Modern Times' Many Faces

By Janice Ryan

Hot debate continues to swirl around the topic of modernism, or as some prefer, postmodernism, referring to an art movement that has enjoyed its day. Regardless of your take on the subject, the 17th-annual exhibit of the Edmonton Contemporary Artists' Society -- a group loosely defined as modernists --demonstrates the variety that exists within this genre.

Canvases alive with colour and texture hang alongside photographs chosen for their composition and qualities of light and hue. Sculptures in welded steel and wood dot the landscape of the spacious Peter Robertson Gallery.

Modernism embraces both abstract and representational images, so together with the conceptual work that moves away from a subject are recognizable landscapes and figurative sculpture.

"This is visually important art," says Russell Bingham, a founding member of the society-- " art to be appreciated for its esthetic values rather than its ideas. The emphasis is less on storytelling and more on what the art expresses on its own terms, in its own language."

Bingham is excited about the quality of this year's exhibition, seeing it as an opportunity to view developed and internationally recognized modern artists of varied styles and media under the same roof. Many new paintings, photographs and sculptures representing the 43 ECAS members are on display, including work from well-known local artists Terrance Keller, Hilary Prince, Graham Peacock, Dick Der and Peter Hide.

Bingham's photo, Back Alley, Whyte Avenue, illustrates his preference for straight photography that focuses on colour and design. "I generally pick banal subject matter. I like my photos to seem impersonal, kind of like documents, and then I compose with the camera."

Over the years, the exhibition has attracted national and international artists. This year, the work of Vancouver Island painter Edward Epp and sculptor Douglas Bentham of Saskatoon are displayed, as well as abstract paintings by Walter Darby Bannard (Miami), John Link (Michigan) and John Griefen (New York City).

Many people visit art shows with a need to know what the art is about. Instinctively, people often want to understand it and identify the subject matter. And when they can't, it can be quite unsettling, leading to the conclusion that the work is simply no good or not their style.

Welcome to the challenges facing ECAS members. As Bingham says, "this art is hard to talk about."

Ryan McCourt's steel sculpture, The Eminence of Intuition, greets you eye to eye at the entrance--an intense-faced centaur of grand proportions wielding a spear in one hand and a shield-bearing mask in the other. The piece is aptly named; as the young artist suggests: "When viewing art, your intuition is the most important thing. It forms the personal experience you get from the work."

This is art for the sake of art "It is exciting for me to put a new sculpture in the exhibit," says Peter Hide, an internationally renowned sculptor and a founding member of ECAS.

"This is a show we are in control of. We are our own masters, and don't have to ask anyone if we can do it."