02 Sep Rebecca Belmore Lecture
Rebecca Belmore’s talk at the auditorium at the Planetarium was packed and for good reason – her presentation was both delightful and provocative. Ms. Belmore gave a slide show presentation in a theatrical format (with onstage assistant)that reviewed highlights of her past 15 years as an artist. In addition she spoke about her work “Fountain” showing concurrently at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the work that represented Canada at the 2005 Venice Biennale (“the Disneyland of the Art World”). Main themes in her work are the body, feminist issues, cultural disinfranchisment, colonization, and aboriginal issues.
I walked away with some pertinent knowledge about Ms. Belmore’s practice as an artist. A key component to her choice and method of performance art is the way it allows her to respond immediately and intuitively to current events and issues. Unlike scripted drama that generally requires significant preparation and rehearsal, Rebecca’s theatre is one of improvisation with intention. She often creates a work on the day of the installation or the exhibition. When so many other art mediums are “slow” in production, this approach to art-making is fresh and vital. In fact, she is so responsive to the information around us, she joked that her husband often threatens to ban her from watching the evening news on television at home.
Finally, what was absolutely delightful was to get to know more about Rebecca, the woman. Despite work with typically a heavy-laden and political content, she has a wicked sense of humour that tends towards a light-hearted self-deprecation and a healthy sense of irony.
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