Will Truchon, 'Valley Wall'

Artist Info: 'Valley Wall' was created in 2009 by Will Truchon as part of the Icon Tower mural project. The work is on the side of the southern Icon building and faces the 104th Street pathway to the Beaver Hills House Park. The piece was commissioned through The Works and consists of four painted panels adhered to the side of the condominium. 

Will Truchon has a background art and architecture from his three degrees acquired at the University of Manitoba, Ohio State University and the University of Calgary. He works in many mediums, often creating pieces in ceramics, painting, photography and sculpture. Truchon has held various roles in the art field including positions as a ceramics technician, arts instructor and gallery technician. He is probably best known for his role in The Works festival where he was Artistic Director from 2001-2007.  He mentions that he is passionate about public art and looks to create opportunities where citizens can appreciate art. 

My Thoughts: I chose to feature this mural because we had a great amount of discussion on this piece at the art walk two weeks ago. I thought it was appropriate that Truchon would be involved as an artist on a public work of art when he has had so much of a role in public art commissions as the Artistic Director at The Works. Furthermore, Truchon is known for his knowledge of architecture and has commented on his experience in planning and designing buildings. Therefore, I can see the desire to have him on a project to include art on one of Edmonton's major downtown streets. 

In terms of the work itself, I am undecided on my feelings towards it. While I like the colour palate and the positioning of the work as an entryway to the park, I do not like the impressionistic style of the artwork. I felt the artist was trying to mimic a Group of Seven painting, making the piece seem outdated on the contemporary condo. Furthermore, after some thought, I decided that I do not like the extension of the mural onto the electrical box beside the building. While I understand the desire to hide the unsightly unit, the paint does not camouflage the box but draws attention to it instead. Electrical boxes are so common in downtown Edmonton people do not notice them. Painted electrical boxes are much more rare and thus more obvious. 

What do you think about this piece? Do you like the electrical box? Let me know your thoughts!

Dawn Detarando and Brian McArthur, 'Immense Mode'

Before I get into this artwork I just wanted to thank everyone who came out to the PrairieSeen x YEGallery art walk last night! We had a lot of fun and a ton of good discussion. PrairieSeen did a great job of organising the walk and we hope to do it again sometime in the future.

Artist Info: 'Immense Mode' was completed in 2009 in the SouthGate Transit Centre as part of the Percent for Art initiative. The work is a collaboration by the artist pair Dawn Detrando and Brian McArthur from Red Deer. The partners own and run Voyager Art and Tile, a ceramics and sculpture studio in Red Deer where they create their own pieces for sale.
Dawn hails from Massachusetts where she attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Ohio State University. She mentions that she is interested in the concept of travel and migration, particularly within the prairies. This concept often comes across in her artwork.
Brian is originally from Red Deer and went to school at the University of Regina and Ohio State University where he met up with Dawn. His main artistic focus is in Canadian folklore and history. The two founded Voyager Art and Tile in 1999 and have made a successful business out of selling their art tiles for private display or obtaining public art commissions for works around the country. Both artists are interested in the whimsical and humorous in their artworks.
'Immense Mode' is a 2 storey high sculpture made of bricks and glass. The bricks came to them wet and they were able to carve and shape the bricks themselves to create this sculpture. In an open letter about the artwork Brian mentioned that they received a lot of help on the project. The steel frames, concrete and installation labour were all donated by various construction companies within the city.
In his letter Brian mentions that the intention around the piece is to liven up the transit centre. The artists wanted the work to be a communal space where people felt comfortable standing next to or sitting on the artwork. Brian wrote that if the work brightened someone's day they had been successful.


My Thoughts: I always thought Immense Mode looked a little silly so I was happy to read Brian's goal of making people smile or laugh through the artwork. The piece always reminded me of Jack and the Beanstock or the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East when she has the house fall on her in the Wizard of Oz.
I think the placement of the work at Southgate mall is appropriate because of the connections one can easily make to shoes and shopping. Furthermore, I was interested to find out about Dawn's passion for travel and migration in her artwork. I think the obvious link between feet and migration as well as the artwork's home in a transit terminal make a nice connection between her artistic focus and 'Immense Mode'.

PS: Sorry about the terrible photo quality for this image! I only had my cell phone on me this time.