haine-reviews-kmc

[haine-reviews-kmc]

j.w.g. macdonald said art is "knowledge made concrete"

in my opinion this is an outdated view of art. but hey, times are ever changing. art is ever changing. and since art is changing, the knowledge of it and how we come to know it is also changing.

so it's ok.

[haine-reviews-kmc]

the kmc exhibition. it was honestly... a lot.

BY THE GODS THERE WAS A LOT TO SEE. because 100 years of art is a lot! and man, there is no path or recommended guide to exploring these things. the entire time i was wishing galleries had those massive arrows on the floors like ikea.

if they could have these all over the gallery, i'd be such a happy lady..

[haine-reviews-kmc]

my first interaction

you know what alberta smells like?

dead grass -for most of the year. and dust from the gravel that we perpetually spray on the asphalt.

so alberta is big and sort of flat but kind of not-flat when you go further west, right?

this was the first thing i saw when i walked in. i think its pretty appropriate, hey? a massive wall of bricks of dead grass and a bunch of plastic people floating off of it. really makes you think about all the little things, people, scents, tastes, ideas that's come and gone in the last 100 years. a sort-of hill thats very much dead grass with a lot of things scurrying off of it.

very alberta.

[haine-reviews-kmc]

i visited the illingworth kerr gallery.

who: me, haine kim what: art. a lot of it when: stuff from the last 100 years-ish but viewed in 1 hour where: third floor, main mall @ auarts why: curiosity. duty? obligation. maybe even necessity

above is a depiction of i, haine kim, in glorious abstracted form. avian at heart, land-bound at mind, fleshy in body.

check out my about kmc page if you want extra infoooooo

[haine-reviews-kmc]

as i kept walking i realized

man....

some of these pieces are really traditional.. and not my interest..

and a lot of them follow this standardized aesthetic of 'good' design...

but hey, i respect it.

it's what the conventional art trend was heading towards coming out of the 1900's.

[haine-reviews-kmc]

for example, very aesthetically designed tile piece

i like how it slouches

and the credits go tooooooooo *drum roll*

[haine-reviews-kmc]

and this painting, which was nice, i guess

...oddly familiar, though. i think i've seen another one of their works next to the starbucks at sait..?

and the credits, ofc ofc

[haine-reviews-kmc]

BUT GOOD LORD look at this rug

Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Creation, 2021.

isn't it awesome? i thought it was way more mesmerizing than landscapes, in my opinion. i really, really, wanted to touch it, but i really didn't want to be that guy touching stuff in an art exhibition...

[haine-reviews-kmc]

but like where's the indigenous art tho

ok so all this is cool and all but i refuse to believe two historic art institutions that existed for a hundred years now do NOT have indigenous art somewhere within their collections, it's not like indigenous art just ceased to exist in the last 100 years

WHERE ARE THEY, AUARTS & AGA

RELEASE THE INDIGENOUS ART

RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

[haine-reviews-kmc]

that's all i wanted to show ya

those were the memorable ones (that i remembered to take pics of)

[haine-reviews-kmc]

overall: 7/10

yeah, the kmc exhibition is a nice collection of albertan art from the last 100 years, but it's missing some wildness and weirdness. it could be MOAR

craft: 10/10

every single one of these were expertly made, obviously. every painting, sculpture, fabric piece definitely shows craftsmanship and familiarity with the medium

creativity: 7/10

the more recent stuff DEFINITELY explored a more unconventional side of art. and i get that art (especially when taught through institutions) can be systemically distributed and taught, but i think that only serves to suffocate exploration and creativity. man i can't help but feel they could have done weirder, wilder stuff if they were born in my time

range: 5/10

maybe auarts and aga aren't a fan of collecting hard-to-maintain pieces, but maaannn. the exhibition was so limited in medium. like, c'mon. paintings, sculptures, drawings, they're cool and all but.. i've seen more tactile and engaging stuff from the 2nd year ceramics exhibition. like. c'mon!! make me FEEL something!! literally!!! make me engage with the art beyond what's visible!!!!!! make me touch something!! hear something!!!!!!!!

[haine-reviews-kmc]

conclusion

go see this exhibition. even if it's not your thing.

it's good to know where we came from and how we got here. go look at how it all started. understanding why we did things the way we used to helps you grow and develop. we used to think concrete, stable methods were the way to create art.

but knowledge nor art is ever THAT finite, or solid. or concrete. or ice cream.

so look back at the past.

but keep going.