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NLIS 4
October 4, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

 

An art gallery that�s as big as Newfoundland and Labrador

People passing the site of The Rooms, a $40 million cultural centre that is being built in St. John�s, will really get an eye full for the next three years. The hoardings, huge wooden fences, that surround the construction site, will be covered in art � big art. A series of eight large murals, some as large as eight by 25 feet, will depict strange creatures from the sea, striking Aboriginal images and scenes from coastal fishing communities - all designed by well known artists from all over Newfoundland and Labrador.

These murals, the first in a series of giant works to be presented at the site, were unveiled during the groundbreaking ceremony for The Rooms on October 4 at 2:00 p.m. Many of the artists were present at the ceremony.

The varied subjects of the murals are drawn from themes in the province�s complex natural history and almost 10,000 years of human history. The diversity of styles in the works chosen illustrates the vibrancy of the contemporary culture that is rooted in this heritage.

A call for proposals earlier this year invited visual artists to submit concepts for works that could be presented on a grand scale. They were asked to use as their subject matter, major themes in the cultural heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador. These themes were drawn from key content areas that will be interpreted through exhibits and programs in The Rooms when the facility is completed. Each proposal was juried by a committee and eight were selected for the project. The successful pieces will be displayed at the construction site until the facility opens in 2003.

Media contact:

Deborah Glassman
tel: (709)729-5002
cell: (709) 749-1123

Elizabeth Matthews
tel: (709) 729-0928
cell: (709) 682-0366

THE MURAL ARTISTS

Sylvia Bendzsa

Sylvia Bendzsa�s watercolours, etchings and lithographs have been seen in galleries in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. She studied graphic art at the Ontario College of Art and is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Sylvia is known for her art donated to charities and for her volunteer work in the arts community in the province.

In the past decade, she has exhibited in five solo shows and scores of group exhibitions of art. Most recently, a solo show of watercolours, entitled Transitions, addressed the problems connected with out-migration from Newfoundland.

Jerry Evans

This Grand Falls born artist has rediscovered his Mi�kmaq heritage. Working in the media of painting and lithography, Jerry Evans has been exploring Aboriginal imagery and symbols. Traditional icons such as feathers, quill patterns and dream catchers are combined in his work with language symbols and archival photographs to create a bridge to the past.

Jerry has a diploma in Commercial Art from the College of Trades and Technology in St. John�s and a degree in fine art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He also had a Bachelor of Education from Memorial University.

Jerry Evans has had solo exhibitions in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Ireland. His work is included in the collections of the Canadian Native Arts Foundation, the provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canada Council Art Bank, the City of St. John�s, the Whitby Art Gallery, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, Miawpukek Mikamawey Mawiomi, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador and a number of corporate and private collections.

While his primary focus has been printmaking, more recently, Jerry has been concentrating on creating a body of work that also includes sculptures and multimedia pieces.

Craig Goudie

Craig Goudie is a visual artist who lives and works in Grand Falls-Windsor.

While Beothuk images have become more common in his work since moving to Central Newfoundland, Craig�s experience as a visual artist is varied. He has worked as an illustrator for Robinson and Blackmore Publishing and has had his cartoons featured in The Newfoundland Herald. He has produced comic books for the United Church and a Christmas card for the Cancer Society. He combines his interest in art and drama by working as artistic director for productions such as Gordon Pinsent�s Corner Green.

Craig currently employed as an art teacher at Inglis Memorial and Leo Burke Academy and has had experience in the field of art education at all levels. He�s been a visiting artist in primary and elementary schools and an information provider for the art technologies course on STEM~Net.

The Central Newfoundland Visual Arts Society regularly shows Craig�s work and he has also exhibited with the NLTA Art Educators Special Council. His pieces are included in the collections of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, the Conne River Band Council, the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union, Project 200 and numerous corporate and private collections across Canada.

Craig works mainly in pencil and pastel, but is currently working on a number of lithographs.

About the mural . . .

"Most of the citizens in our province (and in our country) know that the Beothuk people vanished into our history in the early 1800s. A few know a little of their story; most know the final fact.

"People aren�t missed if they don�t have a personal connection with another person. It�s that �connection� which I�m seeking in my pieces about the Beothuks.

"The images are about private moments in the lives of those individuals and their families. This is not cultural appropriation; I feel drawn to help tell a story of a people who no longer have a voice. I hope the viewer can relate to the people in my pictures through shared experiences and emotions...holding a child, embracing a partner, pausing for a moment while going about living a life....that the viewer can think and feel what the Beothucks must have thought and felt. This kind of personal contact may serve to break down the distance in time which has reduced the �Beothuk� to a cold, social/anthropological footnote in North American history.

"I want to help us reconnect with that part of our past in a personal way. I want the Beothuks to be missed!" Craig Goudie

Sheila Hollander

Sheila Hollander is a Corner Brook artist. She has studied with Reginald Sheppard and attended both the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design and the Ottawa School of Art.

Sheila has had a one person show at the Ewing Art Gallery in Corner Brook and has participated in group shows such as the Calgary Stampede Art Auction and the 2nd and 3rd International Naive Art Contests. Her work has received honourable mentions and one first prize in the Arts and Letters Competition for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Much of her work is in private collections in the United States, Canada and Europe.

About the mural . . .

"There is a great Irish, English and Scottish influence in the customs, speech and architecture of this province. I would classify my style as naive. Some naive artists are impressionists, surrealists, expressionists and hyper-realists. I paint the ordinary way of life in a past time. Resettlement, economics and industry have altered our lives and determined where we live. The future has improved, but the past is still an important factor." Sheila Hollander

Sylvia Ficken

Sylvia Ficken is from Princeton, Bonavista Bay and now resides in Topsail. She studied fine art with Don Wright, Gerry Squires and other noted artists at Memorial University Extension Services and at St. Michael's Print shop in St. John�s.

Sylvia has exhibited her work in St. John's, Corner Brook, Montreal and Halifax. Pieces are held in the Collection of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa and in many private collections. Many people know Sylvia Ficken�s work through the books she has illustrated, publications such as Wind Over Dark Tickle by Heather Walter and Eric West, and many Newfoundland books published by Harry Cuff Publications, including three with Tom Dawe, a celebrated Canadian poet. Some of her work was chosen for the National Exhibition of Canadian Children's Book Illustrators at Concordia University in 1991. Recently, she has participated in a group exhibition at the David Ariss Gallery in Halifax, Through Women's Eyes: Twelve Newfoundland Painters.

Sylvia Ficken works mainly in watercolour, lithography and mixed media.

John L. Joy

John L. Joy is a partner in the law firm White, Ottenheimer & Baker. He practices principally in the areas of admiralty, fisheries, oil and gas, shipping, aboriginal and intellectual property law.

John has studied drawing and painting with Susan Wood and Julia Pickard. He has previously exhibited his work at the Members Exhibit of the Resource Centre for the Arts. He founded the Eastport Art Holiday together with Julia Pickard and her husband, Chris Pickard. John takes a keen interest in the written, visual and performing arts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He is married to the Newfoundland writer and poet, Robin McGrath and they live in Beachy Cove.

About the mural . . .

"The painting bears the name �Devil�s Purse: Blue Streak - A Still Life�. Many artists have drawn and painted devil�s purses, including Don Wright, Frank Lapointe and Susan Wood, who mounted a major exhibit of large drawings on this subject many years ago. The devil�s purse is for me the mandrake in Newfoundland culture. It has a human form and, as the egg casing for the skate, represents both fecundity and death. Some call it a fairy handbar, so the imagery is really quite complex and has this light and cheerful side as well. Every Newfoundlander has found this extraordinary shape in the landwash.

"My idea was to use the full value of three basic colours: lemon yellow, cobalt blue and cadmium red with a touch, or two, of hooker green for darkness. Apart from the base washes of these colours, I used the full value of the paint making vertical, horizontal and diagonal strokes to create a still life of a devil�s purse which I think is anything but still." John Joy

Christine Koch  

This Newfoundland visual artist divides her time between the west and the east coasts, spending summers in Woody Point and the rest of the year in St. John�s. Christine had degrees from the University of Alberta, the Ontario College of Art and the University of Toronto.

Her work has been recognized both nationally and internationally. Christine has exhibited extensively, in solo and group shows, from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia. She has participated in artist in residence programs and workshops in both Canada and the United States.

Christine Koch�s work is included in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, the Harvard University Art Museum, the Glenbow, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial University, the University of Moncton Art Gallery, the University of New Brunswick, the Burnaby Art Gallery, St. Michael�s Printshop Archives and a number of corporate and private collections.

Christopher Newhook

Christopher Newhook is a self-taught freelance artist who works in a variety of media.. He has exhibited his work in various solo and group shows, where he has sold to visitors from across Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Christopher took first place in the Canadian Mint's Canada 125th Anniversary coin competition. His illustration of a lone fisherman in a dory represented Newfoundland in the 1992 commemorative coin set. It is still seen on Canadian quarters today. Christopher has also contributed artwork to book covers, magazines, posters, postcards and has developed various murals and interior displays.

His varied artistic training has also led him into the field of graphic design and photography. Christopher is able to move with ease from computer to camera to easel, blending the qualities of each to render unique perceptions of his favorite subjects - the history and nature of his home province.

Christopher Newhook was born and raised in Mount Pearl. He now resides in Placentia, and when not caring for his new son James, he works in his studio at home.

About the mural . . .  

"The image was inspired by a model of a fishing community which is housed in the O�Reilly House Museum in Placentia. This model, created by Kurt Mahle, depicts a fishing community in the early stages of resettling. It caught my artistic eye as I felt it encompassed the feeling of the whole resettlement project undertaken in Placentia Bay in the early 1960s.

"This past summer I had the opportunity to visit some of these abandoned communities. This rendering is an attempt to recreate the ghostly images I felt during those few days."

Christopher Newhook

2000 10 2:30 p.m.


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