Sunday 25 November 2018

Turn, Turn, Turn...


 “To everything – turn, turn, turn.
There is a season – turn, turn, turn.
A time to every purpose under heaven.”
 - Music and Lyrics by Pete Seeger

“To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under heaven...
A time to get and a time to lose,
a time to keep and a time to cast away.”
- Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verses 1-8

“We are doing all we can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense.”
- Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister

“My sins...I do not deny, but I trust that it may be said of me in the ultimate issue, ‘Much is forgiven because he loved much.’ For I have loved my country with a passionate love.”
- Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister

I have been an amateur historian all my life: reading history; studying history; teaching history; reconsidering history. One of the things that has always fascinated me about history is the way it morphs and transforms over the years, depending on one’s point of view, moment in history, and political agenda. “Winners” and “Losers” tell very different stories. To insist that there is only one way to interpret history is dangerously naïve.

Which brings me to the current debate about Sir John A. Macdonald’s place in Canada’s history. For decades, there has been pretty much one version of Sir John A.’s contribution to our history: respected Father of Confederation; skillful first Prime Minister; builder of our country. Yes, he drank too much, and there was that nasty Pacific Scandal, but he was an immensely powerful and enlightened force for good in our country.

Except....not everyone is buying that narrative any more. Many voices, especially those from Canada’s Indigenous communities, are now saying, ‘Hold on...this is the man who was responsible for passing the infamous Indian Act of 1876 that institutionalized racism in our country and paved the way for forced assimilation, residential schools, broken treaties, and unfathomable suffering.’  They say that the traditional version of Sir John A. reflects a white/colonial/settler bias that is fatally flawed.

Personally, I am pleased by the emergence of alternate narratives. They turn history into a living, breathing presence in our lives, rather than a musty museum piece. Bring on the controversy, say I, especially in the name of justice and reconciliation.

Which brings me, circuitously, to the Prince Edward County Photography Club, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and Pete Seeger.

Let me explain: the County Photography Club issues a monthly theme challenge to its members. One of the highlights of each meeting is seeing the imaginative and skillful ways that club members interpret these themes. Certainly they have sharpened my photography skills over the last three years.

The theme for the November meeting was “Turn, Turn, Turn”, a seasonal riff on autumn’s wondrous colours. However, I decided to take the theme in a very different direction. I looked up the Pete Seeger song of the same name, and then went back into the King James Bible to read Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season...”, the Biblical inspiration of Pete Seeger’s famous folksong.

And a light went on – surely these words describe what’s happening with the debate about Sir John A. Macdonald’s place in Canadian history.

“A time to keep and a time to cast away,” indeed.

With that inspiration in mind, I spent an October day in Kingston and Prince Edward County photographing evidence of Sir John A’s considerable presence in our area: signs, statues, museums, locomotives, etc. What great fun! I then sat down with my trusty Photoshop software to create various collages and ‘reinterpretations’ of the photos. The five images below grew from that process.

Upon seeing these images, a friend said to me, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll offend someone?” My response: “Well, I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I won’t have done my job!” After all, when people get outraged and offended, they reveal what they truly care about. With passion and good will on all sides, a productive – albeit lively – conversation can begin. And that, my friends, is how society evolves. Much better than a collective shrug of resignation.

Thank you for reading my rant. I hope you appreciate my images, even if you don’t like them.






Sunday 18 November 2018

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.