Join us this week as we journey to The ARTery, where artists Tim Rechner and Fish Griwkowsky display some recent creations in a show otherwise known as The Experiment. We take in walls plastered with tiny, frantic sketches layered with drawings of colourful morphing shapes, and 3-D photos that are as varied in size as they are in subject.

Jill: First of all, let me say that as much as I appreciate The ARTery, I wish it were beside the LRT station. It was pretty cold outside Friday night! I had never been there before, so it was an enlightening experience—definitely an interesting little venue, and very appropriate for The Experiment. What were your first impressions of the show?

Mandy: My first impression was of how casual the whole space was. It felt like we were in somebody’s living room, and at first I wasn’t too sure about that. But the longer I was there, the more it worked for me. I liked that you could sit back and just take the time to look at this giant wall coated with drawings, then turn around and see another wall full of 3-D photographs. It created a very approachable vibe.

Jill: I agree. Tim’s wall of drawings was what hit me first, although I wasn’t immediately sure about the format. You didn’t really notice all of the tiny drawings in the background until later—which is the effect I’m sure he intended, but I would have preferred to see a full wall of them without the larger pieces interspersed among them. I think they could have held their own. I did really enjoy those larger pastel works, though; they reminded me of some of the Cape Dorset prints I’ve been looking at lately.

Mandy: The scribbled fragments of sentences on those tiny slips were endearing. They got me up, examining every individual piece. I didn’t think the larger colour drawings were as powerful individually, but that’s most likely due to being broken up on multiple sheets of paper. What did you think of the use of 3-D technology in the photos?

Jill: I thought it was funny. As much as we all love to wear those 3-D glasses, I don’t know if the 3-D technology actually added anything to the photographs themselves. What it did do, however, was make me look at the photographs for longer than I would have otherwise, because the 3-D makes your eyes kind of go sideways for a little bit before you actually figure out what the hell is going on. What about you?

Mandy: It made viewing them interactive, in a way. I think the best part was how the image would shift when you moved. The figures would follow you, or lean out into your space. My favourite specific image was of the interior of the High Level Bridge, with the opening off in the distance. A bit of Edmontonian celebration. I wasn’t as taken with the more “exotic” photos. The image of the bridge actually seemed related to the depth created by the 3-D glasses—maybe that’s what was missing for me in some of the others.

Jill: I liked the High Level Bridge photo too, but did we like it because it was a good photograph, a good use of 3-D technology, or a part of our everyday lives that we felt attached to? Some of the other photos were just as effective, yet we were drawn to the Edmontonian imagery because we have emotional ties to it. I don’t think this is a bad thing—just something to note. 

Mandy: Also, I thought that huge beast of a drawing in the back of the place [Tim Rechner’s “Drum Solo Heart Attack”] was really something. All those twisting, snakelike tubes of colour have serious impact on that scale. Do you think they were saying anything by calling the show The Experiment? 

Jill: Both Tim and Fish work differently in their more “professional” settings, and this show may have been a way for them to try a few new things out without real judgment. Or it might have just been an “experiment” to see how stupid everyone looks in 3-D glasses! 

Mandy: I think they were flattering—an experimental fashion statement for the visually inclined. 

The Experiment is on display at The ARTery (9535 Jasper Ave)
until April 26.