Enriching life through art
Published Saturday September 6th, 2008
The director of the Beaverbook Art Gallery details the many ways he would like to bring more art to more people. One of his proposals is an Art Gallery of New Brunswick with branch galleries in Saint John, Moncton and Miramichi. By Bernard Riordon.
The following is a condensed version of the speech given on Aug. 28 by Bernard Riordon, director and CEO of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, as part of Fredericton's edVentures lecture series.
I have been immersed in the visual arts in Atlantic Canada for approximately 40 years. From a personal point of view, the arts are central to our daily lives and as essential as any other necessity of life required to have a quality life and achieve fulfilment.
Former Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, noted, "We need art to learn about ourselves and knowing ourselves is the sound foundation of all life that develops beyond the purely physical."
Working in the arts carries special responsibility in telling the stories of our historical and contemporary visual artists, our First Nations, francophone and English cultures that are so important to what is unique and special in this province.
I want to review here the Beaverbrook Art Gallery strategic plan, completed in the fall of 2007, and how we intend to carry out our vision - to enrich life through art. In working towards our vision, we got to dream and think about how the arts could play a more central role in our community and daily lives.
One of the prime considerations for me during the strategic planning was the role of the gallery as the provincial art gallery, as it was designated by the New Brunswick Legislature in 1994. Thus far, the gallery has offered exhibitions and other art-related services to art galleries around the province. The further enhancement of this would be a branch gallery model with the establishment of the Art Gallery of New Brunswick. This would include the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton with branch galleries in Saint John, Moncton and Miramichi, each with a specific area of focus. For example, Saint John would feature Saint John artists such as Miller Brittain, Fred Ross, Jack Humphrey; Moncton would feature francophone artists and celebrate the Acadian culture; and Miramichi would have an emphasis on the art of our First Nations people.
While this proposal is ambitious, it could provide a key component in the preservation of our cultural heritage and assist with our self-identity, self-sufficiency, pride in our community and economic development.
Some of the other initiatives or plans to fulfill our vision are now being implemented.
The gallery plans to organize a number of exhibitions. These include sending the gallery's masterworks on a national tour; mounting special exhibitions from the permanent collection for tour in the province; circulating the Miller Brittain retrospective nationally; and organizing an exhibition of New Brunswick First Nations art.
Some of the key goals in the area of education include expanding the Education Outreach Program for schools, teachers, community groups, adult audiences and other special interest groups. In partnership with the Department of Education, we plan to have new tours and activities for children ages two and older. A revised Edukit will soon be available for teachers and students. We plan to develop a preschool art enrichment program and promote it to daycares, parents and the community at large. We would like to produce an in-gallery activity guide for families.
It is desirable to provide a link between the gallery to the convention centre. With approval of a budget, we would like to begin a retrofit and expansion of the gallery.
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is preparing for a national fundraising campaign. Additional operating funds will be requested from both the province and the City of Fredericton. Our goal is to increase membership to 1,500 in 2009.
Art and our society
According to one study, a visitor looks at an individual work for three seconds - they try to see everything in a short period of time. Unlike music, drama and the performing arts, the visual arts are the passive arts and the permanent display of artworks (such as the Dalí which has been in the same place for 50 years) can encourage an extended dialogue with art and allow us to improve our observation skills and develop insight.
Harvard Medical School at one time enrolled its students at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts art program to interact with the artwork and see details - because it helped with diagnostic skills.
Art and art education and opportunities for youth were prime concerns for Lord Beaverbrook, as they should be to all of us. Art education helps develop persons to know how to be creative and recognize the importance of things unique and to appreciate the culturally diverse needs of the community in general.
In his essay on Art Education as Aesthetic Education: A Response to Globalization, Stuart Richmond commented on the role of art education:
"By Art Education I mean the development of the abilities, knowledge, and sensibilities needed to create, understand and appreciate visual art. Art, to merit a place in the school curriculum must offer something unique and contribute to the development of persons having independence of mind, dignity worthy as enfranchised citizens in society."
Aside from the powerful social statements that your art can convey, it is a source of well-being, value, and understanding in life.
By providing art education at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, children are given the opportunity to experience and celebrate multiple perspectives and learn that problems can have more than one solution and to make good judgment about qualitative relationships.
Nova Scotia artist Alex Gigeroff has said, "Clearly one of the primary benefits of having a gallery is education - for old and young alike. Let's put art in the pathways of children. As soon as we do, they will enjoy it, they'll look for it and they will want to know how it is done. Developing their perspectives through these mediums will spill over into everything they do in life - and they will be better for it."
2009 and beyond
The designation of Fredericton as a cultural capital in 2009 as well as the 50th anniversary of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery during 2009 provide a focus to bring about improvement for our artists and pride for our citizens. To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the gallery is planning many important exhibitions and public programs, including one entitled The First 50 Years: The Beaverbrook Legacy in Words and Pictures as well as a New Brunswick First Nations art exhibition.
Art in public places is one of the most visible ways to encourage a comfort level and natural appreciation of our visual culture. While I was at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Gallery Art Sales and Rental Services organized a national sculpture competition with a substantial financial contribution from our patron Christopher Ondaadtje. Ondaadtje had the idea that our courtyard could be a gathering place, a place to encourage dialogue, communication and a greater appreciation of art. After a lengthy process, we chose a sculpture by John Green entitled Origins. It reflects Inuit mythology: Sedna, the sea goddess in the ocean and bringing order out of chaos. It has become, since its installation in the '90s, the signature piece for the gallery. The courtyard has become a place for people to gather and appreciate art in our everyday lives. I believe that we can repeat that experience here.
I would like to quote Harriet Senie in her book Contemporary Public Sculpture Tradition, Transformation and Controversy: "As a culture we have difficulty in admitting that art has a use, because that use is primarily spiritual. Its greatest contribution lies in the realm that we are least able to quantify and therefore value. It is not easy to justify spending tax dollars on intangibles, especially in a society with many tangible and overwhelming problems. But the imaginative life addressed by art is a benefit that should be accessible to all; it is a significant factor in physical and mental health."
The allocation of one per cent for public art in the public buildings in Saint John is to be commended and we need to encourage more financial support for the installation of art in public spaces.
And this brings me to a project I proposed in 2003, which is now part of the gallery's 50th anniversary plans. We plan to build a sculpture court on the east side of the property. The City of Fredericton has generously committed funds for this; now we need to raise the remainder of the $350,000 required to complete the project.
The designer of the proposal, Daniel Glenn, of Glenn Group Landscape Architects in Fredericton, describes it this way: "Linear in nature, the Sculpture Garden serves to connect Queen Street to the busy riverside walking trail and includes a variety of screens, arbors and fences. These create an intriguing pathway system, hiding and then revealing strategically located art pieces with exuberant plantings filling every space beyond the varied paving stone surfaces. Comfortable seating, lighting and interpretive displays complete the design."
It is clear that change is important to keep this fine institution dynamic and connected to the people it serves. The status quo is not an option as we strive to enrich life through art.
In closing, I would like to quote an excerpt from Lord Beaverbrook's address at the opening of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Sept. 16, 1959.
"It may be that I am recalled chiefly as the builder and founder of an art gallery. The labour of age may prove more lasting than the strident achievements of youth or the aggressive toil of middle life"‚."‚."‚. the eyes of youth, falling upon these walls, may draw from them an impulse to create and emulate."
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