Dave Hind La Landscape de Kanata Brantford ON Canada

Dave Hind La Landscape de Kanata

Dave Hind La Landscape de Kanata

Dave Hind La Landscape de Kanata
Dave Hind La Landscape de Kanata

A group of artists, led by Brantford artist Dave Hind, celebrate the unveiling on Monday October 23, 2017, La Landscape de Kanata, a public artwork they created. The work is mounted on the west wall of the Brantford Public Library.

A public artwork dedicated to artist Lawren Harris was unveiled Monday on what was the 132nd anniversary of the Group of Seven painter’s birth in Brantford.

Revealing La Landscape de Kanata, mounted on the west wall of the Brantford Public Library, caps off a series of Lawren Harris Week activities organized to raise awareness of the city’s diverse cultural assets.

“The Lawren Harris Movement’s goal was to educate citizens about the city’s cultural mentors, who are as impactful as its sports mentors,” said Glenhyrst Art Gallery director Ana Olson.

The artwork, created by Brantford artist Dave Hind and his team from the Aluminum Quilting Society, was selected from 21 entries from across North America to complete the Lawren Harris Public Art Project. Having the community involved in the artwork was one of the reasons it was selected.

Included in the massive work are seven figures gathered around a fire – represented by a Harris painting of an iceberg – at Mohawk Park. One of the figures is Harris, but the others, although symbolic of the other Group of Seven members, represent individuals or industry important to the city.

The other figures are Six Nations poet Pauline Johnson; Haudenosaunee hereditary Chief Deskhaheh; a tribute to the Cockshutt family of Cockshutt Plow Works; city artist Arlene Laskey; a representation of Indigenous women as protectors of the land; and a representation of children.

Each of the figures was created by local artists, including Jason Dong, Thomas Anderson, Bonnie Whitlow, Ralph Heather, Shana Elijah, Daniel Hill, Arlene Laskey, Steph Jacobs and Andrea Flockhart, along with about 100 other community participants.

“Each one has a story,” said Hind. “The animals, plants, writing, objects all tell a local and national story. This is a work to celebrate Lawren Harris but it also has a contemporary take.”

“You don’t know how it’s going to turn out until you get together. That’s the beauty of working in a group.”

Harris was born in 1885 into a wealthy family – the Harrises of the Massey-Harris industrialists. Born at his home at 41 Dufferin Ave., Harris and his family later moved to 150 Brant Ave.

As a child, Harris amused himself with drawing, painting and making Christmas cards for his family.

He lived in the city only until 1894, when his father died and his moved the family to Toronto.

Mayor Chris Friel said the Harris family business was once the second largest farm implement producer in the country. That wealth, said Friel, was used by Harris to bring his artist friends to the north in what became the Group of Seven.

“That wealth came from average people in Brantford. It connects them to the Group of Seven and Lawren Harris. That’s what Brantford is all about.”

The Group of Seven pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early 20th century. A.Y. Jackson, another founding member, has been quoted saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the group.

During the 1920s, Harris’s work became more abstract and simplified, especially his stark landscapes of the Canadian north and Arctic.

Among about 150 people attending the artwork’s opening ceremony were two of Harris’s grandchildren, Toni Ann Chowne and Stewart Sheppard, along with his wife Clemencia, all of whom live in Vancouver.

Sheppard said they lived close to their grandfather in Vancouver and would spend Sundays and holidays with him. He said Harris was a reserved man who didn’t talk much about his past.

“He was a personal, down-to-earth grandfather,” said Chowne. “He didn’t talk to us about his art.”

Sheppard and Chowne said they were overwhelmed by the city’s tribute to their grandfather.

“We really appreciate what they are doing,” said Sheppard. “Everyone was very involved in keeping us in the picture. We are very grateful.

“(Lawren Harris) would have been stunned beyond belief – and embarrassed. We are the benefactors enjoying all the glory he didn’t seek.”

The artwork unveiling caps off a week of Lawren Harris activities, including tours of the homes where Harris lived; a production by Brant Theatre Workshops; a walking tour by the Brant Historical Society; and a Lawren Harris birthday party.

“No project has had as much community interest as this one,” said Olson. “It sparked something.”

Glenhyrst secured funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the city, the Brant Community Foundation, the Crew Real Estate and Murky Productions to install the public art piece and host a week of activities leading up to Lawren Harris Day.

Brantford Expositor 2017 (http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2017/10/23/wall-art-with-message)

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top