Day two was dramatic with a near art heist. The attempt was made during a crowded night at the bar, the art was recovered after a dramatic showdown with the thief.

Promptly stripped of his dignity and two hidden paintings, he was chucked out the door!

Cheers to the brave citizens that informed the bar staff of the robbery and those that helped recover the art work.

The work has been double fastened and will look amazing for the Art Crawl on Friday 14th, 7-11pm. Hope to see you there.

Not Without an Audience Join us on May 14, 2010 for the opening of an exhibition of paintings and block prints by Cornelia Peckart at Hamilton’s premier rock and roll bar This Ain’t Hollywood.

Not Without an Audience is an exhibition created for this live music venue. The spotlight is focused on the audience as they interact before, during and after the show. They are the vital element required for the success and survival of bars, bands and the musical style of rock and roll. Without an audience there is no show.

Cornelia Peckart has created an imaginary audience that fills the wall space with people having a good time. The exhibition will run from May 7 – June 2, 2010.

The series Not Without an Audience consists of six LP sized block prints illustrating a bar crowd scene. The images have a gestural quality with bold lines, which give the work a comic book feel.

Dozens of block prints, applied to wood, glass, paper and steel sheeting show audiences dancing and enjoying themselves. The blocks have been printed in whole or in part adding variety to an ever expanding the crowd.

Originally from Hamilton, Cornelia resettled here in 2008 after twenty five years away. She attended the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto with majors in Installation Art and Printmaking. She has lived, worked and exhibited in Toronto, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Rotterdam and Berlin.

Recent exhibitions and performances include; A series of ten gouache paintings titled ‘One in Ten’ as part of the September 2010 Good Medicine Show at *Hotshot Gallery on Toronto; A performance of ‘Treat System: Part One’ October 2010 at Nuit Blanche in Toronto; A performance of ‘Treat System: Part Two, A line is a line…’ at the November 2010 James St North Art Crawl in Hamilton.

If you have not had the chance to experience Hamilton’s fantastic, monthly James St North Art Crawl, this would be a great spot to start. This venue is located on the northern-most tip of the crawl at the corner of Murray and James St North, kitty-corner to the old train station.

@ THIS AIN’T HOLLYWOOD

345 James St. North, Hamilton, Ontario

May 14 – Exhibition Opening – Art Crawl

]]> http://corneliapeckart.com/2010/04/upcoming-exhibition-may-2010/feed/ 3 http://corneliapeckart.com/2010/02/violets-view/ http://corneliapeckart.com/2010/02/violets-view/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:36:32 +0000 cornelia http://corneliapeckart.com/?p=229 Since January 2010 I have been working on large scale figurative paintings and developing sketches for smaller, record(LP) size prints.

It is enjoyable to be painting the figure again after a number of years exploring colour through abstract compositions. In these works I want to push perspective and colour on the 8′ x 2′  plywood boards. Taking the phrase ‘They look up to you’ literally.

The 12″sq prints will be printed on plywood and then painted. They will be part of an exhibition at ‘This Ain’t Hollywood’ on James Street North in Hamilton, May 2010. The subject of the prints is the Rock and Roll audience and the prints themselves will have a component which involves audience participation. Weather permitting, a outdoor studio will be set up during the April 8, 2010 James Street North Art Crawl to complete the work for the exhibition in May.

Simple materials and instructions allowed the artist to gain the audiences trust and involvement. Ninety treat bags containing pencil-top erasers were used to buy participation, creativity and interest. Over a two hour period, the performance spanned a distance of 250 meters along James Street North to Mulberry Street in front of the Armory.

Beginning at Wilson Street and James Street North in Hamilton, the Artist/Art Director/Art Carney/Educator/Mom, began the performance by writing ‘A line is a line is a line…’ in chalk on the sidewalk.

Within a minute, Cornelia the Artist recruited a young man to help continue the line North along James Street. As he worked Cornelia Peckart became Art Director and recruited groups of 3-5 friends to add to the line. Participants advanced the chalk lines forward. Strangers worked together adding a swing to a tree, notes on a scale, or flourish to a straight line.

Cornelia as Art Carney was able to pull the drawing north, maintaining momentum through challenges and promises of reward. Words of encouragement and positive critiques were interjected by Cornelia the Educator. The ever-organized Cornelia as Mom, had a basket of treats ready to hand out as the participants artwork was complete.

The Artist stopped the performance by writing “A line is a line is a line”. The compact arrangement of the materials allowed the artist to disappear quickly, leaving a colourful creation which lasted for days along the sidewalk.

This artwork explored ideas on applying what you know to ‘art’. Sales, education and nurturing come naturally to the artist and are areas which can be exploited for materialistic gain, or in this case, experiential enlightenment. Without the funding of an institution, the role of the artist/art instructor became blurred. This questions the notion that Art Institutions are helping Artists by employing them to represent their institution through similar activities involving audience participation.

Visitors to the Art Crawl became engaged and participated(familiar materials may have played a factor), few people asked anything about the project or why it was happening. Once a crowd formed, it was easy to engage people in the project , even if the reward or “loot bag’ was small. There was reward in the act of assisting an artist, participating in the Art Crawl and being responsible for changing the street scape of James Street North.

The legacy of this project is that it has encouraged others in the arts to create interactive works that elevate the viewer’s experience. Events such as this monthly Art Crawl must become more accessible and engaging if they are to grow and attract a more diverse audience.

* Treat System-Part One was held during Nuit Blanche in Toronto on October 3rd and a spontaneous chalk wall mural was created by over 90 participants. Similar reactions by participants led the artist to explore what one can do with such an available audience.

Treat System at Nuit Blanche 09

Treat System
by Cornelia Peckart

Reviewed by Michael Cumming