Possible Worlds
A Talk by Alexander Nagel

Presented in Partnership with the University of Calgary Nickle Galleries.
Presented on May 19, 2022.

Alexander Nagel (he, him, his) is Craig Hugh Smyth Professor of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. He is a widely respected art historian acknowledged for his assiduous, thought-provoking research and innovative insights. Past publications postulate the relevancy and demonstrate the connections between late medieval art and modern and postmodern art traditions and practices. In more recent research he explores how visual art of the late medieval period served to create a world orientation through imagery that offered a secular interpretation of time, and suggested exploration, discovery and science. His latest publishing builds on this research by focusing on what happens when models of image-making cross temporal and geographic boundaries.

This lecture is based on research for a co-authored book with Dr. Elizabeth Horodowich, a specialist in 16th Century Venetian cartography and perceptions of the “Discovery of the New World.” Titled Amerasia: Reflections of an Emergent World 1492-1700, the book will be published in 2023.

Using Parmigianino’s painting Madonna of the Rose completed in 1530 as a guide, Dr. Nagel’s Possible Worlds lecture will shed light on European discovery of new worlds in the 16th century. Impacts real and imagined, and their implications then and now will be discussed. In Dr. Nagel’s words, “Contemporary Calgary’s Dome is an ideal venue for engaging an audience in this discussion.” In pursuing his current research interests, Dr. Nagel actively participates in global networks focused on art studies research concerned with postcolonialism, anthropology, humanism and posthumanism.

Beauty and the Brain: The Neurobiology and Psychology of Aesthetic Appreciation

A talk by Oshin Vartanian

A curious relationship exists between visual art and our brain. Art impacts brain function, thinking and emotions, and our brain influences our perceptions of beauty, our preferences in art and the meaning and relevance we ascribe to it. It’s a relationship exquisitely affirming our individuality and the uniqueness of how we view and react to art.

Dr. Vartanian examines differences between representational and non-representational art and discusses how “context” influences how we experience and value art. Learn how the brain responds when art created by great masters is presented versus computer-generated art; how the brain responds to authenticated art versus forgeries; and how we respond differently to art seen in and outside museum settings.  

The beauty of the brain and in art is ours to know.

Co-Organized By

Warehouse 1993 was an iconic work by Wyn Geleynse damaged in the Calgary flood of 2013. In conversation with collector Ken Bradley, Geleynse reimagines Warehouse 1993-2015, a new work that reflects on time and memory and includes additional layers of meaning and sound. This video guides us through the artist’s process behind the making of both works.

Presented By

A Discussion with Ryan Sluggett and a special screening of his recent 2020 animation film, Ed Terrestrial

Thursday, October 21
5:30pm - 7:00pm

Of Ed Terrestrial, Jackson Arn, the American critic, has written:

“It’s never easy to make art that’s deliberately, self-consciously “about” society; to fail is to invite ridicule, and sometimes to succeed is to invite even more. The difficulty of the problem has led too many artists and critics to conclude that it’s pointless to try—a hedged, managerial sort of conclusion… I’ll say this much: for Ed Terrestrial, [Sluggett has] developed a style of animation that exposes the malevolence lurking beneath cozy, infantilizing entertainment; the sludge lurking beneath “good taste”; and the queasy cocktail of interest and disinterest that we’ve all been drinking—and anyone who doesn’t see the urgency of making art about these things has been living in a cave.”

Biography

Ryan Sluggett was born in 1981 in Calgary, Alberta. He received his BFA with Distinction in Painting from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2003, and his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011.

Ryan Sluggett has had nine solo exhibitions at TrépanierBaer Gallery; the most recent titled The Ego and the Ed (2021). Selected group exhibitions of note include: Summer Bomb Pop: Collections in Dialogue, Tang Museum, New York (2021); Everywhere You Are, Contemporary Calgary (2020/21); Out of Sight: New Acquisitions, Vancouver Art Gallery (2014); and Made in LA., the Hammer Museum Biennial (2012).

Sluggett has successfully completed numerous commissions. In 2013, he completed a major commission for the Ivey School of Business at Western Ontario University in London, Ontario. This large multi-paneled work is comprised of three panels measuring 8 feet by 8 feet each, for an overall dimension of 8 feet by 24 feet. In 2015, Sluggett completed a commission for a major video piece for a private collector in the United States; and he has recently completed a painting commission for a Canadian collector.

Sluggett’s work is included in numerous public collections including the Booth Collection at the University of Chicago; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Vancouver Art Gallery; Glenbow Museum, Calgary; the Rubell Collection, Florida; the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection, Edmonton; and numerous private and corporate collections throughout Canada and the US.

A roundtable discussion with Deeter Schurig, President and CEO of cSpace, Patti Pon, President and CEO of CADA, Sandra Vida, Artist and former Contract Administrator with Elephant Artist Relief Society, Larissa Tiggelers, Artist and Former Director of Stride Art Gallery, Frank Frigo, Leader, Watershed Analysis, Water Resources, City of Calgary, and artists and community leaders, Eveline Kolijn and Mandy Stobo.

Moderated by Katherine Ylitalo.

The roundtable is part of a series titled I Remember the Flood organized by Contemporary Calgary to explore the devastating impact of the 2013 Calgary flood on art and artists, as well as our community at large. Considered one of the worst and costliest natural disasters in Canadian history, we revisit the herculean efforts of local leaders and organizations in the art community. The series is dedicated to individuals, who in the midst of chaos, through sheer determination and ingenuity effectively contained the damage and loss to artworks. 

The series is a public program of the two-part exhibition Everywhere We Are, that comprises several artworks damaged during the flood. The exhibition is co-curated by Contemporary Calgary and the University of Calgary Nickle Galleries. 

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