Scott McFarland

Photography is a familiar topic that has been discussed during The Art Now lecture series at the University of Lethbridge. However the lecture that was presented by Nancy Towsely on the work by Scott McFarland was not only unique but triggered a new way of thinking about the photograph as an art object. Scott was born in Hamilton Ontario and studied art and photography in Vancouver. Working as a studio assistant for Jeff Wall he was able to develop a unique style within the artistic community. I have long considered the act of taking a photograph as capturing a snapshot of a moment in time. Conversely Scott believes the act of capturing the image is only one aspect of photography, and is interested in manipulating and constructing an image using technology and processes that have existed for centuries. Nancy explains that Scott asks the question “Does looking at a photograph make it a photograph?” Nancy adds “he makes rather than takes focusing the emphasis on himself as the image maker rather than the image taker” In other words he uses multiple images fused together using Photoshop to create large panoramic images that sometimes consist of hundreds of photographs taking over a period of weeks and sometimes months. The product of this is a photograph that not only challenges your perception, but also forces you to question the reality and contest of what you are viewing.

The method of combination printing is not a new concept within the photography community; rather Scott uses new technology to create works that are seamless as he is able to blend images together. In two thousand and two Scott has his first experience with composite printing as Nancy explains “the images become removed from photography, he manufactures a scene creating an ideal. He chooses the best setting that suite the figures.” Some would say his images are staged and lack content, rather I believe he takes the photograph beyond its inherent nature and begins to sculpt and mould something that only exists in a two dimensional space.  The ability to combine figures and background that alone have no immediate relationship and create a scene that seems so natural and purposeful is amazing. Viewing his work for the first time I found it hard to distinguish what is quote “copied and pasted” and what is original to the scene.

                He does make reference to classic images captured by paintings, and is also interested in the year when photography was first introduced as a new medium within the artistic community. Nancy affirms “Scott revisits a time when photographs were shared by painters in eighteen thirty nine when both mediums existed together.”  This is very apparent in his works were he makes reference to nineteenth century motifs. He enjoys working in large series sometimes changing just one element of the photograph such as the sky and placing the images side by side. An example of this I found very interesting was the work “the garden” were Scott presented two images of a garden in bloom, however he combined images of plants and flowers blooming during different seasons in the same image. This impossibility within the photograph was very visually interested. For me he creates a suspended reality, submitting his own ideals within the realm of the image. There is something beautiful in being able to make a scene that seems to satisfy all our senses and not limiting to strictly visual. Nancy agrees saying “Scott creates a visual montage, two seasons shown at the same time the impossibility of simultaneously layered references.”

                I agree that the work of Scott McFarland is worth investigating, if you are interested in photography. His unique presentation of the photograph leaves you questioning your own perceptions of reality.

Micah Lexier

          Micah Lexier's talk at the University of Lethbridge’s Art Now Series was one of the most interesting to date. Micah received his BFA at the University of Manitoba and continued his studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design receiving his MFA. He has been featured in over ninety solo exhibitions in North America, Australia and is currently being represented in Toronto. Micah is very familiar with mediums such as sculpture, drawing, photography and print making and enjoys working in each.

His first work that was shown was an installation piece consisting of twenty thousand coins arranged in a grid pattern on a wall. This work was commissioned by the Bank of Montreal and was to be left on display for a period of a year. Each coin is minted with a letter on the face of the coin, the coins are then arranged to spell words and also phrases. As Micah explains “there is a story hidden in the wall with hidden clues, the mirrored effect acts on multiple levels.” I found this work very fascinating as I am currently interested in patterns and textures in my own work. There is something comforting about the pattern and system of organization Micah uses in this piece. I also appreciate his attention to detail in order to create a work that consists of multiple layers that appear after further inspection.

          Another area of interest Micah finds fascinating is working with other artists in  collaborative works. A great example of this is a work he was asked to create for a high school work shop. Micah decided to create a short story consisting of as many words as there were students enrolled in the high school. Each student would contribute in their own words and writing to this story. As Micah explains “An interesting thing began to happen, you would find that each student would begin to copy the previous sentence before. Specifically the style of writing, a sort of unconscious consciousness began to take over.” A very unique thing happens when you combine a collective of artist together. The students used their own unique experiences to create a work of art that together formed one voice within the story.

                Micah’s other great passion is collecting. He elaborates by stating “for the longest time I was content with just collecting and organizing items and placing them in boxes.” Today he is interested in displaying such collections and also creates new collections from large inventory’s of found objects. When asked to construct a work for the seventy fifth anniversary of the Banff Center he found his passion for collecting pushed to the forefront. He coined the title of his work “Touch paper once.” This he explained attempts to bridge the gap between our everyday interaction with objects we so often think as empty vessels with little or no context. He used a great example as he explains “I tried to live this way for a short period of time every piece of paper that I would come into contact with I would deal with. From paying bills as I would come into contact with them, to reading magazines” He used this concept to sift through seventy five years of documented history that the Banff center has collected over the years since its inception. He would then systematically select  obscure items that he found sometimes visually and conceptually interesting. The final result was a collection of “collected” items put on display as sort of a snap shot of the history of artist and their engagements over the years. This work was particularly interesting as each item when arranged in a large group seem to cast this new content with the context it was originally conceived in.

                Micah Lexier’s work is a great example of an artist reaching out and collaborating with others to generate unique works of art that are only possible with this conscious collaborative mindset. He does not wish to reinvent art or build any lasting object, rather create pieces that exist within the moment and also bridge the gap between the present and the past.

Alison Rossitter

               The most recent lecture at the at the University of Lethbridge Art Now Series featured work of photographer Alison Rossitter. Rossitter has been working in photography for close to forty years beginning her journey at the Banff Center School of Fine Arts. She has also taught and worked commercially throughout her career. She began her exploration of photography through photograms. The body of work that developed was a series of books arranged on paper and exposed to different amounts of light. The photograms produced interesting visual textures, Alison explains “I am hoping the sum of the image is more than the sum of itself, and I am interested in how one thing leads to another.” I found particularly interesting how she used to title of the books as the title of each work giving this object a completely different visual experience expressed and captured though photography.

            Following this series Alison began using a flashlight to generate blind couture drawings. The flashlight was used to draw animals, in particularly horses which lead to looking at the role they played in art history. She began to incorporate horses from historical representation in art work creating images that referenced such poses but completely removed all contexts in which they were first conceived. You are left as a viewer with the image of a horse but rather nothing to link its origin or history. Alison soon found that by flooding the image of the horse with light she was able to achieve a more even blending of tonality. This allowed the image to have more depth and contrast between the light and dark tones. This constant experimentation leads Alison to her most recent study and focus for her current work.

            The photography as Alison quotes “peaked in the early nineteen seventies” this was a time when many types and formats of printing paper were available. Today with the insurgence of the digital format many if not all of these once plentiful varieties of printing paper are just not available today. Thanks to ability of the Internet and its ability to connect people from all around the world, Alison has made it her personal mission to seek out and collect fragments and sometimes full boxes of discontinued and expired printing paper. The work that I found most interesting was when Alison was able to expose various sheets of this expired paper to light and discovered different sets of finger prints. Sometimes these exposures could be traced back to dates as early as nineteen nineteen. This ability as an artist to bridge the past and the present with a single visual experience is what I find most successful in her work. The mark of the artist intrigues Alison and she explains “I enjoy this sense of connection with the past.”

            Finally, during this contemporary time in the history of photography Alison is looking to the past in an attempt to bring a new context to a medium that has gone through many periods of change. Creating successful works of art in Alison's mind, she states is “creating no boundary or rules when dealing with photography, you never know what you are going to find and I can’t help but be interested in this idea of photo conversation.” For anyone who is interested in contemporary photography I would highly recommend her work, and she is a great example of an artist today constantly pushing the boundaries within her field and the use of her medium.

Video Art

                Garrett Long spoke at the University of Lethbridge’s Art Now Series on November seventeenth. Garrett is a video artist who has been exhibited around the world, most recently having his work shown in England. First attending the University of Toronto he found himself  “falling into art by accident” He attributes this to the institutions strong interdisciplinary practice offered during the course of his studies. He admits “My intent was never to become the artist in the family… but was constantly surrounded by technology growing up.” His early work was first inspired by taking a sculpture class and attempting to combine video and sculpture together harmoniously. These successes lead him to exhibit around various Toronto locations and he began to focus on video’s place within the art market. Specifically how something so disruptive and infinitely reproducible could be manifested into an art object. Early works consisted of a video flip book that focused on this idea of translation between the medium and the viewer. Garrett soon found himself focused on this places where the translation would fail and break down, rather than the success of making a good translation.

These experiments soon lead him to begin to work with ventricular images. Taking various clips and images of video experiences he was able to interact with the viewer forcing them to become part of the piece. As Garrett explains “I particularly enjoy the ventricular experience as audio and everything important in these frames takes place outside frame. It’s recognizable but you still don’t seem to know what’s going on.” He admits that he is constantly struggling in these works “Am I giving enough information, is the physical moment enough to create the moment?” Continuing his idea of turning video into a physical object he sought out a printer that would translate and render video frames into three-dimensional plaster models.  He used a very graphic and disturbing video of hunters attempting to kill a lion only to have the lion turn on the hunter’s before being shoot. I found this clip very graphic and self-descriptive, and even when shown the very obscure patterns within the object that were produced; it was still hard to disassociate my original feelings from the video clip. Garrett enjoys how the video moment is encapsulated in a sort of artifact and how that translation is interrupted by turning video into a physical object. Further interested in video that on the exterior may seem disturbing but to Garrett hold a sense of beauty and visual interested he focused on the challenger disaster. Documenting a moment in time is not new in the world of art. Rather Garrett presents the video images using ventricular images allowing the viewer to control their own experience within the work.  I find this process of using ventricular images very interesting because it seems with his work the images cannot exist without the viewers as a key element. 

This constant interaction with the viewer allows the work to be experienced and controlled  in a unique way by each person that cannot be duplicated of reproduced, such as video inherently can be. I find it interesting how Garrett removes certain aspects of video such as audio and allows the viewer to inject their own interpretations within the piece. I would recommend exploring the work of Garrett Long for anybody who is interested in video and the many ways it can be presented within the gallery space and society. His work challenges our perceptions and takes something that for a long time only existed in space and time and transcends it into objects that seem to bridge the gap of translation.

Sara Barr

A familiar face graced the stage of the Lethbridge University’s art now series. Sara Barr is a recent graduate of the Fine Arts department in two thousand seven, and is now currently attending Concordia University pursuing an MFA. Sara’s work predominantly focuses on books as a material object, interested in the gestural quality as well as the process of specifically attempting to understand the notion of reading. She elaborates in saying “text has sort of a sensual and ambiguous environment.” She explains during her undergraduate study “I am interested in deconstruction books specifically literature that deals with women and the ones who experience the text.” An example of this was a piece she did in the niche gallery that consisted of reading a page of text and then gluing the individual words together. The final work attempts to express this sense of tying them together giving the small pieces a sense of volume within the space.

                Currently during her study at Concordia Sara has found an interest in collecting books. Her process and collection has become an aspect of her work.  She is still interested in the deconstructing of the physical book and in a work she showed during her talk affirmed this idea. She explains “I am interested in the book as an object, engaging with the book. I created a jacket consisting of pages of the book, my attempt at embodying the text.” I found this interpretation of the book very clever and quit interesting in a metaphorical sense. Exploring the notion that one can absorb literature in other ways other than reading is very unique way of interpreting the medium. Continuing this study of multiple interpretation of literature Sara showed a short video clip of her taking a bath with a book. This again I found very interesting as the medium seemed to be transformed into a more organic form. I found the text becoming more of a background, and the sounds and hand gestures becoming more of my focus.  Sara elaborates “Bathing with the book the water acts as a space of transition giving the book a sense of play the book fills up and groans”

                Sara will be exhibiting at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery here in Lethbridge staring on November twentieth. I was fortunate to speak with Sara following her lecture and she is very excited and encourages anyone who is interested in her work to attend the opening. The work that will be showing is an audio piece which Sara states “I find the idea of presenting a strictly audio piece very interesting and how through viewer engages with the work fascinating.” I enjoyed seeing an artist in the similar position as myself pursuing her passion and achieving success within the artistic community.

Lynne Cohen

         Lynne Cohen’s work was the subject of discussion at the most recent Art Now Lecture featured at the University of Lethbridge. Her work is predominantly photo based, but she did allude to having some formal training in sculpture possibly as an undergraduate level. Cohen enjoys capturing scenes which are sometimes simple and mysterious. Her ability to seek out such scenarios and frame them through her lens is quite remarkable and intriguing. She began her career with simple experiments using the contact print, but rather found the small nature of the size limiting. During the mid-eighties  Lynne began to enlarge the size of her images allowing the viewer greater access into her work. An aspect of Lynne’s work I found particularly interesting as she explains “I enjoy hanging the work low in the gallery space, again allowing the viewer greater access to the work. And I particularly don’t enjoy how galleries use the same frame for all photographic work.” This attention to detail and constant negotiation with space and display elevates her images beyond the print. This increased access into the scene allows the viewer to feel inherently connected to the work. Her work during this period was consistently black and white, and as Lynne confirms “the colour of the frame dictated the colour of the space within the image.”

                Lynne admits this fascination with space and affirms “I am interested in what the space offers, how close I can get to the object. I am fascinated with the presence of light and where light is coming from. Also how objects look like instruments of control.” Her work became about exploring these site specific locations and she admits that such resources as the yellow pages were a treasure trove of undocumented locations ripe for the picking. Often getting access to these places became sort of a cat and mouse game. Some access was as easy as just asking for permission, while others were meet with harsh non reproduction limitations for what Lynne thought at the time was frivolous and irrational. Her interest in rendering people’s living spaces allowed her to make art that was neither social, political. Lynne explains I am attempting to explore the real world, create a document in my head that attempts to draw a sense of correlation of all these things”

                Lynne’s work seems to consistently be asking the question as she expands “is there a story waiting to be told, and what that story is?” This constant push for exploration has allowed Lynne images to bridge multiple generations while still holding relevance and provoking critical thinking among the art community. I would recommend anybody who is interested in photography to explore the work of Lynne Cohen. Her exploration of the formal relationships that exist within space give new meaning and challenge our relationships we have with spaces both natural and industrial.

Allison Mc Taggart

Allison McTaggart’s work is currently being featured at the University of Lethbridge's Gallery. This show is running into January and is an excellent chance to see some contemporary sculpture as well as drawings and various writings. Based out of Vancouver Alison has received various awards including grants from the British Columbia Arts Council, and spends some time teaching at the university level. The force of her practice is primarily conceptual and idea based, creating objects that consist of a fusion of industrial forms as well using found objects. Her early work as an undergraduate in the late ninety’s is an exploration of projectile throwing devises. As Allison explains “I am very interested in the notion of projection specifically metaphorically also our ability of projecting ones voice and the implications that arise from it.” One of her early work deals with impressions that one of these devises would make if used to project objects. A large plaster wall was created to capture impressions and explore their possibilities. She points out “I enjoy the poetic quality of the impression” You find yourself as a viewer drawn to the mark of the object and experiencing a unique visual impression not fully understanding the context in which the impression was made. This uncertainty allows you to internalize the form in a completely different way from its physical purpose.

This interest in the impressions derived from the spoken work inspired the work in two thousand and two of the egg throwing apparatus. Allison was very fascinated with the idea of our ability to project speech and the effects it has on people. Allison explains “I am interested in the activity of speaking and how it can hurt somebody, how it could hurt somebody calling somebody names. Also what this impact would look like and how it would feel.” This process was documented with a series of egg drawings that were exhibited alongside her egg throwing apparatus. Her exploration of the effects of language I find very interesting as she creates  visual objects based on an experience and the feelings that are derived from it.

                Her current work has lead Allison to create objects that are more interactive in hopes of creating a dialog between the object and the viewer. Looking at forms that are constructed with a specific purpose such as patents she finds inspiration for her current works.  The tuning fork seems to resonate with Allison as the ability of this object to reverberate language from one person to another. Allison confirms “this objects has the ability to create a dialog with the viewer and the work of art. The viewer becomes the work.” She likes this idea of objects that could follow language and exploit this back and forth between the viewer and the object. Also in this series of recent works a group of two dimensional drawing breaking down the forms and exposing the process in which they were created.  As Allison confirms “the drawings make reference to the parts of the object and explain how the object could be potentially used.” As a viewer you find yourself feeling very tempted, being allowed into the process makes you feel as if you are part of the art work.  The drawings also as Allison explains “act as instructional tools giving you the opportunity to accept or reject the art work” I really enjoy this aspect of her work as she creates objects that are presented as forms with what seems a specific purpose. However with further investigation these forms seem to embody multiple meaning and challenge my perceptions and assumptions I have with form.

                I would recommend taking some time to experience Allison’s work within the gallery space. Her forms embody many characteristics such as novelty, integrity and utility. Her lecture was an interesting discussion and she presented her unique take on form in today’s contemporary art world 

Shakespear: The Missing Link

Ann Henderson recently visited the University of Lethbridge and presented a talk on her experiences as an artist and filmmaker. Ann has been working in film for over twenty-five years and to her credit has received awards both regional and internationally. Currently based out of Montreal her predominant interests lie in giving a narrative to both human rights and various cultures. Ann explains the process in which documentary films produced today have been drastically changed since the inception of high definition. The cost of devices that enable one to work in the medium of film, have opened the door to almost anybody with an idea and story to tell. “Today is the best of times and the worst of times for the documentary film industry. Anybody is able to make a film, camera’s are available everywhere. We can all attempt to tell a story, also this causes a sort of congested space of irrelevant stories.” I find her ability to adopt this shift in technology and embrace it in her work very important in today’s film context. Ann belives that despite this shift that “choosing a subject is still about sixty percent of the battle. Finding something that will translate into a story.” One of Ann’s most recognized documentary films and the work she highlighted during her lecture is “The Battle of Wills”. This two thousand and three documentary centres around the debate over claims made by a Canadian man Lloyd Sullivan that he had the only known painting of Shakespeare ever produced while living. Now this is not to say that this claim has not been made before. The Chandos portrait was another image that has made claim as the only known living image of Shakespeare. This statment started a chain of events that would immerse Ann into a journey to uncover the truth. Ann states “ I was drawn to the story and got in touch with the man and soon found myself competing with four other production company’s who each were attempting to produce the story behind the work. Upon receiving the rights to produce the documentary film Ann was able to entice many well-known actors to star in the production. This was crucial for Ann as she points out “ my mission was to take the painting and decode the story that lied within the work.” Adding context and attempting to prove that this painting was authentic soon became the goal of the documentary. To prove this painting was authentic Ann explains, “ You must date the wood and pigment used to the time in which Shakespeare would have lived. Also the dress and style of the pose must also be supported” After being showen various excerpts of the documentary in which the painting was put through a battery of tests and passed with flying colours I was surprised when Ann added you must also prove its provenance. Not being familiar with this term I was enlightened as Ann stated, “the provenance is whether there are any documents and records produced during the period in question that support the existence of the painting. I find this point particularly fascinating because as a quote from her documentary explains “ science cannot create truth but rather be a supportive tool in the quest for authenticity. This modern day mystery certainly has sparked a great debate within the art community as well as contemporary society. Ann explains “Society does enjoy the portraiture, there is something about looking into the face we all feel we have a connection to with the personality of the subject. There is something very revealing about the image of a portrait and its attempt to capture a moment in time. There is this modern preoccupation of the portrait.” This is especially evident with Shakespeare because of what this single individual has contributed to our culture today. Many of the terms and phrases used in the English language can be traced back to his works. I can understand the controversy that exists within this documentary, but also appreciate Ann’s attempt to discover what the portrait of genius looks like. As the push for globalization and the increased ability to share and exchange information continues I feel this documentary only adds to the mystery that surrounds one of the most influential people in history.

Curating

           During the most recent lecture in the Art Now lecture series Candice Hopkins discussed the challenges and rewards of co-curating an aboriginal exhibition in the Royal Ontario Museum. As a curator the first step in preparing to group and organize an exhibition is understanding the space. The new addition to the Royal Ontario Museum as Candice points out “you either love it… or hate it” On the outside you are confronted with architecture that appears very dreamlike and whimsical as Candice elaborates “the building  joins the old with the new almost bypassing the past and being confronted with the future. The space affected the display of the exhibition, there are no ninety degree walls and you enter into the gallery with a distorted sense of volume. You can find yourself beginning to focus more on the power of the architecture than the art. This is often a problem in many modern gallery spaces as architects have taken the liberty of creating spaces that are so visually stimulating that they often distract from the display of the art work.  To combat this Candice found she was very interested in the careful selection of each piece of art work, and the relationship between the past and the present. This constant juxtaposition is a theme that seemed to define the exhibition as it began to unfold.

         Candice is quick to point out that “The act of curating and the act of an exhibition is to create a frame for the work to be viewed, create a lens without altering the artwork while being as transparent as possible.” As selection began of the artworks that would become the focal point of the exhibition great care and attention was taken in looking at the authenticity of the work in respect to native culture and representation. Artist were chosen and work selected such as Paul King, Candice states” He was the first artist to travel and document a changing culture, documenting a vanishing race.” Also Nanok of the North a documentary of the native’s in the north. This film was particularly relevant in theme of balancing the past with the present as it depicts the first encounter of a record player with the native culture. Ironically as Candice points out towards the end of filming the native people became more familiar with repairing and operating of the record player than their European counterparts. This film was also important because prior to this many films depicted the life of native people through re-enactments and did not truly portray a culture.

                Candice closes in saying “the end goal of the space was to evaluate the institutions interaction with the First Nation people, and their ability to access the art” Many good things came as a result of this contemporary display of First Nation's art and artifacts, a new residency program was implemented as well a dialog  started between the gallery and the First Nation's people that had not existed prior. Despite all the struggles and rewards Candice points out that being a good curator is “being a good diplomat of the arts” Her experiences describe a great example of the many challenges faced when attempting to represent a culture through art and artifacts. Removing ones expectations and bias is key in presenting a transparent view of a culture and their traditions. Finally, on a personal note I felt the talk could have been split into two lectures, as the amount of information seemed somewhat overwhelming at times.

               

Language

Laurel Woodcock is a familiar face to the University of Lethbridge as she spent a short time teaching at the University in the early ninety’s. Laurel’s work primarily deals with themes such as the use of everyday language and addressing the problems and possibilities that exist with it. The first work Laurel showed was titled “wish you were here”, the work included a plane that was hired to fly around and display a banner with the text “wish you were here” trialing behind.  After the experience had been documented Laurel followed up with an installation focusing on the impossibility of the phrase. She points out “wish you were here” is invoking a feeling from the viewer that can’t be obtained or meet. The idea that you can’t be there really interests Laurel.  She affirms this by stating “this is an impossible proposal that not only engages artist but non artist as well.”

The second work that Laurel showed was a video piece of her inflating many balloons and tying them to a chair. Laurel was interested in the process and the result of attempting to lift this chair and not so much having a successful result. As she sates “I enjoy using objects that project a certain visual language… I am interested in the effort it takes to create something… but then the thing fails… I enjoy confronting the idea of chance in my work.”

Continuing her investigation of language she shifted her work to more sculptural pieces. The work “abbreviated words” was created in part with her interest in manipulating language. The idea of taking words that are unfinished and attempting to associate meaning with contradicting phrases interested Laurel. The work “on a clear day” was a great example of her attempt to manipulate language and associate new meanings.  The piece was the phrase “on a clear day” cut from sheet steal and painted blue.  What made this work interesting was half the phrase was not visible to the viewer. So the viewing experience and the interpretation of the language were very contradicting. The distortion of language is a constant theme that is present in Laurel’s work.

I find Laurel’s work very interesting as she attempts to manipulate  language which appears from the outside very static, and translates this into video documentation and three dimensional works. When language is presented in this way your perception of words and specifically language are changed. I find myself looking beyond the written word and sounds that language possesses, and her work compels me to re-evaluate my understanding of language and how it’s interpreted.

Aboriginal art

On October twelve Steve Loft visited the University of Lethbridge and did a talk addressing the successes and challenges contemporary aboriginal artists face today. Steve is currently the curator of the National Gallery of Aboriginal Art, he works in both video and multimedia art forms.  Steve reflected on a recent trip he made to Germany to participate in an exhibition highlighting aboriginals. To his surprise upon entering the space he was bombarded with many stereotypical items such as chewing tobacco, cigarette ads and beef jerky logos. To Steve’s surprise the curator did not seem to understand that to aboriginals these symbols were very degrading and racist. Needless to say the conversation between the two became very heated.  Steve came away understanding that in parts of the world the aboriginal communities are still viewed as “the Indians” and there is still this tendency to have a romanticized view of a culture that  deals with a “cultural genocide” as Steve points out.

                The work that  aboriginal artists are producing today address many of these cultural stereotypes and the impact they have on truly understanding a culture and its peoples.  A song was played that consisted of traditional aboriginal music with a hip hop overlaid. The song made many strong references to stereotypes and the social issues many aboriginals deal with today. This work I find interesting because it is a response by contemporary artist to address the past and the present while connecting with the listener. Steve explains that many representations of aboriginals have been misrepresented and distorted throughtout  history. For example, many images that exist today of generations past are being discredited and viewed in this light. Steve explains “the idea of the Indian has long since been used as political and social tool, for example the warrior, the stoic or the drunk.” Images of aboriginals still appear today in commercialized society, which was  very apparent when he visited the German exhibition.  It is important to understand that progress has been made, but there are still hurdles that must be overcome in order to break this cycle of misrepresentation.

                The work of Jeff Thomas illustrates this point as well,  he uses images that appear to give a one dimensional view of a cultural and as Steve explains attempts to “liberate the Indian and extend them beyond the image. Jeff takes images and attempts to confront cultural stereotypes and explore where history has placed the aboriginal. The last group of works Steve highlighted during his talk was a series of images referencing aboriginal masks. Traditional aboriginal masks are carved from trees and attempt to tell a story. The artist addresses how aboriginals see themselves when so many people think of the stereotypes. Steve adds “they attempt to replace an absence with a presence”

                I find that contemporary artists today have many challenges dealing with the cause and effects that their culture has had to deal with since the introduction of colonialism. This generation of artist must learn to balance the present in their work and not forget how the past directly and indirectly informs their work. Steve agrees and states in closing “artists today are attempting to reconstruct the narrative and manifest a new reality at the same time not being afraid to relate themselves with their colonial history.” This talk affirms that aboriginals and specifically artists continue to address and deconstruct the past in attempts to break free from any misrepresentation of their culture.

Advertising and Art

Simon Howell began his career covering the arts for many years. He decided after many years that he wanted to make a shift, a cleansing of his professional palate. Simon choose the field of advertising and  soon discovered that our culture and language were being manipulated by large advertising agencies. Today advertising agencies are attempting to relate their brand and products to a story. This story uses emotions and attempts to invoke certain feelings in order to sell their idea. Simon elaborates on this idea by using the example of a Tim Horton's commercial. The commercial depicts a father and his son together at a hockey rink reminiscing on childhood memories of growing up in Canada. The father appears to be an immigrant to Canada and his son now has a child of his own playing hockey. The commercial on the exterior appears to emulate a heritage moment relying on a certain amount of sentimental feelings in the development of their story. I found myself viewing this commercial not as an avenue to sell coffee, but rather feeling some sort of cultural connection and understanding of this family's hardships and experience in being immigrants to Canada. Simon points out this is often the goal of advertisers to use the story as a platform for commercials.
        Today it is often very hard to look anywhere in society and not be bombarded with an advertising pitch. Company's are beginning to employ artists, who are  creating collaborative works to be displayed in public spaces in order to pitch their product. This tactic I find particularly disheartening because society is being coerced into believing these images, sculptures, or performances have no ulterior motive. The phrase "a wolf in sheep's clothing" comes to mind while I was listening to Simon discuss this new form of medium advertisers are embarking on. 
        With the advent of social networking sites and  the Internet becoming more of a conversation of opinions and shared information, advertising is attempting to use this platform to their benefit. Simon states " people want their commercials on their own terms...they also want to share and post ads" Taking advantage of this constant sharing of information by advertisers is important, because today most of the time company's would spent to inject their content into main stream society is being done by us. Simon uses a great example of the "old spice guy" commercial. This commercial was so well received, that it spawned its own Facebook page, was shared by millions of people and created a subculture of people doing parody's. The events and content that was created after the release of the commercial on television shows just how effective the sharing of information within a community can be in promoting a brand. Essentially this effect is an advertisers dream, almost like a virus, the story within the ad becomes part of our contemporary culture. Simon affirms this idea by stating " companies are finally realizing that their brands do not belong to them rather they exist in the experience each one of us shares with the product." I find this point particularly interesting because we all associate experiences we have in life with the products we associate with.  In turn we pass judgment and make choices on purchases based on these experiences.
      With the increased push in many countries towards globalization, Simon asks " should there be some sort of government regulations with regards to content in commercials?" I feel that regulation with respect to the ethical and moral portrayal of content is necessary. Otherwise I think we will find ourselves  turning into a society whose culture is defined by the advertising agencies that disseminate this content. As advertising continues to infiltrate our everyday lives I feel our society will find it harder to define values and cultural heritage and that they are not simply stories told by advertiser in an attempt to sell us their product.

Alexander Irving

         Alexander Irving is a painter that is interested in connecting with art history and creating a dialog in his work. His early works consists of a series of small balls with bumps arranged in various patterns. The work is small and each ball tests the edge of the surface. He never intended to work in a series, rather each piece led into another and from nineteen ninety eight until two thousand and six he considers these works almost like a diary. His interest in neon and the animating quality it possessed led him to create a series of works focused on alcohol. Alexander was interested in how alcohol created this cloud or haze when consumed. He was interested in the two edge nature of alcohol and  in how it breaks down barriers but also creates barriers. Investigating this interest he installed a work that invited the viewer to look through a small hole in the wall, where you are confronted with a mini bar. This work invokes a tantalizing feeling as you were unable to reach it, only imagine what it would be like to experience it.
        He continued to enjoy drawing compulsively being very playful with his drawings. Alexander spent a large portion of his life in Montreal and was influenced by Expo eighty six. The decaying state of this extravagant display of art and technology lead him into a series of small drawings. The drawings consisted of small little shacks just big enough for one person. He was commenting on the decay of the modernist idea, indicating a sort of presence,working with circles again it was almost like a self portrait.
      Alexander was asked during his presentation where do his idea come from? He stated " eventually something will just come of letting ideas happen" I found this comment very relevant in my own practice, as often I find myself stuck attempting to construct ideas for new works. This belief that if you don't over analyze things then inspiration will soon materialize, is very comforting coming from an established artist. He also explained "it is up to ourselves to build opportunity's" this point I also found very interesting, as an artist you must be a master of self promotion and the ability to sell oneself I feel is very important in this profession.
     Finally, Alexander Irving's  work is a great example of an artist and educator. He enjoys working on a subject until he has exhausted all visual and conceptual avenues.

History of Conceptual Art In Canada

      Since nineteen sixty Conceptual Art in Canada has been rich with history. The art  produced at this time became very political and socially motivated. On a large global scale many areas of Canada have had an effect on this movement. For example, each geographic region had its own set of unique artists that influenced this movement. Many countries around the world looked at Conceptualism as a global movement. Creating a show that embodied all of these influential artists was a massive undertaking, there was a need for primary research in  provinces, archives, interviews, photographs, and collections with  all information collected and put into an online resource.
         This archive contains over five thousand entries and allows you to search by year, artist and  gallery. This allowed Canadian Art Historians the ability to take a closer look at comparing Canadian and European conceptual artists. The movement got much of its momentum from the emergence and effect of new technologies, environments and changes in society. Each region of the country has its own influences on the conceptual movement.
         For example the question of regionalism was brought up in Quebec with regards to the distribution of paintings. The idea of video experimentation was also introduced to Ontario during this time. The Art in Vancouver was very anti structure, attempting to break down the barrier of art and life. In the Prairies many performance pieces were produced, dealing with chance and using everyday objects.
        Conceptual art was the defining edge on the world stage, art that would interact with the environment and embrace the idea of anti culture. The idea of networking was an important idea that came from Conceptualism, and  engaging with other artists from  around the world was an important process in the art making.

Vincent Trasov and Micheal Morris Lecture 1 and 2

Micheal Morris and Vincent Trasov both spoke at the University of Lethbridge on their own career and experiences in the arts.
        Micheal began his career in nineteen sixty four graduating from art school in London England. His experiences in London led him to Canada where he had the idea of reinventing art and the way people thought about art towards the end of the sixty's. In nineteen sixty five Micheal successfully had his first painting exhibited in a juried exhibition, the work was an abstract piece. He believed that art was an enigma, a puzzle that needed to be figured out and investigated.  Working with sections of coloured strips scrambled together, this arraignment expressed his state of mind at the time. Soon he began experimenting with different materials moving beyond the canvas. For example, incorporating inserts of plexi glass, mirrors and steel. This allowed him to break up space. Michael was specifically interested in the reflective quality and glossy finishes and how they alter the viewers perceptions. The painting became more like objects, engaging the viewer’s peripheral vision.
       Micheal soon partnered with Vincent Trasov in an attempt to circulate art around the country. During this time art was often limited to its geographical boarders. Using the postal service they sent out to each address and asked each artist to document their experience with a photograph. Much to the delight of both men the project was well received being recorded over sixty times. This created a conversation, and communication between artists that did not exist before.
       Vincent began his art in nineteen sixty five on the grounds of the University of British Columbia. His interest at the time was taking combustible liquids and setting them on fire. He was interested in the process, and in some cases not burning the objects completely but rather trying to control the forces.
        A popular idea within the artistic community at the time was embracing an alter ego or persona. This was illustrated with Vincents work "Mr. Peanut", growing up he recalls having a colouring book that featured Mr. Peanut. Fascinated with this idea he document his experience as Mr. Peanut through drawings, film and an actual run at Vancouver's mayoral campaign. This idea truly animated the city and the people became part of the performance. Since there were not great issues to address during this campaign, he was able to use this opportunity to bring art back to the people.
          Also during this period Vincent and Micheal decided to explore their interests in time lapse photography, joining a group of artists at a nature retreat. Using multiple groups of paint chips they arranged and dispersed them within the environment. The props would transform into works of art, image bars would create endless paintings. Documenting the various arrangements of the paint chips became very important. For example, the artist would scatter large groups of paint chips in the water and record the random nature as they floated around. The whole experience was documented in sixteen millimeter film, with no sound. This experience was coined baby land, their idea of an Utopian ideal, a place where artists could meet and act out their own ideas and feel comfortable doing it.
         The area of contemporary performance art today is greatly influenced by the ground breaking ideas Vincent and Micheal began exploring. Both men lived and worked during a generation of art making that saw a complete reinvention contrary to what was being produced.

Susanne Bruynzeel

      Susanne Bruynzeel is an installation artist who received her degree in philosophy before making the transition to a visual artist.  She began exhibitions art in two thousand and four, many of her works have been displayed through Europe and North America. Her pieces predominately focus on the relationships that exist between light, space and architecture. She enjoys philosophy but felt the language, specifically words and definitions very limiting. During her studies at art school she felt an enormous amount of pressure to produce objects. I understand this feeling, and sometimes find myself struggling to take a step back sometimes and reflect on my own work. Susanne soon found herself pushing back, and in turn becoming more interested in the experience rather than the physical art object. During her studies she also found time to found her own artist collective, were she gave other artists the ability and space to display works. This soon became more of a struggle and after a year she stooped working with the space and moved on.
     Continuing to focus on structure and architecture, specifically following the lines of the space Susanne soon found herself being asked to create many installations. For example a work consisting of an eight meter long wall covered in post-it notes. This work created moment and various shades within the space. Dealing with chance and texture Susanna was able to engage the space and use the architecture as her canvas. Susanne elaborates “I am interested in the difference between seeing and looking, we often make judgments when we first view something and attempt to make sense or order. I particularly enjoy using colours as they have their own language. They are able to influence us long before we can make our own judgments." This point I found very relevant to my own work, specifically the idea of judging forms before we fully understand what we are seeing. I make attempts in my own work to challenge perceptions and preconceived ideas one makes when encountering forms. She affirms this again stating “sometimes you go into view a work and are expecting to see something, but when it does not satisfy your visual expectation you begin to make judgments."
     The work I found particularly interesting that truly encompassed this philosophy of hers was an oil pastel drawing that she made. She allowed the pastels to fall off the paper and land on a wooden ledge below.  When you go into the space you are left with only a ledge of colour, and you have to let your mind construct and make sense of what you are viewing where the drawing would have been. When you come into the space you are expecting to see an object, this challenges that idea of perception.
   Susanne believes that making art should be about having a passion for the work, rather than the monetary gains that could be made. Working with other artists and collaborating with them is very important in order to find your own niche within the artistic community. In today's economy she also believes working on the cheap  allows her to make art and not focus on selling anything. Finally her work is an excellent example of using space and ready made objects, to create work that is assessable and engaging.

James Braithwait

James Braithwait is an illustrator and film maker, that is currently residing outside of Montreal. James summarizes his career as more of an experience that deals with life as it happens. Attending the University of Concordia James enrolled in English literature, but found that the pursuit of academics was not his forte. Realizing this lack of enthusiasm towards the educational institution, he soon formed an artist collective called the young people's collective. The group was made up of friends from many different faculties and was not restricted to just artists. A twenty four hour art marathon was set up, and works were produced once every twenty fours minutes continually in a twenty four hour period. Seeing the success of this project James continued to pursue his love of drawing using anything he could get his hands on. Soon DVDs, album covers, t-shirts and even working for magazine soon became avenues of expression for Braithwait.
     This work soon led him to creating the film "I meet the walrus". The film was based on an interview done by Jerry Levitan at the age of fourteen with John Lennon. Originally James was approached to create a documentary based on the experience. Upon further review of the material he found many of the images and recordings would be better suited if featured in an animated film. Levitan agreed and soon the film was being submitted to film festivals around the world. Early on the film found little success as rejection after rejection soon followed. Eventually the film was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, and in turn was nominated for an Emmy. The film unfortunately lost, but James elaborates in stating " the experience of just being nominated and being able to take part in such a spectacle was rewarding" I feel this point is very relevant in today's artistic community as rejection is often a part of the process. Without this we are unable to grow and expand as an artist and reach our full potential. Following his experience at the Oscars, the film was eventually nominated for a daytime Emmy. This time the film won and affirmed to James the path he chose as an illustrator was definitely paying dividends.
         Today James Braithwait spends his time working with the National Film Board of Canada. His work included short sixty second film, as well working with children producing work that deals with topics such as death, religion and the planet. James is a great example of a contemporary artist that has found his niche  within the artistic community. His passion for the arts is apparent when you hear him discuss how he has achieved success throughout his career.

Jeffery Spalding's Art

             Jeffery Spalding began his painting career in nineteen seventy one. His early works consisted of abstract patterns of colours which he embedded a series of coded messaged into each canvas. For example, assigning a numerical value to each colour then layering one on  top of each other forming patterns. To the naked eye the paintings would appear to be nothing more than plaid textures. He was attempting to express his own personal experiences through his paintings.
        The "Black" paintings were an interesting departure for Jeffery's abstract work, and focused on applying one hundred and fifty layers of transparent colour on a canvas. The finished work from a distance would appear to be completely black. On closer inspection they would appeared almost brown, purple and would change colour depending on the angle they were viewed from. Jeffery found it particularly interesting how the alternating layers of red, yellow and blues would blend and form colours within the layers. Concealing the brush stoke and hiding the process was important in Jeffery's work. Leaving the work not framed exposing the paint on the side which allows the viewer a look into the piece rather than just looking at the surface. As Jeffery stated " You were able to see the slight differences.. they are not really black."
         Jeffry then turned his attention to using the environment and existing architecture as his focus. The idea of creating a painting that is quiet and hidden, for example painting on walls, or using the paint on the walls as his inspiration for the canvas. His use of space and creating works that interact with existing architecture allowed Jeffery to manipulate the experience through the use of different colours. He admits during this time he was attempting to rationalize and control his world. He makes an interesting point in saying " This idea of control could come from a masculine place inside me as an artist?" This comment resonated with me because we often do not think of the gender of an artist effecting the choices they make. Hearing this on the other hand made me realize that our gender and the choices that follow play a big role in the making of art.
      Today, Jeffery is focused on feeling his way to a solution rather than thinking and controlling it. He believes in letting the paint tell a story, and attempts to make the paint disappear or vaporise like mist. His works to date deal with the effect of light on matter. He incorporates wood and exploits the textures within. He is interested in the life cycle and seasonal cycles, creating works that are almost like dream imagery.
        Jeffery's career as an artist has spanned many generations and movements with the world of art. He is quick to point out that his work speaks of a certain place and time he was in as an artist. And even today finds it hard to revert back to that place and time, in an attempt to explain and articulate his work. As an artist myself I find it fascinating to see  how  a retrospective collection of an artists career, really helps put in to prospective the dedication it take to be successful in the arts.

Calgary's Gallery Delema

         The city of Calgary is situated beside a spectacular natural landscape the rocky mountains. Despite this the city is lacking one of the most significant symbols of any major urban center. Calgary does not have it's own stand alone nationally recognized art gallery, and from the looks of it it's not going to happen anytime soon. Now this is not to say that Calgary does not have any spaces dedicated to displaying art. On the contrary the city possess many venues for artist, but rather each of these institutions operates as a stand alone.
            Jeffrey Spalding artist and curator, spoke at the University of Lethbridge. He attempted to address some of the major hurdles the city faces in bringing this idea to fruition. The idea of a single gallery representing the province as a whole has long been discussed within the community and city council for years.  Politics, funding, unrealistic expectations and a lack of leadership has ultimately led to no space to date. The cultural stigma that embodies Calgary, for example, the Calgary Stampede is often seen as an attitude that the city needs to separate itself from. Calgary needs to be known for more than one event a year. The city needs to embrace a cultural renaissance and continue to promote and celebrate its diversity, while beginning to grow beyond the stampede and embrace new ideas and forward thinking.
        The major problem is there is not a cohesive idea of what this space should look like or where it should be locate. Some people believe that existing spaces are acceptable, while you have others who believe there should be only a privately endorsed and commissioned space. The issue that often arises with using an existing space is its size. Usually large exhibitions that would attract the general public are often out of reach because of the lack of room. The Glenbow is a perfect example in Calgary of an existing space that is over crowded and does not have the mandate needed to commit to the visual arts. With an existing inventory of thirty thousand artifacts, the capacity to take on any new works is just not there. Another example of using an existing space was the old Telus building, donated to the city as a gift in hopes of cultivating an art gallery. In the end the lack of funding and investment lead to its demise.
         As Jeffrey explained on one of his trips to Europe to the small town of Martha Heroford in Germany. Calgary needs to look no future than this town of sixty five thousand and their gallery space dedicated to the arts. This is a perfect example of the use of an existing space and the ability to breath new life into it, with an addition in nineteen ninety five by Frank Gehry.
       Calgary needs to focus less on the grandiose nature of what this space would potentially look like, and more time collaborating with all members of the community.  In conclusion having a nationally recognized gallery in Calgary would be a wonderful acquisition to the city. When dealing with the arts and the community, you have many different opinions to be addressed. Until they can be focused and used cohesively, they cycle of zero productivity will continue to spiral out of control.

The History of Art on the Internet

      Katlin Jones presented a talk on the history of art on the Internet. The Internet in terms of its use within the artistic community is still  relatively new. Like any new medium some hesitation and apprehension still exists concerning its place within the artistic community. During the early nineteen ninety's North American artists was relatively behind when it came to using the Internet as a medium.  Many European countries  began accessing and using this new platform. The idea of sharing and broadcasting the artist experience appealed to Europeans more because of their idea of sharing the artist experience.
        The artist  Bruce Sterling in nineteen ninety three asked the question, "Why do people want to be on the Internet?" He used this vast unknown environment to help artist create a dialog. This idea of the "Dialog" was again illustrated by the artist Heath Bunting. His work "King Cross Phone" was a site that listed a collection of phone numbers, as well instructions on specific actions the viewer was supposed do. The results were then published online were they could be access by anyone arguing  the idea of  "conversation" even further.
      During this time the Internet was a group of sites under construction. It was the place that every person wanted to be but still had not reached. For example,  early art was created on the network. This was a place only accessible with a knowledge of code writing.  The writing of code was the general way of expressing anything on the Internet through numbers and text. The artist Jodi wanted to challenge our perceptions about the Internet, made us feel uneasy by placing hidden messages and images in html code. Jodi.org is considered the godfather of art on the Internet.
       The idea of ownership on the Internet was challenged by the second generation of artist in an attempt to showcase artwork outside the network. Bringing the Internet into the gallery was a challenge. The artist Cory Acangle hacked into a Super Mario cartridge and systematical recorded and edited the chip so it would only display clouds. This piece was then brought into the gallery and displayed on large screens, while leaving the hacked cartridge visible to the viewer. What made this interesting was that he documented and expressed some delight that everything he did was accessible to the public through the Internet.
      Another artist who continued to explore the idea of ownership was Petra Cartright. Today with YouTube anybody can upload their own self expressions, with the click of a mouse. Before this the idea of broadcasting self expression was a new idea. In one of Petra's works she would sit in front of a camera and play with multiple images that would appear across the screen. Today this has evolved into a phenomenon of self expression with various avenues, such as Face Book and Twitter. These sites allow the ultimate experience in self expression. Contemporary artists can look back at these artists and see how they each played an intricate role in shaping art on the Internet.

Jamelie Hassan

     Jamelie Hassan was born in London, Ontario in 1948. Currently she is living and working in London. Her work  deals with Politically based images expressed through ceramics, painting, video, and mixed media. Working in London early in her career, and being from  Arab decent made it very difficult to gain acceptance within the academic and social community. Jamelie uses this tension in her work and attempts to bridge the gap between cultures using visual and text based images. Over the years in London she had acquired over seven studio spaces and had been evicted from all of them. As well each space was systematically torn down much to the response of the community and their inability to embrace the art community. She was given the opportunity to travel to the middle east to study her practice. She found the experience very interesting, and met another artist that she traveled with throughout the middle east, painting around sixty works and giving most of them away along her travels. The political context was a issue regarding many of her works. The work " Hong Kong" is imagery that has been taken from the store front of an old Chinese restaurant. She attempts to have the viewer recognize the physical presence to a place.
   With growing up in an Arabic speaking home her traditions also played a large role in her work. The piece "Midnight children" illustrates small books of Satanic verses being burned, and also small cups or coffee grounds. Reading of the trace coffee grounds was a tradition that Jamelie had experienced many times growing up. Jameilie has had to deal with her work being protested and challenged within the art community as well as within the academics. An academic at the University of London actually went so far as to fuel a public campaign in the papers in response to a piece she had done. In response she said, "they didn't know who they were messing with" and in the larger context she believed that such publicity actually did more good then bad. In her final work she presented "Oblivion Seekers" which was a video project she studied. She used archives, race, news footage, and exclusion. The work was a collection of video clips of men and women dancing in a time when Arabs were represented very negatively. In conclusion Jamelie illustrates that taking a position within her practice has been helpful, and it only helps to further inform her art.

Faye HeavyShield

      Faye HeavyShield received her education from  Calgary College in 1980. She has exhibited both solo and group exhibitions. The images that Faye showed at the beginning of her lecture illustrated a fourteen month study of landscapes. These landscapes are very familiar to Faye as she spent many of her childhood years growing up, and experiencing these surroundings. As a young child she had fond memories of smells, sounds, and tastes that inform her work. Becoming an artist was not Faye's interest in the beginning of her studies at the Calgary College,  in her third year she began to take an interest in art. She recalls sitting in many art history classes as a student, and finding it difficult to resonate with the material. Faye believes art is a "Language" and one must live, breathe, and interact with art. Her inspirations for her landscapes are triggered by visual experiences, her identity, language, and community experiences. She believes that the land and the sky are not separate visual images but rather one. Faye also attempts to break our reference to objects, such as "blood." For most of us, we think of blood to be associated with violence or a traumatic event. Faye has a child memory of a "sweet smell," and attempts to convey this memory in her work. The work "Body of land" is many portraits that are constructed of close up images of human skin. The images are shaped into small teepee's and pinned on the gallery wall. Faye is quoted as saying, " my environment includes family language and the narrative. The configuration of objects on the gallery wall is my attempt to convey the scope of this personal landscape. Each portrait is a body, knowledge, history and story both real and imagined." In 1998 Faye felt as if Calgary was really starting to commercialize art. Tired of openings and deadlines, as well the death of a friend caused Faye to take a five year hiatus before returning to the art community.  Most recently on 2004, Faye was involved with an off site exhibition celebrating Samuel Duchamp's landing in Fredericton titled, "Camouflage." It was a collection of natural objects, and images glued together placed in a site specific location only to be washed away by the rising tide. Faye believes writing is a very important aspect of her practice, and recording her experiences in a journal is essential. For anybody who is interested in photography and landscapes I would recommend Faye's work.

Art Now Robin Arsenault

My name is Mark Porcina and I am currently in the MFA program in Visual Arts at the University of Lethbridge. Part of my studies this semester is writing a blog that documents Art Now. This is a series of visiting artists at the University during the noon hour. Each artist presents a series of images for roughly an hour discussing their practice and experiences within the art community. As an emerging artist myself I enjoy this opportunity to hear how other colleagues are making it in the art world. I am new to the blogging world and hope to refine my reviews. I am always interested in hearing comments and responses to anything that peaks an interest.

 Robin Arsenault, was born in Grand Prairie Alberta and received her MFA in Scotland, and has exhibited both here and in North America and also Internationally. Her work predominately centers around four themes "Foley, Pathos, Abjection, and Failure." Robin does installation work, performance as well as drawing and text based images. Robin's work attempts to deconstruct  relations with people and group situations. Some of her work focuses on the " Uncomfortable situations in life." She is quick to point out her idea of accepting our failures, and  her work is somewhat satirical and humorous. Robin also is interested in engaging the audience through performance and theatrical pieces, Such as her piece "tapping your troubles away." It is a short two minute clip of a dancers legs tapping away to a nostalgic song. What makes this interesting is the video was filmed through a pin hole camera, which forces the viewers eye directly at the dancers legs. Towards the end one of the dancers legs breaks off and your left with the question, "is it really that easy to just dance life's troubles away?"  I found Robin's work very accessible through the imagery, and text she uses in her work. I find myself wondering whether or not I should laugh or cringe, as the images seem to always possess some sort of duel meaning.