Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
13 August 2019 Vol 4 No 17 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2019
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
I stumbled across a great little book recently – Unpacking My Library: Artists and Their Books.
It features photographs of 10 international artists, including Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, but mostly their books. As you flip the pages, you can read the titles on the spines, almost as if you were standing next to their bookshelves.
The book, published last year by Yale University Press, also includes short interviews with each artist. One lovely sentiment, beautifully expressed, comes from Carrie Mae Weems: “Books are my playmates, my best friends, my running buddies, my partners in crime, my solace, and my occasional lover.” Amen to that.
Books have been on my mind more than usual of late. For one thing, I just commissioned a review of Art and Rivalry: The Marriage of Mary and Christopher Pratt by Carol Bishop-Gwyn, which we’ll publish when it's released in October. I’m told by someone who has seen the galleys that it’s a good gossipy read. I can hardly wait!
In the meantime, I have been reading On the Curve: The Life and Art of Sybil Andrews, which I'm reviewing for BC Bookworld. It's written by Janet Nicol, who writes occasionally for Galleries West. Andrews, who laboured in relative obscurity on Vancouver Island for much of her life, is drawing renewed interest these days, including a retrospective this fall at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum.
For this issue of Galleries West, I've written about another book, Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry, by Alexander Dawkins, co-owner of the Lattimer Gallery in Vancouver. It’s a useful book that does much to demystify the jewelry's complex iconography.
Of course, there’s more to life than books. So, we've included Dorothy Woodend’s review of Dog Days, an exhibition of photographs featuring canine companions, at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver.
In Regina, Sandee Moore reviews Iranian-born artist Moreshin Allahyari’s show at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, while Steven Ross Smith writes about Carmen Papalia and his collaboration with Heather Kai Smith at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff.
As well, Paul Gessell talks to Jessica Richter about her latest projects, which explore the experiences of German-Canadian immigrants.
Our final story looks at Calgary’s Jennifer Weihmann, whose show at the Christine Klassen Gallery in Calgary features ephemeral photographs of leaves.
Looking ahead, expect stories about Calgary artist Kent Merriman, John Paskievich’s photographs of Winnipeg’s North End, and a Regina show by queer artists from the Prairies.
Now, back full circle to Unpacking My Library: In the spirit of democracy, we'd love you to unpack your library.
Why not email a snapshot of your shelf (or stack) of art books (a.k.a. playmates, friends, running buddies, etc.) to editor@gallerieswest.ca? If you're game, we’ll share it with other readers via our Instagram account, @gallerieswest.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Paul Gessell, Sandee Moore, Steven Ross Smith, Dorothy Woodend