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Curator Interview Archive

5  Gareth Bate (Part 2)

4  Gareth Bate (Part 1)

3  Stanzie Tooth

2  Evan Tyler

1  Dawne Rudman

 

Installation View: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things). Photo: Gareth Bate. Front work by Emily Jan. Photo: Gareth Bate.

  

Memories of a Birch Tree by Oakville, Ontario, Canada artist Ixchel Suarez. Photo: Gareth Bate.
     

Curator: Gareth Bate of Toronto,Ontario, Canada.

Interview 5, Gareth Bate: Part 2
Exhibition: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things) in the 2012 World of Threads Festival.
Location: Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
To see the official photo album: click here.

 

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Interview published by Dawne Rudman.

 

Biography

Gareth Bate is an artist, art teacher and curator living in Toronto. He works primarily in painting, installation and photography. He has been Festival Curator of the World of Threads Festival since 2011. He co-produces the Weekly Fibre Artist Interview series. Gareth is planning to add podcaster to the list over the next few months as he launches a new podcast working his way through the history of modern and contemporary art. Gareth graduated with a diploma from the Art Centre at Central Technical School and a BFA from OCAD University. For the last 6 years he been teaching abstract painting and the history of the Old Masters 1300-1900, and the history of Modern/Contemporary Art: 1850-present, at the Adult Art Centre at Central Technical School, Toronto. He has exhibited in public and private galleries in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Art Website

 

Gareth Bate, Festival Curator of the World of Threads Festival.

 

Previous Interview:

The following interview is part two of Gareth Bate's two-part interview. For his exhibition Memento mori click here.

 

In this interview Gareth addresses the following:

 

Installation View: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things). Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What was the main theme for this exhibition?

Through looking at a lot of fibre art and doing the Weekly Fibre Artist Interviews series I'd noticed that a lot of people were making work on an environmental theme. The show was a highly eccentric exhibition evoking the collection of a mad 19th century naturalist. All the artwork dealt with themes of nature, plants and animals. I decided to set up an opposition between my other exhibition Memento mori, which was all about death, mortality and grieving. So this show featured all brightly coloured work evoking the natural world. It was perfectly situated at Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre.

 

Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

The view in November 2012 from Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

Can you talk a bit about the gallery?

Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre is a beautiful location that was perfect for the theme of the show. The environment around it was obviously key to the success of the exhibition. I considered this site-specific, as I don't think mounting this exhibition in a plain white box gallery would have worked.

It also has unique challenges as a venue. One of the issues is the bench that runs around the whole gallery space with the blue stripe. This is a visual distraction and cuts the wall off so that it is impossible to install work beyond a certain size. I wish the bench and blue stripe weren't there.

 

Viewers at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Gareth (centre) with artists at the opening. Background left: Clear Waters by Susan Strachan Johnson. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

How did you come up with the title of the show?

The title for the show came from reading the book The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. It is a history of the rediscovery of ancient texts during the Renaissance by people like Poggio Bracciolini. He travelled across Europe to visit Christian monasteries where monks had been transcribing ancient texts for a thousand years. This is literally the only reason any of these texts survived after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Greenblatt talks about the rediscovery of an Epicurean text by Roman philosopher Lucretius. De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) is a Roman summary of the Epicurean philosophy. It is quite remarkably modern in the sense that it understands the world to be made up of atoms that reconfigure themselves in a million forms and evolve over time to create the world as we see it. There is no guidance provided by supernatural forces. This text revolutionized the Renaissance and was the inspiration for artists like Botticelli in his painting La Primavera.

Most people would probably be famililar with the name "The Nature of Things" As referencing David Sazuki's hit science television show. But the real origin is Roman!

 

Sandro Botticelli, Untitled: Known as Primavera or The Allegory of Spring, c. 1482, 10' 4" x 6' 9", (315 x 205 cm). Based on Lucretius: "Spring comes and Venus, preceded by Venus' winged harbinger, and mother Flora, followed hard on the heels of Zephyr, prepares the way for them, strewing all their paths with a profusion of exquisite hues and scents."

 

Artists in De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things)

Installers

Main Installers: Gareth Bate & Jamie Owen. Assistant Installers: Dawne Rudman, Irene Brayne and Lynne Calvert.
Work Installed by Artists: Lizz Aston, Libby Hague, Emily Jan, Jillian MacLachlan aided by Jennifer MacLachlan.

 

Dürer's Rhinoceros by Emily Jan of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Dürer's Rhinoceros (detail) by Emily Jan of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Emily Jan installing her piece Dürer's Rhinoceros. Photo: Dawne Rudman

Emily Jan installing her piece Dürer's Rhinoceros. Photo: Dawne Rudman

 

Working your way through the exhibition, can you speak about the artists work and how they fit within your show?

There were 35 artists in the show, so I can't speak about every person's work but I'll go through some of the major pieces.

There are two artists whose work was central to the show. The inspiration for the show came from encountering Emily Jan's work which evokes natural history museums. I'm particularly fond of Durer's Rhinoceros and the whole story of how the Rhino travelled to Europe from India and captured everyone's imagination -- and then drowned in a ship wreck. There is a fabulous version of this story in the BBC's podcast and book A History of the World in 100 Objects.

TheDikdik/ghost dikdik sculpture at first seems very cute until you realize that it's hoofs are in jars next to it! These were the central pieces of the show and it wouldn't have been the same without them. I'm really glad Emily came down from Montreal to install the work herself as it was quite an undertaking!

 

Dikdik/ghost dikdik by Emily Jan of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Installation View: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things). Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

Another crucial artist to the show was Oakville's Ixchel Suarez who exhibited three tapestries and one installation. The most prominent was Memories of a Birch Tree which was actual created on site at Joshua Creek the previous year. I loved this tapestry and wanted it to feature prominently in the show. On arrival at the gallery Jamie Owen (installer) and I realized the tapestry was too big for the space. Although the walls were high enough to accommodate the work, the beams dropped down lower and thus cut the work in half visually. This was a real dilemma. We solved it by choosing to drape the tapestry onto a riser at the bottom so that it could be seen fully. I actually really liked how this turned out. It was an unconventional way to exhibit it, but it really worked.

 

Memories of a Birch Tree by Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada with her tapestry Memories of a Birch Tree at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

4 Tree Memories of a Birch Tree by Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada with 4 Tree Memories of a Birch Tree at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

Jillian MacLachlan's Anatomical self made quite an impression on viewers. Most did not really put two and two together at first. There was often a shock when they realized that the piece depicted bodily organs and that when you stood in a particular spot they assembled themselves into a body formation.

 

Anatomical self by Jillian MacLachlan. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Jillian MacLachan installing her piece Anatomical self. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Artist Jillian MacLachan of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her piece Anatomical self at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

Libby Hague and Lizz Aston were invited to create new work for the show. I was familiar with both of their work and thought they might be inspired by the theme to create something interesting. I was very happy with what they made. Libby's work is always whimsical and I think this piece stands out in the room. Lizz's beautiful pieces were the first time she'd taken on a water theme in her work which was exciting. Her work played off beautifully with Sayward Johnson's Ocean.

 

Safety Net by Libby Hague of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Libby Hague installing her piece Safety Net. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Artist Libby Hague with her piece Safety Net at the opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Studies in interlacement, xylem and phloem by Lizz Aston of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Studies in interlacement, xylem and phloem (detail) by Lizz Aston of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Lizz Aston installing her artwork Studies in interlacement, xylem and phloem. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

An important part of the show was the smaller sculptural work scattered in groupings around the gallery. These were intended to evoke museum collections of bizarre plants and animals. This included the work of Jodi Colella, Leisa Rich, Marjoleine Dallinga, Sarah Martin, Chris Motley, June J. Jacobs, Carolyn Yandel, and Valérie d. Walker. These artists all seemed to be on the same wavelength. They were creating bizarre objects evoking plants and animals but without literally referencing the animals. These sculptures are truly strange and I loved being able to bring them all together in one show and make that theme clear.

 

Installation View: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things). Work by Sarah Martin, Jodi Colella, Marjolein Dallinga and Leisa Rich. Photo: Gareth Bate.

What Looks Like an Elephant by Jodi Colella of Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Receptor by Jodi Colella of Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Undue Growth by Leisa Rich of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

I wanted to establish the idea of humans as part of nature, rather than separate from it, so Leanne Shea Rhem's Armour was part of that theme as well as Jillian MacLaughlin. Armour is quite remarkable for its use of Kozo paper, polyester thread, metal grommets, and lambskin leather, sculpted into a suit. In Leanne's interview you can see her wearing the suit which is pretty cool.

 

Installation View: De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things). Photo: Gareth Bate.

Armour by Leanne Shea Rhem of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Leanne Shea Rhem of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her piece Armour at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Zac Kenny delivering Armour by Leanne Shea Rhem. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

Joanne Young's Postcards from the Scrap Yard really rewards close inspection. From far you can't really get a sense of how intricate and detailed the work is. I heard several people say this was their favourite piece in the show.

 

Postcards from the Scrap Yard by Joanne Young of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Artist Joanne Young with her piece Postcards from the Scrap Yard at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

Heather Komus's Gerridae was part of a larger body of work. This mixed media wall hanging freaked out a number of viewers. I heard comments about how it was both beautiful and really gross at the same time!

 

Gerridae by Heather Komus of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

Can you talk about the status of Fibre in Contemporary Art?

This is a really interesting topic and one that deserves an entire essay. I think that some of the most interesting work is being done in fibre. It can be very eccentric and unique in a world where everything is really starting to look the same. I wrote an article which was published in Fibre Focus magazine called 10 Contemporary Canadian Fibre Artists to Watch. In that essay I wrote about how I feel that fibre is having a resurgence in response to everything turning digital. We have a desire to reconnect with actual materials and making things.

Although Fibre Art has a craft history, it doesn't have the fine art baggage that painting does. It doesn't need to justify its existence constantly like painting. (Which is ridiculous and I have no time for.)

I think fibre sits at the bottom of the art world hierarchy. This comes down to the Craft/Art debate. Most people in the art world don't have a sense of the history of fibre arts because they don't really factor in general surveys of art history. We follow the trajectory of painting and sculpture, not tapestries and quilts. When I see artists like the Quilters of Gee's Bend in particular, I think there is zero justification for that exclusion.

I think another factor is that it is predominantly a women's art form (although no one would ever say so!). The commercial viability and long-term durability are also serious issues.

Because of its art world status, some artists do not want the "label" of being fibre artists. This is something we've encountered in the interview series. Amazingly, we've even had artists decline the interview to avoid the association! One painter whose work that looks exactly like textiles declined the interview.

Some artists, and I consider myself among them, are not interested in being associated with a specific medium. The core of my art practice is painting/installation, but I call myself an artist - not a painter. If painting no longer did what I needed it to do, I would drop it in a second. Fibre is the same. For some people it is all about an engagement with the history, techniques, and communities, for others it is just stuff to make art with.

 

School chums - Artist Carolyn Dinsmore and Festival Durator Gareth Bate at the exhibition opening. Backgroung right: Sumac Study by Lotta Helleberg. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

Artists Leanne Shea Rhem and Zac Kenny at the exhibition opening. Photo: Dawne Rudman.

 

What do you think of the whole Art vs. Craft debate?

Dangerous territory. Ok, here goes, art in my view has NOTHING to do with materials or processes. I don't care what your artwork is made of or how it is made. I care about whether it is meaningful. Can a basket be art? Absolutely, if made with that intention. It has to transcend its physical materials. This is a problem that I think affects a lot of fibre art. A lot of it doesn't transcend its physical materials. It does for practitioners who read a lot into the process of making it. But this does not necessarily communicate to viewers.

Craft for me is not art. Craft is making things mainly for commercial purposes, or from other people's patterns without an engagement with the history of art and the context of contemporary art. That does not devalue what is being made, but it is different. Any material or process can be used for art making, it is the purpose and intention that matters. Why are you making it and is it from a subjective perspective?

I think it is completely valid to subject ALL media to the craft critique. Why is a painting automatically a work of art? I don't think it should be. Should some paintings really be called craft? In my opinion it can sometimes be as much "craft" as a quilt made from a pattern or a cross-stitch kit.

It is essential for artists working in fibre to push the boundaries. Think long and hard about what the conventions and clichés are of your media and process. Why does it have to be that way? Do other people find what you are making meaningful? Does it communicate to them?

 

Widow and Widower by Bettina Matzkuhn of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

Can you talk about the commercial viability of fibre art?

I don't work in a gallery and haven't attempted to sell fibre art so I'm no expert. But how the work is displayed is crucial. There are increasingly more and more artists framing fibre work in deep frames or shadow boxes. This can be very successful and will drastically improve the likelihood of it selling as long as it is done well. A few artists who have successfully done this are Amanda McCavour and Alice Vander Veenan.

That being said, sometimes framing it behind glass can completely rob the work of its physicality. One thing that really annoys me (and would lead to a rejection in a submission) is seeing quilts stretched on frames as if they are paintings. Quilts are NOT paintings. They should hang on the wall in their regular state. There is no reason for them to be stretched onto frames.

 

Maple Bark by Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Scars from Nature by Ixchel Suarez of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What do you suggest in terms of documentation for Fibre? What are good and bad practices?

Fibre encompasses a lot of craft based practices as well as highly professional artists. So the documentation is often a total mixed bag. Some artists are extremely professional, while others are total amateurs. I've seen some shockingly bad documentation that no painter would ever do.

You have to be able to use Photoshop. There is no way around it. You also need to understand image resolution. I think it is important in fibre art to see the edges of the work. So don't crop the work as if it is totally 2-D. It is ok for a painting, but not a quilt or paper work that has irregular edges. Never photograph the work so that you can see other objects in the room, unless you are asked for a context shot. So don't let us see that it is sitting on milk crates. (I've seen this).

I'm not a fan of photographing work against black or coloured backgrounds. Mainly because it makes work look more dramatic than it really is. You need to make it look as close as possible to how it would appear in an art gallery. Most likely it will be in a white box gallery. We specifically ask for detail shots in submissions. In fibre this makes a huge difference. Artist who don't submit details almost never get in.

 

Høfn - view from my tent by Birgitta Hallberg of Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo: Gareth Bate.

Ocean by Sayward Johnson of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What is your view on artist statements? Do you have any advice?

I think artist statements are really important and I take writing my own seriously. I think artists need to be articulate and to be able to give their work a context. You can't assume everyone will immediately grasp your intentions in a world where everyone is making work from their own personal experience. We often don't share the same literary references or cultural backgrounds.

Yes it is visual art, and the work must stand alone, but the writing can really help. Artist statements get a bad name because so many artists can't write or try to make themselves sound smart. They either convey nothing, or fill them with academic garbage that makes no sense. I have never written an artist statement filled with buzzwords or quotes from writers I've never read. It should be as TRUE as your work.

I keep a journal and take notes during the process of creating my work. I find that the recurring ideas in my head while making the work are the ideas of the work. Another approach I use is Mind Mapping. I find this helps to filter out the bullshit things that I want the work to be about, and instead reveals what it is actually about for me. What other people see is another story. The artist statement is your opportunity to contextualize your own work. Others in the art world will contextualize it in other ways such as curators, dealers and critics.

I also find that what I end up saying to people about my work during the openings of exhibitions is very revealing. You end up saying the same things over and over again. Write them down afterwards. In the end my statements are ongoing. I return to them years later with more perspective and revise them.

 

Human Nature by Leisa Rich of Atlanta, Georgia, USA and Emotion by Chris Motley, 2010, wool, embroidery screen. Photo: Gareth Bate.

 

What's coming up in the future?

I'm continuing to do my own artwork and getting ready for Festival 2014. I'm planning to launch a new website and podcast called Art Untangled. It will be devoted to bridging the gap between regular people who want to live creative lives and the art world. This will incorporate a podcast about the history of modern art and probably interviews with people in the art world. So look out for that!

 

To see the official photo album for De rerum nature
(On The Nature of Things) click here.

 

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Interview published by Dawne Rudman.