COEUR DE GRIFFONNAGE
February 18 – March 7
Individually the three artists in this exhibition are dedicated to the research and development of drawing. Their work is concerned with the expression of narrative, do-it-yourself initiatives and the aesthetics of the handmade. By drawing stories and through the stories in their drawings they locate and contextualize their place historically, geographically and emotionally. Imagery of animals, friends and domestic spaces prevail in their work, and are presented in tandem with the textual practices that parallel their imagery.
Elisabeth Bellieveau's drawings braid together animality, humanity and landscape, exploring the ideas of connectivity and transformation through stop-action animation, ‘zines and drawing. Niki Mulder's drawings are imbued with a rich personal symbology and are arranged as drawn totems and collaged posters with poignant, often humorous texts. Jerry Ropson's “emotional core samplings” (modelled after geological core sampling, which extracts materials to ascertain the particular make up of a site) are visualized as complex scientific drawings and lists.
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Interview with jerry ropson + niki mulder + elisabeth belliveau
January 14, 2008
re: their upcoming exhibition at Fofa Gallery
choeur de griffonnage
j: so niki, what are your expectations for this show? i heard something earlier about making money?
n: yeah, to make lots of money and to lose 50 pounds.
j: i saw a commercial and it said “stop dieting and start living” and i think those are the words to live by.
j: so elisabeth, if you could have 5 words printed across the wall as a sort of synopsis of what this show means to you - emotionally, what would they be, we would be more than interested to have those five words.
e: words that come to mind are triumphant, dedicated…
n: dedication!
e: umm, tracksuits, like… sportsmanship? congeniality?
j: is that 4 or 5? do you mean grapefruit?
e: no
n: no that's 4 words
j: Fofa?
e: yeah that says it all.
j: so umm, as we are closing up here i would like to get a word from the orchid –
Elisabeth Belliveau
"Animation Box", 2007
Mixed media
o: ----------------------------------------
j: thank you,
so, nancy i want to get a sense from you, what are your expectations of the upcoming exhibition ‘choeur de griffonage' at the Concordia University Fofa Gallery?
n: from what i have heard, i expect nothing other than absolute perfection
j: umm thank-you, umm, again a word from the orchid
o: coughing …
j: coughing - because it's barely alive
e: jerry … what sort of things do you do to prepare for a big exhibition like this one? do you have prayers? or…
n: rituals?....
j: to prepare myself for the show, in the time leading up to the exhibition i don't so much concentrate on making the work, but on preparing my body, so i start everyday with a rigorous routine of-
n: calisthenics?
n: jumping jacks?
j: yeah jumping jacks, obviously everyone here sort of follows my lead and we meet each day for smoothies, and raw eggs. to prepare myself mentally i do mental push-ups, i sit with my eyes closed and i picture …
n: visualize
j: the images that i am going to make – like i said it's not so important that i make these images but that i visualize them in my head – i see how they would look on paper and then i visualize destroying them with my mental capacity, burning holes through paper with my mind
n: ohh! that is great, that opens up my next question – have you ever seen the movie “firestarter”?
j: no, i don't watch films, they are too manipulative, they have too much of an affect, i end up just replicating anything from bruckheimer.
e: so if you had to sum up the ‘chouer de griffonage' show –what movie would best explain it? like a movie that best explains the atmosphere of the exhibition?
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j: have any of you seen the great film rudy? RUDY! RUDY! RUDY ! it's the great american football movie, about the little guy, that guy who hangs out with frodo – he plays rudy. it's based on a true story, and his best friend gets killed. eventually he gets to play in one game at notre dame, it's about triumphant-ness, dedication – all those words we said earlier. we should watch it.
n: i think i would say ‘nuns on the run' – with whoopie goldberg, i saw it on the greyhound bus going to Seattle once
j: no! that's ‘sister act' !
n: oh really? what's ‘nuns on the run' then?
j: ‘nuns on the run is with danny devito
n: and arnold schwarzenegger...
e: and steve martin? n: oh yeah, ok well i saw ‘sister act' #1, then there is 2 …
e: ok so i would pick something like in between ‘ratatouille' and ‘juno'
e: so what is your favorite fabric ?- because that is what it's all about
n: jerry likes striped sweatshirts!
n: jerry puts too much gel in his hair!
j: indigo dyed burlap
n+e: ewww-w-w.
j: that is dedicated.
j: niki says velcro!
n: no i didn't say that!
j: no, niki loves rayon, paisley patterned rayon
e: little tiny polka dots – white ones on red and white ones on navy blue
j: what on linen?
e: on anything
j: well then that is more the print than the fabric itself – where again i learned through my education in fibres that nothing beats indigo dyed burlap
n: maybe an afghan
j: yeah – crocheted synthetic wool afghan…
e: ok if you had to choose between gingham, hounds tooth or plaid what would you pick?
j: i would say hounds tooth
n: how about baby bunny fur coats?
e: woah – bad
n: that is my favorite fibres
n: ohh and rice krispie bear
j: braided dreadlocks!
n: cornrows, extensions! blonde extensions – that is my favorite fibres.
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