[BCMA] Nanaimo Art Gallery presents Grand Re-opening, Art Lab Launch, and "Ekphrasis: Writing the Collection"

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

- PRESS RELEASE - 



 

Nanaimo Art Gallery

150 Commercial Street

Nanaimo, BC

www.nanaimoartgallery.com

 

 

 
<http://www.nanaimoartgallery.com/index.php/exhibitions/downtown-exhibitions
/303-renovations-at-150-commercial-street> Grand Re-opening and Art Lab
Launch

 



We are pleased to invite you to join us on Friday, May 9 to celebrate the
launch of Art Lab, Nanaimo Art Gallery's exciting new dedicated centre for
art education, and the opening of Ekphrasis: Writing the Collection, the
first exhibition in our newly renovated downtown gallery at 150 Commercial
Street. 



Image: Sonny Assu, iDrum: Personal Totems #3, acrylic on hide, 2009

 

 
<http://www.nanaimoartgallery.com/index.php/exhibitions/downtown-exhibitions
/309-ekphrasis-writing-the-collection> Ekphrasis: Writing the Collection 

May 10th to June 7th  2014
Join us for the opening reception featuring spoken word and poetry
Friday, May 9th , 7:00 - 10:00pm


Definition: Ekphrasis is the written translation of a visual work of art.

Nanaimo Art Gallery presents Ekphrasis: Writing the Collection, an
exhibition of works from the gallery's permanent collection. For this
exhibition seven local writers have been invited to compose new poetic
responses to specific artworks. Paintings, prints, and sculptures can speak
without words, but what do they say to specific individuals, and how can
these viewers share their impressions? This exhibition creates the
opportunity to read artworks through the perspective of other artists
working in the medium of language.

 

The questions of how visual art (image) and poetry (words) relate to each
other can lead to the term ekphrasis. Originating in ancient Greece and
taught as a rhetorical device where the purpose is not only to describe an
object, but also to share the emotional experi-ence and content of it as
well. Using ekphrastic poetry, one can bring the experience or essence of an
object to the listener or reader through highly detailed descriptive
writing.

 

The world we live in today is saturated with images from advertising,
television, magazines, and especially computers and handheld devices. There
is less need for descriptive language when high quality reproductions
surround us, and many images are easily found through Google. The speed with
which we take in images rarely leaves time for thoughtful consideration.
Ekphrasis is a way to deep-en the conversation by giving artworks careful
attention. Works of visual art often have an ineffable quality that, while
impossible to put into words, can also be the paradoxical spur that compels
us to try. The goal of ekphrastic poetry is to surpass mere description in
order to embody qualities that are beyond the physical aspects of the work
it observes.

 

The exhibition features new acquisitions by prominent British Columbian
artist and former Vancouver Island University professor, Ian Garrioch;
prominent artist and VIU alumnus Brendan Lee Satish Tang; and
internationally acclaimed artist, Sonny Assu. Poems and texts responding to
these and other artworks have been created especially for the show by
Nanaimo Poet Laureate, Naomi Beth Wakan; spoken word artist, visual artist,
and musician, Lisa Webster-Gibson; and local artist and creative instigator,
Valentina Cardi-nalli; as well as responses from NAG staff: Art Education
Assistant, Jacqueline Yeo; Administrative Director, Chris Kuderle; Down-town
Gallery Coordinator, Rob Bos; and Gallery Assistant, Jennifer Pierce. These
writer/poet responses are a supplement to the viewers' own, and add an
additional lens with which to interpret the artwork.

 

Ekphrasis: Writing the Collection is curated by Nanaimo Art Gallery Downtown
Gallery Coordinator, Rob Bos.

 

For more information please call (250) 754-1750

 

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