28 planet of the arts / spring 1998 PRACTICE Storytelling ...continued from page 25 Emery’s piece spoke of our search for identity and peoples’ strug- gle not to be categorized. Language and images were linked to the self by breaking them out of their usual meanings and then recombining them. The word/image associations attempted to show how we clas- sify our world. For example, the black and white image of Jacquard fabric was paired with the word ‘green’. Conveying these ideas was a complicated task. The connections _ between the. different parts of the installation, and especially that between Sartre’s existential philosophy and her own exploration of individuality, were enigmatic. The viewer had to spend time to sort through the work. I wondered about the significance of a 22-year-old artist reading Sartre, an author not known for his optimistic state- ments — though cynicism is certainly a valid response as we grow as artists and human beings. Hannah Lee’s installation was dedicated to her mother and grand- mother. It celebrated the strength and love of the mother/daughter bonds in her family. Letters and photographs of the matriarchal lineage were enlarged and printed on rice paper, then mounted with bamboo and placed in sequence. Each portrait was accompanied by a letter written to that person. The photos and letters and the way they were mounted created a layering of sentiments. Both format and content knit together to strengthen the feeling of love and respect. The written characters were Korean and the letters personal, but non-Korean speaking viewers could still appreciate the message. The simplicity and potency of the presentation transcended linguistic and cultural barriers so that the actual stories behind the letters and por- traits could remain unspoken. Inspired by a piece of music by her partner Joseph Emmanuel, Dafna Ohana embarked on a collaboration with him. The resulting installation, titled the River of Life, involved a choreographed set of slides accompanied by raw and edgy piano music. The slides were of a man against a background of darkness, his body overlaid with pro- jected images of tree branches and other natural patterns. In sequence, the images showed a decline into a final embryonic _posi- tion and death. The dark intimate space of the separate gallery upstairs enhanced the grippingly personal and evocative feeling of the piece. Of all the works in Story, this is the one I found most moving. Joe described the piece as being about the artist as a dreamer and as someone struggling against the world. Despondency, despair and pain were the themes explored. The man’s body was robust, yet stripped of its armour and revealed as human. The natural elements overlaid on the body tended to suggest physical breakdown. The piece expressed unexpected loss of strength and hope. While the struggle seemed Promethean, the images also spoke of the possi- bility of survival, if only of the spirit and of the desire to create. Each new day, it seemed to suggest, holds some hope. viewpoint. Maybe we underestimate the power of personal tales. In Western culture we usually do not make deep connections across the genera- tions nor do we have large families. Nor do we know the history of our towns, our peoples, or our land. Our lack of communal history is a gaping wound in the heart of our culture. The installations in Story prove that we have not altogether forgotten how to imagine, how to tell stories, and how to listen. I, for: one, am grateful for the reminder, ©) Other pieces in the show were by Stephanie Butler, Sonia Marques, Jonathan Lander, and Michelle Sylliboy. The diversity of Story was extremely satisfying, yet the show was still unified. The installations spoke of strug- gle and exploration, related personal narratives, present- ed moral tales, and celebrat- ed life and humanity. If. stories are well told and we listen closely, they can help us get outside of ourselves and create links between people. Using installation as the medium in Story was especially effec- tive. The pieces involved, and often literally surround- ed, the viewer. This created openings for the viewer to become a participant and a character in Story. Some say the reason we invented language was to be able to tell each other our stories and the stories of others. I think we can tell each others’ stories — we just the rather straightforward fact that they will be others’ sto- ries told from our own need to remember Jackie Blackmore, Dressing Screen, 1997. Wood, slips, wood hangers, photographic paper, keepsake album. Canada Council «continued from page 26 often incorporate interdisciplinary aspects in their work. This spectrum needs to be recognized and included if the term interdisciplinary is going to be used to allot funds and create programs for artists practicing in this way. Defining eligibility for the Canada Council’s Interdisciplinary and Performance Art Program is a complex undertaking. I do believe that the program should be made accessible to artists from every dis- cipline who at one point may want to initiate a per- formance or interdisciplinary project that crosses over from what they would normally consider their art practice. However, it is equally if not more important that artists who consistently incorporate an interdisciplinary strategy in their practice have a program and jury who understands the particular difficulties and discourses surrounding this kind of practice. In my particular case, the current loose definition of interdisciplinary is the closest identity in which I can situate my work process. For instance, the proposal I submitted to the Council was to research and undertake conceptual develop- SSS en $595 ment for text work that informed my new perfor- mances (something I have never done before). However, my portfolio incorporated video art, sculpture, video installation, performance art and written articles. If I had applied under creative writ- ing, I doubt I would have received the grant. The fact that I have worked consistently in an interdisci- plinary visual arts manner where focus shifts from one medium to another suggests to me that I will probably continue to do so. It would be beneficial for those of us, who do work in this way, and there are many, to have access to a grant program that rec- ognizes those aspects of our work. In the questionnaire that Haruko circulated before she met with the advisory board, she wrote that it is her personal experience that interdiscipli- nary work is more complex to produce, requires a long time line and greater expense than many com- parative projects in any one discipline. And that it seems to involve more collaborative partnerships and complex technical requirements. I agree with her. From my own experience organization, plan- ning and conceptual development of an interdisci- plinary project often takes as much or more time than constructing the physical components of the Fast Track Lunch Soup and Half Sandwich 10% discount with Mon to Fri, 11:30am — 2:30pm valid student ID Card Lunch Monday to Friday Brunch Sat & Sun (9:00am — 2:45pm) Dimmer Tuesday to Sunday 1540 Old Bridge St. 681-8816 project. So often, I find myself relying on the ser- vices of other people because there is not enough time to do all the technical, physical and organiza- tional aspects myself. This can be very expensive and compromise the quality of work if there is not a budget for acquiring these services from collabo- rators and various professional industries. Because « of this it is important that collaborative projects and initiatives that consider technical, curatorial and text support of interdisciplinary projects. get fund- ing as well. I believe that promoting research and development in interdisciplinary practices at all lev- els of one’s career is very important. In my case, as a recent art school graduate, receiving a grant for sus- tenance of ten months while researching and devel- oping a new project is indispensable to my art prac- tice. There is an assumption that in order to get a grant you have to propose a project with a product or substantial results. This pressure to produce at the expense of conceptual development is demoral- izing and exhausting. Introducing a sub-section within the Interdisciplinary Program that supports development and research, especially for emerging artists applying under the umbrella “First Works”, would be very useful. - Talso think that the First Works grant, which is open to emerging artists who have not been out of .school for more than three years or had not shown in many professional shows is fair. Again, the con- cept of professional is vague. Since I had initiated and participated in many shows that could be deemed professional while I was still in school but having just graduated with my BFA, I was not sure if I qualified for the category. However, I knew I was not mid-career or established so I figured that First Works was the-category I needed to apply to. Besides, I did not want to apply for a “B” Grant (mid-career) because I would be competing with people who had been active in the community and working much longer than I had. One aspect of the emerging, mid-career and established artist’s cate- gories that I do question is the distribution of money. Why is it that emerging artists, many of whom are recently out of school, jobless and dragged down by monthly loan repayments, receive $5,000 and $10,000 grants? In light of the complex- ities and costs involved in interdisciplinary practice, the emerging artist’s grants are minimal. After costs of production are accounted for, artists are often not receiving adequate fees from these grants. I » believe that emerging artists use a $20,000 grant just as effectively as those receiving that amount froma: mid-career and established artist grant. I suppose I'm hoping that the meeting that Haruko flew out to attend will help clarify the appli- and definition of the Interdisciplinary Program for artists applying for cation procedures grants in the future. I've barely touched upon the complexities of establishing a definition of interdis- ciplinary art practice, much less offered many alter- natives to the Council’s Interdisciplinary Program. However, I hope that there will be much more dis- cussion on the topic of Interdisciplinary Arts and Canada Council’s role in funding the practice. This area of the arts is vibrant and exciting. Increased funding to Interdisciplinary artists and artists from all disciplines will inherently enrich Canadian cul- ture. The positive impact of Canada Council fund- ing on the practice of art in Canada cannot be underestimated. Artists from all disciplines must have an active voice in the way the funding is dis- tributed and allocated. I have hopes that this article will offer some suggestions concerning Canada Council’s policy on the Interdisciplinary and Performance Art Program. At the very least, maybe this will give students interested in the issue a sense that funding for independent emerging artists com- ing out of art school is quite possibly changing for the better, ! * A note to readers: this article was written in February 1998. While the majority of facts remains current, some informa- tion may have changed since that time. Tagny Duff is an alumna 1995 of the Intermedia Program at ECIAD. ! Emily Carr Institute faculty member David McWilliam deliv- ered a task force report in March detailing policy changes in curriculum offerings to students interested in transdiscipli- nary practices. New ‘interschool’ courses are being set up to accommodate students who want to undertake interdiscipli- nary studies at Emily Carr Institute. 28 plonet of the orts / spring 1998 PRACTICE Storytelling Emery’ piece spoke of our search for identity and peoples str: ‘le not tobe categorized. Language and images wer linked tothe self by breaking them out of ther usual meanings and then recombining them. The word/image asocatons attempted to show how we cs ‘ify our word. For example, the black and white image of Jacquard fabric was paired withthe word ‘green Conveying thes ideas was a complicated task. The connections bberween the diffrent pars ofthe installation, and especially that ‘between Sartre's existential philosophy and her own exploration of Individuality, were enigmatic. The viewer had to spend time to sort through the work. wondered about the significance of 22-year-old artist reading Sate, an author not known fr his optimise stat. ‘ments ~ though eyicism is certainly a valid response a we grow as artists and human beings Hannah Lee's installation was ddicated to her mother and grand: smother It elbrated the strength and lve ofthe mother/daughter bonds in he family. Letersand photographs ofthe matriarchal lineage were enlarged and printed on rice paper, then mounted with bamboo and placed in sequence. Each portrait was accompanied by leter writen to that person The photos and letters and the way they were mounted crated 3 layering of sentiments. Both format and content knit together to strengthen the feeling of love and respect The written characters were Korean and the eters personal, but non-Korean speaking viewers could stil appreciate the message, The simplicity and potency ofthe presentation transcended linguistic and «cultural barriers so thatthe actual stores behing the eters and por: traits could remain unspoken Inspired by a piece of music by her partner Joseph Emmanucl, Dafoa Ohana embarked ona collaboration with him. The resulting instalation, ted the River of Lf, slides accompanied by raw and edgy piano musi. The sides were of olved a choreographed st of aman against a background of darkness his boy overlaid with ro: jected images of tree branches and other natural pattems. In Sequence, the images showed a decline into afnal embryonic pos eth ‘The dark imate spac of the separate galery upstairs enhanced the grippingly personal and evocative feng ofthe pice. (fall the works in Stor, hiss the one I ound most moving. Joe described the pice as being about the artistas a dreamer and as Someone strugling against the world. Despondency, despa and pain were the themes explored. The mans body was robust, yet stripped ofits armour and revealed as human. The natural elements ‘overlaid onthe body tended to suggest physical breakdown, ‘The piece expresed unexpected los of strength and hope While the struggle seemed Promethean, the images also spoke of the poss bility of survival, if ony ofthe spirit and ofthe desir to crest. Each new day it seemed to suggest olds some hope Other pices in the show were by Stephanie Butler, Sonia viewpoint, “Maybe we underestimate the power of personal tales. In Western calture we usually do not make deep connections actos the genera- tions nor do we have large families. Nor do we know the history of ‘our towns, out peoples, or our land. Our lack of communal history is gaping wound inthe heart of ou culture. The installations in tory prove that we have not altogether frgoten how to imagine, ow to tell stores, and how to listen. 1, for- one, am grateful forthe reminder. Marques, Jonathan Lander, and Michelle Syliboy. ‘Thedlversity of Story was extremely satisng. yet the show was still unified. The inalations spoke of strug: fle and exploration, related personal narratives, preset moral tales, and elebrat: ed life and human If stories are well told land we listen closely, they can help us get outside of, ‘ourselves and create links people. Using installation asthe medium between in Story was expecially fc tive. The pieces involved, and often tery surround cd, the viewer. This created ‘openings forthe viewer to become a patiipant and a character in tory. Some say the reason we invented language was tobe able to tell cach other our stories and the stories of others. I think we can tll each others stores ~ we just reed to remember the rather straightforward fat that they will be others sto Jacke Blackmore, Dresing Sree, 1997 ries told from our own ‘Wood, sips, wood hangers photographic paper, keepsake sibum: Canada Council often incorporate interdisciplinary aspects in their work. This spectrum needs to be recognised and Jncluded ifthe term interdisciplinary is going to be ‘sed to allt funds and create programs for artists practicing in this way. Defining eligibility for the Canada Counci's Interisciplinary and Performance Art Program isa ‘complex undertaking {do believe thatthe program should be made acesible oars from every di