Monday Inspiration: Frances Loring

Frances Loring, Inuit Mother and Child, 1938, carved 1958 (source)

Another view (source)

Frances Loring (1887-1968), was American Born, but settled in Canada early on in her career- she worked closely with (partners even?) Florence Wyle, a notable sculptor in her own right. She founded the Canadian Sculptors society in 1928 with  Emanuelle Hahn and Henri Hebert. She is well celebrated and collected in Canada, and her works are easy to see on line and in person at the national gallery and elsewhere.

I love the graceful flowing lines in her work, the feeling of lightness in such a heavy medium. She did many war memorials and public commissions too- which I will not post here as the kids are going nuts right now, trying to 'help' me type this- drinking my coffee (decaf- so it's only so bad), barking like dogs, telling me things and when I don't listen attentively enough grabbing my face between their hands and telling me again- their big eyes wide and their milk breath blowing on my face forcefully.

I sort of envy this Inuit mother with her child tucked snugly away on her back- though you can tell he's just itching to get out and make a break for it, calculating the fastest way to make his mothers hair fly out of those neat braids while she chases him. and there I suppose is the beauty of this piece in particular and Loring's work in general- they are specific people, but also they are general enough to make us relate, to represent an archetype, or an emotion and that is powerful stuff.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here. 

Monday Inspiration: Florence Wyle

Florence Wyle, On The Land, 1914-18 (source)

Florence Wyle, Noon Hour, 1918-19 (source)

Frances Wyle (1881-1968) was one one of Canada's finest sculptors, she studied Anatomy in Chicago and that brings a strong sense of reality and correctness to her figures. You can see their bodies outlined through their clothes- and sense the tilt of the pelvis, the bend of the knee, the curve of the calf.  She was an exceptional sculptor in her time- and the first female sculptor to be accepted to the Royal Canadian Academy of sculpture. She also worked closely with her partner Frances Loring.

I find it really interesting how in this period of Canadian history there are several accomplished female sculptors- Wyle, and Loring, and Elizabeth Wyn Wood- it seems sort of odd- but I think that artists tend to get ideas from each other and bounce off of each other's successes. It's such a solitary pursuit- but also when you find a contemporary that you get on with- your work snowballs off the other person's and (hopefully) theirs does off yours. It's a unique thing- but each person is better for that communion.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about re-discovering Canadian Artists. After completing a bachelor of fine art from a Canadian University you would think that you'd be well versed in Canadian art- but actually -not so much. Ask me about renaissance, or abstract expressionism, and I'm well versed, but beyond the Group of Seven or Emily Carr I'm a bit lost when it comes to my own countrymen- (let alone country women!). If you can think of someone I should look up leave me a note in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!

Monday Inspiration: Sylvia Daoust

Sylvia Daoust, My Brother, 1921 (source)

Sylvia Daoust, (source)

Sylvia Daoust, My Head, 1930 (source)

Sylvia Daoust (1902-2004) Studied in Montreal and also in Europe, She taught sculpture in Montreal and Anatomy and drawing in Quebec. Her works are all over Quebec- but they are hard to find on line in any sort of reputable form ( I usually try to source images from museums or other well researched places- but I had to use yelp for the image of My Head, which I thought was so striking I wanted to include it anyway. The Image of My Brother is sourced from a journal article because the image is better quality, but I found the title and date from another source- my apologies if it's not correct.

I think that highlights an issue with Women Artists, Because their work is/was seldom or sparsely collected by major Galleries, it can be difficult to find them online in a well documented way. They are often snapshots from someones phone, instead of professional images in a virtual museum, and as such the real documentation is often lost.  For example the image of My head says it's painted plaster- and that might be so- but it looks a lot like bronze to me- and because my source is yelp, I'm not really very trusting of it, so I won't write down the material, and it goes undocumented.

We're living in an internet age and for years the struggle has been to get more work by Women into galleries, but now I wonder if we should be taking a different approach. A proper Virtual Museum  of Women's Art would likely get far visitors than a real brick and mortar museum. At the last kids art class  I taught I was surprised to find that the 12 year old kids I was teaching had never been to an art gallery, art is not really a priority in rural schools, I know, but still, I expected at least one field trip- there is a small gallery a half hour away, but that is not so. That sort of shook me up, and got me wondering how many adults in my area have never been to an art gallery, more than I realized I think. So- if people are going to the internet for their art, it sort of makes representation of Women's art on Google much more relevent, don't you think?

Throughout this little Canadian artist challenge of mine I've been thinking- "well of course there's no more than a few photos of the work- the women were not collected by major museums".  Now I'm wondering what would happen if we reversed that process, and gave them proper space on the Internet as the first step to getting the names out there, and then that in turn would make a demand for their works to be collected and preserved in bigger galleries.

Okay- Brainstorm done- sorry for Hi-jacking your post Sylvia Daoust- your work is phenomenal- or what I can see of it on yelp.

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.