Making Eye Statements: November 2016

Sunday, 27 November 2016

A Barn of One's Own

"Inside a barn is a whole universe, with its own time zone and climate and ecosystem,
a shadowy world of swirling dust illuminated in tiger stripes by light shining through the cracks between the boards. Old leather tack, lengths of chain, rope, and baling twine dangled from nails and rafters and draped over stall railings. Generations of pocketknives lay lost in the layers of detritus on the floor."

- Carolyn Jourdan, American author.

As I have mentioned before in this blog, I was born on a farm in Eastern Ontario and lived there for the first twelve years of my life. I loved our barns - they were such great places for hiding, playing, risking, and pretending. Carolyn Jourdan's evocative words capture so much about the magic of a barn.

In my teenaged years, after I had become a 'townie', I discovered the barn paintings of the American artist Andrew Wyeth, which for me always carried a feeling of truth and integrity. My favourites: "Christina's World" (1948) (link); "Hoffman's Barn" (1959) (link); and "Barn and Trike" (1948) (link).

My dear friend Lindi Pierce has recently re-ignited my interest in barns. Lindi is wise about a whole universe of things; her blog, "Ancestral Roofs", (link) unites her passion for "the built heritage of Ontario" with her gifts for elegant writing and architectural photography. A delight to read.

She has featured many barns in her "Ancestral Roofs" postings - and she inspired me last week to go roaming with my camera to discover some barns of my own. What follows is a visual essay featuring barns on Casey Road, Old Highway 2, and Highway 62, all within a few kilometres east and north of Belleville. Alas, many of them have seen better days.

So, with a tip of the hat to Carolyn Jourdan, Andrew Wyeth, and Lindi Pierce, here are my barns. Enjoy!

Casey Road, Tyendinaga Township

Old Highway 2, near Marysville

Highway 62, north of Belleville

Casey Road, Tyendinaga Township

Monday, 21 November 2016

The Mystical Landscapes of Huff Island Road

“Put your hand in mine and let us help one another observe ever more closely.”

- Claude Monet to his friend Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France

Currently on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario is Mystical Landscapes: Masterpieces from Monet, Van Gogh and More (Link). It is a stunningly beautiful and contemplative collection of paintings from art galleries around the world. Brilliantly curated by Katharine Lochnan, Senior Curator of International Exhibitions at the AGO, the ninety paintings are a feast for the eye and a meditation for the soul. Two weeks ago, I spent two hours staring in awe at these masterpieces.

Each of the paintings – from Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night over the Rhone’ to Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ – is a summons to the inner journey. I look forward to seeing the exhibit again before it leaves for the Musée d’Orsay in Paris on January 29, 2017.

And the exhibit got me thinking…

In my own humble photographic journey, I have noticed that most of my images focus on the world of small, telling details and vibrant oddities. There are very few landscapes that take in the grand sweep of nature. With that in mind, I set out one warm autumn morning last week to explore the muted landscapes of November.

The images that follow were all photographed along Huff’s Island Road and adjacent Marsh Road in Prince Edward County. With the exception of one passing truck, I had the area to myself for ninety glorious minutes. Similar to my experience at the AGO, I was called to silence by the beauty of the landscape. Enjoy.

A side note: Mary Hynes interviewed the AGO’s Katharine Lochnan recently for her CBC Radio program Tapestry. It makes for wonderful listening. Here’s the link.