Nickle at Noon: January 2022

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DAVE BROWN Photo by Dave Brown, Libraries a

Diana Thorneycroft, "Herd (detail)," 2016

Collection of Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary, Gift of the Artist. Photo: Dave Brown, LCR Photo Services.

Nickle at Noon January 2022

Diana Thorneycroft – Herd and the Surrogate

Thursday, January 13 - 12:00 PM

In conjunction with the Nickle’s new exhibition The World We’re Living In, curated by Christine Sowiak from the permanent collection of Nickle Galleries, Diana Thorneycroft will discuss her mixed media installation Herd, which involves a 40-foot ramp and over 150 toy horses, half of which have been altered. She will present images from past and current work, and focus on her use of surrogates to address the human condition.

Diana Thorneycroft is a Winnipeg artist who has exhibited various bodies of work across Canada, the United States and Europe, as well as in Moscow, Tokyo and Sydney. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2016 Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction, an Assistance to Visual Arts Long-term Grant from the Canada Council, several Senior Arts Grants from the Manitoba Arts Council and a Fleck Fellowship from the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Known for making art that frequently employs black humour and hovers on the edge of public acceptance, Thorneycroft has pursued subject matter that often challenges her viewing audience. Stemming from the recently touring installation Black Forest (dark waters), her first stop-motion animation short film Black Forest Sanatorium had it’s world premiere at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival. It has since shown in twelve other venues that includes galleries as well as other festivals.

Diana Thorneycroft taught as a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba’s School of Art for 25 years. Since 2010 she has been focusing on her studio practice and continues to give workshops, teach and mentor younger artists.

This talk will be presented live via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 990 7821 5923

Passcode: Nickle

Thoughts as Bullets: WWI and the Maturing of Propaganda

Thursday January 20 - 12 PM

This talk will focus on the propaganda of WWI with an emphasis on the paper-based collections at the University of Calgary. Through the work of communications theorist, Harold Lasswell (1902-1978), I will provide an overview of the development of propaganda, and strategies employed by the Entente and Central powers, from 1914 through to the end of the war.

Jason Nisenson is Assistant Archivist, Archives & Special Collections, The Military Museums, Calgary.

This talk will be presented live via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 990 7821 5923

Passcode: Nickle

Carolyn Willekes – Here be Unicorns: From Tooth to Treasure

Thursday, January 27 - 12:00 PM

A popular creature of legend and lore, the unicorn has been imagined and interpreted in many ways from antiquity to the present day.   While different versions of the ‘unicorn’ existed across Eurasia, the rendition most familiar to Western iconography and pop culture emerged from the European tradition.  This unicorn was not viewed as a creature of mere whimsy or fancy as it carried much symbolic significance in both sacred and secular contexts.  As a result, there was great demand for unicorn paraphernalia, with the most prized item being the horn itself, and it was a truly wealthy individual indeed who could show off their collection of unicorn horn products. Where did these horns come from? How does one sell/buy something that doesn’t exist? This talk will dive into the connections between mythology, religion, trade, and natural history to explore how the tooth of a marine mammal could transform into one of the most expensive pieces of medieval naturalia as it journeyed from the waters of the Arctic Sea to the splendor of medieval courts.

Carolyn Willekes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Education at Mount Royal University. She received her PhD from the Department of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses primarily on equines in the ancient Mediterranean world, but she also has an interest in the broader cultural perspectives of animals and the human-animal relationship.

This talk will be presented live via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 990 7821 5923

Passcode: Nickle