Women’s Art Society of Montreal – November 2018 events

Women’s Art Society of Montreal presents

Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Artist and educator Deirdre Potash will speak about a landmark Quebec artist.
“Marc Aurèle Fortin and His Bicycle”
from 1:30 to 2:30pm
at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, 5035 de Maisonneuve West
Nonmembers $10. New members welcome – men also.
www.wasmtl.org or 514-495-3701

Deirdre is a Working Artist with a diverse practice including a specialty in cultural mediation. Introducing and establishing art programs, working with a diverse clientele, from children to seniors in public and private institutions from elementary to university, community groups, business environments and health and mental health institutions. Acting as curator, organizer and manager, Deirdre lives her dreams.      www.artwill.ca

Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Author Archie Fineberg shares his striking photographed images of Montreal’s wall-art which have generated a book and an exhibition.
“Graffiti and Street Art 101” 
from 1:30 to 2:30pm
at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, 5035 de Maisonneuve West
Nonmembers $10. New members welcome – men also.
www.wasmtl.org or 514-495-3701

Archie’s interest in urban art began in the spring of 2007 when he became aware of a growing presence of wall-art in the streets of Montreal.

His curiosity was piqued by the brightly coloured, often fanciful murals, wild-style tags and expressions of social commentary. He was fascinated by the skill and aesthetic sensibility that were evident in the work, and he was much taken by the adeptness with which large images, often of great intricacy and created on a variety of surfaces and sized up by a factor of 10 or 20 to 1 maintained the integrity of the original drawings.

Gradually transitioning into retirement and looking for an interesting activity that first summer, Archie crisscrossed the island of Montreal, photographing scores of images and in the process became familiar with neighbourhoods he barely knew.

The summer of 2007 yielded some 150 photographs that formed the basis of a successful exhibition in 2008. His original foray and follow-ups between 2012 and 2016 resulted in a sizeable collection of images, some of which are featured in Archie’s books. Since July 2017 when he first placed the English edition in a variety of retail locations, it and the January 2018 French translation have had an enthusiastic reception.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Grace Powell, art historian and docent, explores a renowned kinetic artist.
“Alexander Calder: Revolutionary Sculptor” 
from 1:30 to 2:30pm
at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, 5035 de Maisonneuve West
Nonmembers $10. New members welcome – men also.
www.wasmtl.org or 514-495-3701

Grace Powell is Art Historian and Docent at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. She was born in Namibia and grew up in South Africa. Her opposition to Apartheid led her first to Europe and then to Montreal where she was attracted by the mix of French and English culture and her desire to experience snow. Having completed her master’s in business administration in London, she worked in the computer industry in Montreal. She become a docent at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where she’s twice been President of the Guides’ Association. Last year she was the Managing Chair for a three-day conference for 375 North American docents hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Wishing to formalize her art history knowledge, she completed her M.A. in Art History in 2008 with a thesis on Prudence Heward. Recently published, her book on a well-known South African sculptor entitled Jean Doyle: A Portrait examines the life time work of a painter who turned to sculpture to capture the three-dimensional volume of figures in bronze.

Talk Introduction: Alexander Calder was born into a family of artists in 1898 in the United States. He changed the notion of sculpture by introducing the fourth dimension of time. His circus wire figures, his mobiles and stabiles, including Trois Disques (Man) which was created for Expo ’67, reveal his imaginative and revolutionary approach to sculpture. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts exhibition on works by Alexander Calder are on from September 21, 2018 to February 24, 2019.