AG's annual report 2009 - Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

Permanent Collection Report
PERMANENT
COLLECTION
REPORT
The permanent collection was a focal point for
exchange in 2009. The art storage vaults were
opened to Fine Arts students from the University of
Waterloo, allowing them to examine diverse techniques
and media, and gain a better understanding
of why artwork is collected. Quite different from a
curated exhibition, the purely coincidental placement
of artwork in the vaults results in random
juxtapositions and unexpected relationships among
the works. This randomness provides an opportunity
for students to engage in the artwork in a unique
context.
Animation of the collection was also taken in a
new direction through the initiative of local artists.
Mary Catherine Newcomb and Isabella Stefanescu
developed a whimsical project called ‘The KW|AG
Art Nuns’, a parody of BBC’s Sister Wendy Beckett.
Dressed as nuns, they created short videos providing
witty commentary and interpretation for various
historical works. Tarin Hughes, a recent graduate
of the UW’s Fine Arts program and KW|AG docent,
utilized the collection to develop an online exhibition
for the AGO’s Collection X website, a site designed
for encouraging exchange between community
members and arts organizations. Stay tuned for links
to the Art Nun videos and Tarin’s Collection X project
on our website in 2010.
The corridor exhibition, Being Magnified: Heroes
and Villains from KW|AG’s Permanent Collection,
was curated with narrative in mind, using artwork
to illustrate the fundamental structure of storytelling.
Local conservator Jesse-Alan MacDonald volunteered
his services to restore Walter Bachinski’s Fury
sculpture. Gallery visitors may have noted a steady
improvement to the condition of the sculpture as
Jesse’s treatments were completed. After consulting
the artist, rust was removed, plaster chips were
filled in, and paint loss was restored, returning the
sculpture to its original condition.
Two photographs were accessioned into the collection
this year, keeping with our intention of collecting
modestly until storage expansion is possible. Shelley
Niro’s River Spirit and Return to Life were created for
the frontispiece exhibition River Grand Chronicles in
2004. They were taken at the edge of the Six Nations
Reserve and reflect the artist’s relationship with the
river as a place of solitude and strength. After a five
year moratorium, these works along with 6 acquisitions
from late 2008, were on display during an open
house celebrating KW|AG’s return to collecting.
Cindy Wayvon
Registrar