The Stuart Mac Pherson Library has an art exhibit currently running that is sure to twist your perspective on reality.
The Stuart Mac Pherson Library has an art exhibit currently running that is sure to twist your perspective on reality. Abstract Thinking, one of the many travelling exhibits that have graced the walls of Stuart MacPherson, is part of an Alberta initiative to showcase Canadian art in rural communities throughout Alberta.
"The exhibit is really about expressive thinking," said Shane Golby, the manager and curator of the travelling exhibit program. "We want you to look at these pieces and shift your perspective, spend some time with them."
The exhibit which features work from Edmonton-based artists: Allen Ball, Jim Corrigan, Nicole Galellis, Ruby J. Mah and Scott Cumberland shows just how strange and bizarre the world of abstract art can be, from swirling paint to mesmerizing designs.
Even the names of the works are strange, like Mah's piece titled: "Mustard and Flamingos can bite" and Cumberland's "Glam Rock: Greatest Hits".
Mah, who was trained as a figurative painter, and got her masters degree in figurative painting, recently moved into the world of abstact painting.
"I found that abstract art just allowed me to push more boundaries, it really gave me a differernt world," she said. "I start with an idea, and it just grows and grows from there."
The artwork itself reveals a variety of styles and elements, displaying works of arcylic and enamel-based painting, and also quite a few that use wax, pencil crayon and even linoleum tile.
"Edmonton has been known to produce great abstract artists, and the influence of abstract art has been a focal point in the Edmonton art scene since the 1970s," Golby said.
The exhibit, developed by Golby, has been steadily travelling through out rural Alberta for just over a year, and soon it will leave rural Alberta to find a home in Calgary.
Golby was able to give a few details about one of one of the next major travelling exhibits called "Black Gold" that will be available for libraries next year via the Alberta Foundation of the Arts.
"The next big travelling project will deal with petroleum products, he said.
"We are very excited to incorporate work from artists all over Alberta."
How do these exhibits get here?
Library director Mau reen Penn and Ad ministration Assistant Val Temperton look over several possible travelling exhibits to fill the walls of Stuart Mac Pherson each year. They chose this particular exhibit because of the way it made people stop and think outside the box.
"It really is a unique exhibit, and we've had quite a few positive comments about the images," Temperton said.
Temperton, who also takes care of hanging all the artwork. She joked that over the past year with all these travelling exhibits she has become a bit of an "art hanging extraordinaire."
Library officials hope to continue showcasing more art throughout the coming year, and continue to utilize the library as a culture space for Lac La Biche.
"It is very important that we allow for residents to have access to art, and we want that to continue," Penn said.
Abstract Thinking will be available for public viewing until August 24.
