By COLLEEN HAWKESFORD of the Weyburn Review
Every time I visit an art exhibit I'm amazed at the quality of
work produced - mainly because I can't draw my way out of a crayon
box, let alone paint or sculpt.
So when I took in the James Weir People's Choice and the Soo Line Camera Club shows, on display right now in Weyburn, I was delighted with the calibre of some of the work.
And if I could sum up both shows with a common phrase or link it would be this: Artists sure do like nature.
Especially animals. They were the subject of the majority of paintings, sculptures and photographs.
The nature photos of Mary Jacobs and Sid Trepoff at the camera club show were incredibly sharp and clear, with bright, crisp colors.
Their shots of delicate insects such as butterflies and caterpillars were in such close range the viewer could easily understand the fun of chowin' down on leaves and flower buds.
At the James Weir display, Norm LaPierre's wood sculpture "Mother's Nature" depicted a mother bear nuzzling her cub with her nose. The sculpture, done in a light-colored wood, didn't have a lot of detail and viewers were only able to see outlines of faces, paws and tails.
But it didn't need detail. The affections of mother and the contentment of baby were entirely evident in the flowing grain of the piece.
Nevin Gordon's "First Winter" was an interesting acrylic painting featuring a wolf in the foreground and a snowy cabin in the back. The colors of the painting were quietly dark - just like a forest on a snowy evening. The frost on the windows of the cabin was an added touch of realism.
But the wolf looked out of place. The chunky dabs of paint in the background produced an uneven, rough look that complemented the forest scene, but didn't seem to comply with the round smoothness of the wolf.
Speaking of landscapes, Art Beck managed to capture the absolute brilliance of prairie sunsets in his color photographs. Dark oranges and flaming yellows were interrupted only by the silhouettes of familiar combines, railway crossings and telephone lines.
(The Grand Canyon ain't got nothin' on Saskatchewan at dusk.)
Art Wallace's photos examined common prairie sites close-up. Because the photos were in black and white, it was easy to pick out varied textures of wood, wire and grass. The roughness of the subjects contrasted well with the smooth glossiness of the photos themselves, creating a intriguing paradox.
In Shannon Colbow's "Walter's W-6," absolute accuracy strikes the viewer first: the pencil sketch looks like a photo. Colbow managed to capture the most finite details of mechanization, rust, and even the faded "McCormick" sign on the side of an old tractor.
The drawing is spectacular and hopefully a sample of what's to come at the artist's feature show in March.
Walter Suchowolec's "Saskatchewan," an oil on canvass, was a display-only painting at the James Weir exhibit depicting an abandoned house a short distance from a prairie town.
The title of the work was appropriate because it captured the quiet solitude that is our province. Just by looking at the scene, viewers could hear the deafening silence that would almost drown out the wind in the grass and the creak of the house.
Finally, enclosed in its own plexiglass show case, was the work of Chris Blondeau/Perry. A thick three-ring binder with huge pages contained the comic book saga of the "Gwen Allen Stock Co.," a project the artist started in the 40s, only to see it go up in flames.
Using paper, ink and wax crayon, the artist has recreated pages and pages of the comic in an impressive tome of artistry.
All things considered, the shows were both interesting to view and worth spending time at. And I'm still deciding on my favorite at the James Weir.
But if someone pulled a snickersnee and demanded I choose now, I would have to go with Max Himsl's steel face sculpture called "Long Term Outlook."
The sculpture's elegant simplicity has got more wires crossed in my head than any piece I've seen in a long time. I'm still trying to figure out the significance of the name, not to mention what the heck the sculpture itself means.
If you find out, let me know.
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