The Citizen, 2007-05-17, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2007. PAGE 19. Lisa Moffitt, an artist/architectliving in Toronto has been workingin the area on a new art experiment.
Moffitt is operating on her mother-
in-law’s 25-acre lot on Limekiln
Line near Blyth.
She has five projects currently in
the works in the area, but the most
visible of them all is an installation,
with an installation date quickly
approaching.
Moffitt, and several collaborators,
have installed approximately 120
steel poles, each 10’tall in an 80’by
80’ grid. And on May 26, she plans
on fitting each of these poles with a
large red windsock. This will
monitor wind patterns in the area on
a grand scale.
Moffitt’s plans to re-install these
socks at several points over the four
seasons, with the idea being to
become familiar with the area and to
take a fair sampling of it over many
different points in the year.
The project began when Moffitt’s
mother-in-law, Maggie Treanor,
bought the lot with plans to build a
house on it.
The idea of wind-generated
energy came up and the idea for the
art installation was born.
“We started thinking about ways
to generate power for the future
house and the topic of wind power
came up,” Moffitt said.
“This project interested me in a
way that I could get to know the area
better, to look at some of the wind
patterns that come through the site
and we were not in a huge hurry to
get the house built either.”
Moffitt says this idea has been in
the works for sometime, but May 27
in no way marks the end, but in
many ways, the beginning of this
project.
As of the last weekend in May, the
windsocks will be installed for the
first time on the grid. Moffitt says
they will be periodically taken down
and re-installed over the course of
the coming 12 months.
She says that’s part of the appeal
of this project, to track different
patterns in different seasons.
However, Moffitt also calls her art
experiential; art that is more of an
experience, something from which
you can learn about the area and
something from which you can take
knowledge away.
Admittedly, she says, the project
currently looks abstract, because it is
just poles put up, so many peoplestopping by are simply asking themwhat they’re doing.Moffitt says she welcomes thecuriosity, but right now, it is thewrong type of curiosity. When the
installation is complete, people will
understand the grid because it will
be complete, she said.
“People have mostly been driving
by and looking, but people can come
out and walk around and I’d love it if
they did. I’m curious to see what
they think,” she said.
Zach Treanor, Maggie Treanor’s
son, has been documenting the
process on film and by photograph
with future thoughts in mind.
Moffitt isn’t sure where this
installation will take her. She says
it’s a labour of love right now, but
there are endless possibilities for the
aspect of the project. There will be
photographs, a film and possible art
gallery shows.
Moffitt has also put a request in
for an art installation in Toronto, her
thoughts with that being a possible
comparison between the installation
in Blyth and a similar structure on a
smaller scale on a typical urban lot.
Moffitt is excited to see what
people will think of her project. She
thinks she can bring art to Blyth, but
she says that she has already taken
so much away just by being here.
“Just by being somewhere you can
learn so much about it. Not only interms of natural landscape, but alsoin terms of the cultural landscape;the people who live in the area.”
Well done
The student art exhibit opened at the Bainton Gallery on
May 10. Claire Pella, a student at Goderich District
Collegiate Institute took first prize of $100. Her painting,
Woman in Black, will hang in Memorial Hall throughout the
Blyth Festival summer season. Also pictured is organizer
Greg Sherwood. The show runs until May 25. (Keith Roulston
photo)
Woman ‘installs’ art near Blyth
The Blyth Festival singers and the
Dukes of Dixie are heading down to
ole’ Dixieland on Saturday, May 26.
The choir will host its annual
dinner and cabaret concert event
with special guests the Dukes of
Dixie.
The event – Jazz It Up! – will
feature the distinctive sounds of
Dixieland Jazz music. Music will be
performed by the 40-voice choir, as
well as soloists and small ensembles
and by the Dukes of Dixie band. The
event features a full course hot
dinner and a silent auction with
items made or donated by choir
members.
The event will be held at the
Stanley Twp. Complex in Varna.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner is
served at 6:30 p.m.
Advance tickets are $25 for adults
and $12 for children 12 and under.
They are available from Blyth
Festival Box Office or Blyth Festival
Singers; Westcoast Photography,
Goderich; The Dutch Store, Clinton;
Snyder Studios, Wingham; Tasty Nu
Bakery, Zurich; Nifty Korners,
Seaforth; The Village Bookshop,
Bayfield; Don McCaffrey, Exeter
519-235-0301.
Blyth Rd., Auburn 519-526-7759
NOW LICENSED
UNDER LIQUOR LICENCE ACT
OF ONTARIO
Stickers Family Restaurant
Monday - 6:30 - 4:00;
Tuesday & Wednesday 6:30 - 8:00;
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 6:30 - 9:00;
Sunday 9:00 - 7:00
Saturday,
May 19
Steak
& Wings
5 pm - Closing
Friday Smorg. ~ 5 pm - 8 pm
Sunday Smorg. ~ 4 - 7 pm
Buck ’n Doe
for
Nicole Lowe
& Mike Noble
Saturday, May 26
BMG Community Centre
9 pm - 1 am ~ Lunch 11 pm
DJ Joe Carter
Tickets: $5 in advance
$7 at the door
Age of majority
Tickets call:
John Lowe 519-887-9799
Amy Douma 519-523-9281
Bus departs:Gorrie Post
Office at 9 pm; Wingham
Valumart at 9:20 pm;
Belgrave Store at 9:30 pm
Buck & Doe
for
Mitch Harris
& Jen Cook
Saturday, May 26
Lucknow Arena
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
Tickets: $6.00 in advance
$7.00 at the door
Contact: Jan Deitner
or Deb Smuck for tickets
The Brubachers of Ethel
Restaurant & Bakery
Real Home Cooking
Try our Cinnamon Buns
519-887-8659
Mon. - Fri. 7-6:30;
Sat. 8-6:30, Sunday Closed
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
Blyth Singers off to Dixie
The Nile River Valley of 6,000
years ago was the birthplace of a
remarkable civilization.
Protected from foreign invasion by
vast deserts and sustained by fertile
soil along the river, the ancient
Egyptians developed from a single
agricultural community into a
sophisticated society. Under a
system of divine kingship, this
Egyptian civilization flourished and
endured for thousands of years and it
contributed strongly to the later
cultures of the Mediterranean and
Europe.
Egypt, Gift of the Nile, a travelling
exhibition from the Royal Ontario
Museum, explores Egyptian
civilization through displays about
Personal Adornment, Feeding the
Household, Family Life, Education,
Religion, the Afterlife and more.
The exhibition is on display until
June 3.
The Huron County Museum is
located at 110 North St. and is open
to the public Monday to Saturday 10
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Regular admission rates
apply. Groups and tours are
welcome.
Contact the Museum at 519-524-
2686 or visit the website at
www.huroncounty.ca/museum for
more information
This travelling exhibit is organized
and circulated by the Royal Ontario
Museum through its Travelling
Exhibits Program. The Royal
Ontario Museum is an agency of the
Government of Ontario.
Travelling exhibit at Museum
John & Arlene Salverda
and
Phil & Sue Smid
are happy to announce the
marriage of their children
Jannyne Grace
to
Jeremy Philip
Saturday, May 19, 2007
at the
Christian Reformed
Church of Stratford.
Forthcoming Marriage