All artworks by Dawn Saunders Dahl
Alberta Farm Women Project • 10 artworks
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Alberta Farm Women is an exhibit that will be shown at the Red Deer and District Museum in 2009 that[...]
Alberta Farm Women is an exhibit that will be shown at the Red Deer and District Museum in 2009 that will combine the documentary genres of photography, video and sound recording, and portraiture.
Agriculture is a vital industry to our province and rural women have been indispensable to its development. Alberta Farm Women commemorates and documents the present time by examining current rural culture, its presence in Alberta and the determination of its unique rural women. These women met opportunity with passion and faced their challenges with initiative and the unwavering desire to build something better for their families and community. This exhibit shows the hardships and stresses that have become reflected in their hands, faces and language to show a sense of the immediate and the actual, of these women’s perceptions and realities, and of life unfolding as it really is. By focusing my practice on these role models, and acknowledging their influence on my own experience, I strive to create an awareness of their courage and strength.
These are not famous women, but women whose daily work and sacrifice have contributed to the well being of our lives. (Rogers, p.10) Without the dedication, hard work and the vision that farm women brought to their community and organizational work, many fundamental services to Albertans would not exist. From the first generation of homesteaders to today, farm women invested themselves in the betterment of the society in which they live pushing for reform, for resources and for reasonable decision making that put the welfare of the people first. (Langford, p.125) Through this project, traces of their work and lives have been documented, so that they do not disappear unnoted, creating an awareness of their role in the western prairie community. All Albertans, urban and rural, gain from the work of the few, are the beneficiaries and are in their debt. To these women of foresight and determination and action, we all owe a debt of gratitude and recognition. By unearthing these stories we are reminded of how easily the erasure of history can occur and of how important it is to document these pieces of Canadian history.
I have been compelled to record this critical moment in rural life, which has been slowly disappearing, to portray an extraordinary intimacy and rich reference to Alberta’s rural and agricultural history. New aspects of this work will be shown at The Red Deer Museum Exhibit and will be incorporated by discussing and documenting my conversations with the farming women of Camrose and Stettler. I see this project as an exploration, and the art work that would emerge as being born of a relationship of collaboration, rather than the traditional relationship of artist to subject. My research involves dialogues with these women inquiring how they feel about the change in their community and how they would like to see themselves portrayed in appearance, in place, and with the tools and objects they interact with each day. The creation and assembly of the artwork has been guided by these desires and perceptions, emphasizing the values and ideas expressed by these women about life, family, farming, Alberta and art. My aim is to capture the small gestures, quirks, glances and fleeting moments, which are reflective of their daily lives, commemorating and documenting the present time, capturing a snapshot after Alberta’s historic centennial year.
Langford, Nanci. Politics, Pitchforks and Pickle Jars. (1997) Detselig Enterprises. Calgary, Alberta. p.27 and 125.
Rogers, Susan. Alberta’s Unsung Heroines. (2005) Artiza Ltd. Edmonton, Alberta. p.10.
Agriculture is a vital industry to our province and rural women have been indispensable to its development. Alberta Farm Women commemorates and documents the present time by examining current rural culture, its presence in Alberta and the determination of its unique rural women. These women met opportunity with passion and faced their challenges with initiative and the unwavering desire to build something better for their families and community. This exhibit shows the hardships and stresses that have become reflected in their hands, faces and language to show a sense of the immediate and the actual, of these women’s perceptions and realities, and of life unfolding as it really is. By focusing my practice on these role models, and acknowledging their influence on my own experience, I strive to create an awareness of their courage and strength.
These are not famous women, but women whose daily work and sacrifice have contributed to the well being of our lives. (Rogers, p.10) Without the dedication, hard work and the vision that farm women brought to their community and organizational work, many fundamental services to Albertans would not exist. From the first generation of homesteaders to today, farm women invested themselves in the betterment of the society in which they live pushing for reform, for resources and for reasonable decision making that put the welfare of the people first. (Langford, p.125) Through this project, traces of their work and lives have been documented, so that they do not disappear unnoted, creating an awareness of their role in the western prairie community. All Albertans, urban and rural, gain from the work of the few, are the beneficiaries and are in their debt. To these women of foresight and determination and action, we all owe a debt of gratitude and recognition. By unearthing these stories we are reminded of how easily the erasure of history can occur and of how important it is to document these pieces of Canadian history.
I have been compelled to record this critical moment in rural life, which has been slowly disappearing, to portray an extraordinary intimacy and rich reference to Alberta’s rural and agricultural history. New aspects of this work will be shown at The Red Deer Museum Exhibit and will be incorporated by discussing and documenting my conversations with the farming women of Camrose and Stettler. I see this project as an exploration, and the art work that would emerge as being born of a relationship of collaboration, rather than the traditional relationship of artist to subject. My research involves dialogues with these women inquiring how they feel about the change in their community and how they would like to see themselves portrayed in appearance, in place, and with the tools and objects they interact with each day. The creation and assembly of the artwork has been guided by these desires and perceptions, emphasizing the values and ideas expressed by these women about life, family, farming, Alberta and art. My aim is to capture the small gestures, quirks, glances and fleeting moments, which are reflective of their daily lives, commemorating and documenting the present time, capturing a snapshot after Alberta’s historic centennial year.
Langford, Nanci. Politics, Pitchforks and Pickle Jars. (1997) Detselig Enterprises. Calgary, Alberta. p.27 and 125.
Rogers, Susan. Alberta’s Unsung Heroines. (2005) Artiza Ltd. Edmonton, Alberta. p.10.
Portraits • 38 artworks
View allSurreal Work • 10 artworks
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ARTIST STATEMENT
“We are all like babies and magpies – attracted to the glittery and bright eye candy[...]
ARTIST STATEMENT
“We are all like babies and magpies – attracted to the glittery and bright eye candy helps to keep us enraptured.” Jen Budney on Laurie Anderson
While MTV-711-fastfood-culture image bombardment may be the fastest, most marketable way to publish a message, fine art is an enticing and engaging method of communication. Our world has become so overloaded with imagery, which many of us are subjected to on a daily basis, it leaves us little time to assimilate and evaluate the information. My visual foundation, inspired by life in the real world, evokes moods and memories that reveal a playground of personal revelations. It is my wish that the viewer can relate to my paintings through their own childhood memories and dreams.
With the use of ‘sparkle paint’ and kitsch imagery I question the role of fine art in today’s society. Incorporating titles from morning cartoons and sitcoms, using specific colors and images, memories are captured from my collective TV childhood past. In my paintings strange juxtapositions are created between the environments and people, a place where these images draw upon dreams. These symbolic clues are a result of the cultivation of experiences – experiences that create an aura of mystery, challenge my imagination and captivate me. By mixing memory, fate and chance, I describe and create my own record of the passage of place and time. This act of piecing together mundane acts in familiar places may be disconcerting to the viewer, but they are ciphers to the content of the paintings. This work provides bountiful promises of fantasy and utopia alluding to the desires of freedom. It is here where there is freedom and joy exists with the rediscovery of a sense of play.
Art today is becoming more and more perfect and in control. I am interested in revealing how traditional drawing and painting do not seem as in control as other mediums. Media heavily influences the way we perceive our surroundings and the people around us. Does the media shape our concept of the world so much that it envelopes our existing surroundings and becomes our new reality?
I was born under the astrological sign of Gemini (twins) - the sign of communication and of having “two minds.” My fascination with the supernatural and the unknown, mixed with my childhood memories heavily influences my art work. These worlds have collided in my practice by mixing dreams with chance, reality with illusions, humor with innocence and tradition with popular culture. My art making processes stem from an intense formal education and an appreciation of traditional drawing and painting practices as well as performance and installation works.
By renewing traditional drawing, compositional and color theories and mixing them with pop iconography, I transform these realities with my daydreams. Using drawing as my main anchor, a hypothesis of possible developments is represented; ideas of speculation and identification establish a relationship within a possible reality. Memory is an internal process within my personal reality which encompasses elements of depiction and expression. The origin of my work is revealed through visual experiences from the past which are held in my memory. Through this recollection of familiar objects, people, places I am influenced by what I perceive. I am moving towards recognition, a re-counter with the formal unities which first took my attention and were lodged in my memory.
Through drawing, I recall visual experiences distanced from the past. We are visual people and communicate through expression, gesture and perceive emotion through color and line. My intent is to continue to merge all aspects of my work and find an answer to what my reality is.
“We are all like babies and magpies – attracted to the glittery and bright eye candy helps to keep us enraptured.” Jen Budney on Laurie Anderson
While MTV-711-fastfood-culture image bombardment may be the fastest, most marketable way to publish a message, fine art is an enticing and engaging method of communication. Our world has become so overloaded with imagery, which many of us are subjected to on a daily basis, it leaves us little time to assimilate and evaluate the information. My visual foundation, inspired by life in the real world, evokes moods and memories that reveal a playground of personal revelations. It is my wish that the viewer can relate to my paintings through their own childhood memories and dreams.
With the use of ‘sparkle paint’ and kitsch imagery I question the role of fine art in today’s society. Incorporating titles from morning cartoons and sitcoms, using specific colors and images, memories are captured from my collective TV childhood past. In my paintings strange juxtapositions are created between the environments and people, a place where these images draw upon dreams. These symbolic clues are a result of the cultivation of experiences – experiences that create an aura of mystery, challenge my imagination and captivate me. By mixing memory, fate and chance, I describe and create my own record of the passage of place and time. This act of piecing together mundane acts in familiar places may be disconcerting to the viewer, but they are ciphers to the content of the paintings. This work provides bountiful promises of fantasy and utopia alluding to the desires of freedom. It is here where there is freedom and joy exists with the rediscovery of a sense of play.
Art today is becoming more and more perfect and in control. I am interested in revealing how traditional drawing and painting do not seem as in control as other mediums. Media heavily influences the way we perceive our surroundings and the people around us. Does the media shape our concept of the world so much that it envelopes our existing surroundings and becomes our new reality?
I was born under the astrological sign of Gemini (twins) - the sign of communication and of having “two minds.” My fascination with the supernatural and the unknown, mixed with my childhood memories heavily influences my art work. These worlds have collided in my practice by mixing dreams with chance, reality with illusions, humor with innocence and tradition with popular culture. My art making processes stem from an intense formal education and an appreciation of traditional drawing and painting practices as well as performance and installation works.
By renewing traditional drawing, compositional and color theories and mixing them with pop iconography, I transform these realities with my daydreams. Using drawing as my main anchor, a hypothesis of possible developments is represented; ideas of speculation and identification establish a relationship within a possible reality. Memory is an internal process within my personal reality which encompasses elements of depiction and expression. The origin of my work is revealed through visual experiences from the past which are held in my memory. Through this recollection of familiar objects, people, places I am influenced by what I perceive. I am moving towards recognition, a re-counter with the formal unities which first took my attention and were lodged in my memory.
Through drawing, I recall visual experiences distanced from the past. We are visual people and communicate through expression, gesture and perceive emotion through color and line. My intent is to continue to merge all aspects of my work and find an answer to what my reality is.
Sparkle paintings • 12 artworks
View allDog Portraits • 11 artworks
View allMurals and Installations • 13 artworks
View allNudes • 13 artworks
View allCeramic Work • 19 artworks
View allBats in the Belfry • 27 artworks
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CURATORIAL STATEMENT FOR BATS IN THE BELFRY
Why do fine artists do what they do when new methods of[...]
CURATORIAL STATEMENT FOR BATS IN THE BELFRY
Why do fine artists do what they do when new methods of art making, such as web work and animated shorts, are more accessible to the general public? Has fine art become so far removed from our lives that it is unintelligible? Are we only preaching to the choir? Is it only other artists that seek meaning in traditional-media based works? Is art, if not dead, at least silent?
The visual world is driven by digital and moving media and our attention span has followed this trend. We are subjected to a rapid barrage of images on a daily basis, leaving us little time to assimilate and evaluate the information, and critical, independent thinking often falls by the wayside. Does fine art have to be a quick fix bombarded by media, colors and motions for a message to get through? While MTV-711-fastfoodculture-bombarded images may be the fastest, most marketable way to publish a message, fine art is an engaging method. More importantly, it not only informs, but communicates. Fine art in any medium demands an engaged response, fostering a dialogue and leading the viewer to his or her own conclusion, and necessarily, some form of understanding.
Bats in Belfry represents a broad range of artists that are linked together by their ‘painterly’ approaches, especially in regards to the influence traditional fine art making skills has had on each artist. This recognition can be seen with their use of color, light, line and composition; all of which emphasize their creativity and ideas. By exhibiting works in oil or clay along side electronically based pieces, we prove that each are as artistically legitimate as the other and that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Creating this exhibition shows that while the medium might be the message, it doesn’t have to restrict it. As curators, we believe that this exhibit will revive an interest in fine art within the art community as a viable method of communication; be it as a means of resistance, a catalyst for change, an exclamation of belonging, or a personal message.
Bats in the Belfry proves that despite rumours of paintings’ demise there are still young artists intrigued and attracted to all forms of art making. Fine art, regardless of medium, is used as a means for communication, whether it is a socio-political statement or the sheer joy of process, and confirms once again that for as long as humans engage in art-making, fine art will have something to say to those with the eyes to hear it.
March 31, 2004
Dawn Saunders Dahl
Curator
Why do fine artists do what they do when new methods of art making, such as web work and animated shorts, are more accessible to the general public? Has fine art become so far removed from our lives that it is unintelligible? Are we only preaching to the choir? Is it only other artists that seek meaning in traditional-media based works? Is art, if not dead, at least silent?
The visual world is driven by digital and moving media and our attention span has followed this trend. We are subjected to a rapid barrage of images on a daily basis, leaving us little time to assimilate and evaluate the information, and critical, independent thinking often falls by the wayside. Does fine art have to be a quick fix bombarded by media, colors and motions for a message to get through? While MTV-711-fastfoodculture-bombarded images may be the fastest, most marketable way to publish a message, fine art is an engaging method. More importantly, it not only informs, but communicates. Fine art in any medium demands an engaged response, fostering a dialogue and leading the viewer to his or her own conclusion, and necessarily, some form of understanding.
Bats in Belfry represents a broad range of artists that are linked together by their ‘painterly’ approaches, especially in regards to the influence traditional fine art making skills has had on each artist. This recognition can be seen with their use of color, light, line and composition; all of which emphasize their creativity and ideas. By exhibiting works in oil or clay along side electronically based pieces, we prove that each are as artistically legitimate as the other and that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Creating this exhibition shows that while the medium might be the message, it doesn’t have to restrict it. As curators, we believe that this exhibit will revive an interest in fine art within the art community as a viable method of communication; be it as a means of resistance, a catalyst for change, an exclamation of belonging, or a personal message.
Bats in the Belfry proves that despite rumours of paintings’ demise there are still young artists intrigued and attracted to all forms of art making. Fine art, regardless of medium, is used as a means for communication, whether it is a socio-political statement or the sheer joy of process, and confirms once again that for as long as humans engage in art-making, fine art will have something to say to those with the eyes to hear it.
March 31, 2004
Dawn Saunders Dahl
Curator
An Indelible Era • 42 artworks
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An Indelible Era - 25 Influential Years
From sculpture to painting, drawing to video, installation[...]
An Indelible Era - 25 Influential Years
From sculpture to painting, drawing to video, installation to pots; a myriad of aesthetic
approaches, and techniques are featured in “Indelible Era.” The thirty diverse artists featured in this exhibition are tied together by a common thread. As aspiring artists our career journeys began at Red Deer College where we were mentored by instructors, Charles Wissinger and Joseph Reeder.
Chuck and Joe’s teaching style combined a fierce passion and pragmatism which included a deep belief in their students. As role models they inspired us to pursue the potential of our dreams and gave us the tools to do so. We were encouraged to take risks, face challenges, work hard, embrace the unexpected, and believe in the value of our art and ourselves. Chuck and Joe brought the rich history of Alberta and Canada alive by encouraging us to use it as a beacon to light our individual paths into the world of contemporary art. They taught us to not be seduced by the flavor of the day but to embrace our heritage, to learn from the past while boldly launching into the future. “An Indelible Era” exhibits the culmination of their efforts as committed instructors and mentors.
Wissinger and Reeder’s gift to us stretched far beyond traditional classroom interaction. They committed endless hours guiding us through the Art Biz Maze that conventional student/teacher interaction does not touch on. Wissinger and Reeder went to extraordinary lengths to plug students into real world experiences. To this end they maintained a strong relationship with “The Works Festival” from it’s inception in 1986. Their avid support of The Works became a gateway and learning tool, which led to various opportunities for many of us. All of the artists featured in this exhibit have shared in the RDC/The Works collaboration as employees, project apprentices and/or exhibitors. While opening the doors into the professional art world, the RDC/The Works collaboration left an “Indelible” mark on Alberta Art History by producing a number of the festivals premier events.
Wissinger and Reeder’s tireless efforts assured that the artists exhibited here were armed with the tools that each individual would need to leave his or her indelible mark on Alberta, and the world beyond. We have excelled in our careers by fervently pursuing our dreams and passionately continuing to create art. What is truly indelible here is a communal spirit that is passed from generation to generation. This exhibition provides an opportunity to share this spirit with our fellow Albertans, and thank Chuck and Joseph for their passing the flame to us. They have truly left their Indelible Mark on each of us.
Dawn Saunders Dahl
March 10, 2005
From sculpture to painting, drawing to video, installation to pots; a myriad of aesthetic
approaches, and techniques are featured in “Indelible Era.” The thirty diverse artists featured in this exhibition are tied together by a common thread. As aspiring artists our career journeys began at Red Deer College where we were mentored by instructors, Charles Wissinger and Joseph Reeder.
Chuck and Joe’s teaching style combined a fierce passion and pragmatism which included a deep belief in their students. As role models they inspired us to pursue the potential of our dreams and gave us the tools to do so. We were encouraged to take risks, face challenges, work hard, embrace the unexpected, and believe in the value of our art and ourselves. Chuck and Joe brought the rich history of Alberta and Canada alive by encouraging us to use it as a beacon to light our individual paths into the world of contemporary art. They taught us to not be seduced by the flavor of the day but to embrace our heritage, to learn from the past while boldly launching into the future. “An Indelible Era” exhibits the culmination of their efforts as committed instructors and mentors.
Wissinger and Reeder’s gift to us stretched far beyond traditional classroom interaction. They committed endless hours guiding us through the Art Biz Maze that conventional student/teacher interaction does not touch on. Wissinger and Reeder went to extraordinary lengths to plug students into real world experiences. To this end they maintained a strong relationship with “The Works Festival” from it’s inception in 1986. Their avid support of The Works became a gateway and learning tool, which led to various opportunities for many of us. All of the artists featured in this exhibit have shared in the RDC/The Works collaboration as employees, project apprentices and/or exhibitors. While opening the doors into the professional art world, the RDC/The Works collaboration left an “Indelible” mark on Alberta Art History by producing a number of the festivals premier events.
Wissinger and Reeder’s tireless efforts assured that the artists exhibited here were armed with the tools that each individual would need to leave his or her indelible mark on Alberta, and the world beyond. We have excelled in our careers by fervently pursuing our dreams and passionately continuing to create art. What is truly indelible here is a communal spirit that is passed from generation to generation. This exhibition provides an opportunity to share this spirit with our fellow Albertans, and thank Chuck and Joseph for their passing the flame to us. They have truly left their Indelible Mark on each of us.
Dawn Saunders Dahl
March 10, 2005
Sold Artworks • 58 artworks
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