During the late 1960s and early 70s, Vancouver’s art scene was electrified by a spirit of experimentation that challenged the traditional boundaries of painting, sculpture and other media. Burring these categories, artists introduced the beginning of installation and performance art in Vancouver.
Between Object and Action presents significant bodies of work by some key practitioners including Kate Craig and Eric Metcalfe (a.k.a. Dr. and Lady Brute), Gathie Falk, Carole Itter and Evelyn Roth, drawn primarily from the Gallery’s permanent collection. Much of the work from this period invented entirely new ways of creating environments and expressed a healthy disregard for the sanctity of the art object itself, sometimes privileging the ephemeral experience of the art encounter over its documentation. The exhibition reveals both the challenges and strategies of maintaining these innovative works, which take the form of sculptures, photo and video documentation, performance props and drawings.
IMAGE CREDIT: Gathie Falk, ‘Herd I’, 1974-75, wood, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
