Ottawa Orientation

National Gallery of Canada

Every two years the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa hosts an Orientation Program for museum/gallery professionals and, in late 2009, I was lucky enough to attend!

The program was a week filled with lectures, tours and peer learning.  About 25 museum workers from across Canada participated, creating a diversity of professional backgrounds and experiences.

The staff at the NGC were all very helpful, friendly and informative.  Here’s a taste of some of the topics covered throughout the week:
-Communications & Marketing
-Design Workshop
-Collections Management
-Storage and Galleries Tours
-Education & Public Programming
-Library & Archives of the NGC

It was an amazing experience and I learned at lot.  Watch for it in 2011.

- Teresa Gregorio, Museum Monitor / Information Officer, McMaster Museum of Art

A Fierce Launch

Fierce - The Artists' Think Tank

The Fierce: Women’s Hot Blooded Film/Video exhibition, guest curated by McMaster University’s Janice Hladki, opened last week at the McMaster Museum of Art with record breaking attendance of 400 people.

“The exhibition is an example of the Museum’s commitment to research excellence, innovation through the arts, and community building,” said McMaster University President Peter George. “I hope the works in this exhibition challenge people, make them think in new ways, and stimulate further thought and discussion. Because, that, after all, is one of the major roles of a University. “

It is an exhibition that crosses disciplines, addressing ideas in the Humanities, the Health Sciences, the Social Sciences, and Indigenous Studies, ideas that were explored further in a panel discussion the following day. Please join us on Friday February 26, 3:30 – 4:30 pm for another complementary event, a Talk by Jolene Rickard Tuscarora curator, photographer, and scholar at Cornell University.  This event is presented by McMaster University’s Women’s Studies and Indigenous Studies Programs and the Museum of Art, also sponsored by the Department of English and Cultural Studies, the Department of Philosophy, and the School of the Arts.

 Here are some images from the Fierce opening week. (Reception shots courtesy of Andrew J. Holden)

Fierce – The Artists’ Think Tank

Maureen Bradley, Kathryn Allan

Kathryn Allan, Mary O’Connor, Janice Hladki

b.h. Yael

viewing station

Artist’s Think Tank – Janice Hladki, b.h. Yael, Maureen Bradley and Alison Mitchell

Artists’ Think Tank

within Allyson Mitchell’s Installation

Fierce in the News

Fierce: Women’s Hot-Blooded Film/Video opens today, with the grand Opening Reception celebration this evening – hope you can join us.  The exhibition has already received some great media coverage including these two reviews, published within the last day or so:

Fiery female filmmakers showcased at ‘Fierce’ exhibit by Peter Goddard, The Toronto Star

Art is not always pretty pictures  by Jeff Mahoney, The Hamilton Spectator

- Rose Anne Prevec, Communications Officer, McMaster Museum of Art

Fierce Anticipation – part II

We’re just putting the finishing touches on the Fierce: Women’s Hot-Blooded Film/Video exhibition, which opens this week with a Public Reception Thursday from 6-8 pm, and a Artists’ Think Tank on Friday from 1:30-2:20.

In addition to fifteen moving image works, Fierce includes two installations. Dana Claxton’s Buffalo Bone China, 1997 – ongoing, is a multi-media installation combining video, smashed Royal Albert dishes, stanchions, and rope. On loan from the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the work was installed at McMaster by Daniel Dell’Agnese, WAG’s Gallery Technician. Here he is at work…

Stay tuned for more shots of Fierce at the McMaster Museum of Art.

Natalka Husar’s Talk

Natalka Husar's Talk at McMaster Museum of Art

Natalka Husar’s presentation at the Museum on January 14 was a delightful blend of artist’s talk, performance, and tour. Wearing the costume of her alter ego, the stewardess, Natalka took the audience on a trip – complete with in-flight movies – to her past, her muses in Ukraine, and back to her painting studio in Canada.

   

Natalka’s Burden of Innocence exhibition closed at the McMaster Museum of Art on January 16, 2010, but those who missed it can take heart. The exhibition opens February 3, 2010 at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre in Guelph, then tours through Southern Ontario before heading to venues in Western Canada.

Fierce Anticipation

As guest curator Dr. Janice Hladki’s Research Assistant, I have had the great privilege to be introduced to some of Canada’s amazing female film and video artists. Fierce has been a real learning experience for me – watching the show come together has been exciting to say the least. I’m looking forward to Opening Night (Jan. 28^th) and getting to meet the artists again. Each artist – Maureen Bradley, Dana Claxton, Allyson Mitchell, and b.h. Yael – were gracious and fascinating interview subjects. I have fond memories of eating lunch at Yael’s house, looking out over the Pacific ocean with Maureen, walking the tree lined streets of Winnipeg with Dana, and sharing a table with Allyson’s stuffed animal menagerie! For me, Fierce gives me a chance to revisit the beautiful film/video art of these women again and remember the unique opportunity of meeting the genuinely funny and provocative minds behind camera.

- Kathryn Allan, PhD Candidate in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University
McMaster Museum of Art Guest Blogger

Natalka Husar’s Christmas Paintings

Reunited for Christmas

For more than a decade artist Natalka Husar has been painting on old soft cover romance novels, drawing new images out of the evocative titles she found. The small expressive works are both intriguing and controversial.

In 2006, artist Natalka found one novel with the perfect title for December fun, and it has been the backdrop for her seasonal greetings ever since. Every year a new “R” for Christmas. She’s been kind enough to share these images with us for this last blog before the holidays.

Sixteen painted book covers are included in the Burden of Innocence exhibition, currently on view at McMaster. The Christmas covers shown here are not part of the exhibition.

Natalka Husar exhibition – Opening night!

Canadian artist, Natalka Husar takes her lifelong obsession with painting and with Ukraine, her ancestral home, into new territory in a new exhibition Burden of Innocence. This impressive collection of fifty paintings is, in fact, a history play in three acts.

Burden of Innocence opened last week at McMaster with great excitement. In attendance, the dynamic artist; her alter egos – a costumed Nurse and Stew, circa 1960; a documentary film crew (with Producer/Director, Christina Pochmursky), and a lively crowd (including comedian Luba Goy).   Here are a few shots of the event.

Burden of Innocence continues at the McMaster Museum of Art until January 16, 2010. Museum hours: Tue/Wed/Fri 11 am – 5 pm, Thursday 11 am – 7 pm, Saturday 12 – 5 pm.  Closed Sundays, Mondays and for holidays December 24, 2009 – January4, 2010.

McMaster Museum of Art, McMaster University

Behind the scenes – Recreating 16th-17th century supernovae

Below is a photo blog courtesy of Dianne Bos and Doug Welch who documented every step in the creation and construction of their collaborative installation, Light Echo. I wish we could include ALL the photos – it was exciting watching it all come together. The installation (described in the Museum’s previous blog) continues at the Museum until October 31.

Light Echo has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Hamilton, and Smith Brothers Contracting Corporation who donated both the materials and their services in the construction of the room itself. Doug Welch and Dianne Bos would also like to thank the following people for their assistance with the installation: Steven Bickerton, A. John Bos, Arti Garg, Jody Joseph, Armin Rest, Anthony Tekatch, and Harry Vandervlist. 

Blurred Boundaries between Science and Art

Two innovative new exhibitions exploring the links between Science and Art open this week at the McMaster Museum of Art and launch a series of related talks, tours and discussions.

The exhibition Light Echo is a collaborative installation by artist Dianne Bos and astronomer Doug Welch whose goal is to give earthlings a second chance to view a 16th-17th century supernova. From 2001-2005, Dr. Doug Welch was part of a sky survey team of astronomers who first recognized that the intense outburst of light produced by a supernova could be studied centuries later by discovering and recording “light echoes”. Their discoveries led to a new way of looking at the sky. The Light Echo exhibition will re-create both the twinkling night sky in Cassiopeia and a Dutch 17th century artist’s studio complete with period paintings from McMaster’s permanent collection and other artifacts. Presented in celebration of International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Hamilton, and Smith Brothers Contracting Corp.

The second exhibition, A Field Guide to Observing Art, was curated by Dianne Bos and highlights links between art and science (specifically Optics, Physiology, Biology, Geography, and the Scientific Aesthetic) in works from McMaster’s collection. This show raises the questions: Where does art end and science begin? Are artists and scientists truly different species of observers? How different are the representations they make, based on what they observe?

The Events:

Thursday September 17, 6-8 pm
OPENING RECEPTION for both exhibitions
with remarks by Ralph Pudritz, Director, the Origins Institute, McMaster University

Friday September 18
PLANETARIUM & MUSEUM JOINT PRESENTATIONS
Admission is first-come first-serve – Planetarium capacity is 35 people.
11:15: SHOW @ McCallion Planetarium
12:30: ARTISTS’ TALK @ Museum by Dianne Bos and Doug Welch

Saturday September 19 from 2–4 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: Will There Ever be Another da Vinci?
Panellists:
Dianne Bos, Artist & Guest Curator
Gary Nickard, Clinical Associate Professor, Visual Studies, University of Buffalo
Tim Nye, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University
Allison Sekuler, Associate VP and Dean, Graduate Studies; Professor, Psychology Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University

Thursday October 15
PLANETARIUM & MUSEUM JOINT PRESENTATIONS
Admission is first-come first-serve – Planetarium capacity is 35 people.
11:15: SHOW @ McCallion Planetarium
12:30: SCIENTIST’s TALK @ Museum by Doug Welch. This event is sponsored by the Origins Institute, McMaster University.

-Rose Anne Prevec, Communications Officer, McMaster Museum of Art