How can you not like an artist that makes you laugh?

Michael Harris has done it again – he’s written a significant book I wish everyone would read.  If you’re a (semi or) regular reader of The Art Caravan you’ll know that I’m a big fan of his writing. Here’s a post about his book Solitude and here’s a post about his first book,  The End of Absence. Apparently I’m in good […]

I’ve just added the movie June Again to the recommendations on my Good Viewing page…just in time for weekend viewing, perhaps?  There’s a plethora – some might say an inundation – of things to watch so I’ll tell you why I think this film is worth your attention. How many times have you seen any form of […]

It’s print month in Austin, Texas!  Print Austin offers a month of all things printmaking: exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, print demos – including a steamroller print event! – and more. There’s a wide range of  in-person and virtual events. Who knew Austin is a hub for printmaking in Texas?  It makes sense, when you realize there are […]

It’s not often that a book is published about your junior high art school teacher, is it?  Don Proch was no ordinary middle school teacher. He taught me how to draw perspective, which is no small feat in a classroom of enthusiastic 13 year olds.  His teaching career was short-lived; he’s been creating art full […]

To wear – or not to wear – indigenous design is a topic of discussion that keeps popping up in my social circles.  The clothing and jewellery are gorgeous, but is it cultural appropriation when non-indigenous people wear them? Mary Simon is Canada’s newest Governor General.  At her recent inauguration she wore a dress and […]

Any regular (or irregular) reader of this blog knows that art and books are important to The Art Caravan.  We’ve looked at a few significant books  and authors  amidst the scores of posts about art. Artist books seem a match made in heaven, don’t you think?  I mentioned them briefly in this post about the Athenaeum Music & Art […]

In the spirit of summer The Art Caravan proposes a (virtual) trip to the beach. Admittedly it’s not nearly as much fun digitally as it is in person, but advantages include less sand in our shoes, and no risk of sunburn. La Jolla, California is a stunningly beautiful oceanside town north of San Diego.  Unlike many beach […]

Summer 2021-officially!  We may (here’s hoping) safely resuming non-pandemic life.  It’s time to go outside, reconnect with others, and resume some activities.  Keeping that advice in mind, The Art Caravan posts will be brief this summer. I will quickly draw your attention to the Manhattan Graphics Center.  MGC, a professional printmaking studio,  opened in 1986.   It […]

I planned to write a different post this week.  Seeing the online version of the play Taking Shakespeare a couple of days ago changed my mind (or course, if you want to follow the cheesy caravan pun.) I am growing increasingly weary of all things on a screen. Perhaps you are, too?  (Oh, I admit  there are […]

The headline Donor supports Venice Biennale’s Canada Pavillon caught my eye.  I’m fond of Venice  – one big art gallery, really! – and visited the Architecture Biennale in 2016.  (You can read a short post about my Biennale adventures here, and a brief description about the Canadian exhibition here.) What is interesting about the $3 million donation […]

Contemporary artist Ai Weiwei is having another moment right now – or maybe he’s emblematic of our time.  If you’ve been following The Art Caravan for awhile, you know that I think he’s a fantastic artist.  In an October 2014 post , I wrote This is one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen.  Seven years later, […]

The art show Not Going to Buenos Aires is over, but remains available online.  As one of the participating artists, I’ve come to realize the importance of this exhibition.  A visitor commented:  I came to the show with my friend; I don’t know any of the artists.   I didn’t think I’d want to have ‘pandemic art’ […]

Not Going to Buenos Aires opened  (in person visits!) last weekend at the Errant Art Space in Victoria, B.C.  The previous  Art Caravan post explained the genesis of the art show’s theme –  six artists inquire into the complexity of yearning to be anywhere other than the ‘here’ of a pandemic shutdown. As you can imagine, six artists […]

My favourite mask right now is one that announces Not Going to Buenos Aires.  (Let’s pause here and consider that a year ago, you’d be scratching your head, wondering what I really meant by my favourite mask.  These days,  wearing a mask in public is almost second nature – an essential item on the mental phone-keys-sunglasses list as we leave […]

The Art Caravan is celebrating…in a covid kind of way.  A year ago we started posting regularly – every two weeks. (Our initial, and very tentative post was in February 2014, with sporadic postings until 2020.) Re-reading the March 2020 post reminds me how little we knew about life in a pandemic.  Sigh.  Be reassured this […]

A very special abstract artist, Frank Mikuska, died recently.  He is significant to me because I had the privilege and good fortune to work alongside him at Martha Street Studio in Winnipeg.  I was in awe of him;  he was decades older than me, retired from his professional career and respected by established artists at […]

In a recent online writing workshop Molly Caro May  said: When you are making art – any kind of art – you are naturally soothing your nervous system.  Creation is really organizing for our nervous systems.  Even if you’re writing about something painful, just the formation and artistry of it is really grounding. The point is: make […]

Speaking of Inuit art, (previous post) who are your favourite Inuit artists?  Do you have one….or three?   If you’re an Art Caravan follower, you know I have a few favourites, including Kenojouak Ashevak (1927-2013) and Oviloo Tunnillie (1949-2014.)   Ningiukulu Teevee is another contemporary (born in 1963) Inuit artist on my favourites list.  (Isn’t that the beauty of […]

Let’s play a fun game to cheer us up during this covid winter.   Imagine that you, and most of the world,  are now vaccinated.  You are able to travel. (Yes.  Ahhh…..)   Which art museum / gallery will you visit first?  (Take a moment – or ten – to imagine and savour the possibilities.) […]

You are probably familiar with the Gee’s Bend Quilts – the quilts created by women from Gee’s Bend, in rural Alabama, U.S.A..  The colourful fabric works have been favourably – and appropriately – compared to works by Henri Matisse and Paul Klee. This Smithsonian article briefly outlines the history of the quilts, and the people living […]

Louise Bourgeois is probably best known for her spider sculptures.  One of the largest graces/guards/threatens (depending on your personal reaction to arachnids) the entrance to the National Gallery of Canada. From October 2017 to July 2019 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art produced the very engaging exhibition, Spiders. Because of their size, volume and apparent solidity, […]

The Art Caravan has compiled a brief list for this year’s Christmas wish list. Since the best  gifts are books and art (dark chocolate goes without saying,) I chose one book and one work of art. Without too much deliberation – it seemed an easy choice – Guerrilla Girls:  Art of Behaving Badly  is at the […]

The things we learn during a pandemic!  Who would have believed, pre-covid,  that watching dance presentations virtually could be enjoyable?  My few vague memories of professional dance performances are static/full stage view/one camera angle/small screen televised programs of traditional ballet. Thankfully, the filming of dance has developed into a specialized art form.  Dance videos are […]

How do you not fall for a person who said, I always had a suitcase ready….suppose I had to go somewhere?  Or, when speaking about her art (reason number two) she said,  My work is connected to language and to poetry. You know, my work is about writing.  The image follows the word. January, 2020, I saw […]