36
this experience we call life. Fooling around with texture and shape and all the different dimensions of this whole affair does make sense.
JH: Yes – one thing I’m curious about – it’s an awkward question because it’s often a very organic thing – one thing moves to the next and so on … but … do you have a more formal philosophy about the nature of art and your role in art? BK: I don’t quite know. But we went to a beautiful concert last night and I was thinking about how the arts civilize on otherwise quite vulgar society. So if one can make the smallest contribution to make life better for the people around us then I think that is good – even if many of our contributions are modest they have a cumulative effect in the arts. I recently got a book on Leo Mol. Do you know his sculptures?
JH: I do. Whimsical bird by Kingsmill
BK: He arrived in Winnipeg around 1950 with nothing, but he left Winnipeg with this beautiful garden at Assiniboine Park. People go to it every summer. He made a major contribution. I think of Bill Reid and his pieces at Granville Island – the contribution his work made culturally for the Haida people – but also for the greater society. And the engineering skills of George Rammel who helped through all these processes – it takes a lot of people to get work out into the public. And we were all enriched by the sculptures at the symposium in the Okanagan. Ramersdorfer’s work is still down there in Vernon in front of the Performing Arts Centre, and it just tickles me each time we go by.
JH: Do you feel that times are changing? When I was young it seemed a little hopeless in terms of moving the Pacific Coast society into a place where culture had any relevance. Have you seen changes over your career with respect to the way the public reacts to and accepts the arts? BK: It’s really hard to measure, Jock. What I do recognize is that we live in this little community up here and it’s a very rich place. There are shows opening, for example, at Julie Oakes’ Headbones Gallery. And people are doing works across a wide spectrum. But it’s complex and hard and maybe it’s always been a bit hopeless for the arts. I remember Bill Reid coming in and saying that they had received a lot of money from an American company to work on his big piece and he was thrilled because there was a 25 cent difference between the Canadian and US dollar; so even a man of his stature still had trouble hustling and keeping things together.
I
do notice a lot of sculpture around the city of Vancouver. I think it really beautifies the city and allows people to reflect. So I am of the opinion that every city should have a lot of them. But things change
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46