The Record
Power to the People, Kitchener,Canada.
by Colin Hunter
Exhibit explores social effects of electrical power.
KITCHENER
What do you get when you take 350 cups of somewhat mouldy tomato juice; put a small copper plate in each, and connect them all with a labyrinth of wires? You get a small electrical charge. You also get art. Specifically, you get the art of Glasgow, Scotland, native Ben Woodeson - one of 20 international artists who have lent their creative juices, so to speak, to this year's Kitchener Contemporary Art Forum.
Titled Power to the People, the forum commemorates the 100th anniversary of the inception, in Kitchener, of one of the world's first publicly owned power utilities, Ontario Hydro (now Hydro One). Through the collected artworks and a series of public discussion forums, the exhibition explores the ways in which electrical power translates into social and political power, and shapes the ways in which we experience the world.
Woodeson's installation, situated just inside the back doors of City Hall, gleans enough electricity from the acidity in the tomato juice to power a small radio. "If I used a battery, it wouldn't be art, now would it," Woodeson chuckled yesterday while explaining the piece to Wilfrid Laurier University student Kevin Kokerus. Kokerus was at the exhibition taking notes for a philosophy of aesthetics essay. While Kokerus admitted that the piece smelled "pretty wicked" (it has been fermenting and growing mouldy since the exhibition began on Saturday), he said he relished the opportunity to discuss its merits with the artist himself. "It's fantastic to be able to interact with an artist and discuss the piece's meaning," Kokerus said. "I was afraid he might want to be left alone, but he was really nice."
Other works of art - many as noggin-scratchingly unique as the tomato juice piece are displayed throughout City Hall's Rotunda Gallery and outside in Civic Square.
Mexican artist Jorge Alberto Ramirez used sand to depict the shadow of a merry-go-round oil the floor of the rotunda, illustrating how old fashioned leisure activities have been driven to near-extinction by the rise of computers and video games.
ON A LIMB
Outside, high atop a flagpole, a mannequin clutches a small flag in John Marriott's piece On a Limb, an exploration of the hardships people undergo to find acceptance in society.
Above City Hail's balcony hangs a large marquee, made up 125 household light bulbs - all of which can be independently turned on and off by anyone at a panel of 125 switches near King Street. The piece was designed by University of Waterloo electrical engineering professor Robert Gorbet, along with his brother Matt Gorbet and sister- in-law Susan Gorbet. Matt says the piece subverts the way a typical marquee communicates to the public.
"A marquee is usually an instrument for one organisation to get a message to many in the public. But with this piece, the public controls the message." While the Gorbets say they have been overwhelmed by the popularity of the interactive piece, they have not always been overwhelmed by the profundity of the messages people have created. "The single most popular word people make is 'weed'," laughed Susan.
Andrew Wright, artistic director of the exhibition, says the point of the forum is to "demystify" contemporary art by displaying it where anyone can see it. "The goal is to bring the art out of the galleries and into a public space" he said. "You don't have to like everything, but if you leave feeling edified or curious about just one thing, it's worth it."
The Contemporary Art Forum wraps up Sunday. For more information, visit www.contemporaryartforum.ca
By Colin Hunter, Record Staff
The Record, Cover of Section B, Friday September 27th 2002-11-02
