn't much substance to him".

As for the Conservative red-baiting? "To accuse him of being a socialist is really ... immature," Alkhateeb tells the Los Angeles Times. "First of all, who said being a socialist is evil?"

Review Follow-up

For anyone who reads my review in the July 30 prairie dog of the war and violence-themed show Diabolique that's on at the Dunlop Gallery until Aug. 30, be advised that when I initially viewed the show and wrote my review I overlooked a wonderful work by Romanian artist Bogdan Achimescu that's installed above the reference desk and computer work stations on the main floor of Central library. It consists of hundreds of small-scale portrait drawings on paper strung across the ceiling. Given Romania's tragic modern history, it could be viewed as a memorial to the thousands of people in the country who have lost their lives due to political persecution and war. In more general terms, it could also be viewed as a memorial to victims of violence and oppression everywhere. Or the ability of the human spirit to triumph over political oppression and armed aggression. Regardless, make sure you check it out when you see Diabolique.

Something To Do

Saw the new exhibition Diabolique at the Dunlop Art Gallery tonight. It's curated by Amanda Cachia, includes 22 Canadian and international artists, is split into two parts with the second half scheduled to run in the fall, and addresses themes of war and violence. Among the pieces on display is one of Douglas Coupland's provocative life-size toy soldier sculptures. The show is definitely worth checking out. In our July 30 issue I'll have a review.

Happy Father's Day!

Bill Zeman has a blog called Tiny Art Director. The hook? His four year-old daughter tells him what to draw (or paint) and he draws (or paints) it. And she hilariously critiques it.

Why do you need to know about this? Because it is 52 million googaplex kinds of awesome.

And it's Father's Day so it seems fitting to talk about it.

You can find Tiny Art Director here.

Zeman is a Brooklyn, NY-based artist, illustrator, blogger and parent. Here's a link to his illustration blog. Apparently they'll be a Tiny Art Director book in 2010. I can't wait.

Summertime Fun

Re: James Brotheridge's post earlier today about the closing night musical act at Buffalo Days 2009. (MSN)

Quirky Association

Due out in the June 4 issue of prairie dog is a review I did of Heather Benning's new show Field Doll at the Dunlop's Sherwood Village Branch Gallery. As will be obvious from the cut-line I wrote for the photo that accompanies the show (above), it put me me in mind of a certain classic SF TV series. (YouTube)

On The Radio

Chip Kidd is on Q this a.m. For those unfamiliar, Kidd is maybe the most famous book designer in the world and everything he touches is terrific. Worth a listen for art fans. Here's the link to CBC radio; I'll put up links to the inteview when they become available.

UPDATE: Here's the link to Q's website. And the podcast of the whole episode is here. Kidd appears in the second segment.

Breaking the Law

I'm not a fan of the tags that mostly pass for graffiti art in Regina. Yes, an argument can be made that a tagger, especially if they belong to a marginalized community and they're tagging a building, bridge or other structure located in a prominent public location, is asserting their right to be seen by civic powerbrokers -- and by extension, acknowledged and heard. But tagging in Regina seems to be pretty indiscriminate. And defacing the garage or garbage bin of a cash-strapped senior or impoverished inner city family, forcing them to undergo the expense and trouble of having the tag removed or else be fined under a City of Regina bylaw, isn't exactly my idea of sticking it to the man. It would be nice too if taggers were a bit more creative with their mark-making instead of just squiggling away.

But there is such a thing as true graffiti art. And it does have a legitimate role to play in our society as a form of socio-political commentary. That's why the arrest this week of Los Angeles graffiti artist Frank Shepard Fairey on the eve of an exhibition of his work opening at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston is extremely troubling. Fairey isn't the first artist who began their career on the street, cultivating a unique and edgy urban visual style that initially brought them into conflict with property owners, police, the courts and politicians, but that later won them acclaim in the contemporary art community. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring are the two best-known examples.

Graffiti has been around since ancient times. When done with style and panache, it provokes people to think about the structure of the space around them and how messages of power and privilege are conveyed in our society. For Boston police to arrest Fairey for his graffiti-related activities (including a felony charge for an outstanding warrant dating back to 2000) was a simple power play on their part that confirms their role as an instrument of state oppression. Oh, in addition to the Andre the Giant image posted above, here's another sample of Fairey's work. It currently hangs in the US National Portrait Gallery in Washington.