Ed Pas' Journal

Flight is a new series of sixteen digital images that I am exhibiting for the first time at Mysteria Gallery in Regina from July 8 to September 5, 2009 as part of my solo exhibition Crossroads and Flight.

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This is a followup to my first Incidentals series from earlier this year. I’m still working on more images on this series, but here are the first six.

The lighthearted quirkiness continues. I’ve integrated some of techniques and ideas from Husk and Transit and Transience. As well, there are two images that go together as a pair, and a trio. This deliberate effort to make sets of images follows the semi-intentional sets from Incidentals Series 1, such as the various slugdog images, and the groups of skulls/disembodied heads.

Each print is 5.5″ square and printed in an edition of 5 (plus one artist proof of each image).

If you’re in Saskatoon, they will available at Darrell Bell Gallery for only $135 each (framed). Some of them will be part of the Affordable Art Show, a group show of gallery artists featuring original art for under $1,000. The show opens Sunday, September 21 with a reception from 2–5pm at the gallery (317 220 3rd Avenue South, Saskatoon. +1 (306) 955-5701).

Collectors outside of Saskatoon interested in purchasing one or more of these prints can contact me directly.

I’ve hinted at this series a couple of times lately, and even posted a picture of a piece-in-progress last summer. Transit and Transience is a new series of large-scale digital images I began in 2007. Below is a gallery of the nine images I’ve completed, followed by some background information.

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In the summer of 2007 I started a new series called Incidentals, which was a departure from the lush textured digital images that I had created in my Encounters series. The images are quirky and fun. Below is the full gallery of 16 images, complete with titles.

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This article is long overdue for posting here on my blog. It originally appeared in the CARFAC Saskatchewan Newsletter in January 2008. It’s the final version I submitted to my editor, so there might be a few rough spots. My raw notes for the article weigh in at about double the length of the article. Please let me know if you’d like to see them.

Visual Arts Summit

November 25–27, 2007 in Ottawa, Ontario

The Visual Arts Summit, a gathering of over 450 individuals representing a cross section of the visual arts in Canada, was held in Ottawa at the end of November. The conference featured two and half days of discussion and events designed “to bring Canada’s visual arts sector together.” This was the first time in over 40 years that such an event had been organized.

The main purpose of the summit appeared to simply be to get the various interest groups within the sector talking to each other in an attempt to find common ground. This is in contrast to the usual order of business, where each group tries to get as much as they can in a competition for scarce resources.

The immediate outcome of the summit was the creation of a Collective Agenda for the Visual Arts, a document which outlines the goals and aspirations for the sector. This agenda will be covered in greater detail elsewhere in the newsletter, but the opening statements bear repeating:

Art is the face of Canada.

We, as artists, curators, collectors, dealers, educators and supporters, are united to enhance the opportunities for Canadian art to be created, seen, understood and enjoyed. We came together in the largest gathering of the visual arts in our history, to proclaim the critical role of the visual arts in an innovative and compassionate society in the 21st century. We know what is needed: we call on the governments, nations and peoples of Canada to join us in realizing our potential.

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I don’t really have time to elaborate, but the title of this post came out of my mouth today in a conversation about online behavioural standards. We were talking about youthful indiscretions (not mine), digital cameras (not mine), and online social networks (not mine), and the combination of which can be embarrassing and/or incriminating. As you can guess from the “not mine” declarations, we were talking in abstract terms, of course.

I’ll repeat the phrase to satisfy my ego. It wants me to win a round of the great internet catchphrase generation game, and this is one statement of the obvious I haven’t seen before: There is no morning-after pill for internet idiocy.

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This article originally appeared in the CARFAC Saskatchewan Newsletter in January 2008. It’s the final version I submitted to my editor, so there might be a few rough spots. My raw notes for the article weigh in at about double the length of the article. Please let me know if you’d like to see them.

ArtTomorrow forum on the future of contemporary art institutions

November 1–3, 2007 in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Art Tomorrow took place in Winnipeg on the first weekend of November 2007. It was hosted by Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. The speakers included a high-profile cross section of artists, arts workers, and academics, some with deep roots in Winnipeg, and others from abroad.

The intention of Art Tomorrow was to bring together national and international experts to talk about the research, presentation, and documentation of contemporary art. At its heart, the conference was a very public kickoff to the process of defining the future of Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. There was a great deal of discussion of Plug In’s role—in the Winnipeg art community, nationally, and internationally—and talk about various options for a radical change in direction for Plug In. These included the possibilities of a partnership with the university, Plug In perhaps buying, renovating, or building a permanent space, and various ideas about financially self-sustaining business models.

Each of the two days of the conferences was packed with panels, special presentations, and group discussions. The first day’s topics were mostly about history and context, and the second day examined civic planning, infrastructure, and education. While the overall focus of the conference was on the institution and its various roles and strategies, the idea of the artist and artwork as a key part of the institutional mandate was never far from anyone’s mind.

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