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Document generated on 09/24/2021 10:42 p.m. Vie des Arts English reports Volume 45, Number 184, Fall 2001 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/52969ac See table of contents Publisher(s) La Société La Vie des Arts ISSN 0042-5435 (print) 1923-3183 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this review (2001). Review of [English reports]. Vie des Arts, 45(184), 70–76. Tous droits réservés © La Société La Vie des Arts, 2001 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ un gallery space. One is covered with a 1960s survive only in the form of camouflaged coloured cloth with documents, photographs, books, films \- artificial greenery on it and the other and videos due to their ephemeral O has a blue willow patterned cloth conception, he has also created topped with fragments of willow installations over the decades on the QJ ware pottery. Again there is an inter landscapes of world's five conti i_ play between two realities that sym nents. Early in his career, Bill Vazan bolizes the ongoing struggle between commented on his early use of grids, man and nature. Nature is represent scanning and framing techniques in un ed by the artificial greenery and man photography stating: "They are two- by the pottery shards. Edson neatly dimensional mental maps indicating juxtaposes two competing visions of the mind at work and akin to think nature: one where nature is seen in ing about thinking-reductions of the c its supposedly pure state where all is images all about our multi-dimen bountiful and the other where nature sional space and selves." The series is a force to be conquered and over of new works that form the main come. body of Cosmological Shadows at E. Edson the Musée du Québec, grew out of dwelling, 2000 as we speed down the road, and for The idea of landscape is a man- made construct. Nature existed these early photo essais and later the majority, what we see on televi evolved into photomosaics, globes, sion. As our attention spans shrink, without man before he made an appearance on earth. Yet the idea of visual spheres, hovers, and pho- SACKVILLE, it is difficult to get people to notice towrites. N.B. anything as subtle as traditional landscape cannot exist without landscape painting. human thought. Simon Schama's The works on view at the Musée book Landscape and Memory, du Québec date from the past two Edson's dwelling installation which describes how nature was, years, and are, for the most part, DWELLING: provides another way of looking a AN INSTALLATION and is, used as a tool for nationalism photoworks. These include what nature by giving us, of all things, a by various countries, has influenced Vazan calls membranes-photo series ERIK EDSON peep show. Peep shows in general Edson's own thoughts on nature arranged as horizontal scans of a have a rather unsavory reputation 14 September-28 October 2001 representation. Though Schama landscape. Oval (Siting Osiris)/ and involve looking at something does not write about Canada, his membrane (2000) has at its top and Owens Art Gallery that we shouldn't be looking at. We Mount Allison University ideas on landscape can be seen in a bottom a series of consecutive scan look at them anyways. The peep Canadian context. We are, after all, shots taken on a ridge in the Theban 61 York St, Sackville holes in Edson's work are set into N.B., E4L1E1. still a country with more trees than Hills in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. an artificial wall set up in the gallery people and an urge to picture our Inserted between these two 18 photo Tel.: 506 364-2574 in a way that effectively cuts the selves as lumberjacks. Edson's sections (which create the form of I have always found installation exhibition space in two. The viewing dwelling installation pokes holes a globe with skyline using consecu art to be an elusive art form. It exists holes are all over the place. Some in our stereotypical view of the tive scanning), a horizontal fine of only at a particular place and time, are just inches from the floor, others Canadian landscape and he does so 22 photos records a bas relief m unlike paintings or sculpture in a too high to reach, while others are with such a sense of humour and the interior of the Temple of Abou gallery collection, which can be visit at eye level. All the holes are fitted irony. We are able to laugh at our Simbel that visually narrates ed over and over again. Photographs with tiny lenses like the ones on selves and still get the picture Ramses Its exploits and battles. It of an installation do not do justice to hotel room doors that allow you to that nature is in trouble and that was intended to aid the pharaoh on the artist's intent. You have to see the see who is there without opening this might be part of the problem. his voyage to the afterlife. Other installation in order for it to make the door-and that distort the view. inno-vations in the show include any sense at all. In point of fact, I What you see in some of the holes Virgil Hammock Vazan's ovals. Oval: The Temple of generally do not like installation art is rather surprising: strange animals Kom Ombo (2000) and Oval: Jacques at all, as installation artists tend to and birds which are really small Cartier Bridge, Montreal (2000) take themselves far too seriously. plastic toys. They appear life size resemble Vazan's earlier globes, but Much of it can be, at best, bad inte because of the distorting effect of the QUEBEC CITY the shaping of these 360 degree rior decoration, but Erik Edson's lens. Somehow, the use of plastic scans is oval rather than circular. work is an exception. Erik Edson animals seems right in this panora ma. The walls in the enclosed gallery One of the most visually surpris teaches printmaking and sculpture BILL VAZAN: ing works in the show is Smaller at Mount Allison University in space are hung with 19th century landscape paintings from the Owens COSMOLOGICAL SHADOWS World (2000) which juxtaposes an Sackville, New Brunswick and this is uppermost landscape view of Cap Art Gallery's permanent collection Musée du Québec the third Edson installation that I Trinité on the Côte Nord with images which provide a counter-reference th have seen. I have liked all three of 27 Sept. 2001-January 6 , 2002 of the root structure of a birch tree, for this plastic menagerie. The them. Perhaps this is because Tel.: 418-644-6460 all this arranged in a grid-like format though there is serious intent behind results are funny and when people Synthesizing idea and image, of multiple photos. Another is Edson's work, he uses humour to look through the holes they laugh. using the land art projects he has Vazan's interior photo reconstruc underscore his concern for nature The animals may be artificial, but so become known for, or alternatively tion of the interior of the Abou and the environment. are Edson's landscapes which are selected natural, architectural and Simbel temple in Egypt. Multiple stat romanticized visions of a nature that ues of Ramses II, and the ceiling In the past, artists made their archaeological sites around the never existed. What the viewers find vaults built a sort of compartmental point about nature by painting land world, or both, Bill Vazan has, over funny is the replacement of a disap ized geometrical structure using this scapes. The Group of Seven jumps 35 years, built a significant body of pearing nature with something quite interesting imagery. very much to our collective minds artificial which, in reality, is not that photoworks. These have developed when we think about nature and art funny. into an art production that parallels The term singularities, used in in Canada, but different times call for Vazan's large scale land art instal science to refer to what existed in the a different approach to nature by There is more to this installation lations and sculptures seen at the universe prior to the big bang, is today's artists. We have become an than a wall with holes. Erik painted McMichael Collection in Weinberg, adapted by Vazan to describe the thin urban society whose dips into nature the gallery walls a stark white and the Art Gallery of Peterborough, the lines of extending horizon views he are a trip to the cottage for those outlined images of clouds with a thin National Gallery of Canada and else now presents for the first time. For lucky enough to own one, the stuff blue line on the false wall. He added where. While many of the land art Vazan, a singularity that juxtaposes a we see on either side of the highway two other constructions in the open projects Bill Vazan created in the view of the south-east coast of 70 VIE DES ARTS N°184 *ŒÏWBÊŒ& 1 this exciting art. It was Art Price, too, For the record, the 60s pro who found and transported the long- duced some brilliant works.