Exhibit Review: ‘Help! I need somebody Help! Not just anybody’

Help! I need somebody Help! Not just anybody is an eclectic mix of mediums and mindsets, all blissfully aware of time’s omnipresent grasp. The artists are technical demonstrators and co-ordinators working at the University of Alberta’s Department of Art and Design. Whether their artistry is two or three dimensional, they all have something in common: they are advisors, confidantes, and teachers in a vibrant U of A community.

Louisa Hammond brings sea creatures to life in her graceful sculptures. Northern Pike is a darkly beautiful piece of glazed stoneware, while the texture of ceramic Edible Crab evokes thoughts of worn ship hulls and treasure chests. Diplomoceras feels ancient and long-lived, almost as though it’s the product of a primordial sea — a fossilized memory, captured in human imagination. Organic colours and shapes abound.

If Hammond’s artifacts are figurative, then Steven Dixon takes things literally. Dixon is a printmaker and photographer with a particular penchant for photogravure. Photogravure is a complex nineteenth century photography technique using etched copper plates.

Dixon’s The Artifact: A Collection of Objects and Prints includes crisp black-and-white photographs, as well as fittingly rusty artifacts and obscure objects. The prints are minimalistic and sharp, making good use of contrasts and shapes. Beyond the artistry, there is something delightfully playful in the inclusion of a model plane.

Scott Cumberland’s acrylic paintings are a steep contrast to Hammond and Dixon. Thematically, Cumberland enjoys exploring themes of time and memory through musical and pop-culture lenses. While Hammond and Dixon both seem tethered to reality, Cumberland jumps headlong into the messiest parts of human consciousness.

Cumberland’s paintings are neither organic nor crisp; rather, they are wild and as bright as can be. You could probably interpret Cumberland’s amorphous jitterbug in any way imaginable, and still be right. Overall, however, the painting mimics the energetic rhythms of its namesake tune.

Kyle Bigoray’s Interactive Lamp is similarly modern and bright. It is exactly what its name says it is. The lamp is sleek, much like Ken Horne’s Indignia Speakers. Both Bigoray and Horne use wood in their otherwise technological creations.

Marc C. Siegner also uses wood, but in a different way entirely. Sieger focuses on trees to capture nostalgic memories. Atchafalaya IV is an eerie lithography print of trees and water, superimposed with blurred text. The blurred text is powerful. It makes the artwork feel deep and textured, almost as if it was just pulled out of those rippled waters.

Overall, Help! I need somebody Help! Not just anybody is a diverse collection of very different artworks. Nostalgia is prevalent, but not obviously forceful. The artworks are easy to enjoy and open to free interpretation. Fans of trees, technologies, and ceramic crustaceans will not be disappointed.