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Quartered and drawn >> Points, Lines, Surfaces traces a teacher's legacy by KEITH MARCHAND
The common thread for all participants is that they studied under the hand of recently retired Concordia drawing teacher Russell Gordon. This show is a tribute to him by those he inspired, coached and refined. The exhibition is concerned with more than just the attendance list of Gordon's advanced drawing class. Points, Lines, Surfaces is an investigation into the directions that drawing has taken over the past 20 years. After all, despite the rapid changes that technology has brought to art production, a drawing is still a drawing and a sketch is still the manifestation of the spark of an idea. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it... At times, this group show comes dangerously close to a group hug. But the quality of a number of the works keeps the whole thing from becoming a gushing tribute. Rather, we are shown what can be done with a solid foundation in this most fundamental element of art. The exhibition is by no means just a bunch of sketches tacked onto the gallery walls. It comprises works in a wide assortment of media and the offerings run the gamut from charcoal sketches to electronic installation pieces. The curators strive to display the endless and infinite permutations that the act of drawing allows. One of the show's most notable pieces is an installation by Fabienne Lasserre. In a room off to the side of the gallery, Lasserre has placed television sets (either alone or bound in clusters) that have had their screens transformed by black oil paint. She has created images by leaving only certain areas of the screen untouched. When the televisions are turned on, the result resembles woodcuts, with their bold and thickset lines. The stark white glow of the screens shine through in depictions of quasi-religious, astrological, cabalistic or just plain absurd themes. Lasserre's creations manage to somehow cross-pollinate Albrecht Dürer with LiteBrite. Harriet Corbett's offerings, entitled "Spear Diamond Branding" and "B4 Branding," are a little more traditional, but no less interesting. Using charcoal on paper, she has created large, photo-realistic scenes of cowboys doing their thing. Rather than heroic portrayals of the wild west, the strange angles and bold cropping create an uneasy tension. The works also display considerable facility with a stick of charcoal. Points, Lines, Surfaces is a show about drawing that doesn't feature only drawing. Rather, it reveals what can be done with the rudiments of the artistic language. Points, Lines, Surfaces runs until October 31 in room 518 of the Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W.
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While meandering through the halls of the Belgo Building last Saturday, I came across an exhibition that drew me in, made me pay attention and, subsequently, report back to you, gentle reader. What I'd discovered was a group show put together by the Fine Arts faculty of Concordia University. Called Points, Lines, Surfaces, it features 23 artists in one modest gallery space. At first blush, it appears to be a student art show. However, some of the artists taking part have not been in school for more than two decades.