One Way or Another by Megan Dickie
Jan 13 - Feb 18 2017 at Open Space
Opening Friday Jan 13 at 7:30 PM
Feb 11 at 1:30 PM artist talk and catalogue launch
Megan Dickie’s art-making career revolves around the mediums of sculpture, video and printmaking. Each semester at UVic, she teaches three courses in her role of Assistant Professor of Visual Art. Because of her busy schedule, One Way or Another took over three years to complete. The exhibition looks at our competitive nature and how we are entertained by the spectacle of human struggle. The artist suggests that achieving success at all costs leads us into an obstacle course both absurd and humorous. Investigating the delicate balance between success and failure enlivens Dickie’s artwork.
Whenever Megan Dickie interacts with main-stream media, she is struck by the competitive nature of entertainment. “There are galactic wars, cooking competitions and real-life survival stories,” she says “that all focus on our struggle to achieve.” The artist notes that failure in popular culture is seldom mortal, but often involves a blow to the ego of the vanquished. This resonates with her own quest for success in the art world.
Whenever Megan Dickie interacts with main-stream media, she is struck by the competitive nature of entertainment. “There are galactic wars, cooking competitions and real-life survival stories,” she says “that all focus on our struggle to achieve.” The artist notes that failure in popular culture is seldom mortal, but often involves a blow to the ego of the vanquished. This resonates with her own quest for success in the art world.
Build It, 2014, HD video animation still
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Build It, 2014, HD video animation still
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The career path of an artist is governed by the institutions that fund and exhibit their artwork. Federal and provincial grants, and artist residencies, are scarce and time-consuming to negotiate. Being rejected conveys a lack of value to an artist and bars entry into the inner circle, the sanctum, the club. Dickie brings an inventive sense of frustrated humour to this predicament in the video gamer Build It.
The metal blocks making the tower shapes signify the architecture of two major museums: New Museum in New York and the Tate Museum. In the video game Dickie’s silver-suited persona jumps from tower to tower, then takes flight, before the inevitable downward plunge occurs. Her persona “dies” over and over in the struggle to scale the heights of the towering institution. Summing up the situation, Dickie says: “At this point in my career exhibiting in these museums is an unattainable goal.”
Dickie is enamoured by the technical and mathematical precision required to create a video game. For her, the medium embodies the exertions we engage in for amusement, including when and how we choose to indulge. “I am an observer of human behaviour,” she says, “and find our patterns both fascinating and puzzling.”
The metal blocks making the tower shapes signify the architecture of two major museums: New Museum in New York and the Tate Museum. In the video game Dickie’s silver-suited persona jumps from tower to tower, then takes flight, before the inevitable downward plunge occurs. Her persona “dies” over and over in the struggle to scale the heights of the towering institution. Summing up the situation, Dickie says: “At this point in my career exhibiting in these museums is an unattainable goal.”
Dickie is enamoured by the technical and mathematical precision required to create a video game. For her, the medium embodies the exertions we engage in for amusement, including when and how we choose to indulge. “I am an observer of human behaviour,” she says, “and find our patterns both fascinating and puzzling.”
Dumbbell, 2014, Leather, vinyl inflatables, cardboard, gym mat, 99” x 48” x 42”
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Le Louvre, 2014, Aluminum and Vinyl, 96” x 99” x 21”
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The Dumbbell was modeled after Marcel Duchamp’s Rotary Demisphere. The revolving circles created an optic illusion of spiraling forms but remain stationary. Duchamp (1887-1968) was a painter and sculptor associated with cubism, surrealism and the Dada movement. Duchamp shaped contemporary art by breaking down the conventions around artistic content and creative process. In 1917, he stunned the art world by mounting a urinal on a pedestal, signing it R. Mutt, and titling the work Fountain. "He was a brilliant trickster," says Dickie, "quite playful and inventive."
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Le Louvre is a sculptural piece made from 16 metal slats, each 8 feet by 6 inches. The optical pattern on the Dumbbell was transferred from a computer program to an industrial stencil format. The cut-out stencil forms were applied by hand to the sheet-metal “louvres”. This exacting work is an integral part of Dickie’s process.
“I love to make, to work with my hands,” she explains. Once the original motif is imagined and constructed, she savours the repetition involved in the completion of the whole unit. |
Loftylot, 2015-2016, Acrylic coated organza, adhesive, steel, plastic and nylon cord. Photo by Hollis Roberts
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Megan Dickie with Loftylot panel. Size 104” x 13” x 100”
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Dickie is inspired by other creative people. Loftylot grew out of a visit to the Seattle Art Museum. She visited Future Beauty, an avant-garde Japanese fashion exhibition featured designer Junja Wantabe. One of the Wantabe dresses had complex draping made from six-sided pleated organza material.
Loftylot expands on the three-dimensional fabric theme with four panels suspended from the ceiling. Each small segment is an elongated honey-comb shape. The immersive sculpture invites viewers to step inside and navigate the semi-transparent floating panels. Dickie notes the environment also makes reference to a matrix system, one that supports gaming codes and mathematical patterns.
Loftylot expands on the three-dimensional fabric theme with four panels suspended from the ceiling. Each small segment is an elongated honey-comb shape. The immersive sculpture invites viewers to step inside and navigate the semi-transparent floating panels. Dickie notes the environment also makes reference to a matrix system, one that supports gaming codes and mathematical patterns.
Try Again, 2016, Brass, aluminum, lead, hydrocal
20 units: 36” x 3” x 40”.
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Try Again, is a series of brass articulated figures that represent the artist’s persona. The figures hang suspended from brass arms: flexing, reaching and twisting in unique contortions. Dickie experimented with the original model until she perfected its flexibility and profile. “Each pose represents an emotional state in the form’s ceaseless efforts,” she says.
Installation Still: Technician Miles Giesbrecht (left) and Program Coordinator Megan Quigley (right) assist Megan Dickie (centre)
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Artist as persona in Spin-Off video
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On Feb 11, Megan Dickie will co-host a workshop with the West Coast League of Lady Wrestlers, where participants will develop personas and learn wrestling choreography. Email [email protected] to register or call 250 383-8833
Open Space is located at 510 Fort Street, 2nd floor in Victoria.
Hours are Tuesday to Saturdays, 12- 5 PM
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Kate previewed arts events for 18 years at Boulevard magazine. She has a History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from the University of Victoria. |
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