11 May - 25 May, 2020
Curatorial Statement
In this exhibition, visitors are encouraged to experience the works in a more immersive setting, which is why each image is accompanied with video, so the music associated with each image can be heard and enjoyed in the moment. This is a rather personal, ethnographic approach to the previous exhibitions so far.
Music has a strong emotional influence on us. Music is personal; a song can shift our moods, trigger memories. Music connects us as cultures, communities, people. Sometimes music and its instruments are specific to a region (Andrzej Łojka, Korean Cultural Centre) or it can bring people together in a global community (Katowice JazzArt Festival, Folk Camp). However you experience and feel music, I welcome all gallery visitors to contemplate and discover these various artists, organizations, cultures and instruments; a 'window' into this magical, melodic world of music.
Exhibited Works
While visiting Katowice for research on my dissertation, I came across so many posters and advertisements for the various cultural and artistic festivals happening in the city. Though I was unable to stay until the end of April, I thoroughly enjoyed the brief encounters I had with the local music scene through restaurants, street performers and virtual discoveries.
Below I have provided a rather whimsical promotional video for the 2019 JazzArt festival, where the poster design comes to life, visualizing the structure of the music:
One of my favourite downtown Ottawa gems is 150 Elgin Street, home to not only the Canada Council for the Arts, Âjagemô Gallery and the Scone Witch, but also the Korean Cultural Centre, which houses film night, conferences, travel information, an art gallery and their very own K-Academy. People from all backgrounds who are interested in Korean culture are welcome to classes that teach cooking, dance, language, art and music. As someone who loves to learn more about different cultures, I eagerly picked up all the promotional information I could find on K-Academy, though sadly life always has other plans, and I could not attend these lessons.
Luckily, there is some footage of the danso (Korean flute) recital put on by the 2019 participants, so if you ever want to get involved in the Korean Cultural Centre's K-Academy, here is a taste:
Also, Korea Today featured a professional danso flute player, and there is even a brief lesson on how to play (if you ever find yourself in the possession of a danso):
(Left to right: Andrzej Łojko, "Maria with Fiddle from Płock", 'Music' series, n.d., Poland; Andrzej Łojko, "Maria Playing Suka", 'Music' series, n.d., Poland).
Here we have some familiar work; Andrzej Łojko has been featured in the Window Gallery before. These images are of folk musician Maria Pomianowska playing two folk instruments from Poland: the Płock fiddle and the Biłgoraj suka.
As Maria is a professional musician, videos of her playing both the fiddle and suka are widely available, and you can hear these unique, regional Polish folk instruments for yourself:
2019 was a pretty big travel year for me (research, conferences, etc). The moments I cherished most though, were when I was able to visit family (90% of them are in Europe). While in Katowice, I took the chance to pop over to Amsterdam to visit my aunt and cousins, and on one of our walks around the city, we stumbled upon a very touristy, but sweet sight: The Music Boat Man of Amsterdam (Reinier Sijpkens) and his boat, "Nutshell".
Though I personally only caught a few snippets for Instagram, YouTube is full of people's interactions with him. He is best known for playing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", though my personally favourite was his rendition of "Concerning Hobbits" composed by Howard Shore for the Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings soundtrack.
Check out the video below to get a taste of this man's musical talents, and the many instruments he uses:
As a diasporic Pole in Canada, it is hard to find spaces that teach folk art and foster communities where we can learn the culture and history of our ancestors locally. These spaces exist, but sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time to know they are there. Especially if you don't know where to look. At the 2019 Capital Ukrainian Festival, I found promotional information for Folk Camp (designed for adults, though children are welcome too), and have been a fan of the organization ever since. They bring together people from diverse cultural backgrounds, and just looking at their camp workshops, you can really see the diversity of the instructors too, ranging from local Indigenous artists, to international Finnish storytellers. Their 2019 workshops also featured many musical activities such as Finnish vocals (from the Kalevala poetic style to Karelia regional style) and tree harp playing by Matti Palonen, Georgian Polyphonic singing by Andrea Kuzmich, and Bulgarian vocals led by Shelley Thomas (New York).
Matti Palonen and his tree harp.
An earlier iteration of the Georgian Polyphonic singing workshops.
Andrea Kuzmich mixing Bulgarian singing with the oud.
Ticket stub from the National Museum in Warsaw, "Guitarist" by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1757, origins" Paris.
In the same timeframe as my research in Katowice and family trip to Amsterdam, I also popped over to visit family in Warsaw. While there, I took advantage of some down-time to visit the local cultural institutions, and found myself in a room filled with school children looking at this painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. As I moved around the room, I overheard the tour guide talking about the piece, and then humorously, warning the youth to never fall in love with a guy like him. If you are familiar with memes and the band Oasis, he is very reminiscent of the guitar/instrument players in the well known "Anyway, Here's Wonderwall" meme, or if you are an animation fan, this scene from Road to El Dorado.
If you're curious what a guitar from the 1700's may have sounded like, this 1810 French guitar might do the trick:
Institutions Attached To The Works
Katowice JazzArt Festival (2019 Festival Poster)
Korean Cultural Centre Canada (K-Academy)
Andrzej Łojko (Andrzej Łojko)
Muziek Boot / Music Boat (Reinier Sijpkens)
Folk Camp (Folk Camp 2019 Promotional Postcard)
National Museum in Warsaw (Jean Baptiste Greuze)
Associated Programming
What's an art exhibition without some fun programming?
For this show, there are three scheduled events/activities:
1. Paper Doll from Coucou Illustrations
2. Dinner and a Show?
3. Experiences From Home
Paper Doll (by Cécile Metzger)
Fun for people of all ages! Illustrator Cécile Metzger makes an array of adorable little animal dolls, but the musician bison is extremely fitting for this set of activities!
Print your own little musician (and other friends) at: https://www.coucou-illustration.com/paperdolls
Vegetable Orchestra
The Viennese Vegetable Orchestra loves to play with their food, and luckily, not waste it either! For close to two decades, the orchestra visits their local market, purchases produce, turns them into musical instruments, and uses leftover scraps to make what looks like a delicious vegetable stew, served to the audience after the performance. Maybe while prepping your next meal you can multitask with a little jam session?
AirBnb Online Experiences
A few months ago, AirBnb decided to open up their space for more online experiences. There are cooking classes, fitness tutorials, and historical tours of places such as Chernobyl, London's Chinatown and even farm visits.
There are also many musicians showcasing the local musical experiences in their home countries or cities and dance parties! Book an evening listening to and learning about the rhythms of Puerto Rico, enjoy an Argentine Tango concert with Grammy nominees, or relax with a Soundbath Meditation session hosted by a Singapore DJ; all this and more available at AirBnb.ca!
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