Ways of
Thinking is
designed for anyone interested
in exploring contemporary art.
This section offers succinct
and synthesized information on
the works featured in each of
the Gallery’s exhibitions.
A general presentation of the
artist and their works exhibited
in the Gallery, areas of inquiry
and ideas to reflect upon as
well as suggested Internet links
and bibliographic references
allow one to gain a general understanding
of the artists’ approach
to artmaking and provide tools
for a more in-depth investigation
of their practice. Ways of
Thinking’s primary
objective is to draw the public
into the Gallery so that it can
experience first hand the work
in the current exhibition. Once
the exhibition is over, Ways
of Thinking becomes part
of a documentation database of
particular interest to students,
teachers and researchers interested
in the Gallery’s exhibition
program.
Tracking the traces 2
The central focus of this exhibition is the transmission and circulation of images and sounds. The presence of these elements is at times very physical and material, other times more ephemeral and imaginary. The project as a whole reflects on the trace or traces that are left with us through certain encounters with a sound or an image. (Curator, Nicole Gingras)
For more information
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006
Artists
Edith Dekyndt
Leif Elggren
Raymond Gervais
Mika Taanila
Mika Vainio
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EDITH DEKYNDT
The work
Discreet Piece (Dust in a beam of light), 1997
Image taken from the artist’s personal website
http://www.edithdekyndt.be/
With this artwork, Dekyndt creates a unique device (slide and video projectors, light beam, video camera) that activates the dust particules floating in the surrounding environment.
The artist
Edith Dekyndt comes from Wallonie-Bruxelles. All of her work focuses on the perception and observation of events that are barely visible and at the limits of our perception.
Explore
While engaging with this artwork, you are exploring:
- The “invisible” elements and events of our day-to-day lives in a process of movement, transformation, appearance, disappearance, suspension, etc.
- The transformation of transitory and ephemeral moments into suspended and sublime moments
- In her work Discreet Piece (Dust in a beam of light), Edith Dekyndt displays a presence more than a representation. Therefore, we have to live this work of art, experience it, walk inside it.
A few questions
- How do objects and elements of our day-to-day lives become “invisible” to us?
- As a child, what attention did you give to forms, colours, textures, subtle events and movements, etc? Has this changed? Why?
- What are some of the ways we “activate” the possibilities of our environment?
- How do you keep a trace of ephemeral things or moments in your life?
For more information
Artist’s personal website
http://www.edithdekyndt.be/
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006
LEIF ELGGREN
The work
CU, 1982
THE NEW IMMORTALITY, 1992
THE NEW IMMORTALITY #2, 1998
The three artworks presented in this exhibition all explore the vinyl record as a musical instrument, as well as the traces left by the hand and voice.
The artist
Leif Elggren lives and works in Sweden. His multidisciplinary work ranges from engraving and performance to installation, video, music and publishing.
Explore
While engaging with these artworks, you are exploring:
- The physicality and materiality of sound
- The production and reproduction of sound
- Object versus process in contemporary art: the relationships between the performative act (gesture of the hand, sound of the voice), sound (produced, recorded, reproduced) and material objects (books, vinyl records, prints).
A few questions
- Think about the sounds you produce and sounds that surround you. How do they leave traces within you?
- Do you think of sound as something concrete and tangible or something abstract and immaterial? Why?
- Think about one of your favorite songs or pieces of music. Would you be interested in knowing more about the process used to achieve the end result? Would it allow you to appreciate the music differently or not?
For more information
http://www.fireworkedition.com
http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006.
http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
RAYMOND GERVAIS
Marcel Duchamp respire, La vie acoustique no.1, 1997;
CD case and text
Les sons du regard, hors-série no.6, 1997;
Music Minus Sounds, hors-série no. 9 1997.
These three CD cases in the exhibition were selected from the series Le théâtre du son (1997) which numbers 242 CD cases
The artist
Raymond Gervais is a Quebec-born artist currently living in Paris. Alert to the relationships that exist between sounds, texts and images, he has, since the mid-1970’s, done performances and installations that combine elements of music, literature and the visual arts.
Explore
While engaging with this artwork, you are exploring :
- The relationship between sight and listening
- Silence within sound; silence as something which is not empty but charged
- The artwork as a meeting ground of chosen words, objects, music and silence, artists that have disappeared, but are still present.
A few questions
- Is silence a sound to you? Is silence part of sound? How so?
- One of the artwork’s text reads Les sons du regard (The sounds of sight), how can sight be related to sound? How can contemplating an artwork be conceived as a “form of listening”?
- One of the artwork’s text reads Marcel Duchamp respire (Marcel Duchamp breathes), in your opinion, why would Raymond Gervais refer to this major contemporary artist in such a way? If you don’t know Marcel Duchamp, you won’t have to look very far to find information about him (library, Internet, encyclopedia, dictionary).
For more information
For more information on Le théâtre du son
See a Québec contemporary art magazine titled Parachute; no. 88 october 1997; Essay by Kathleen Goggin on Raymond Gervais.
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006
MIKA TAANILA
The work
Fysikaalinen Rengas (A physical ring), 2002.
Fysikaalinen Rengas is a found-footage film. It’s based on raw material from an anonymous Finnish physics experiment that took place in the 1940’s. An integral part of Fysikaalinen Rengas is the haunting soundtrack by Æ (Mika Vainio).
The artist
Mika Taanila lives in Helsinki. He is an artist working fluently in the fields of filmmaking and visual arts. He is interested, among other things, in the worlds of scientific experimentation and the utopia of plastic architecture.
Explore
While engaging with this artwork, you are exploring :
- The relationships between the world of scientific experimentation and the world of art
- The dialogue between the visual elements of the film (its movements, rhythms, pulsations, etc.) and the accompanying hypnotic soundtrack created by musician/artist Mika Vainio.
- Recycling, appropriation and reinterpretation in contemporary art
A few questions
- Think about the relationships between art and science. Can you think of some science experiments which could be interesting for artists? And vice-versa?
- Mika Taanila asked Mika Vainio to create the soundtrack for this artwork. In your opinion, what possibilities are opened up by collaborating on an artwork?
For more information
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006
MIKA VAINIO
The work
3 x Clocks, 2001-2002.
The artwork consists of three clocks on a wall. Each clock is amplified through contact microphones recording the sound of the movement of the minute hand. The hand moves only once every minute, and the sound of its shifting is run through a mixer connected to a FX reverb unit and further through a speaker.
The artist
Mika Vainio was born in Finland and now lives in Berlin. Known for his music, he also works in the field of visual arts, producing sound works and installations.
Explore
While engaging with this artwork, you are exploring :
- The physicality and materiality of sound
- A type of sound which sculpts the surrounding environment of the exhibition
- An artwork that is at once an object, a sculpture and a sound environment
- Time itself : our conception of time, its presence and meaning in our lives
A few questions
- How would you say that time shapes your life? Does it influence you in many ways or not?
- Can sound itself be considered a sculpture? How so?
- What is your definition of a sculpture? Does it really need to be made out of tangible materials?
For more information
Exhibition publication
Traces, edited by Nicole Gingras, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 2006
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