Sep 23

Written by: Event Manager
Friday, September 23, 2011 1:39 PM 

Two new AGA exhibitions explore pioneers of both early French photography and the frontier landscape

EDMONTON, AB – The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is excited to open two new exhibitions in continuation of its fall season: 19th Century French Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada and Prairie Life: Settlement & the Last Best West 1930-1955 on Saturday, September 24. These exhibitions will be on view until January 29, 2012.

Media Previews will take place on Friday, September 23 at 1 pm
Please RSVP to Alison Bulloch, Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
alison.bulloch@youraga.ca   780.392.2468

Drawn from the extensive collection of French photographs from the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in Ottawa, 19th Century French Photographs features work by some of the major pioneers of French photography including Eugène Atget, Gustave Le Gray and Charles Marville among others. Tracing the early explorations of this medium through subjects such as landscape, portraiture, street life, war, and the human figure, the 66 works in the exhibition include daguerreotypes, salted paper, albumen silver and photogravure prints. Not to be missed, this exhibition demonstrates the exciting advent of a medium so ubiquitous in present day life.

19th Century French Photographs is presented as part of The National Gallery of Canada at the Art Gallery of Alberta, with the support of Capital Powered Art; an exhibition series sponsored by Capital Power Corporation.

In connection with this exhibition, the AGA will be hosting a feature lecture by Michael Fried as part of the Canadian Art Foundation International Speakers Series on Saturday, October 15 at 2 pm. In this public talk, the renowned poet, art historian, art critic and literary critic will speak on the subject of photography and the importance the role the medium now has in contemporary art.

Prairie Life: Settlement & the Last Best West 1930-1955 traces 25 years on the Canadian prairies, from the “Dirty Thirties” to the middle of the 1950s, when the idea of the Prairie West as a promised land was irrevocably altered. The exhibition features artists who are central to the history of modern art in this region, and focuses on images of settlement during a period of dislocation and economic hardship. Drawing from the Art Gallery of Alberta’s permanent collection, the exhibition includes the work of artists Maxwell Bates, HG Glyde, Marion Nicoll and John Snow.

To compliment this exhibition, the AGA will present a screening of Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up? on Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm in the AGA’s Ledcor Theatre. The film, which investigates popular stereotypes of our province, will be introduced by the film’s director Geo Takach. A question and answer period and book signing will follow the screening.

Please see the attached Backgrounder for a full list of programs related to these exhibitions.

These exhibitions are presented as part of the AGA’s fall season, which focuses on different ways of presenting the landscape through various periods of time and media. The season also includes the recently opened UP NORTH, an exhibition featuring the work of four internationally renowned contemporary artists from circumpolar countries. Opening soon are A PASSION FOR NATURE: Landscape Painting from 19th Century France, State of Nature: Works from the Collection of the Art Gallery of Alberta and ARLENE WASYLYNCHUK: Saltus Illuminati. More information about these exhibitions will be released shortly.

For more information about current and upcoming exhibitions, please visit youraga.ca.

Visitor Information
The AGA’s hours of operation are: 11 am to 7 pm on Tuesday to Friday; 11 am to 5 pm on weekends; closed Monday. Admission is $12.50 for adults; $8.50 for students and seniors; $26.50 for families (two adults and up to four minors); free for children six years old and under and free for AGA Members. AGA Memberships cost $65 for adults; $100 for families; $45 for students and seniors and $80 for senior couples.

ABOUT THE ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA
The Art Gallery of Alberta is a centre of excellence for the visual arts in Western Canada, connecting people, art and ideas. The AGA is focused on the development and presentation of original exhibitions of contemporary and historical art from Alberta, Canada and around the world. The AGA also offers a full-range of art education and public programs. Founded in 1924, the Art Gallery of Alberta maintains a collection of more than 6,000 objects and is the oldest cultural institution in Alberta and the only museum in the province solely dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of art and visual culture. The AGA recently underwent a major re-building project. Designed by Los Angeles architect Randall Stout, the 85,000 sq foot (7,900 sq metres) new AGA opened to the public on January 31, 2010. The new Gallery features three floors of premiere exhibition space; the City of Edmonton Terrace; the Singhmar Centre for Art Education; Zinc Restaurant; Shop AGA; Ledcor Theatre and an Art Rental and Sales Gallery.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact:

Alison Bulloch, Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
T: 780.392.2468 E: alison.bulloch@youraga.ca

The Art Gallery of Alberta is a not-for-profit organization that relies on the support of its Members, donors, sponsors and government. The AGA is grateful for the generous support of the many public and private donors and sponsors who have made the AGA’s New Vision possible, as well as the ongoing support of the City of Edmonton, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts and our Members.

Backgrounder

19th Century French Photographs
September 24, 2011-January 29, 2011

Prairie Life: Settlement & the Last Best West 1930-1955
September 24, 2011-January 29, 2011

Programs and Events

Exhibition Tours
Offered weekly (check youraga.ca for schedules)
Free with Gallery Admission

Exhibition Lectures and Talks

Lecture: Michael Fried
Canadian Art Foundation International Speaker Series
Saturday, October 15, 2pm
Ledcor Theatre, Art Gallery of Alberta
$15/$10 AGA Members

Michael Fried is a poet, art historian, art critic, and literary critic. He has written extensively about abstract painting and sculpture since World War II, about French painting and art criticism from the mid-eighteenth century to the advent of Edouard Manet and his generation (and beyond), about Thomas Eakins and Stephen Crane, about the great nineteenth-century German painter-draftsman Adolf Menzel, about Charles Baudelaire, Joseph Conrad, Gustave Caillebotte, and Roger Fry, about Bernd and Hilla Becher, Jeff Wall, Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Demand, and other contemporary "art" photographers, about Caravaggio and the transformation of Italian painting ca. 1600, and (most recently) about the contemporary artists Anri Sala, Charles Ray, Joseph Marioni, and Douglas Gordon.

Fried is currently embarked on a short book on "Madame Bovary," to be called Flaubert's Gueuloir. He has long been engaged by questions of modernism, realism, theatricality, objecthood, self-portraiture, embodiedness, and the everyday.
 
Fried will speak on the subject of photography and its importance in contemporary art. This lecture is being held in conjunction with the exhibition 19thCentury French Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada and is presented in collaboration with the Canadian Art Foundation.


The Judgment of Paris: Ross King
Sunday, October 23, 2 pm
Ledcor Theatre, Art Gallery of Alberta
$15/$10 AGA Members & Students

Ross King’s 2006 bestseller The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism received the Governor General’s Award and was a finalist for the Charles Taylor Prize. Delving into the birth of impressionism, the book focuses on the starkly contrasting work and careers of Edouard Manet and Ernest Meissonier. The former, now called the ‘father of impressionism’, struggled to find acceptance for his work during his lifetime, while Meissonier, now shrunken to obscurity, was one of the most acclaimed and highest-paid artists of his time.

King’s talk perfectly sets the stage for the transformation of landscapes, as depicted in the exhibition A PASSION FOR NATURE: Landscape Painting from 19th Century France.

This lecture is presented is partnership with LitFest, Edmonton’s Nonfiction Festival.

Art for Lunch: Landscape Painting and the Invention of Photography
Thursday, October 20, 12:10-12:50 pm
Lower Level
Free

In the 19th century, artist’s approach to the natural world was impacted by developments in photography. Come to Art for Lunch to see examples of how paintings were created using photographs and to learn more about the impact of photography’s invention on painting!

Art for Lunch: Remember Me Fondly
Thursday, November 17, 12:10-12:50 pm
Lower Level
Free

As photography gained popularity in the 19th century, it became an important way for the rising middle class to display their status and wealth. Portrait studios flourished as people scrambled to have their likeness captured with the new technology of photography. Art for Lunch will focus on the current exhibition 19th Century French Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada.

Art for Lunch: Last Best West
Thursday, December 15, 12:10-12:50 pm
Lower Level
Free

At the turn of the 20th Century, the West was seen as a promise land full of resources and opportunity. The Great Depression greatly impacted this view and resulted in a period of significant change. The struggling rural areas were chronicled by artists, as was the growth of urban centres. In conjunction with the exhibition Prairie Life, which contains works from the AGA’s own permanent collection, Art for Lunch will explore work made on the Canadian frontier during this time of pivotal change.

Family Activities

All Day Sunday: Photo Play
Sunday, October 16, noon-4 pm
Free with Gallery Admission

Play with photography! Start with a Photo Scavenger Hunt throughout the galleries, including the exhibition 19th Century French Photographs. Next, discover photographic techniques from the past and the present with a Black and White Photo Shoot Workshop and interactive storytelling activities that explore the history of photography. Create your own photo collage with the help of Gallery Educators and the Drawing with Photography project in the Atrium.

For media information, please contact:
Alison Bulloch, Media Relations and Communications
T: 780.392.2468 E: alison.bulloch@youraga.ca