gail sibley

 

Portraits. Does that word conjure up for you a certain look, a certain feeling? It does for me. And even though I know it can mean more, especially in this day and age, I imagine all those fabulous paintings seen in the great museums of the world, paintings that speak of technique, of understanding, of the people who are painted and those who did the painting.

 

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has two wonderful exhibitions on portraiture hanging at the moment. I have been through both and was surprised at the variety and the pull of each. One of them, Beyond Likeness, is a collection of  contemporary portraits from Library and Archives Canada. Many of these pieces go beyond what we may think as portraiture. Here’s a few that caught my attention.

 

One of the earliest portraits in the show is one by Charles Pachter of Margaret Atwood. The closeup shows his delicate use of pastel and pencil. Unusual to include those media in an acrylic painting. A good likeness of the author – strength and fragility as the card suggests…

 

 

 

Another piece from the 80s and more traditional, one that I greatly admire, is the self portrait by Arthur Shilling, an Ojibwa artist. Look at that beautiful graphite rendering of his own face. Also notice how he included nature in his own portrait – not obvious immediately.

 

 

 

 

A double portrait of Bill Reid by Jerry Grey done in pastel 🙂 caught my eye. This was an instance that I disagreed with what was written on the card, where I didn’t find the information helpful at all. See what you think.

 

 

 

Part of a series called, Rare Spirits: A Personal Tribute to Vintage Elders, the card describes these two pieces thusly: ” The dual image provided a a layered interpretation of the sitter. The black and white image creates a sense of timelessness, while the vibrant colour portrait celebrates Reid’s resilience and continued relevance.” Hmmmm….well I have a completely different reading. I see the black and white as the strong, media-renowned (seen in newspapers) Haida sculptor giving a sense of immediacy while the coloured one shows a fragile and aging human being. I’d be curious to hear what you see.

 

I am not usually drawn to video installation. But surprisingly this, I think, is my favourite piece in the show. The videos each last between four and six minutes.

 

 

Each screen is surrounded by a traditional frame, referencing the portrait lineage and tradition.

 

From a distance? well, maybe I’ll skip them. It’s a video installation for heaven’s sake! But read the text beside the piece and be drawn in. As I was. The piece is called “Kinetic Portraits” by Peter Wilkins, done between 2005 and 2006. In this case, knowing what’s going on made all the difference for me. The card reads: “Prior to filming, British-born multi-media artist Peter Wilkins asked Canadian writers a series of questions about their personal beliefs, hopes and fears. Then, as the camera rolled, he played back their answers…..” Apparently, there were twelve of these  videos made, five of them are on display here – Austin Clarke, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Yann Martel, Jane Urquhart, and M.G. Vassanji.

 

I watched, left to look at other pieces, came back to watch some more. I spent a lot of time with these works. If the premise had been, turn on the camera and just watch…well, it probably wouldn’t have been that interesting. But knowing they were listening to their own words and reacting to them…now that made all the difference in the world. What are they hearing? What are they thinking? Here are some stills.

 

First is Austin Clarke, stern, grimacing almost. I may have been looking at a still photograph, I mean, he hardly moved! I think I saw a hint of a smile at the end, maybe, ……

 

Next along was Ann-Marie MacDonald. Her expression changed a bit and there was some body language that revealed her thoughts. Hmmmm, Ahhhh, she’s thinking. Take a look:

 

Next came Yann Martel. At first I wondered if he was wearing some sort of interesting clip in his hair. What I thought was a hair accessory turned out to be a conure! Check out all Yann’s expressions:

 

Fourth was Jane Urquhart. I kept thinking, She’s holding back tears. Is she crying? Is she smiling? In these stills, she looks like she’s smiling but there is a sadness in her eyes…What did she talk about???

 

And lastly, M.G. Vassanji. He was another one who didn’t move much as he listened. I did see him smile once but missed it on camera…darn. Really, I had no clue what he was thinking.

Although I know the work of all five authors I don’t really think that made a difference. It was just fascinating watching their faces move and react (or not!) to their own words. These portraits say so much about each individual. They are as revealing, if not more so, than a traditional painted portrait. I assume each subject chose their own clothes, their own backdrop, which says much about the sitter.

It’s difficult to permit yourself the time to sit and watch..and watch….these portraits but it’s worth it. What do you see?

 

I’ve only talked about four pieces. Do yourself a favour and go see this show of portraits if you’re in Victoria, BC. It runs until 6 January 2013.

 

You know I looooove to hear from you and keep sharing please. Nice to see my subscriber list growing thanks to you!

 

All for now.

 

~ Gail

 

PS. Some of the books by authors in Kinetic Portraits: