July 7, 2022

Winnipeg
19° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Local

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Modern artists diversify means of expression

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 4, 2013

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

When we're asked to think about art, most people visualize paintings by Picasso, Dali or Monet. Most people don't think about artists who are alive today, making art with something other than a paintbrush.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 3/9/2013 (3228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Freya Olafson in Hyper. Her work reflects the nature of modern technology.

Freya Olafson in Hyper. Her work reflects the nature of modern technology.

When we're asked to think about art, most people visualize paintings by Picasso, Dali or Monet. Most people don't think about artists who are alive today, making art with something other than a paintbrush.

Certainly the majority of us wouldn't know about Freya Olafson and Derek Brueckner, two Winnipeg artists whose art supplies include duct tape and YouTube.

While many members of the public feel artists today are lacking in the time-honoured skills of drawing, painting, or sculpting the human form, artists such as Olafson and Brueckner are more interested in advancing the visual language of the body through less static means. For Brueckner, a talented drawer and painter, it became important to diversify his approach by "becoming curious about other kinds of art-making."

In the late '90s, Brueckner began to explore the relationship between artist, model and audience by doing live drawings of nude models in the large windows of Winnipeg's Plug-In Gallery. Anyone passing by could catch an eyeful and see the artist at work.

Today, Brueckner's work has evolved to include collaboration with performance artists in lieu of models, and live-feed video projections replace live drawings. At a recent show in New York City, performance artist Geraldo Mercado climbed in and out of giant geometrical shapes Brueckner built out of duct tape and white Masonite. The performance was recorded live on video and projected back onto the piece.

The effect of the projection was stunning; picture arms and legs moving in and out of multi-faceted forms that flicker with an ephemeral glow. Breuckner spent hours in "rehearsal," observing performers interacting with the ad hoc sculptures, and making large-scale paintings based on what he saw. In "fusing the act of painting with technology," Bruecker said he was aiming to "reinvent the entrenched tradition" of painting the body.

Freya Olafson, too, works across artistic disciplines to provide "many ports of entry for the audience." It would be clich© to say her work breathes new life into the practice of making art, but she possesses ingenuity in spades. Trained as a dancer, Olafson uses her own body as well as video and sound to make work about how we relate to technology.

The Free Press | Newsletter

Applause

A weekly review of the Winnipeg arts scene, delivered every Thursday.

Sign up for Applause
Sign Up

Olafson is interested in YouTube for its strange blend of public and private and for the fact it shows "unedited behaviours of contemporary people." Olafson recently became inspired by videos uploaded by parents showing their kids dancing to popular music. Inspired by the "continuously shifting impulses" in one boy's "somewhat under-coordinated body," Olafson mimicked his spastic and hilarious dance moves in a performance of her own.

For her upcoming work Hyper, Olafson manipulates lighting and video technology. In the mesmerizing work, the screen swallows her whole, becomes a curtain through which she emerges, and at times seems to blend seamlessly with her dancing body. But here's the catch; Olafson paints her naked body in black-light paint to resemble a skeleton. The animated bones glow like some sort of psychedelic X-ray machine, leaving the viewer to question whether the dance is a celebration or one that is macabre.

Artists always reflect and comment upon the times in which they live. To do this best, many artists today use an interdisciplinary approach, mirroring every technological advance and cultural phenomenon. Just as the fragmented shapes in Picasso's cubist paintings were in part a response to Einstein's ideas about the unreliability of matter, Brueckner and Olafson's work is a response to the disconcerting postmodern questions of our day.

Today, the "what is art?" debate continues in the mind of the public. There are many who would say what Olafson and Brueckner do is not art but something else. Picasso's groundbreaking cubist work was not widely accepted at first, either. But artists excused themselves from the debate a long time ago. Instead, they continue to make work that challenges, provokes and upsets old traditions.

 

Sarah Swan is a Winnipeg artist and writer. On Friday Sept. 6, Swan will host Art Talk/Art Walk at the Free Press News Café. In this edition, she will talk with Freya Olafson and Derek Brueckner about alternative approaches to art. For tickets or more information, please call 204-697-7069.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top