Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
18 July 2017 Vol 2 No 15 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2017
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Circles. As I worked on this issue, I found myself thinking about them again and again. If you’ve seen the cover, you’ll understand why. It shows Transect, a new public sculpture in Edmonton created by glass artists Tyler Rock and Julia Reimer to mark Canada's 150th anniversary, and it's replete with numerous circular glass tiles held in a stainless steel armature. As soon as I saw the striking close-up photos by Galla Theodosis, I knew I had found this issue's cover shot.
At its most basic level, a circle is a simple geometric form – a closed curve in which all points are the same distance from the centre. But the symbolism humans have placed on circles is anything but simple. At various times, and within different cultures, circles have represented wildly disparate notions ranging from the individual self to the wholeness of the universe. Perfection, unity, the cycles of life … there are many more readings. Sometimes we sit in circles to share non-hierarchical conversations. Yet, paradoxically, circles can also be exclusionary: The inner circle is the elite, often with special privileges or access to power. I could go on, but I’m sure you have plenty of your own ideas about the meanings of circles.
As is often the case, when you notice something, you begin to notice more of it. As I worked on a story about Tyler’s Gronsdahl’s tongue-in-cheek exhibition, Saskatchewan Maritime Museum, I felt drawn to the circular form of an old-style diving helmet. Then came Australian artist Gordon Bennett’s exhibition, Be Polite, at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. John Thomson begins his review with a discussion of one of Bennett’s notepad drawings, Seeing is Believing, which features an eye: Another circular element. Then there is the kitchen table in Tabletop Commander, part of a collaborative show by Sonny Assu and Brendan Tang. Above the installation's round table is a painting of a white house to which Assu has added Northwest Coast imagery – yup, you guessed it, a stylized ovoid form. Even Helen Mackie’s print of a mountain ash features many small red circles – the tree’s berries. I managed to break the trend with an image of cacti in bloom by Karin Bubaš. But I'm sure if you examined it closely you could spot some circular elements, as they are so common in flowers. Me? I’ve stopped looking. My pattern-seeking brain needs a break.
I hope you enjoy this issue. As always, you can join our circle by signing up for the email reminder we send out when we publish a new issue each second Tuesday. We call it subscribing, but there is no fee to read the magazine. Open access – yikes, that's another circular concept.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Mary-Beth Laviolette, John Thomson
