Archives 1985 ()

26  November - 14 December 1985

5 - 24 November 1985

15 October - 3 November 1985

For the most part the pictures are taken in taverns, public houses and their attendant living spaces, in a variety of local from Ottawa going west. They are all in color  and are selected from a larger body of work that I photographed during the last two years. The pictures are intended to operate on several levels and they will be mis-read if they are only examined for their “documentary”properties. They are an appreciation of the decisions that people made in claiming these spaces for their own use rather than a critique or an expose. Within the images there are a variety of renderings on a common theme that are generated by the practical needs of these rooms. The rooms themselves  are an architecture of necessity, but I have tried to photograph them with the same sense of place, strength and dignity that another photographer might bring to corporate spaces. Another important aspect of the work is the intended metaphor that uses different locations, common items of furniture, and the play of light to make an emotive comparison with myself, the viewer and the rooms I have chosen. It is true that the rooms are often small and confining, but at the same time I like to think that the are transparent.
I imagine a place and then find it. Now, put it in a box  and take it home. Coax it into position on the paper and look…is that the place? Do you recognize it too?

25 September - 13 October 1985

This series of photographs developed out of a personal interest - a combination of bewilderment and fascination - in the various sub-cultures that  make up the whole; we have become both participant in and witness to a variety of image types that function wholly within and for an advertising medium oriented-society.
The body-builder aesthetic is basically, the bigger and more defined, the better (female competitors face a dilemma in that they must not betray their femininity by being to big???), with point also being given for all over development, poise and presentation. The contradiction between what is relevant in “competition” as opposed to “real life” becomes exaggerated in my photographs, a medium, universally used to promote their 2 - dimensional aesthetic.
Contests continue to intrigue me photographically. The winner, chosen to exemplify a defined aesthetic, then becomes the definition; the photograph is the contradiction between physical reality and the 2 - dimensional ideal.        -Laura Letinsky

I feel that our society, through the superfluous use of the photographic medium in magazines, billboards, and video, has defined a set of aesthetics based on two-dimensions. With the advertisement as model our culture has made for itself very specific boundaries and guidelines of how we should look. These definitions perpetuate the society that designs them; we are both spectators of and spectacles in this process.
I am bewildered and fascinated with public face. I like to photograph where the medium has promoted the ideals and ideas of the event. My photographs upset our preconceptions; what becomes apparent is somewhere between what we mean to look like and what we can’t help but look like. With the camera, I wish to focus on the relative validity of how we see others and see ourselves.  -Laura Letinsky

3 - 22 September 1985

Early this year it was announced that buildings along the north side of Winnipeg’s Portage Avenue would be expropriated and torn down to make way for a shopping complex that will become a new focal point of the downtown area.
I began photographing this area at the beginning of June when some shops and offices began moving out at the suggestion of the head of the Western Canadian Pictorial Index at the University of Winnipeg.
At first I only photographed the exteriors of buildings, but with the help of the North Portage Development Corporation I was able to meet and photograph some of the people who had to move.
The photographs in this exhibit are a selection of portraits of the people that I talked with. None of the photographs are extreme close-ups. I made a decision to stay back and show as much of the interiors as possible. With a 28mm lens on the camera I was able to produce detailed photographs of the interiors while not moving too far back from the people who are the real subjects.
On the subject of expropriation I sit on the fence, seeing both good and bad sides. there is no doubt that it has been a difficult time for people in the North Portage Area who have had to relocate difficult and costly. Some have had to move before due to expropriation which made way for the Air Canada Building. Some have been at the same location for more than twenty years. Over the years a person becomes attached to a place to work, knowing its advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage is the general deterioration of the area over the last decade. High rent and suburban shopping malls with free parking are just a couple of reasons for North Portage Avenue’s decline. The worry probably was that the south side of Portage would soon deteriorate as well. This shouldn’t happen with the changes that will be made. With changes however come difficult times for the people involved. Hopefully the individuals will all be adequately compensated for having to move.      Jeff Solylo

23 July - 11 August 1985

Alberta was exposed to John Alfred Irvine’s influence and to his discriminating eye and camera in the early 1900’s. Mr, Irvine was an avid amateur photographer who lived and worked, as a real estate broker, in Calgary. Apart from being a prominent businessman, a photographer and a community social worker, he was also one of the founders of the Canadian Navy League and he established a camp at Sylvan  Lake, Alberta, which was used by several boys’ and girls’ clubs.
One of the results of Mr. Irvine’s varied talents and interests is a collection of over 500 photographic glass plates of Alberta between 1906-1928. This historical photographic collection comes to us via Mr. Zared Racher of Calgary and Mr. Harry Savage, a well known Edmonton artist and photographer, who donated the plates to the Edmonton Society of Photographers, which merged with Latitude 53 Society of Artists in 1982. Of the 500 photographs, thirty prints have been selected for show and they capture the feeling and spirit of a young and developing province. They are both historically and sociologically significant, so whether it be a building, a picnic, a portrait, or a summer camp, the J.A. Irvine photographs provide us with glimpses into our past and into our heritage.

2 - 21 July 1985

11 - 29 June 1985

Family circle:The adults and children in a particular household, thought of as a group sharing certain customs, pleasures, etc. I was welcomed to the family circle.

21 May - 9 June 1985

The following is excerpted from a letter included in my submission to the jury.
…While I have yet to feel comfortable with the working title “Crowds”, this term broadly describes the parades, demonstrations and other such gatherings of people which constitutes my subject matter. The wide assortment of ‘attractions’, or reasons for persons congregating might suggest that my only concern is formal; that I like to take pictures of lots of people in one place. This would be a most narrow and instantly incorrect interpretation.
…My approach to each crowd is essentially naieve. I don’t actually plan, nor do I know exactly what to expect. I take film with me, and listen to the concerns or stated purposes of each event. The method is essentially inductive, and lacking in analysis. It would be quite simple to conclude that there is no other intentions—that I accept my photographs as arbiters of the truth…The tale is for me retelling.
Once I am through the event, after all the post-climactic  shuffling is over, I am able to sit back and let my mind wander. Different impressions surface. Anecdotes and ambiance. The oft-repeated precipitates, while the a -historical begins to float.
…I agree, lots of people in one place are very interesting. These images should illustrate at least that…
What I have always found, in every crowd is an unassailable individuality. No-one is there for reasons other than their own. Even those who claim simple and redundant excuses… And everyone participates…at least to the extent that everyone cooperates. Generally speaking, this very human value of co-operativeness becomes the overriding concern. Some people even get a little too excited.
… I believe that the contrasts and similarities between the two events will prove to create an interesting and hopefully, inspiring presentation. My only other concern is an educational one; that persons seeing this show will leave with a greater sense of community and courage.
David Henry

30 April - 19 May 1985