Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

“THE ART OF IRON” BY JOHN D. MACDONALD

Date

2009

Materials

CANVAS, WOOD, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

2

Length

59.5

Width

40.5

Description

PHOTOGRAPH PRINTED ONTO CANVAS AND MOUNTED ONTO WOODEN FRAME. DEPICTS LETHBRIDGE’S VIADUCT AND RIVER VALLEY, FRAMING ONE-AND-A-HALF OF THE BRIDGE’S TRESTLES. PHOTOGRAPH SPILT BY HORIZON LINE AT CENTER, WITH PREDOMINANTLY BLUE TOP-HALF AND PREDOMINANTLY GREEN BOTTOM-HALF. TAKEN FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE THROUGH MULTIPLE WINDOWS, RESULTING IN BLURRED IMAGE. AT THE BOTTOM-LEFT OF THE CANVAS, ““THE ART OF IRON” JOHN D. MACDONALD MADE IN CANADA 2009” WRITTEN IN BLACK INK. “MADE IN CANADA,” “MACDONALD,” AND “THE ART OF IRON” PRINTED ON THE LEFT OF BOTTOM SIDE OF THE CANVAS.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

JOHN D. MACDONALD’S FATHER WAS A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE. ACCORDING TO MACDONALD, HIS FAMILY MOVED AROUND “AN AWFUL LOT, AND I DIDN’T REALLY HAVE A PLACE THAT I CALLED HOME.” AS AN ADULT, MACDONALD (BORN 1949) LIVED IN SASKATCHEWAN FOR APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS. HE MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE IN THE EARLY-TO-MID 2000S WITH HIS TWO DAUGHTERS AFTER ONE ENROLLED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE. HE DESCRIBED LETHBRIDGE AS THE “PRETTIEST CITY I’VE EVER LIVED IN,” ALSO REMARKING ON ITS PROXIMITY TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. MACDONALD IS THE NEPHEW OF SASKATOON-BASED AUTHOR RUSTY H. MACDONALD. ACCORDING TO HIS LINKEDIN PROFILE, AS OF 2017, MACDONALD WAS A MEMBER OF THE ALLIED ARTS COUNCIL (ACC) OF LETHBRIDGE AND A LONG-TIME VOLUNTEER AT LETHBRIDGE’S STREETS ALIVE MISSION AND SALVATION ARMY. HE HAD DONATED HIS WORKS TO, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF, THE LETHBRIDGE’S ALZHEIMER SOCIETY. HE WAS ALSO AN ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. MACDONALD CHOSE TO DONATE "THE ART OF IRON" TO THE GALT MUSEUM & ARCHIVES BECAUSE OF ITS DEPICTION OF LETHBRIDGE’S VIADUCT, THE HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, WHICH, IN HIS OPINION, IS “SUCH A LANDMARK IN LETHBRIDGE.” HIS INTERPRETATION OF THE WORK IS AS FOLLOWS: “THE BRIDGE IS MADE OF IRON, BUT IN THE CANVAS ART PIECE, THE IRON SUDDENLY TURNS INTO ART AS THE LIGHT CHANGES THERE’S MORE COLOURS INVOLVED HERE. THE COLOURS REMIND ME OF THE MULTI-CULTURAL COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE HERE IN LETHBRIDGE. ALSO, THE BRIDGE SIGNIFIES THE JOINING OF THE WEST SIDE TO THE EAST SIDE, AS IN A FRIENDLY HANDSHAKE.” MACDONALD WENT ON TO SAY THAT, “IT SORT OF REMINDS ME OF WATER COLOURS, BECAUSE [OF ITS] GENTLE COLOURS. THERE’S NO STRONG COLOUR IN THERE, AND THERE’S NO REALLY SHARP SURFACES IN THERE. IT’S ALL JUST SORT OF SOFT. IT HAS A SOFT NATURE TO THE LOOK.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE DAY HE TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPH, MACDONALD SAID, “MY DAUGHTER DROPPED ME OFF AT THE UNIVERSITY, ‘DAD I’LL PICK YOU UP IN AN HOUR.’ SO, I HAD AN HOUR TO SHOOT THIS PARTICULAR ART PIECE. I THINK I WENT THROUGH EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF GLASS IN THAT BUILDING THAT I WAS IN AT THE UNIVERSITY TO FIND THE PERFECT PIECE OF GLASS TO USE FOR MY ART. IT WAS A SUNNY DAY, A SUMMER DAY. THE SUN WAS JUST RIGHT. THE TIME WAS RIGHT. I PICKED THE TIME DUE TO THE SUN AND REFLECTIONS AND SO FORTH. YEAH. I CAN STILL REMEMBER THAT DAY.” MACDONALD TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPH FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE. "THE ART OF IRON" WAS EXHIBITED AT THE BOWMAN ARTS CENTER, BEFORE IT WAS EXPANDED AND REPLACED BY CASA, IN A “JURIED SOLO DISPLAY.” ACCORDING TO HIS LINKEDIN PROFILE, MACDONALD COMPLETED A ONE-YEAR COURSE, BETWEEN 1978 AND 1979, IN FILM, VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS AT BRIGHTON COLLEGE IN TRENTON, ONTARIO. MACDONALD ATTRIBUTED HIS CREATIVITY TO HIS UNCLE RUSTY, AS WELL AS TO HIS MOTHER: “MY MOTHER USED TO PAINT. I’D COME HOME FROM SCHOOL, THERE’D BE TURPENTINE SMELLS AND SHE’D BE PAINTING AWAY, OR SHE’D BE DOING POTTERY OR GOD KNOWS WHATEVER. SHE WORKED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT MEDIUMS SO SHE HERSELF WAS CREATIVE THAT WAY. NOT IN A RECOGNIZED WAY, BUT SHE WAS THERE.” IN 2008, AFTER PURCHASING A NIKON CAMERA WITH A TELEPHOTO LENS, HE BEGAN TO PRACTICE PICTURE-TAKING AS A SERIOUS ARTISTIC ENDEAVOR. MACDONALD SAID THAT, “I PRACTICED FOR A YEAR-AND-A-HALF. I WENT OUT EVERY DAY AND I PRACTICED AND I PRACTICED AND I PRACTICED. SOMEHOW, THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS, I THINK IT IGNITED THE CREATIVE SPARK IN ME.” MACDONALD WOULD SHOOT THROUGH MULTIPLE LAYERS OF GLASS, USUALLY WINDOWS, WITHOUT DIGITALLY EDITING HIS PHOTOGRAPHS AFTERWARDS. HIS PHOTOGRAPHS GENERALLY APPEAR ABSTRACT. IN 2009, MACDONALD SOLD FOUR OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHS, PRINTED ON CANVAS, TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE. ONE OF THESE WAS TITLED "DIRECTIONS". THEY WERE PURCHASED BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE STUDENT’S UNION BUILDING, WHO DESCRIBED THE WORKS AS “UNIQUE, ORIGINAL, AND SINGULAR IN NATURE.” HE ALSO DONATED FOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS, PRINTED ON PAPER, TO THE UNIVERSITY’S LIBRARY. ACCORDING TO MACDONALD, THIS WAS WHEN HIS ARTISTIC CAREER “STARTED TO TAKE OFF.” AFTER TAKING UP PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ARTISTIC PRACTICE, MACDONALD BECAME ACUTELY AWARE OF THE CONTRAST BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARK, WHAT HE REFERRED TO AS “SHADING.” “I’M MORE MINDFUL OF SHADING…IT’S ALL ABOUT SHADING. SHADING IS VERY IMPORTANT. BEFORE THAT IT WASN’T A BIG DEAL, BUT IT IS A BIG DEAL. SO THAT’S SORT OF ONE THING THAT’S CHANGED…” MACDONALD’S ARTIST STATEMENT, FROM HIS UNTITLED 2016 EXHIBITION AT CASA, SUMS UP HIS ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY: “THE CURRENT BODY OF PHOTOGRAPHS I AM CREATING ARE AN EXPLORATION OF HOW THE ‘REAL’ IS MADE ‘UNREAL’ WHEN VIEWED THROUGH REFLECTIVE SURFACES AND THEN FROZEN IN TIME AS A STILL IMAGE. I AM INTERESTED IN INVESTIGATING HOW 1/1000TH OF A SECOND REVEALS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD THAT WE ALL WALK PAST WITHOUT EVER PAUSING TO REFLECT UPON. PHOTOGRAPHY CAN BECOME A WAY OF NAVIGATING THIS “ETHER WORLD,” A PLACE WHERE NOTHING STAYS THE SAME, WHERE LIGHT AND REFLECTIONS ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING AND NEVER THE SAME TWICE. THE SUITE OF PHOTOGRAPHS I AM HOPING TO COMPILE WILL CAPTURE THE DYNAMIC OF REFLECTIONS BOUNCING OFF MULTIPLE GLASS SURFACES, OFTEN MULTIPLE TIMES, REVEALING A FRACTURED AND ABSTRACT IMAGE OF THE WORLD THAT IS, AT ITS HEART, A TRUE AND FAITHFUL RECORD OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.” IN 2016, MACDONALD MOVED AWAY FROM PHOTOGRAPHY AND TOWARD FILM AS HIS PREFERRED MEDIUM. HE PRODUCED TWO ART FILMS, ONE OF WHICH WAS SCREENED AT CASA IN NOVEMBER, 2016. DURING HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE GALT MUSEUM & ARCHIVES, IN SEPTEMBER, 2016, MACDONALD WAS IN THE PROCESS OF INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCING A DOCUMENTARY FILM. AS OF 2017, MACDONALD’S PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS WERE EXHIBITED THREE TIMES AT CASA: TRANSITIONS & TRANSFORMATIONS: NEW WORK BY LETHBRIDGE ARTISTS (GROUP EXHIBITION) AT CASA: MAY 16, 2013 – JUNE 28, 2013; ECHOES IN THE DARK (SOLO EXHIBITION) AT CASA: JANUARY 11, 2014 - FEBRUARY 27, 2014; UNTITLED, FEATURED ON UPSTAIRS WALL AT CASA: APRIL 30, 2016 – JUNE 17, 2016. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE 7 SEPTEMBER 2016 INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY GALT COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN WITH DONOR JOHN MACDONALD - FROM WHICH THE ABOVE QUOTATIONS WERE SOURCED.

Catalogue Number

P20160026000

Acquisition Date

2016-09

Collection

Museum

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