numero 10

Hello All,
April showers, eh?
Well, it's nice and warm in the Art Gallery and Geography is Kiling Me will give you hope for summer which will soon arrive. Michael McLeod will be giving a talk about his exhibition Thursday night at 7:00 pm at the McConnell Memorial Library (yes, i managed to find a projector). So i encourage each of you, especially if you'll be doing some shopping in town Thursday evening, to drop by and hear the artist talk about his work and his trip.... here's a slice of his statement for Geography is Killing Me:

"It helps to have a love of your land and a passion for photography to stay up all night, driving through the dark into daylight. It’s another unshaven day and there is a roadside rest stop somewhere between Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw. Maybe a meal will set you up nicely to feel fine. You just packed a thousand miles of Canadian asphalt under your eyes, but you never tire of looking at the trucker’s atlas. Tracing your fingers along the lines of a map can be a powerful feeling. It seems that the smell of old engines and diesel exhaust, sawdust and radio static, stained seat covers and burnt black coffee is all you have known in the last twenty-four hours. Running on empty, deadheading, sleep doesn’t matter anymore. Every moment is precious, all moods are based on the momentum of a map. You have the road, a country to cross and nothing to stop you. The morning comes up pink as a salmon except for the silhouette of a power pole looking like a cross and for this scene a camera is necessary.

Photographing Canada is a large undertaking. June and July of 2002 saw me crossing the country’s incredible expanse, West to East. The intention was not to describe all Canadians, but to express my reaction to Canada and not be limited to the potential of the single image. Picture taking and image making all the way from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, I produced diptychs, triptychs, panoramas, and Polaroids. As a midnight blue 1980 Chev van carried me through the country, I looked out the window and tried to find some of the overlooked materials of everyday Canadian life...."

Also, our Wednesday evening hours are back! April 19, 26 & May 3, 17, 24, 31 will see Melissa open the Art Gallery for you from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Please take advantage of these extended hours as we will be unable to offer them during the summer months.

See you Thursday night at Michael's talk and Friday night at the opening!
Suzanne

www.capebretonu.ca