Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Ghost Pool
This little
'ruin porn' photo exploration examines what I call The Ghost Pool.
According to Theron Lund - the art teacher who let me photodocument this
sealed off part of Victoria School - : 17 or 18 years ago, the pool
custodian turned off the re-circ pumps (or something) and left for the
weekend. The pool overfilled, water got underneath the cement basin,
froze and cracked the bottom of the pool, rendering it 'pooched' for
further use. In the past few years Victoria School has undergone a
demolition of part of the old school and construction of a new part. It
was a 28 million dollar project (started as a 63M$ reno, but it got
pared back). The school is actually smaller than it used to be, but much
more efficient, space and energy use wise. One thing that had to remain
was the fantastic, original auditorium. The high school theatre is top
notch. Production values are OTW*. The superstructure that holds up the
auditorium's stage and seating is......the pool. Hence no demolition of
the pool area underneath the theatre. Authorized access only. Eerie to
say the least. Must be something that the old pool can be used for.
Skate-park? Performances? Art studios? Recording? There are
safety/liability issues, of course. It was built to last! Here is the
pool, the girls' pink shower area, the boys' terrazzo shower stalls and
various other dusty corners. LOLDONGS!
*OTW Outta This World
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Victoria School of the Arts: Fine Arts Master Class Guest Artist Residency 2013
Gilt Trip
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_School_of_Performing_and_Visual_Arts
During the final two weeks of May 2013, I had the honour of being Victoria School's guest artist in residence. A 'master class' of outstanding visual art students joined me in a couple of easy to understand projects: A crash course on painting with oils on old LPs - the 15 or so teens took to it like ducks to water - as well as a more intense exploration of covering 'heritage' objects' with metal leaf. A variety of things were 'gilded': Old stage lamps, satellite dishes, an antique desk, a music stand, telephones, doorknobs and a rack of moose antlers. The projects were very successful. The students were happily engaged in the collective activity. The teachers that I had the privilege of working with were resourceful and fun!~
I always wanted to return to high school. I hope that I'm called back in 2014.
Below are some examples; photos taken 'in progress' of a few of the items 'leafed'. Selected pieces will be installed throughout the school, in suitable sites, as 'wayfinders'. The project was dubbed "Gilt Trip".
Thursday, April 11, 2013
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