-- Advertisement --

                           

-- Advertisement --

Canadian Art

Audio

Stephen Waddell Audiocast: The Photographing of Modern Life

Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver Apr 4 to Jun 1 2008
Stephen Waddell  <i>Asphalt Layer</i>  2002 Stephen Waddell Asphalt Layer 2002

Stephen Waddell <i>Asphalt Layer</i> 2002

Audio Stream: Stephen Waddell Audiocast: The Photographing of Modern Life

Though that old fine-art wall between photography and painting is largely a thing of the past, it can still be a surprise these days to find an artist who is truly devoted to both. Yet Stephen Waddell would seem to fit the bill. In addition to painting early on in his career, Waddell sees his photographs as pictures influenced by Baudelaire’s concept of “the painting of modern life” rather than connected to contemporary photographic phenomena of Flickr and Photoshop.

Now, with a Waddell retrospective—including, at the advice of exhibition curator Roy Arden, those previously neglected paintings—on at Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery, the cross-media connections in his work are becoming clearer. Here, in a phone interview with Leah Sandals, the artist discusses his various influences, from art history tomes to aimless, wandering walks. (Running time 12 minutes 29 seconds)

This article was first published online on April 3, 2008.

RELATED STORIES

  • Gu Xiong: The Course of Globalism

    Rivers form territorial boundaries, house unique ecosystems, fuel power sources and are integral networks for trade and cultural exchange. For the artist Gu Xiong, these waterways are also a telling metaphor for the ebb and flow of what he calls an era of “global uncertainty.”

  • The 2008 GG Awards: Where Her Excellency meets Dr. Brute

    The 2008 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts continued the 9-year-old program’s usual well-rounded, multimedia roster of winners.

  • Allan Harding MacKay: “Observing the Observer”

    Many artists and curators have made their names by exploring the creative problem-solving that results from “getting something wrong.” But in the work of artist Allan Harding MacKay, currently on view in “Observing the Observer” at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, everything is right.

 

FOUNDATION NEWS

More Foundation news

ONLINE

  • Will Munro: Ecstatic Legacies

    In 2010, at the age of 35, Toronto artist/DJ/promoter/activist Will Munro succumbed to brain cancer. Here, David Balzer reviews the first big survey of Munro’s work, which makes apparent how talented, prolific and perceptive this creator was.

  • Painting Canada: Artistry in the UK

    The Dulwich Picture Gallery’s recent Group of Seven show was one of the UK museum’s biggest hits ever, drawing 41,000 visitors. The attention was deserved, writes Sarah Milroy, as the exhibition offered new insights even to seasoned Canadian-art observers.

  • David Altmejd: In the Belly of the Beast

    The Occupy movement has galvanized the way we think about haves and have-nots. But where do artists fit in? As Joseph R. Wolin observes in this review of David Altmejd’s show at the Brant Foundation, context can be as powerful as content in determining the split.

  • A Stake in the Ground: When Language Wounds

    What happens to identity when our relationship to land and language is disrupted? This is a key question raised in “A Stake in the Ground,” an exhibition of works by 25 First Nations artists, curated by Nadia Myre, that’s currently at Montreal gallery Art Mûr.

  • Canadianartschool.ca: Tips for a Successful Winter Term

    Our education and careers site has just posted more stories and tips to help students achieve a great winter term. Highlights include a profile of internationally renowned fashion designer Jeremy Laing, a Q&A on grad schools and more.

More Online

- Advertisements -



- Advertisements -
Report a problem