Maggie Quinn Art – Spring Garden of Artists on Chaleur Bay

Chapter Two

This is the story of my present exhibit – Face and Frame – Chapter 2

That first weekend (December 16 and 17, 2023) I did a lot of online searching around the idea of incommensurability or translation failure and explainability.

I picked up the idea that art is seen by some as having a whole other language that artists themselves might or might not speak or understand. I suppose that might be said of persons of many disciplines, depending upon how far they’ve traveled on or off the beaten path.

So, I posed to myself that old and difficult question. How do I make art that is not a translation failure between myself and the viewer? And do I really care? I do. It’s not necessary that anyone like my art or find it beautiful. I’m not looking for art-grants. I’m not asking anyone to promote or sponsor me. What I do ask for is at least inclusion. When I cannot access even an old decrepit building to mount a display then I am not being included. Having to compete against other artists for space and resources is also not inclusion. Neither is having my art destroyed or copied without permission or credit.

By Thursday December 21 I was happy to greet the Solstice, to say good-bye to the darkest time of year. I spent some time giving myself a refresher course on colour. It seemed the thing to do now that each day was getting longer. As usual I began looking forward to Spring. Sure, there would be storms and more snowfalls and perhaps even the occasional power-outage. But knowing that Spring was on its way gave me hope and new energy.