Voters choose public art for outdoor exhibit
Article content
A painting by the oldest brother of Canadian artist Tom Thomson was the clear frontrunner in an online poll to select public art for The Grand Exhibit, which will display reproductions of a number of pieces from Glenhyrst Art Gallery’s permanent collection in various locations around the city, mostly in the downtown.
George Thomson’s Lingering Snow, an oil on canvas painting of a home by a river bank with melting snow, was at the top of the list when voting closed last Friday. People were asked to choose from among 20 pieces of art selected by Matthew Ryan Smith, curator at Glenhyrst, and Ana Olson, executive director of the gallery.
“I was very surprised,” Sara Munroe, Brantford’s arts and culture development officer, said Tuesday.
Her prediction for the top vote-getter was an Andy Warhol serigraph of Brantford hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
“The Warhol piece was second but I thought it would win by a landslide.”
Olson said the project is inspired by the Detroit Institute’s Arts Inside/Out program that also put copies of its collection outdoors.
Glenhyrst has more than 600 original artworks in its collection and The Grand Exhibit is a way of exposing more people to art they may otherwise never see.
“Obviously, art will beautify the area,” said Munroe. “But our public art collection also shows what we value, what we’re proud of and shows stories of who we are.”
She said those behind The Grand Exhibit hope that, ultimately, the art will draw people to Glenhyrst’s Ava Road gallery to see more of the collection.
“If people haven’t been to Glenhyrst, they’ll find it’s a welcoming space for everyone.”
Now that voting has finished, 10 or 12 of the most popular pieces will be reproduced on UV-coated, graffiti-resistant aluminum and framed with gallery-style frames. They’ll be mounted on walls and posts on city property, along with a panel that will describe the work and point people to other works in the series.
Online voters were able to choose up to 10 works from those in the competition. In addition to Thomson and Warhol, selections of art included work by Robert Reginald Whale, John Hicks Whale, Jean Claude Whale, Joyce Wieland, Michael James Alec Snow, Doris Titus, Hortense Gordon, John Sloan Gordon, Kim Ondaatje, Homer Watson, Lemione Lionel Fitzgerald, David Milne, Jason McLean, William Henry Clapp and Aidan Urquhart.
Other top choices were Kitchener artist Watson’s Fall Wheat, which got 48 per cent of the votes, and contemporary artist Snow’s Three Chords, which got 40 per cent.
Fall Wheat – an image of a land between summer and the turning of the colours — shows a snippet of 19th century rural Southwestern Ontario.
Snow, whose public art includes the flying Canadian geese in Toronto’s Eaton Centre, created Three Chords showing his own hands playing foundational piano chords.
Munroe said she is pleased that nearly 300 people voted online.
“It was way more than we expected and it shows how much people love public art.”
The outdoor replicas are expected to be displayed in time for the Ontario Museums Association conference, being hosted by Brantford, and Lawren Harris Day, both on Oct. 23.
The city and the Downtown Brantford BIA are funding the project. Brooks Signs is donating the Plexiglas signs for the artwork.
SGamble@postmedia.com
@EXPSGamble
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.