Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
23 October 2018 Vol 3 No 22 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2018
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
I went to Anthropocene – the film – last week. This latest epic from prolific Toronto photographer Edward Burtynsky and his filmmaking collaborators Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier is haunting. Like earlier projects, it is a beautiful yet horrifying depiction of the vast scale of environmental devastation wrought by humans.
Anthropocene – also a major exhibition at both the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario – refers to an epoch proposed by scientists to acknowledge human impacts on our planet's ecosystem. The problems the film addresses – toxic mines, forestry clear-cutting, loss of habitat and the like – are familiar. But, even so, the visuals require more background to aid comprehension.
So I was glad to read Paul Gessell’s review of the project's third leg: a book. Paul, who is based near Ottawa, was able to compare the three versions of Anthropocene. His review shares my concern over the film's lack of context, but he notes the book provides more information. It's definitely going on my reading list!
Paul’s review is the first to arrive for the second annual Galleries West art books issue, which will appear sequentially on this website starting Dec. 6. Paul, like me, is a former reporter at Canadian Press, the national news service. He is out of the starting blocks fast on a story, and, occasionally, past the finish line before I formally confirm the assignment.
He has already filed a second review, this one about John Little’s book, Who Killed Tom Thomson? Meanwhile, I’m still puzzling out the rest of the issue. The goal is to review at least six books published in Canada in 2018. I welcome suggestions! Fire me a quick email at editor@gallerieswest.ca or add them below to the comments section.
Now, back to this issue. As I wrote a first draft of this note, I was waiting for installation shots of Eric Cameron’s show, which opened Saturday at TrépanierBaer in Calgary, a testament to the octogenarian's remarkable career. We also have a story about an interesting show at the Art Gallery of Alberta that features art by India's leading contemporary artists.
Mark Mushet writes about a Vancouver public art project by Diyan Achjadi that broaches one of the region's pressing challenges – fast-paced urban redevelopment that's worsening the housing crisis. The issue is rounded out with stories on Edmonton's Craig Le Blanc, North Vancouver's Arnold Shives, and a reconciliation project by two Indigenous women, Lana Whiskeyjack and Beth Wishart MacKenzie.
Looking ahead, expect stories about Dana Claxton, Sarain Stump, Sarah Stevenson, Robert Bruce and others. Somewhere on this relentless merry-go-round, I’ll get that books issue spinning too.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Agnieszka Matejko, Mark Mushet