Le Salon des Refusés

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are.”

- Dumbledore, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

The concept of the ‘Salon des Refusés’ has been a long-standing artistic tradition since the mid-1800s. The story goes that it started in Paris (but, of course...) when the Académie des Beaux Arts made its annual choices of which artists would be exhibited in the ‘official’ Paris Salon – and which would be rejected. Being chosen for the exhibit meant an artist had ‘arrived’, resulting in sales, commissions, and adulation. Being rejected meant, well, being rejected. Cue La Vie Bohème.

As an act of defiance, many of the rejected artists would hold their own alternative exhibit – Le Salon des Refusés – a lovely flip of the finger to the art establishment.

I can’t make any such boldly principled claims about the photos that didn’t make their way into HEART & SOUL – the exhibit that Bill and I have jointly mounted at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery here in Belleville. However, I did enjoy trolling through my reject files and choosing a few to include in this blog post. I hope you enjoy them too!

Seating, 1976 Olympic Pool, Montréal

Empties, Bay of Quinte Golf Club, Belleville

Sun Rise, VIA Station, Belleville

Abandoned Chair, Memory Junction, Brighton

Bank of Montreal, Toronto

Boaters, Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Australia

St. James Park, Toronto

Construction Signs, Montréal

Yonge and Dundas, Toronto

Royal Bank of Canada Headquarters, Toronto

If you’re in Belleville, please visit our exhibit – Bill’s quilts; my photographs. The exhibit runs until November 29. The gallery is closed Sundays.

There are two more artists’ talks scheduled:

Thursday, November 22, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm – I discuss my photographs

Thursday, November 29, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm – on the last night of the exhibit, Bill and I plan to discuss our joint and separate journeys.