Thaddeus Holownia - The Man with the Steel Glasses

Thaddeus Holownia wears striking steel glasses for a practical reason. They don't break if he falls asleep before taking them off. (TED PRITCHARD / Local Xpress)

The only thing I regret about being one of the thousands of Thaddeus Holownia's students, is not being able to see his most recent exhibit at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, in Halifax.  Maybe, just maybe I'll find a way down there between now and May to see this amazing exhibition.

A life long friend Chris Sears, who himself is a talented photographer living in Toronto, posted a wonderful article about The Nature of Nature entitled, Photographer Holownia's keen perspective on display in 40-year retrospective, written by the talented and creative writer Elissa Bernard. I've read all the most recent articles about Thaddeus Holownia's exhibit but this is the one I really love!


 Maybe I'm biased because I was friends with Elissa's sister at NSCAD and we took painting together, sharing a studio space, but I don't think I'm wrong in saying, Elissa is a very gifted, thoughtful, perceptive and insightful writer and in her article she's composed an excellent reflection of the essence of Thaddeus's art work, the kind of artist he is and why he's very much admired by many, especially by his former students.

I loved these quotes by Thaddeus, which I think truly embody his philosophical ideas about art, creativity and what it means to be an artist. He's passed on his ethics of integrity and professionalism onto those students who recognize the importance and significance of what he's saying. The wise ones have incorporated his philosophy it into their own creative values and disciplined process.

“You live every day through who you are, and if you're active and awake, you make work or you don't do anything."

“I feel sorry for the people who didn't find their voice. I tell my students, 'Don't be lazy. This is a golden opportunity to make something happen, and time is the most precious commodity.' ”

Thaddeus Holownia

http://holownia.com - Photo credit: Denis Duquette

Below is a post I saw yesterday written by Michael de Adder, a fellow Mount Allison Alumni, who also like me and many more are very happy to be celebrating the exhibit and work of Thaddeus Holownia, called The Nature of Nature at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
 
"In my life there were a few artists I looked up to as mark makers or painters. But only one artist almost tempted me to consider another art form. That was my former professor of photography Thaddeus Holownia. In the newspaper business I've been lucky to have met the best photographers in the world, many of whom inspired me to draw an image. But only Thaddeus inspired me to want to take a photograph.

Now at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia: Thaddeus Holownia: The Nature of Nature (Halifax)�
February 4, 2017 to May 28, 2017
�Curators: David Diviney and Sarah Fillmore�
This career overview offers insight into Holownia’s photography from the late-1970s to the present day, providing the most comprehensive critical analysis of this Maritime artist’s practice to date."

Michael de Adder's brief item is very poignant to me in it's meaning.
 Thaddeus Holownia was also my former professor and photography teacher, mentor and I'm proud to call him friend. I doubt I'd been able to graduate without his generous, encouraging and ongoing support when things got really difficult for me as a mature student, who'd been out of University for 30 years.

What Michael de Adder has stated about how Thaddeus inspired him, is no doubt a deeply shared sentiment by numerous students that have ever been fortunate enough to study under him. His intimate knowledge of and passion for photography are second to none.

Thaddeus is what I would call one of those rare Heuristic teachers, and I've been very blessed to have been one of his many students.

Mary Pratt - How Simplicity Made Complexity

Peaceful Canoe - Oil

Things are never as simple as we think. I never thought of Mary Pratt's art work as simple. I know she elevated simple ever day objects found in her domestic life, and familiar scenes into complex layers of meaning. I have deep admiration and respect for Mary Pratt, and what she has achieved as a woman, and as an artist. Not only because she is an the expert, talented draftswomen, and renderer, but because of who Mary Pratt, the woman is, and the life that she has lived.


Last Monday while I was in Halifax, I got to see Mary Pratt's collection of work that spanned the years of her creative life, exhibited at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. The collection was grouped in themes, as explained in the article published in The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Journal Volume 42 Fall 2014. Biography And Place, Life Stilled, The Feminine, Process And Realism.


I do have a great fondness and affection for the paintings like Jelly Shelf, and the variety of subject matter drawn from her everyday life, but I found myself wanting to see more, or something different, as I walked through the exhibit I saw some of what I was searching for, in her portraiture, and symbolic representations of what she was experiencing at a particular time.

Jelly Shelf - Oil

There are two paintings that stood out for me.  One was the portrait scene of a younger and older man holding a large cod fish.

Another Province In Canada - Oil

Threads of Scarlet, Pieces of Pomegranate - Oil

The other painting was,Threads of Scarlet, Pieces of Pomegranate, was featured prominently in the AGNS having a room of it's own. I found this painting very compelling.

The pomegranate is very symbolic in Greek mythology, as it is considered to be the fruit of the dead, and of conjugal love because of it's many seeds, and Persephone's hidden world full of undeveloped creative potential. 

Mary Pratt painted this when her relationship with her husband Christopher had ended in divorce. She has stated it was created  quite unconsciously.

Mary Pratt states herself: " My only strength is finding something where most people would find nothing ".

Upon further investigation I found more paintings of her work online I'd never seen before, that Mary Pratt described as being impressionistic. I love what I found, and wished some of these paintings had been included in AGNS collection.

Large Marsh Bird - Oil

Harbor - Oil

  I was unaware that Mary Pratt was a print maker. Her beautiful lithography below, I found online.

Lithograph

Mary Pratt is a simple, humble, woman with a complex and beautiful soul. Her personality and life is manifested in all of her work. Her life is her art, and her art is her truly her life, and she reflects the transformation of how the love of simplicity is made into complexity .