Artist Talk
Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 2:00pm at CityScape Community Art Space.

Join artists Alison Keenan and Phyllis Schwartz for a discussion on their artwork and practice.

Alison Keenan has traveled and lived in many cultures while exhibiting her textile work.  The influence of textiles continued through her studies at Emily Carr University.  Her recent winter drawings and paintings reflect her observations on how the daily struggle against rain and snow changes the impact an individual's behaviour has upon others.  How groups and individuals behave in extreme weather conditions led her to reflect on the role of the artist in representing subconscious behaviour. Alison begins the process of creating a series of drawings by observing the multitasking efforts of an individual's uncertain navigation in a crowd or of another impatiently demanding attention while texting. Her paintings included in the Street Dance exhibition reflect the idea that an individual's alienation from others and the surrounding landscape are missed opportunities for conversation and the serendipitous meeting of like-minded souls.

Phyllis Schwartz has played with many photographic techniques:  black and white, colour, digital and alternative process.  The photography process shows her detail and texture, bringing her close to events, people, objects, phenomena and ideas.  Phyllis uses the photographic process as an investigative tool, directing the camera to record what eludes the human eye and working with the material until an image takes on a life of its own.  She is a photographer poet on a journey in quest of poetic imagery.

For more information about the Street Dance exhibition click here.