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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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Merlin Donald, a cognitive neuroscientist with a background in philosophy, says:
"A mimetic act is basically a motor performance that reflects the perceived event structure of the world, and its motoric aspect makes its content a public, that is, a potentially cultural, expression."
Merlin Donald, “Imitation and Mimesis,” in Perspectives on Imitation, From Neuroscience to Social Science, Vol 2, Hurley, Susan and Chater, Nick eds. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005) p. 281
"Mimesis is the reduplication of an event for communicative purposes. Mimesis requires that the audience can be taken into account. It also demands taking a third-person perspective on the actor's own behaviour."
Merlin Donald, ibid., p. 286
"Mimesis is an analogue or holistic style of thought that is more basic to our uniquely human way of thinking than language or logic. Indeed, on present evidence language and logic evolved much later, from a mimetic platform. Mimesis is a foundation skill that arrived early in evolution, and defined the human style. The components of mimetic cognition are present to some degree in primates, but are vastly more developed in humans. this makes mimetic culture a logical, but radical, extension of the primate mind. It remains an important force in human affairs, and produces such typically human cognitive patterns as ritual, skill, gesture, tribal identification, personal style, and public spectacle. It explains our irresistable tendency to imitate one another and conform to patterns of group behaviour, especially group emotional expression. It sets the tone of human social life, and it is the ultimate driving force behind art, which might be viewed as the ultimate refinement of the mimetic mode."
Merlin Donald, "Art and Congitive Evolution," in The Artful Mind, Mark Turner, ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) p.15
Kristan Horton
Drawing of A History of the First World War (Disc 01) 2008 graphite on paper (detail)
Drawing of A History of the First World War (Disc 01) 2008 graphite on paper (detail)
Drawing of A History of the First World War (Disc 01) 2008 graphite on paper, 3' x 3'
Drawing of A History of the First World War (Disc 01), (Disc 02), (Disc 03) 2008 graphite on paper, 3' x 3' each
Currently being exhibited as part of Signals in the Dark: Art in the Shadow of War . Curated by Séamus Kealy at Blackwood Gallery until March 2, 2008.
Globe & Mail review by Andrea Carson
Kristan Horton's blog
Robert Fones
Walruses on Meteorit 2000 acrylic on canvas 40 x 40 in
Rebel Angels 2000 acrylic on canvas 40 x 40 in
Persona Volare has updated it's web site to include last fall's Granite Club exhibition at The Tree Museum and The Road North at Harbourfront. You can click on the individual artists' pages to see those new works (our site is beautifully designed and maintained by Gordon Hicks)
John Dickson - Terra Incognito 2007 plaster, talc, compressed air and electronics, 90 x 90 x 38 cm
John Dickson - Terra Incognito 2007 Over the course of the exhibition the miniature landscape gradually disappears beneath a layer of white talc
While I was in Victoria I met a very groovy installation artist, Wendy Welch. You can see her work online here. I was also inspired by Wendy because she started her own school, the Vancouver Island School of Art. It's an alternative art school with a really great vibe. Wendy is writing something about the curatorial Residency Exhibition I did at Open Space for Victoria's Monday Magazine. We did a little email interview for the piece and, since it is the closest I've come to writing about the experience I'm posting it below in the comments section.
The show, Residency Exhibition, runs at Open Space until March 6. The artists are Marlene Bouchard, Troi Donnelly, Sandra Doore, Rachel Evans, Pete Gazendam, Emily Goodden, Roy Green, Miles Hunter, Rebekah Johnson, Ingrid Klasen, Devon Knowles, Thomas Koivukangas, Judah Kong, Daniel Laskarin, James Lindsay, Miles Lowry, John Luna, Katie Lyle, Brian MacDonald, Mike McLean, Rob McTavish, Marketa, Peter Morin, Bradley Muir, Brenda Patays, Shelley Penfold, Judith Price, Shawn Shepherd, Cathleen Thom, Elizabeth Thomson, Joanne Thomsom, Rhonda Usipiuk and Dallas V. Duobaitis
read the interview...