Book of the Month: “Mining Photographs and Other Pictures”

Every month we feature a book from our in gallery library. These books are available to visitors in the gallery. We have DVDs, Exhibition Catalogues, Biographies about artists, Art Magazines among other books. To view our entire catalog click the Library Thing button in the side bar.

This month’s feature is Mining Photographs and Other Pictures (1948-1968) by Leslie Shedden:

This past month the CBU Art Gallery was home to artwork inspired by the Glace Bay Miners Museum and the great workshops held by Victoria Ward and Gary Blundell. If you don’t want the theme of CB mining to end and want to see some photographs of what the mine and miners looked like, then this book by Leslie Shedden is perfect for you!

With essays by Donald Macgillivary and Allan Sekula and editing by Benjamin Buchloh and Robert Wilkie, this volume published a major selection from the photographic archives of Leslie Shedden, a local photographer active from the 1940s to the 1960s in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. Besides his daily and common functions as a community photographer (portraits, advertising, work and school events, architecture), Leslie Shedden continuously worked on documentation of the working conditions in the coal and iron mines of Cape Breton. The photographic documentation was commissioned by the local coal mining corporation, which gave him access to the underground mines as well as to all other work areas. All major aspects of the mining activities, the conditions of manual labour, and the gradual transformation to mechanized mining are recorded in systematic and detailed photographs. An equally detailed systematic body of photographs recording the family and community life of the miners complements the body of photographic images documenting the labour conditions in one of the oldest North American coal mining districts.

– Amazon

Book Details

• Softcover
• Publisher: Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1983)
• Language: English
• LC: HD 9554. C23 G55 1983

If you would like to take a look at this book, you can ask a volunteer at the front desk or search for it using the LC number above.

Mining Legacies’ Final Days

Its the final days to see our current exhibition Mining Legacies so be sure to come take a peak today or tomorrow!.

Our next exhibition is the Witness Blanket. To learn more about that, visit our website or click here.

Canary in the Mine Talk

Join us for an informal talk by Canary in the Mine creator, Heather Sparling, 2-4pm August 14. Canary in the Mine exhibit explores how songs document a history of mining disasters, their ability to tell how disasters affect families and communities, the impact of the news media and music industry on disaster songs and the significance of benefit and anniversary concerts

Mining Songs Part 2

Our current exhibition is Mining Legacies. We asked local, Cape Breton, artists and community members to create artwork in response to what they saw and heard at the Glace Bay Miner’s Museum. In spirit of this exhibition we brought you Part 1 of Mining Songs the week of the opening and now, today, Part 2. Songs that celebrate and commemorate miners and tell their stories. Mining is such a huge part of Cape Breton culture and for many of us it is a sore subject. These songs hold such power and emotion in them. They are about the good and the bad times that came with the mines. This playlist ends, on a good note however, with Natalie MacMaster’s song “My Love, Cape Breton, and Me” because, despite it all, Cape Breton is our home.

Opening Reception & Artist Talk

There was such a great turn out at the Mining Legacies Opening Reception and Artist Talk! So many people showed up to view all of the great work created by local artists in response to the Miner’s Museum. We have to thank The Pit Lounge for providing the bar and the No Quarter Deli for catering the event and providing such great food! Also a huge thank you goes to Nipper MacLeod,  a member of The Men of the Deeps choir, who gave a fantastic performance of mining songs.

Here are some pictures of the events (click to enlarge):

Mining Songs Part 1

This Friday, 26 June @ 6 PM, is the opening of our next exhibition Mining Legacies. We asked local, Cape Breton, artists and community members to create artwork in response to what they saw and heard at the Glace Bay Miner’s Museum. In spirit of this exhibition we bring you Part 1 of Mining Songs. Songs that celebrate and commemorate miners and tell their stories.

Book of the Month: “The Fine Arts in Canada”

Every month we feature a book from our in gallery library. These books are available to visitors in the gallery. We have DVDs, Exhibition Catalogues, Biographies about artists, Art Magazines among other books. To view our entire catalog click the Library Thing button in the side bar.

This month’s feature is The Fine Arts in Canada (1925) by Newton McFaul MacTavish:

The CBU Art Gallery is the home to many Canadian works and treasures. This month we bring you a book that will tell you all about Canadian art.

Company of Canada, Limited. 21s. Dell MR. MACTAVISH says that the whole purpose of his book “to make known something about the progress of art, especial the fine art of painting, in a country where art has not yet become an urgent national need.” He does this unpretentiously, gives many illustrations and biographical notes, and his book, therefore, forms a useful work of reference for those specially interested in things Canadian. It is too uncritical, we fear, to attract others. We know that S. W. Morrice was a painter of genuine, if frail, distinction an-I that there are a number of fresh and vigorous landscape painters in Canada—artists like Clarence Gagnon, Lauren Harris, and A. H. Robinson are much too good to be patronized— but the effect of the rest is to show what Canadian painters lose by the absence of keen criticism and encouragement from those who feel art to be ” an urgent need.”

– The Spectator

13 AUGUST 1926, Page 22

Book Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Toronto : The Macmillan company of Canada, limited, 1925.
• Language: English
• LC:N 6540 M3 1925

If you would like to take a look at this book, you can ask a volunteer at the front desk or search for it using the LC number above.

Inside the Collection Selfies

We had a great time with the Inside The Collection exhibition. So many amazing pieces of artwork were exhibited for the very first time and there was a great turn out! As you may know we have a campaign running called #SelfieInTheGallery where you take a selfie of yourself enjoying all the art we have to offer in the gallery. Me and Savannah, another volunteer, took selfies with our favourites in the exhibition. Be sure to take yours before it closes this weekend!

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A #tbt picture of me and my bae ❤ #Yeats #photography #selfie #silly #art #CBUAG #selfieinthegallery #blackandwhite #gypsy #gypsyartwork #glasses #dreads #dreadlocks #Irish #poet #author #willyspooks

A post shared by Kayla Cormier (@gypsy_artwork) on Apr 23, 2015 at 7:55pm PDT

https://instagram.com/p/0dbN7dR61A/

 

To submit your selfie and have it featured here simply tag your Instagram image as #SelfieInTheGallery, post it on our Facebook page CBU Art Gallery, or submit it through email to cbuag_collections@hotmail.com

Mining Legacies

Inside the Collection is in its final week of exhibition. If you haven’t seen it yet or want to see it again be sure to come into the CBU Art Gallery before Friday!

Our next Exhibition that will begin install on the 15th is Mining Legacies. Almost a year ago now, we brought in to resident artists and hosted a workshop where people were asked to respond to what they saw in the Miner’s Museum, Glace Bay. These works were made by Cape Bretoners about our great island’s history. This is one exhibition you won’t want to miss!

Film Screening