Diane Landry: The (Wise Old) Soul of a New Machine
Diane Landry Flying School 2000 Detail © Diane Landry
Unexpected movement and sound are hallmarks of the work of Quebec sculptor Diane Landry. In “The Defibrillators,” the first major overview of her work (organized and circulated by the Musée d’art de Joliette and now showing at Kingston’s Agnes Etherington Art Centre) Landry’s unique oeuvres mouvelles—works that are equal parts installation, performance and ready-made sculptures—take centre stage, offering an engaging look into two decades of the artist’s lighthearted yet poignant practice. In works like 2000’s Flying School, for instance, a group of upright, multicoloured umbrellas gently open and close in time with the incongruous wheezing of dozens of harmonicas attached to their bases. The result is the creation of a lifelike flock of machine-object hybrids that take on disarmingly human characteristics through Landry’s subtle manipulations, shedding new light on the complex relationships between humans and machines. Complemented at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre with a special performance of La Machine à foudre by Landry on September 30, “The Defibrillators” promises to provide what curator Jan Allen describes as “an emotional re-start—an electro-shock of affect—awakening us to the span of possibility and the dreamy quiver of time.” (Queen’s University, Kingston ON)
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Diane Landry Mandalas 2002 © Diane Landry |
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Diane Landry 12 Umbrellas 1989 © Diane Landry / photo Richard-Max Tremblay |
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