Absence Inhabited part 1

Jim Picco stated that this particular piece is visceral and is about existence. According to Picco, existence is about the physiognomy of objects, their aura and their inherent symbolism. Content is the interpretation of these things and their relationship to each other in space.

The plastic bag is a shell, a skin, a holder of things. Empty, it serves no real function, but full, it’s existence is legitimized. With the theme of absence in mind, this painting speaks of an uncertainty of feeling full or empty (we cannot know what is, or isn’t, in the bag).

Our culture has normalized filling feelings of emptiness with shopping and purchases of commodified items - Picco’s Plastic Bag arguably hints at these themes with precision as well as subtlety.

A 1998 retrospective of William Laing’s work described it as combining “…a highly innovative use of materials with an exploration of symbolic imagery. He works with photography, etching, silkscreen and assemblage

– combining and re-ordering favoured images from one medium to another. Longing, absence and the influence of memory play an important role in Laing’s work as does a desire for reflection and contemplation.” (unknown author, 1998)

In this Laing work in particular, coat hangers mimic the shape of a human neck and shoulders in the most minimal way possible. With the absence of a coat or shirt to hang, the object becomes a reference to bare, vulnerable or naked bodies.

In one of Barbara Amos’ early artist statements, she wrote about her interest in still life – stating her interest in the objects of her daily environment, the everyday things that we all take for granted.

She explained that her initial attempts to portray these simple items were extremely humbling, and that these explorations prompted her study of Still Life. Through her explorations of still life and domestic objects, numerous questions arise. How does a society view its daily domestic objects?

Are they cherished? Are they subservient to technical concerns? What does it indicate when they are oversized, or out of context? Amos went on to say, “I fear that we have devalued our personal environment so much that it is not seen as worthy of statement. I draw in protest.”

When contacted to comment on his painting Still Life, Bottle and Bowl, Douglas B. Jones, now an established illustrator, talked about how this painting was made shortly after he had finished art school at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He was living in a rental suite, the top floor of an old house in SW Calgary – and he commented that he frequently used to set up objects to create Still Life paintings.

Objects in themselves may not be sentient, but they do often reflect the culture in which they exist – becoming a mirror of our rituals, our day to day motions and our individual interests and values.

Jones explained that the enamel bowl was from his grandmother’s farm, and the fabric was chosen for its floral pattern which reminded him of John Singer Sargeant. This particular still life features objects that seem to hold a residue of their past lives.

According to the artist John Hall, Dishes belongs to a group of twenty paintings completed in 1997 and 1998. Hall explained that … “he presented the objects and situations with a certain formality to suggest that they have been deliberately chosen rather than accidentally stumbled upon or randomly selected.”

Hall also stated that “…the images make a case for finding worth and significance in the ordinary, the modest and the everyday.” At the same time, the extreme attention to detail and photo-realism in his paintings implies the value of precision.

Hall underlines illusions of reality that come about when we think about how our environment and the objects around us define our life experiences - whether those experiences are percieved, or real.

Kate Schutz’s Kitchen Sink was part of a series painted from found or accidental photographs. Schutz described them as having “unexpected, informal compositions” which came from the instantaneous nature of snapshots.

The objects in Kitchen Sink were not staged, which translates to a very honest depiction of common human experience in domestic life. In Schutz’s words, the painting... “reflects middle-class domesticity in an upfront manner which is disconcerting and mysterious.”

This work evokes a curiosity towards the mundane, and calls into question the value and importance of these everyday experiences in our daily life.

In Mackinnon’s work Two Bowls, the imagery reminds us of how much our relationship to the world and others is mediated by touch and sensory experiences. MacKinnon explains that, “While conditioned to perceive the universe in two-dimensions, our very survival depends upon our understanding of tactile reality.”

Woodcut as a medium itself holds a very tactile quality to it, and the imagery of steam rising from two bowls alludes to the sense of smell, touch, and the relational element of sharing a meal with someone.

While minimal in representation, this piece speaks volumes about presence and finding grounding in tactile and mundane experiences.

This work by Martin Bennett involves computer-generated black-and-white photocopies that he projected onto canvas to then paint. The loss of small pieces of visual information that occurs through the process of photocopying creates imagery which in many ways parallels fragmented memory.

The painted black and white wine glasses and yoghurt lids create an illusory vision of a relational moment or memory, partially there, but partially forgotten. Presence, with a splash of absence.

The materiality of the concrete and steel slab ironing board and the heavy-looking graphite sculptural objects made to reference an iron all speak to the weight of household chores and how they affect our everyday living.

Not many people claim to enjoy things like doing laundry or ironing their clothing, and Menzies effectively draws upon our common human experiences to evoke an almost visceral response towards drudgery and disliked tasks we become accustomed to doing repeatedly out of perceived necessity.

From an artist statement on this series,Clean Up Lylian Klimek stated that, “All the works focus on domestic situations and objects involving cleaning and the never ending routine of scrubbing, washing, dusting.” The use of bronze as a material in this series invites us to look at cultural attitudes towards traditional fine art materials, with the association to high art and long-lasting influence, as compared to our lesser appreciative attitudes towards essential domestic spaces and objects.

Klimek describes how this series led her to, “thoughts about all the other cleaning machines, tools, polishes, and potions ever made.” She describes how she began contemplating the lives of other women who buy and use all these household cleaning tools and products.

The work certainly draws attention to life and work in the domestic arena. In Klimek’s words, these works consider, “the past, present, and future – [of] cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. No End in Sight.”