Brendan McGillicuddy, 'Overflow'

Artist Background: Brendan McGillicuddy is an Alberta-born artist who has artist experience both in Canada and the United States. He received his BFA at ACAD but chose to go abroad for his Masters program, which he completed at the Parsons New School for Design in New York City. In his artist statement, McGillicuddy mentions that he places a lot of emphasis on the materials and techniques used in creating an artwork and how these tools relate to the location of the piece. He also considers the viewer and often tries to make his works inclusive and participatory. Many of his pieces discuss technology, nature, and the effect they often have on one another.

 ‘Overflow’ was created in 2009 for the Callingwood Recreational Centre. The piece consists of frosted polycarbonate that has been cut into dozens of icicle-like shapes and hangs off of the eves of the rec centre. In the evenings, lights inside the work create a multicoloured, glowing effect. McGillicuddy said he chose the icicle theme to celebrate the cold Edmonton climate. This is not the first time he has created public artworks. Along with his in-gallery pieces, McGillicuddy has created 13 site-specific works in New York City.

My Thoughts: The work reminds me of 'Anthropocene', another McGillicuddy work I saw last year at the Art Gallery of Alberta. In this piece, the artist sculpted white foam into an iceberg-like shape. The work is supposed to be a comment on our changing arctic and the effect humans have had on the melting of the North. On the artist’s website, he mentions that 'Overflow' can, at different times, represent icicles, rain or light breaking through the clouds. I wonder if the changing state of his work might also be a comment on global warming.

I was unfortunately not able to visit the piece while it was lit so I have included a link to the artist’s webpage where he has shown the illuminated work. I love the appearance of the lit icicles and did not want to leave this perspective out!

http://www.brendanmcgillicuddy.com/overflow-2009

I am going to be on vacation so there will NOT be a blog posting from me during the week of August 19^th. If there is anyone who wants to be a guest blogger, please email me at yegallery@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!!