spring 2010 Newsletter volume twelve issue one

“Only he who loves can sing” immense clarity. The ~ St. Augustine question I asked myself I have been thinking about thinking. was this; can one use the Though I value its importance I am wonder- symbols of landscape to ing if the attention we give it is in need of record our emotional and some balance. Two books – one old and one spiritual journey? Not new are the occasion for my taking up this simply the memory of topic once again. Though not much can be Places but the place (or said in the space available here perhaps a landscape) of Memory. few brief comments will generate some of Can the employment of your own reflection about this matter. and objects, set in distinct arrangements Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview evoke a sense of wonder, and Cultural Formation by James K.A. Smith anticipation, longing? explores the question of human identity. Does a ray of light always He argues that how we answer the question represent hope or can concerning who we are has implications for it cast an uncertain dis- worship, education and spiritual formation. quieting doubt instead? It has been typical for members of western A majestic mountain a culture to see themselves first as “thinking distant future, or a dis- beings”. One immediately recalls Descartes’ solving dream? “I think therefore I am”, a short sentence that has carried a very pervasive influence. I further realized it is The legacy of this notion of humans as memory that threads our thinking beings suggests that ideas have experiences together, but primary importance. Others have contended memory is fragile and that we are oriented to the world as believ- influenced by time. It dis- appears altogether or re- ers where not just logic, but myth and story Sundial IV (Festina Lente) by Philip Mix play an important part in our self under- emerges in a reinvented standing. Smith appreciates these two op- Robert Henri, the inspirational artist and version. Throughout centuries these themes tions but finds them still incomplete. What teacher of the Arts Students League, New have been revisited through metaphors and is missing York, spoke to an experience which has archetypes. Mountain, watershed, cross- he suggests been part of my journey; “There seem to be roads, crux are all words or images to which is attention moments of revelation, moments when we metaphorical meanings may be attached. to “desire” as see in the transition of one part to another In his book Space, Time and the Beauty an essential the unification of the whole. We may call it that causes Havoc author Arthur I. Miller feature of the a passage into another dimension than our describes Cezanne’s importance as being human person. ordinary” (The Art Spirit, 1923) “his brave new manner of producing spatial In taking up this Since 2005 I have been exploring a theme. ambiguity, which he accomplished by theme it is but The theme began as the collage of places merging foreground and background in a a short step to remembered. Eventually it emerged as a way that fused planes and integrated objects understanding landscape of symbols, imagery for docu- and space”. The term “passage” in French humans as lovers. menting singular significant events. was coined to define this new direction in As Smith puts it Sometimes these events are sublime, even interpreting the visual. This was a great “To be human is strangely quiet. At other times they define leap but it was Picasso who freed it from its to love and it is what we love that defines radical transforming moments in our lives nineteenth century roots. As Miller further who we are.” (p.51) continued on page 4 wherein suddenly everything takes on an continued on page 4 2

Pinhole Houses Milton Acorn: Christian Poet of the People

Taking a with a pinhole cam- The Acorn picture I want to convey is of a left, right or centre. He was era is a spontaneous and serendipitous maverick and outsider, a man who speaks fond of George Grant and experience. The lack of viewfinder, the out at the wrong time, asks embarrassing C.S. Lewis, and Acorn’s crafty quality of a homemade and questions of human society, and will not be High Church Anglicanism the of the process all contrib- satisfied by evasions. ~ Al Purdy was at the core and centre ute to a sense of wonder at the resulting Milton Acorn (1923-1986) was, when alive, of his being. Acorn sought image. The hallmarks of a pinhole image one of the most controversial Canadian to live and write in such (a general fuzziness, infinite depth of poets, and since his death, there has been a way that his poetry field and often some crazy distortion) a growing interest in his life and poetic embodied and reflected can infuse the photo with an emotional vision. the voices and concerns content not easily achievable with other of those on the margins. methods. As old as itself, the Acorn won the People’s Poetry Award forty In short, his faith and pinhole process has a deep connection to years ago (1970) for his incisive and evoca- his sense of ecology, the history of art and yet its potential to tive missive, I’ve Tasted My Blood, and he justice and peace were integrated at a speak in a contemporary voice has been was awarded the Governor General’s Award demanding and profound level. made evident through the works of art- thirty-five years ago (1975) forThe Island Means Minago. Both books of poetry walk The fact that there is growing interest in ists like Bethany de Forest (pinhole.nl), Acorn yet once again means that three Eric Renner (pinholeresource.com) and the attentive reader into the white heat political vision of Acorn. books are in the womb on Acorn that should Dianne Bos (diannebos.com). be published in 2010-2011. These books will As a practicing photo-based artist, my goal The fact that Acorn is one of Canada’s fin- cover some of his finest poetry and critical is to join this luminous history by working est poets has meant that biographers have essays on his poetry, science fiction, plays contemporarily using pinhole . been keen to track and trace his unusual life and prose. Acorn can be, for those that are For a number of years, I have explored and poetic journey. Out of This World: The interested in the artistic journey, a guide themes of language and metaphor in my Natural History of Milton Acorn (1996) and into the troubled waters of faith, poetry work, specifically attempting to broaden Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger (1999) tell and prophetic politics. There have been definitions and understandings. A series the tale well of Acorn’s hard and demanding few Christian poets in Canada of Acorn’s entitled “Divine Interventions” grew from journey, but both tomes fail to properly deal stature, and we still have much to learn a challenge to see the divine interactions with Acorn’s deeper Christian commitment. from this acorn turned oak. that occur all around us (even in particu- Acorn was both a political and prophetic By Ron Dart, author, poet and professor larly unremarkable settings) rather than poet, and, as such, he could not be fitted of Political Philosophy University of the where we generally seek them during into the partisan politics of the political Fraser Valley BC. miraculous events. My work as an artist emerges out of a belief system that ac- knowledges a holiness in all things and a desire to see it more clearly.

Wenda Salomons is an Alberta-based professional visual artist working in photo-based media. She works primarily with pinhole cameras and produces small, silver prints. She has lectured and led workshops on pinhole photography, as well as pursued the development of her own studio practice. Her prints are held in private and public collections across North America. You can contact her and view her work at wendasalomons.com. Spirit, 12" x 6", City II, from the Divine Houses 7, from the Divine Gelatin Silver Print, Intervention Series, Intervention Series, 6" x 6", 2009 12" x 6", Gelatin Silver Gelatin Silver Print, 2008 Print, 2007 www.imago-arts.on.ca 3

TranscendArts Photography As Theatre

The arts are amongst the languages Instead of a thousand words, I take a photo- I felt in small way I should tell their story. that human beings have created graph. It tells a story by distilling an idea This was the reason for Revisionism. It in order to communicate their into one frozen moment in time. It is direct, is part of a series that will be called “The thoughts and feelings with one unchanging and undiluted. –ISM- Collection.” another. The better we grasp a capture the spontaneous – Originally Revisionism was conceived as language, the better we articulate life as it happens. But photographs can tell a single raw looking photograph to mimic and transmit our ideas. If we don't another story – a deliberate and compel- those from the 30’s. The first in what is understand the language that is ling idea. This is photography as theatre. now a series of three. The man holding the spoken, we’ll not understand what It leaves nothing to chance. It is deliberate erased portrait in the first picture is the son is being said. Montreal is a city and planned in every visual detail. It is the of Soviet dissidents. The photograph in his where the languages of the arts are staging of a photograph in the same way a hands is of a man who was executed in the varied including their numerous film or theatre production constructs and Soviet purges. In the second photograph, the dialects. From dance to , stages a scene to tell a story. man holding the victim’s picture becomes a from music to cinema or from theatre to the victim himself. The third photograph com- circus, we all participate, each in our own Several years ago I came across a documentary about the purges Stalin pletes the work of the revisionist. Any record way, in this vast arts languages school that that they ever existed disappears. Montreal has become. undertook in the Soviet Union of the 1930’s. It featured photographs of victims – men For obvious reasons, the idea of revision- Through festivals (TRANSFORMATION: and women who were executed during ism translates well into photographic form. arts, Christ & culture in 2004 or the IN VIVO Stalin’s terror. They were perceived as a Unfortunately, this cannot be said for many Multi-Arts Festival in 2005), conferences threat to the State or a threat to his personal abstract ideas. This is the challenge of (Colin Harbinson, Nigel Goodwin), special power. But so deep was his paranoia that it photography as theatre. Constructing an im- events (Arts and Faith evenings at Café was not enough that they should die. Their age to capture a complex idea, in a clear and Le Placard) or the support of certain art- very memory must be erased. Photographs concise way, can be a daunting process. ists (such as the Montreal pianist, Simon of their faces were either “painted” over or When it works, photography as theatre has Sloutsker), Youth With A Mission seeks to scratched out. In some cases, those talented nourrish, in the heart of Montreal, reflec- a power that an incidental, spontaneous in early photographic techniques were image cannot. The passive art of tion and dialogue concerning the arts and employed to make people “disappear.” There Christian spirituality and an appreciation photography as record keeper, as a witness are some interesting photographs of Stalin to history is replaced. It is not a matter for the mutual roles of each in the develop- with those who worked for him. As they fell ment of our common urban life and culture. of documenting a moment in time. It is a out of favour they simply disappeared from matter of creating it. It is taking a thought, YWAM has now gone a step further in want- photographs in which they had originally an idea in the mind's eye and giving it a ing to bridge the gap through the creation of been present. No record of them must vision that everyone can see. TranscendArts. TranscendArts will promote remain. It was as if these people had never arts projects that have as their goal the existed. Paul Williamson is a Television Producer transformation of what is normally con- and Photographer living in Hamilton, sidered to be the domain of the sacred or Ontario ([email protected]) religious and reinterpret these with artists of varied disciplines into contemporary art forms just as accessible to the secular, post- Christian culture of today. Our first project, launched on March 25 at the Café Le Placard, is called A Pilgrimage Through The Stations. During Holy Week in April 2011, the works of 14 artists repre- senting the 14 stations of the Scriptual Way of the Cross will be exposed in up to 14 different Metro stations of Montreal. It’s an ambitious project but the organizing com- mittee has already begun meetings with La Société de transport de Montréal (STM). For more information, please visit jemmontreal. ca. A separate website will be up and run- ning sometime in May. Pierre LeBel, Director, YWAM, Montreal 4

Sundial IV continued from page one Young Artists Are Our Future states “because Einstein and Picasso Since John Franklin, Phyllis Novak and I cannot allow these gifted students to simply sought realities beyond appearances, each toiled over the Lausanne paper, “Redeeming disappear and give up on being artists. accomplished something entirely new”. The The Arts”, in Thailand 2004, we have each It also means, in working with churches, discovery of relative time and the innovation been continuing to apply the clear mandate children, high school students, college of fragmenting spatial planes in painting of that unique global meeting of Christian students and international groups that my to record the transitory nature of visual advocates for the arts. focus has been on “Art as Language”, rich references struck me as the perfect spring For my part, this has meant finding ways in aesthetics but also potent in communica- boards for this quest. At the same time I to build a better support system for artists tion, no matter how subtle. wondered if the exquisite transcendent in our own spiritual community, in our quality that was inherent in stained glass One recent facet of this work, has occurred churches and in our schools. It has meant in the ongoing fine art program at Redeemer windows, could somehow be imitated in sowing seeds in the minds of young talented painting. Travel forward in time briefly to University College, where I work as adjunct visual artists in particular, who clearly lack faculty. Our figure drawing students this the present and hence begins my playful sufficient encouragement from knowledge- interpretation of time and space through year completed a project which I believe able church leaders, high school teachers breaks fresh ground in re-interpreting the the metaphor of the sundial. In this series and yes parents. By encouragement I mean of paintings, the Gnomon (meaning “one metaphor of “Taking Up One’s Cross” in a a commitment to supporting the idea that project called WINGSPAN. Shown below is who knows”) casts or reflects shadow over artists are valued members of the faith the roman numeric concept of time which one of the drawings, this one completed by community, and that they can have viable Denise Bentum. we continue to follow. The sundial itself paid careers in broad variety of career paths precedes this convention, as does the sun that go far beyond traditional fine art. We James Tughan ([email protected]) the sundial and before the sun, the Creator of light and time. Philip Mix, Chemainus (philipmix.com)

Only he who loves can sing continued from page 1

If we can accept that desire is significant for our identity, it opens the question about how our desires are shaped, by what are they nurtured and directed. Smith’s answer of those experiences where we “touch the to this is that it is the rituals and practices core of all things” which for him is a divine in which we participate that give shape to foundation. Such activities he describes as Imago Evening our imaginations and determine our orien- meaningful in themselves. Two conditions Thursday June 10, 2010 at 7:30 to 9:30 tation to the world. The upshot of this line are essential. First an attitude of receptive of thought is that we are “homo liturgicus”. openness and attentive silence, and second Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 106 Trinity St. We are liturgical beings. Liturgies according the ability to celebrate a feast. Art lends it- (just east of Parliament and King) to Smith are found not just in sanctuaries – self to both of these conditions and for many Featuring but throughout the culture. What is needed is one way to “touch the core of things”. Mike Janzen, jazz piano, composer is a discerning eye to understand what Also art, as it engages our affective side, Ins Choi, actor, performing a new piece practices we participate in and what they speaks our desires, both those of the artist mean for the shaping of our desires – what and those who experiences the art. Might Brad Woods, story teller with The Great Wooden Trio they call us to love. Surely our consumerist we say that art has a liturgical character and society should give us pause as we consider points beyond itself to a divine source some- Kevin Morse, guitarist, songwriter the liturgies of consumption. times hidden sometimes revealed. Trevor Dick, of Flying Bow, playing electric violin The second and older work I have been read- Sylvia Woods, visual artitst ing is a small book of essays written in the 1950s by Catholic writer John Pieper titled Come and bring a friend… Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation. Reception to follow… Both Pieper and Smith are indebted to St. John Franklin, Executive Director Admission is free – there will be an Augustine who was deeply aware of the 133 Southvale Drive, Toronto, ON M4G 1G6 opportunity to donate to Imago. importance of human desire and its central- 416-421-8745 [email protected] ity in enabling us to worship. Pieper speaks www.imago-arts.on.ca