 |
| MLHolton by Ewout de Gelder |
At the
start of the New Year and New Decade of the 2020s, I realize that by the end of
this decade I will be 75 ... This realization is a bit startling, primarily
because I just bumble along doing what I feel I MUST do, creating
what I feel I MUST create, somewhat oblivious to the passage of time ...
With
this new-found respect for what is increasingly 'a limited time-frame', I have decided
to post a project that I have been trying to get off the ground for over four years
- but to no avail.
At this point, it seems unlikely to me that it will happen in
my lifetime. So, for the record, I've decided to post the
entirety of the 'Exhibition Proposal' entitled:
CANADADA:
... The Life & Times of Margaret Lindsay Holton ...
Consider this post my offering to the #FUTURE ...
It is my
sincere hope that in 10, 20, 30 or even 50 or 150 years from now, some soaring cultural hawk who
is researching ... #whateverhappenedtoCanada
... will
fall upon it. With some study, (no doubt through translation), they will
recognize this grassroots contribution for what it is: - the
development and manifestation of a thought-filled and curious girl/woman, who, whilst
raised within certain pre-existing societal structures, quietly stood outside of those imposed expectations and profoundly understood that this #ONEEARTH - that we can see, touch and feel with our own
vital living and breathing #beings - is our most precious & sacred communal #HOME.
By trying to 'own' everything, we have nearly ruined everything - including the
fresh water, clean air and good soil that daily supports us. Obviously we do
so at our own peril. But even more stupid then our
relentless greed is our cruelty to other species. Our consuming presence is ultimately jeopardizing everything else on
this finite, living and truly amazing planet. ... Must we BE such a Destructive Species?
So,
that's the basic theme, observation - and question ...
Please
note, there are likely better places to 'post' this document, but, frankly,
time is getting shorter, and at this point, I'd just rather get it done and out there ...
If anyone is interested to pursue this Exhibition Proposal in the short term - ie. within the next five years - please print out
the following and follow-up with me. After that, please contact my Estate Representatives who will be managing this blog. Also, kindly
note, what follows is the Original proposal pitched to the Art Gallery of
Burlington in early spring of 2017: it can be easily adapted to other spaces with some curatorial flair.
Thank
you very much for your interest in my life's work thus far - and now, into the FUTURE ... Here's to a Bright New Decade! - mlh
COVER PAGE:
EXHIBITION
PROPOSAL
PART
I.
Working
title: CANADADA
 |
| ' 'Art Attack' / The Canadada Flag - by MLHolton - (Paws Off! Trademark & Copyright Protected :) |
Sub-title: ... The Life & Times of Margaret
Lindsay Holton ...
INDEX
PART 1.
A: Purpose of Exhibit
B: Exhibition, Disciplines & FLOOR PLAN
- includes Exhibition Schematic in 3 ZONES
C: Exhibition Catalogue outline & authors
---
PART 11.
Visuals to Support Exhibition
PART III.
Current C.V. of MLH & Support Material/Press
Prepared & Posted on-line by MLHolton - January, 2020
---
Part 1 - A. Purpose of Exhibit:
- introduce the public
to the breadth & depth of the #CanadianMaterialCulture creations by local Southern-Ontario-based #Canadian #artist, Margaret Lindsay Holton.
This retrospective
will present more than five decades of #self-taught Margaret Lindsay Holton's paintings, drawings, as well as samples of her Canadian fine
furniture. It will consist of 100 of her most impressive works drawn from
public and private collections, featuring her best-known
pieces alongside those rarely seen.
Born
and raised in rural North Burlington on a small sheep farm, Holton combined local flora & fauna
iconography early-on in her Canadian fine furniture pieces made
during the early 1980s to late 1990s. Her country roots also manifest her personal 'home-grown aesthetic' in her later photographic pinhole and photo-collage works. Likewise, her 'grassroots' spiritualism
manifests in her paintings produced over a 40 year period. Works on
paper, canvas and board faithfully represent the deep roots of her geo-cultural origins.
Today, calling
herself the only 'canajun' citizen in
her playful - yet pointedly invented - 'nation' of #CANADADA, Holton continues
to paint her provocative and signature 'naive-surreal-folk-abstracts' oil and acrylic paintings. Her
graceful yet bold contemporary works also include representational imagery that
reinforces the ancient paths of all humanity on the planet.
"All
of us are the Children - as well as the Caretakers - of Planet Earth." - mlh
The exhibition celebrates this extraordinary
artist’s life work of creativity, perspective and acquired knowledge. It
showcases her deep love of the land, flora and fauna, as well as her enduring passion for
the vivid and varying water-scapes of the Great Lakes of North America. All of her works are infused with a artistic
and quasi-political 'synergy' that places her overall oeuvre among
the most notable #Canadianartists of our times.
"In 2025, I will be a 70 year
old artist living & working within the 'national' entity known to others as
#Canada. My physical perspective is from the edge of a large lake, known to
others as #LakeOntario. This lovely lake is part of a
larger body of lakes, called the #GreatLakes.
The Great Lakes are situated in the
north-eastern part of the continent, known as #NorthAmerica. The lakes are seemingly
split in two by what others call the national border between the United States of America and Canada. Only
we humans, within the natural world, recognize these invented borders ... The lake waters flow from shore to shore
and know nothing of national boundaries. Birds migrate overhead, seeds float on
the breeze and clouds float to and fro. It's a large canvas, constantly
changing, constantly new and renewing ... The soft sweet waters drain down towards the salty
sea, named the Atlantic Ocean, via a large river, called the St.Lawrence River.
From this perch, beside the lake, I scan north, south, east and west, keeping
an eye on all things - local, national and global. - My work represents my Point
of View."- mlh
'Naive-Surreal-Folk-Abstracts' MANIFESTO by
#MLHolton follows:
 |
| Page 1 of MLHolton Manifesto / Copyright to MLH Trust |
 |
| Page 2 of MLHolton Manifesto / Copyright to MLH Trust |
Part 1 - B: The Exhibition
Disciplines to
include:
1. Typeface & Book Design - 1980s -
Letraset / Acorn Press Canada
+ others - to current day
2. Canadian Fine Furniture Design - 1980s to 2000 - custom residential Toronto & int'l dealers
3. Writing - (Poems/Novels/Screenplay/Journalism) - 1986 to current day
- with produced spoken word CDs
& DVDs
4. Painting -
1970s - to current day / 'naive-surreal-folk-abstracts' by MLH
5. Photography (pinhole & photo-collage & white-outs) - 2001 (pinhole) - to current day
Proposed Exhibition Location:
Lee Chin
Family Gallery -- FLOOR PLAN (rough)
Gallery Schematic: ZONE 1 = 3 'booths' on NORTH WALL. To include:
Booth 1. early life & pencil drawings, Booth 2. film reel, Booth 3. photography
ZONE 2 = 2/3 gallery floor
space for display of 8 MLH Canadian fine furniture pieces.
ZONE 3 = MLH paintings (x25) on 2/3 East Wall, Full South Wall and 1/2
of West Wall.
 |
| Floor Plan for MLHolton Exhibition Proposal at AGB (2017) |
Exhibition Schematic - in 3 ZONES
(Via Above Floor Plan above: Zone 1 is on LEFT, Zone 2 FLOOR is CENTRE
& Zone 3 is on RIGHT)
ZONE 1: THE EARLY YEARS OF MLH - A Rural World of Wonder, Family & People
- Booth 1. South-west corner of gallery - "Place is 100% character defining."
MLH background
-
#SELF-TAUGHT - read & looked a
great deal - as a kid, student & young adult
- discovering Self & others via profound '
SENSE OF PLACE'. PRIMAL ROOTS =
Stoneacres Farm in North Burlington &
Bekanon, an out-island in Georgian Bay
" 'Canada' is an IDEA - moreover than a large land mass & political entity."- mlh
Zone 1.1.A. WALL DISPLAY (1/2 North & 1/3 West
Wall & Centre Booth wall )
1.
ONE photo montage of MLH 'Early Family Life' - 36x24 - to be
framed = VISUAL INTRO
2. Two pencil sketches, from early 1970s (of artist's easel (1971) & a male nude (1974)
+
10-13 Pencil portraits from 2000 -2008
- All 8x10 inches
3. Two portraits from 2010s, on Booth wall, Chief Joseph Brant & 'Saint'
Jane Goodall
Zone 1.1.B.
One Cabinet Display- MLH Typefaces -
licensed dry transfer & Letraset catalogue, plus digital conversion samples, as well as two sets of unlicensed work / drawings / + sample 'products' using design with type ephemera
- ie. NickelBrook Brewery label in Burlington / MLH
to assemble 10 paper ephemera
"Studying type contours at extreme short range is like perusing a map with
a microscope: all is visible but strangely
mysterious." mlh
*
Note: Enlarge mlh quote below about SEEING type design as 'shape', affixed
to 'floating' wall
facing front entrance (see above floor plan schematic )
Zone 1.1.C. Centre Booth - MLH Filmworks -
(Centre 1/3 of North Wall - as per schematic drawing above)
-
loop 1 hour short
#documentary & art film works, ie. profiles of local
characters - Denis Sinclair,
Scrimshaw
artist, (8 min),
Harold Dickert, guitar
maker (14 min), metalworker, Doris Treleaven
(10 min)
- all from North Burlington / --- include.
'Artist's Walk' (5 min), Burlington Lakefront /
cut with 'MLH home movies' clips from
1950-70
- MLH
to compile ONE DISC for a ONE HOUR loop
Zone
1.1.D. Pinhole & Photo-Montage PHOTOGRAPHY
Nook
-
(1/3 North-East Nook - at service entrance portal)
1.
In north-east nook, 10 image mix of
pinhole & digital photo-collages -
- focused
on the heritage farm house & North Burlington
rural property
2.
Cabinet display of mlh
books - including 3 novels: Economic Sex (1985), award-winners The Gilded Beaver by Anonymous, and
TRILLIUM - and Artist First Edition photo
books
& CD/DVD
display
- inc. early poetry books, later CDs - ie. Summer Haze (free form piano jazz) and spoken-word/garageband antics,
CANADADA: TAKE TWO.
( Q: include musical feed of CDs
via earphones? )
Sub Total of Objects in ZONE 1 = 35
+ one hour film reel
ZONE 2. THE #DISCIPLINE OF
#CRAFTSMANSHIP
- (2/3
floor space + 4 drawings on floating walls)
- 'self
taught', (continued) - learned how to
'think' about materials & processes
by primarily watching
and imitating my parents - ie.
measurement, construction, building & crafting fine furniture & boats by/with my father, and watching mum paint landscapes and portraits
'en plein air'
( Q: samples of both parent's
works? small photo display ? to be determined ... ie. furniture templates of dads & Mum watercolour of HER tree at Bekanaon - MLH to source images)
MLH 'Canadian fine furniture' 1986-2000
2A. Drawings of speculative Canadian fine furniture works: unproduced -.ie. Caribou Table, Nunuvut Sideboard = 4 drawings -- NB: To be pinned on floating walls behind furniture displayed on pedestals/plinths supplied
by Gallery
2B. - include 5-8 pieces of MLH #Canadianfinefurniture
1. ONE of 4 'Canadian Fireside Chairs' - #WinterChair on Centre Pedestal / unconfirmed
2+3. Temagami Pedestals (x 2) - CONFIRMED
- Toronto
client - ON FLOOR
4.
Thee Mirror - CONFIRMED - Toronto client / - Mount on floating wall
5.
HEADBOARD (boys' carved-bear headboard) / CONFIRMED - Mount on floating wall
6
& 7. Pair of Haida Gwaii Chairs by MLH -/ Collection of Artist / on Side Plinth
8.
'Ladies Dresser' by MLH - CONFIRMED - Toronto client / on Side Plinth
Sub
Total of Objects: 12
---
ZONE 3: FIVE DECADES OF #PAINTINGS
by MLH
- (no
floor space, 1/2 wall space: 1/2 East, Full South, 1/2 West Walls) -- 1970 to current
- include enlarged excerpts
from 'CANADADA: A Painter's Nature' - TBD
WALL SURROUND - 25 MLH paintings = 5 from each decade (x 5)
Sub
Total of Objects: 25
+ misc: 5
(To be Confirmed : MLH
paper ephemera for TWO cabinet
displays = 20 items
+ one hour looping film reel, to loop, compiled
by MLH)
**TOTAL NUMBER OF Exhibition OBJECTS: 100**
---
including
Proposed Paintings: 1970 - 2020 ( 50 years of painting ) -
... 5 paintings
chosen from FIVE decades, presented, mostly, chronologically ...
---NB: Items with
asterisks have NOT been confirmed yet.
1970s
*1. The Kill - oil / framed - Collection of
Artist / locate & frame
2. Gone
Native - oil / framed - Estate of Mrs. Bruce Matthews, Ancaster/Toronto - CONFIRMED
3. MM & LJ in Dad's Boat, Georgian Bay CONFIRMED
- to be framed
4. Sweet
Water.Ceremony. - acrylic, pastel,
gold paint on stretched canvas. - CONFIRMED
*5. Going
to the Farm - oil / framed / locate
1980s - In Collection of Artist
*1. With Every Breath - Words on Canvas / REVIEW CONDITION
*2. Self - Portrait - WALL HANGING 6'x4' -
to be tacked to wall -/ REVIEW CONDITION
*3. 'Hope
Springs Eternal' /REVIEW
CONDITION
4. Arrow & Axe
/ needs to be re-framed
*5. Rose Bush, OutPort,
NFLD oil/ framed /REVIEW CONDITION
1990s
1. Two Peas in a Pod
- oil / framed - CONFIRMED
2. 'Art Attack by MLH aka 'Canadada Flag' aka Wall Hanging - 4'x28" - (Collection
of Artist)
(NB: REVIEW SUITABILITY with
Curator as EXHIBIT 'Brand' Image)
3. Eclipse over
Beaver Rock - in hand carved pine frame by MLH - CONFIRMED
4. Swan Lake - oil / framed - (Via Toronto Collection) - CONFIRMED
*5. Bovine Bliss 2,
Ontario - Cover of 'Canadada: A Painter's Nature' -
UNconfirmed - (Collection of lawyer in Toronto
- need to track down this item )
6. Prince William, Blind
to The Alberta
Tarsands - CONFIRMED
2000s
1. Magic Hour, Georgian Bay - - CONFIRMED
2. Bruce Trail: Spring Walk - CONFIRMED (Collection in Jordan, Ontario)
*3. Over the Hill,
Under the Moon, Back to the Pond - locate
4. Spring Creek -
acrylic/framed - CONFIRMED
*5. The Passage, Georgian Bay - oil/framed - locate
2010s to 2020
1. Doe at Dawn, Banff
- acrylic/framed - CONFIRMED
2. Dundas Valley
- acrylic & gold paint / CONFIRMED -
to be framed
3. Beneath Pine
Boughs - acrylic/framed - CONFIRMED
4. Frozen Lake 1 - acrylic/framed - (64Wx32H) - CONFIRMED
5. Woodland Deer
- acyrlic/framed 30x26H - CONFIRMED
---
Part 1 - C: Exhibition Catalogue
Working Title:
CANADADA:
... The Life & Times of Margaret Lindsay
Holton ...
-
approx. 800-1100 words per section / author, (+ 10-15 images).
Approx 40-60 pages.
Senior
Curator, National Gallery of Canada - e-QUERIED in 2018. She's away...
Foreword
by AGB Curator OR CEO/Director - ? 2-3 pgs
'Artist
Statement' - MLH - 'why & how' 5-7
pgs
1. Typeface - Rod McDonald - To Query - Canadian Type Historian 2-5
pages
- 3 MLH, typefaces, including 'Lindsay', in context to
Canadian type design
2.
Writing - Poetry, Novels, Reviews Etc, by
Jeremy Luke Hill - CONFIRMED, 5-6 pages
(** Note: Possible to
combine the above two sections into 'one'. Review with Jeremy Luke Hill.)
3.
MLH 'Canadian Fine Furniture' - Jeff Mahoney, Arts, Hamilton Spec,
CONFIRMED , 2-5 pages
- NB: include extracts from MLH correspondence with late Curator Emeritus Dr. Donald B. Webster & Peter
Keallegran PhD, European Department of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
( ** Note: Possible to
combine above 2 sections into 'one'. Both reviewed by Jeff, 1996 & 2010.)
Total Page Count = 40-60 pgs
Essays provided by contributors to MLH and/or her Estate. Production/Design of Catalogue by MLHProductions/AcornPressCanada and the Art Gallery of Burlington, Print run of 800 - 2000. Note to Gallery: 'Honorarium' to be paid to all #authors relative to page count.
----
End of PART 1.
----
PART 2.
VISUALS to SUPPORT Exhibition Proposal
PART 2. is a series of visual thumbnails that support the above.
To
better view the disciplines as outlined, enlarge the preferred
thumbnail.
PART 3.
C.V./SUPPORT MATERIAL/PRESS
Contact the artist or her representative - mlholton
If a regular on Shopify, be sure to follow the playlist.
