Village Squire, 1974-12, Page 8ourselves a Iittle...not to be casual and sloppy
but to be casual and relaxed...and interesting
so that people can come here and expose
themselves to art. They don't have to be
frightened. They don't have to like everything
either. They can come in their jeans and their
tee-shirts if they want and look at things.. it's
not all black ties."
The gallery staff, he says, is going to try to
make programs that will be attractive to
people. He is especially concerned with
having n'ore use made of the gallery by the
school system. The visual education of
children, he says, is very important.
"It doesn't matter whether children want
to go on to be artists or sculpters: the idea of
sight and the idea of the arts in relation to
your everyday existence is very important."
The cutback in the budget has led to a cut
back in the staffing of the gallery. There were
11 full and part-time employees at one time,
now there are only four.
For the staff, the time of the big crowds is
during the summer, but the time of the
hardest Work, is during the winter months.
During the summer, one exhibition hangs
the full summer, but during the winter,
exhibits are changed monthly. One exhibit
closes and the staff has only a week to take it
down, prepare the gallery for the new exhibit
and set the exhibit up with an eye to just
where is the best location for each piece.
The gallery is very flexible as far as the
exhibits go. There are many moveable walls
in the four main exhibits areas which can be
changed from one exhibit to another and
which double their value because they are
hollow and can be used to store works not on
display. Storage is a problem for the gallery.
The travelling exhibits, of course, come in
and go out and thus don't cause too many
problems. But the permanent collection has
to be stored when it's not on display, and
storage space is at a premium.
The permanent collection of the gallery is
not often on display (it was the first of the
winter showings at the gallery in September)
and Mr. Swain is not particularly proud of
the quality. Although there are works from
such people as A. Y. Jackson, they are early
pieces and Mr. Swain thinks the gallery could
do better. He'd like to have a budget that
would allow him to acquire new works, mostly
on paper, not large oils or sculptures which
are more expensive and take up too much
room to store. A few hundred dollars, he
says, can go a long way if you know what to
look for.
He's in favour of people building private
collections of good art and says that he's seen
some good collections in Stratford homes
even though he hasn't been in that many
(later there will be a showing at the gallery of
favourite pieces from collectors in the area).
For those interested in getting art, he advises
that they buy good art that will increase in
value. How do you know what is good and
what isn't? Look at art and ask good dealers
who'll steer you in the right direction.
Since he came to Stratford a year ago from
Ottawa from where he worked for the national
museums, he hasn't been overly impressed
with the quality of work being done by area
artists. There are a few who are doing good
work, he says, but not many.
He's excited about the exhibits coming up
this year, particularly the current exhibit by
Joan Frick and with a show coming up for
Gifts of Home Furnishings
If you would like assistance in choosing just the right gift for
your home, our specialized interior decorator will be happy to
help you.
%1�iuz Jwd.e at
BLACKSTONE FURNITURE
NRST ST. OODERIGH
6, VILLAGE SQUIRE/NOVEMBER 1974
children of illustrations by Doreen Foster
from the Book Nanabozho and Hi's Brother at
which the illustrations will be placed at
childs-eye level and the words of the book will
be enlarged and put under each illustration.
0
The art is on view even outside The Gallery.
A nice Christmas gift...
/'
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Godsrich 524-87131