The word curate is now an often employed term. People looking to add cultural cache to a sock drawer or cupcake selection have taken up the term with gusto. But the work of a museum or art gallery curator still isn’t widely understood. We work by a code of ethics and receive professional training in order to take on the responsibilities associated with the profession. Inherent in the position are the long-held traditions of caring Read more…
Last week we looked at the role sketchbook journals can play as the COVID-19 restrictions force us to look at the world around us from a different perspective. The simplest things in our daily routines and our homes can become new sources of thought and reflection about larger ideas. Maybe it’s drawing the contents of your laundry basket as a step toward exploring the journey of a garment from raw materials to finished product, and Read more…
John Cage was an American composer born in 1912. His masterful and highly influential piano composition 4’33 was famously performed by David Tudor in Woodstock, NY in 1952. It is a rumination on the core concepts of silence and chance operations. Over the period of his career John Cage was influenced by Zen, as well as texts like the Yi Jing. Silence was described by Cage as: “not the absence of sound but was the Read more…
Amidst the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, people continue to serve their needs and find solace in various forms of activity from their homes, often in solitude, as we socially distance. Many have turned to art and cultural experiences to seek peace, inspiration, and ways of working through their emotions and larger philosophical questions. The next theme I will explore in the CRAG blog is the meditative aspects of art. I will investigate historical and Read more…
Shadow puppetry is a unique art form with a history going back at least 2000 years. The earliest practices emerged in China and India, featuring such themes as legends and myths, and stories from religious traditions. The art also flourished in other regions including Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and eventually to Europe where the cutting out of silhouettes in the 1800s became a popular activity. The concept of shadow puppetry took a new Read more…
One of the things that art does well – and has done for hundreds of years – is to investigate challenging human experiences. This opens up the potential for reflecting on and understanding our own and others’ mental states and feelings of distress and anxiety. Jill BennettNational Institute for Experimental ArtsUniversity of New South Wales In times of crisis, there is a special role for arts and culture in helping people make sense of uncertainty Read more…
Over the last few weeks we at the CRAG have watched how many artists and institutions have responded to the onset of these uncertain days of pandemic. The provision of activities and access to online galleries and artistic endeavours has provided a platform for artists to speak from and virtual places for people isolating at home to engage and connect. Similar to such initiatives at other galleries, the CRAG team will also galvanize to create Read more…
Collage is a medium all its own within visual art, referring to art made from combining a variety of forms, materials, and sources to create a new whole. By layering different information and materials, new meaning develops from the meaning of the original sources. The beginning of collage is often attributed to George Braque and Pablo Picasso during the Synthetic Cubist period (1912-1914). The term “collage” comes from the French word coller, or “to glue.” Read more…
In conjunction with this extended exploration of the medium of collage, the CRAG team is embarking on a travelling community collage project known as the Collage Caravan. Local artist Rachel Henry has converted a 1975 Winnebago van into a mobile art gallery complete with a blonde wood interior and overhead track lighting, not unlike the Crummy Gallery by the Bomfords which is currently residing in Spirit Square as part of the CRAG’s main gallery exhibition Read more…
The CRAG is excited to present two new interactive sculptures, Rest Stop and Crummy Gallery this fall by Victoria-based artists Cedric, Nathan and Jim Bomford. The Bomfords, a father-and-son trio, have worked collaboratively on several artistic projects like this one in the past. A family business or profession being passed down through generations is not uncommon, whether by means of nature or nurture. Learning a trade by observing someone you live in close proximity to Read more…