Announcing: The Fieldhouse Studio Residency Program partnership

In partnership with the City of Vancouver Fieldhouse Studio Residency Program, the Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present Canadian artist Raymond Boisjoly as our inaugural resident artist.

For six months he will occupy the Burrard Marina Field House, using it as a studio and a place for community engagement, coinciding with the launch of As It Comes, two new interrelated public works. The title appears at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station as a discrete piece, humorously foreboding, and more comic than terrifying, presented in brightly coloured vinyl like a credit from a B-list horror film. Linked to the text in the gallery windows, Boisjoly removes all suggestions of the past, not to deny what has become history, but with the intent to restore belief systems that are still intact.

Raymond Boisjoly
As It Comes
February 8 to April 7, 2013
Window Spaces and off-site at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Canada Line and Fieldhouse Studio Residency Program.

Opening reception: Thursday February 7, 7–10 pm
Please join us to celebrate the opening of our new exhibitions and to launch this new initiative.

The inaugural residency with Raymond Boisjoly is generously supported by the City of Vancouver through its Fieldhouse Studio Residency Program and by the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology.

As It Comes at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Canada Line is presented in partnership with the Canada Line Public Art Program — Intransit BC.

Please take a look at the Fieldhouse  Residency blog links:

Elm Park Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/elm-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog site: http://league-league.org/

Falaise Park Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/falaise-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog site: http://falaiseparkmusic.com/

Hadden Park Fieldhouse (Temporarily at Clinton Park)

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/hadden-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog site: http://tenfifteenmaple.org/

Memorial South Park Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/memorial-south-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog site: http://cloudscapecomics.tumblr.com/

Strathcona Park Fieldhouse (Temporarily at Pandora Park)

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/strathcona-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog site: http://fieldhouseensemble.tumblr.com

Slocan Park Field House

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/slocan-park-fieldhouse.aspx

Maclean Park Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/urban-weavers-artists-and-scientist.aspx

project blog site http://theurbanweaverproject.wordpress.com/

Moberly Park Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/moberly-park-fieldhouse.aspx

project blog http://somethingcollective.ca/

Burrard Marina Fieldhouse

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/burrard-marina-fieldhouse.aspx

No adults allowed!

Okay, well, if you have a friend who is 12 and under, they can accompany you, but otherwise, it’s kids only as the CAG hosts a month of Children’s Film screenings!

Continuing his tradition of challenging traditional methods of display, artist Gareth Moore has worked with an impressive set of international artists (including Ulla Von Brandenburg, Keren Cytter, Geoffrey Farmer, Julia Feyrer, Harrell Fletcher, Mike Marshall and Sylvain Sailly)  to produce a series of 2-3 minute short films for children.

Kids know that art museums and galleries are mostly for adults. No touching, no loud talking, no rough-housing. In this series, the exhibition has been taken out of the gallery so that there is no confusion that this is not a program for adults. There’s no shushing (unless the other kids want you to be quiet) and if you should want to laugh or sing-along, then that’s what you do.

It’s a pretty informal set-up all around, except for the gorgeous posters associated with the films (@ Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre)

I’ve been lucky enough to host 2 sessions so far, and I’ve really enjoyed watching the different groups interact with the program. Today’s modern Vancouver kid is not entirely unfamiliar with a 16mm projector, but it’s definitely not something that most of them see regularly. At the Moberly Arts and Culture Centre afternoon showing, the long school day and the novelty of the projector inspired a few of the watchers to project their own shadow puppets over the silhouettes of The Little Hunchback and The Man and the Wild Boar. At Emery Barnes, we spent 2 days outdoors in a tent, inviting kids to check out the film during some of the hotter, last days of summer. Many of the park-goers were under 5, and while we had many in-and-out visitors,  30 minutes of contemporary film was a little much for the toddler crowd.

Some of my highlights so far have been singing along with Tina Fenomena, by Keren Cytter (♫meow, meow-meow-meow♫) and watching the reactions to (my personal favourite) The Drawer, by Geoffrey Farmer, as he draws on top of a picture of David. While the initial flash of the famous genitals can cause a bit of a stir, it’s more the fact that the Drawer draws inside an art book which causes confusion and delight in the crowd.

My next date with the Children’s Films is our screening at the Strathcona Community Centre from 9AM-12:45PM. Tell your friends under 12 to make a date. If they can’t make it on a school day, I’ll also be hosting 2 weekend screenings at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre from 11-4PM on Saturday, November 3rd and Sunday, November 4th. See you then!

Kay Slater (@kdot) is a volunteer at the Contemporary Art Gallery. Come visit her on shift every Sunday from Noon-3PM.

PechaKucha Night Vol. 23 Vancouver

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Here are a few images from PechaKucha Night Vol. 23 which took place on September 21st, 2012 at the Vogue Theater. This edition was presented by Contemporary Art Gallery in partnership with the design firm Cause +
Affect.

This highly successful evening focused on the visual arts as you can see from the list of speakers below. The presentations were very diverse, often funny and very informative. Many presented on their individual art practices while others discussed the organizations they work for. Overall it was a great evening, capturing a large audience of over 1000, and continuing to the after party, which was hosted by Contemporary Art Gallery.

We’d like to thank all the speakers:

Andrew Young • dyoung.co
Caitlin Jones • front.bc.ca
Germaine Koh • germainekoh.com
Kaput • wackytupaky.com
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun • Artist
Michelle Allen • greencouchsessions.ca
Nicole Ondre • exercisecanada.com
Shaun Dacey • accessgallery.ca, burnabyartgallery.ca
Stephen Waddell • stephenwaddell.com
Zach Gray • thezolasmusic.com

With special thanks to Cause + Affect for inviting us to participate and pulling the evening together, and we’d like to extend our warm regards to the wonderful group of volunteers who made the event possible.

Moving waves

Since mid-July,  WAVES by Nicolas Sassoon has been on view at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Skytrain Station.
This is the second commission the CAG has produced for this public space. The first was Scott Massey’s poetic blue sky.

Currently Nicolas Sassoon’s graphic mural is installed on the north window of the Station. For this work, Nicolas created a multi-layer Moire pattern to intentional cause an optical effect that gives an impression of movement – so commuters can see WAVES “moving” as they are passing by to catch their train.

The installation seems to evolve during the day with the change of light. WAVES is highlighted in the morning from the inside of the station, because of the rising sun, and from the outside in the late afternoon.
The wind also accentuates the pattern by making the layer vibrate gently and when a train passes through the turbulence adds a dramatic tension.

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Every day I commute through this station myself, and as I go down the stairs, I can sense the effect’s of the mural.  It catches my field of vision and when I look closer, I notice the coloured screen of WAVES, which not only draws my attention to my own movement but also the trees and the light outside through its pixels.

Nicolas Sassoon’s Off-site project WAVES will remain on view at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Canada Line until January 20, 2013.

Open your eyes and watch your step at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station

On Wednesday July 11 between 1:30  and 4:30 am Nicolas Sassoon with four extension ladders and some expert help installed the first layer of WAVES  at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line Station.

It was a difficult task  getting to the North windows above the stairs. We tried the morning before with a boom, but couldn’t get the massive machine through the door.

Thanks to Contrada Enterprises LTD for helping us solve the problem. In less than 24 hours they pulled together a great  crew  who fearlessly climbed the 40 foot extension ladders and clamped on the frame in less than three hours.

The mural was finished the next afternoon by Proper Design who perfectly applied the second layer to the outside windows.

Many thanks to both.  The piece looks great.  It is on view at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Canada Line until January 20, 2013. We hope you get to see it numerous times.

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Window Spaces Fade to Black

If you were walking down Nelson Street in the evening between February 3rd and May 16th, you hopefully spied the work Aurorae by Scott Massey in the CAG street front window spaces. During the day, the window spaces appeared to be coated in some kind of nondescript blue paint and visitors would come into the gallery either unaware that there was something on display or perplexed as to what it represented. When on my volunteer shift at the gallery, I would welcome visitors to make a date to come back to the gallery after dark so that they could enjoy the light-show piece, but as the gallery was closed most evenings after 6 pm, I never really saw if anyone came back to satisfy their curiosity.

I was  lucky enough to have a friend live in the building across the street and we made a special tea & art viewing date together, specifically so that we could spend an evening with Aurorae.

But even if you didn’t have a friend living across the street from the gallery, or if you didn’t find the time after dark to see Massey’s light display piece in the window spaces, you’re able to see it here thanks to his time lapse video below.

Scott Massey’s Aurorae fades to black as we prepare our Window Spaces for Josephine Meckseper’s American Leg.

As the night sky lightens on Massey’s celestial light-show phenomenon, the light takes on a more earthly halogen with Josephine Meckseper’s discussion on consumer culture and the world of advertising. The exhibition American Leg by Josephine Meckseper opens on Thursday, May 24th (7-10 PM).  Currently based in New York, this will be Meckseper’s first exhibition in Canada.  Additionally Josephine Meckseper will talk on her work on Wednesday May 23 at 7 pm at SFU Woodwards, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street, this talk is free and all are welcome.

View Larger Map

Scott Massey’s Off-site project Via Lactea (above Glacier Lake) will remain on view at the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, Canada Line until July 1st. This piece, also dealing with the night sky, can be seen in the day time (or night time). Find out more about this piece in the CAG’s 2012 summer exhibition PDF.

Kay Slater (@kdot) is a volunteer at the Contemporary Art Gallery. Come visit her on shift every Sunday from Noon-3PM.

CAG Offsite Project: Vibrantes

CAG Offsite Project: Vibrantes, a set on Flickr.

View screenshots made by the users of the participatory LAYAR project, Vibrantes. Subscribe to keep updated on new images as they are created.

Remixology Six

The illustrious panel

Jenifer Papararo, the CAG’s Curator, was recently invited to speak at an event hosted by FreshMedia. Freshmedia is an organization that celebrates and fosters alternative media sources by generating conversation and ultimately, innovation.

The event, dubbed Remixology Six, focused on media in public space, the commercialization thereof, and how to build community in light of this. Jenifer, along with Consultant Hannah Hughes, discussed A Way To Go, Ron Tran’s current Offsite Project for the CAG. Remixology’s main questions, “How do we use new and old media tools to affect public space and generate conversations? ” was especially pertinant to Ron’s work and his attempt to breath poetic humanism into the sometimes cold (or at the very least, cool) world of technology and new media.

Jenifer Papararo discussing Ron Tran's "A Way to Go"

The other panelists were Alexander Biko McNaughton, public space specialist, David Mattatall, creator of  Zoo Zhop, and Debra Zho fom Center A. Check out Center A and Vancouver New Music’s recent Co-Lab effort www.map-sense.comby Germain Koh and Gillian Jerome for another creative and sensitive use of new media. Ain’t Zeitgeist grand?

Meredith Carr, CAG Curatorial Intern

From left: Alexander Biko McNaughton, David Mattatal, Debra Zho, Hannah Hughes, and Jenifer Papararo