Q and A with Sonja Hidas

A Healthy Cultural Landscape

The cultural landscape is comprised of three things, people, places and the community.

Contemporary artists exist within this landscape as members of all three. 

Contemporary art is concerned with meaning.

The artist works within the community and develop artwork and exhibitions within galleries and institutions. 

to better illustrate how the cultural landscape works I interviewed one of Mississauga's leading emergent artists, Sonja Hidas.

Sonja is a traditionally trained artist who studied in Montreal.  She has a long history of working in the arts both at the private level and at the non profit level.  To be actively engaged the artist is required to create relationships through volunteerism, attendance to exhibitions and professional development in workshops and education.

SPF:  Where have you sold your work

SH:  To individuals as commissions, in galleries and internationally, the Ritz Carlton in Hong kong has two of my paintings.

SPF:  Where have you exhibited your work?

SH:  Mississauga at Rumi Galleries, Sudbury on a regional exchange facilitated by the Burlington Art Centre.

SPF:  Can you describe some of the relationships that you have nurtured while developing your practice?

SH:  I was part of a mentorship at the Burlington Art Centre under Reinhard Reiztenstein which culminated in an exhibition with all the members of the program.  I was also part of a regional exchange with Sudbury which was facilitated by the Burlington Art Centre. 

SPF:  I know that you have also been involved with the Blackwood Gallery located on the Mississauga campus of University of Toronto.  How did that happen.

SH:  There was a call for submissions to create site specific work for the Starch building located at Hurontario and Lakeshore.  I created a work called Large items which refers to a phrase used to describe appliances and furniture that is destined for the landfill.  It was also a statement about public art in mississauga.  I wrote text on a washer and dryer that tried to convey an emotional reaction, the dryer said "blank" over and over.

SPF:  what draws you to these types of projects?

SH:  Institutions like the Blackwood Gallery, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Living Arts Centre and the Burlington Art Centre are ideal for executing and exhibiting a project.  they are venues that are not constrained by the requirement to sell work.  they let you take risks. 

SPF:  You are also represented by Rumi Galleries. 

SH:  Yes I had a one person show with them in October of last year.  Rumi Galleries under Joseph Rumi are the first gallery from Mississauga to take part in the Toronto International Art Fair.  He showed one of my riskier pieces.

SPF  You have mentioned this notion of risk taking several times, what is the importance of it?

SH:  Contemporary art should be about the experience and meaning of a work and it is not necessarily something that can be bought or sold.  It is primarily a vehicle for conveying an idea instead of a com-modified product.

SPF:  Your first major multi-disciplinary work in Mississauga was the anniversary of the derailment under HotBox projects.  What is Hotbox, and what was the biggest challenge you encountered while making this work?

SH:  For the opening at the Living Arts Centre I had a very large group of Actors as well as an installation of sheets with paintings on them and a phone with the recorded stories to Mississaugans from the night that it took place playing.  It was a challenge to coordinate so many variables.

SPF:  The regional artist exchange with Sudbury was also community specific, what was important about that project?

SH:  An important outcome of that project was shifting from finding or relating to an event from my community to sudbury's community.  I liked the connection and creating artwork about another community it is a form of respect to their cultural history. 

SPF:  We have been talking a lot about the community related aspects of your art.  What about making art in your studio?  What is the difference or the importance of making work in the studio vs. working with a community?

SH:  I use different disciplines when I make art work; painting, drawing, video and performance are all used to create my work, that is why it is called multi-disciplinary. 

SPF:  Where did you learn all of these techniques and disciplines/

SH:  Some I learned through a mentorship at the Burlington art Centre mentorship program where it is ongoing.  Other projects you learn as you are required and do research to how best meet your goals.

SPF:  Can you tell me the inspiration for the Hotbox Riverwood project which took place after the derailment project?

SH:  After I took part in the mentorship project in Burlington I wanted to try and reproduce the same model here in Mississauga but with a group of artists to create site specific works under the mentorship of a senior artist.  The blend of nature and art was an easy step.

SPF:  So part of your development as a contemporary artist is to learn new methods and implement them in your own community. 

SH:  And teach what I know to others around me.

SPF:  And you do teach currently?

SH:  Yes, I teach art to Adults and courses at the Peel Archives and Museum of Art.

SPF:  And with all that going on you are still making art work?  What are you working on now?

SH:I am working on a text based project that began with a series of questions I wrote for the Art Gallery of Mississauga's 25th Anniversary.  The project is called constructs

SPF:As part of constructs you recently wrote a series of questions that were meant to both challenge and educate about public art, can we discuss them?

SH: Yes the questions were written from the voice of an anonymous person. 

SPF:  The first question you wrote is "Who cares about local artists?"

SH:  Individuals who buy local, go to shows, exhibitions, and events.  They read about and interact with artists which is supportive and encouraging to them.  Non-profits and artist run centres are places for these interactions to take place.  Local artists are supported by their community.

SPF:  The second question you wrote is "Who cares what the public wants?"

SH:  Culturally engaged individuals who are dedicated to the development of the city through action, i.e. volunteers, non-profits, educational institutions and municipalities.

SPF:  The third question is "Who cares about public art?

SH:  The public does, your municipality does.  Public art is very much like furniture in a home.  It reflects you as a person, your tastes, your background and your cultural affiliations.  it is a reflection of who you are as a person.  The difference between something beautiful and something utilitarian.

SPF:  And the final question, "At 25, should I have my own place?" 

SH:  This is a question asked in response to the 25th Anniversary of the Art Gallery of Mississauga, we are looking towards the future and we have expectations of where we will be are big.  Artists dream big.

Elsewhere

Dedicated to Sean Cassidy.

The day that I was hit by the minivan was the day that Sean was transferred to our department. He later recalled affectionately that day that he started the day that I was put into emergency.

It was August 2004, the tenth I believe. The details of my accident, all too familiar with anyone that has been hit while riding a bike or come close will recognize the symptoms. Motorist with coffee in one hand, smoke in the other, rolling stop past the curb, cyclist riding on the sidewalk, bushes and fences covering the view of the corner. I was lucky to escape with my life that morning.

Cassidy was quiet and intelligent. We sparked up an instant connection. He, possessing two degrees one in film and the other in history was an able debating companion. There were many conversations regarding aspects of our job or our co workers as well as films, wars, video games, comics. I was a geek and Cassidy was too. It always made the day travel quickly to know that he would be working at the same time. The job had its grind but the friendship that we had developed was anything but.

There was talk of working on a project together, a film script or a graphic novel. It was difficult to fantasize about these things but never have them develop. Our time outside of work was too hectic, I was still finishing school and was more or less single, while he had a fiancée and a life apart in Oakville at the time. We would analyze instead. I had been down the, “lets start a project together” road before and found that it only made things difficult for future musings. Some things were better left un-said so the project went away. Time would pass and I eventually moved on. I left and he stayed. Moving from one department to another. It is safe to say at this point that I lost touch. It wasn’t that I had any intention of leaving anyone in the past. I had no recent number and had since developed a sort of phobia of visiting our place of employment. I had felt that that place was slightly cursed and had no intention of going back.

Though days, weeks, years pass my thoughts would drift to our friendship and I would wonder. In my mind I was always comforted by the fact that he is the type of person who always had friends around, people that would keep him company, and like other friends of mine who had gotten married, started a family and a home would be busy none the less with their own lives. I was comforted by the fact that they would have “no time” for me and that things were simply fine the way they were.

Looking back on this rationalization I know it was false, that any of this could be true if things were different, but they aren’t. And now I know that these types of rationalizations were something else, something where I wasn’t able to connect, I always wanted to visit and had decided many times that I would go, to this day I drive by my old work, on my way elsewhere usually with time to spare. I knew where I could park without paying, where I could walk over and see how he was doing, ask him about his family. I could have him paged if I couldn’t locate him. But I didn’t. Now all I have left are pieces, little memories, fond but fragments, used photocopies that will never be colour, never fresh.

The only option I have now is to hang on to them as tightly as possible, rework them, add some colour and hope that the copy lasts. Although he may be elsewhere now, I am here and thinking about him, remembering him and trying to cope with a sudden loss that will never make sense.

The House

It has been a very long time since my last blog. For those of you who read this from time to time may be interested in why it has been such a long time.

I have bought a house in Hamilton. This is something that was on the books for about six years. This March I looked at a house that fit the bill to the T. I bought it. This does sound not so complicated but I have a habit of making things complicated.

In order to be able to afford this house I had to find a power of sale and a fixer upper. This ended up being a house that was partially gutted, entirely replaced top floor minus a kitchen and a bathroom. The Rollercoaster started in March. Because it was a power of sale, it had been vacant for over a year it was impossible to get a mortgage from the banks (oh yea and no toilet or kitchen). The vendor didnt cooperate in any way or let me make some minor changes to the place to get an appraisal. Now that I have been involved with this process I understand that there is no way that I could have gotten an appraisal. Because the heating was off and the furnace was unproven as well I was unable to occupy the building which meant a special insurance too.

Fast forward three months to May and the electricity is on. I replaced the service and the stack but not without having to navigate the ESA and utility companies. There is too much jargon for someone who had never gone through the motions before. One month after that and the water is on. Now we are entering the final stage. All the windows are intact. The bathroom is in, the kitchen is in, the painting is almost done. It has taken about four months with an average of three days working a week to get it to this point.

So what is the grand design? I bought the house primarily as a place for a studio. The selling points of the house is the way it is already divided into a lower apartment and an upper. The upper is a very pleasant living space which is not huge but has enough room. The lower area which has both a front door and a back door is the studio/gallery space. The house is commercially zoned though its last use was a hair salon.

The current upgrades include all new wiring, plumbing (it was ripped out the weekend I took possession). I put a fence around the property and put in a front porch.

I wouldnt suggest doing the house and studio thing this way. It was a terrible ride. Im afraid that most of the things that I went through no one could have warned me about. In the end though nothing that money couldnt fix. There are no major structural issues. Because it was gutted and the drywall wasnt up in most of the house I was able to inspect it and make sure that it was fine. Essentially an inspector can only tell you how they see it and are not necessarily going behind drywall and walls to find the real problems that have been covered up. The house has never received an addition or changes to its overall shape. This is a good thing and anyone who has watched the DIY shows it can be expensive, almost as much as putting in an addition.

Whats next? Stay tuned. I want to change the way houses are kept. House becomes the art.

Paul.

Cause and Effect

Last weekend I had an exhibition of my art work at Jane Motyka's gallery, Motyka FineArt.

It was very last minute, although I had been making the work for a while nothing was painted before the april 1st. So as usual I pushed myself to complete work in a very short period of time. My goals are not usually predefined when I begin a show. This time though I worked towards a new set of principles. The show that I had in March 2010, was a collection of pieces that were highly wrought, intense and dark. The colour pallette was rich and had a very murky atmosphere. This time around though I wanted to shake it up a bit.

My intention was to paint the show with a lighter brush. I wanted quick and loose treatments, watery layers of paint. I needed the paint to talk about the images as much as it was working towards unifying the separate images into a whole. The landscape slides and melts away leaving the image underneath. the thicker applications of paint slow down the slide, and certain areas are left without glazes. I worked hard to create a candy gloss over some of the pieces which was achieved by adding a layer of medium (alkyd, stand, linseed, spirits) before hand. The entire surface would then be painted. This, of course was an impressionist technique employed but not with as much glazing of transparent colour.

There were a number of questions about the work and what it meant. I didnt really head into the work with anything in mind. It is important to trace back to the first couple of series that I did. Essentially I felt that although each piece was a little different in colour and had different images embedded, it was still a part of a continuing narrative. An instructor that I had critique my work mentioned that it seemed like my work was very nomadic, always moving, never restive. Though always in the same vein. This has continued through to this series. I have been getting closer and closer to what the entirety of my collage work is about. I feel as though I am getting better at finding the images that inspire me and give me that spark that makes me work for the finished product.

What is the show about? It gets complicated because the art is about me and making the work as much as it is the narrative/content within the pieces. When i put my creative juices down to the panel and paper with scissor and brush I am working towards reassembling the world as I see it fit together. In a way this is fantastic musing, prophetic play. However in the same way it is also gibberish, repetitive and time wasting. I dont often sit back and wonder if the work will really communicate and reach the public convincing them of my fantastic future. When I play futurist it is by pure chance that any of it will come true. Sometimes if I talk about things that have happened it is just hindsight and derivative. What I am getting at is what is the point of using the images at all. there have been things that have been bothering me. I work through it by doing the work. there is a saving grace in that. I feel more free when I am not worrying about what kind of technique or material I am using. the collage made sense for a long time because I was able to manipulate it and cut it. this is what I now realize. The paint alone will not do it for me because I feel that there is nothing there for me. Just a question that will never be answered
So after all these circles what is left?

What I do know is that I used my skills to make a show from found images, developed an approach with the medium to match the time constraints and made the work as big as possible. It was the process of meeting a challenge that made a difference to the production and I felt as though I had accomplished something.

So here is what i know. I need to manipulate my materials. I need to use the skills that I have spent decades to hone in order to reach something "beautiful." I need to challenge myself. Just simply producing an exhibit of work is not enough unless I have grown and learned something. I I am not interested in creating work that simply confuses the public as much as I want to create something that makes them admire. this is what pushes me.

What I also realize now is that I carry all of the skills that I have developed which means that I am able to call upon them at any time. I need to vary the quality and materials of my work to keep growing and will go back to work that has past to find the qualities and the materials that I am looking for.

The next question is whether I will keep making collage and paintings the way that I have been doing for the last four years? Yes. though not with the same intent, intensity. I realize that I am looking for more and what that is I have not known yet, but always sensitive and waiting.

This is what the show was about. An artist at a precipice. angry at the system, angry at the art world. I make the work because I feel like this is what I should do and the effect is to come to terms with my art practice and get back into the studio. We learn from doing. This is cause and effect.

HotBox Riverwood

CALL FOR ARTISTS

HotBox Riverwood mentorship project is a professional development program to challenge artists to create temporary natural, site specific outdoor sculpture.

The HotBox Riverwood projects will be located on the grounds of Riverwood Park, 4100 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga, ON.

International artist Reinhard Reitzenstein will mentor artists selected to take part in this exciting transformative learning experience. Monthly meetings begin April 2011. The project will conclude with an exhibition in the Fall of 2011.

Application Deadline: March 31st 2011

To apply please send; 10 jpeg images of your work (size 72dpi) or website, a C.V. and a letter of interest to; HOTBOX24@LIVE.CA

Accepted selected artists will be contacted by HotBox Projects.

Morning,

Well I havent written anything for a little while. There are a few decent reasons but mostly I only sit down to do this when things reach some sort of breaking point. This is not one of those times and is instead a simple reminder to respond to the HotBox Riverwood call for artists.

If you are an artist in any medium we are asking that you apply to this call and become part of our project. It is an exciting opportunity to re-interpret public art through various mediums not restricted to sculpture. Pieces can be site or historically specific. This project is several years in the making which required hundreds of hours of coordination and planning as well as one pilot project in Joshua Creek. Thankyou Sibyl Rampen.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me directly.

I will be posting more after next week as I am buying a house and will have plenty to talk about.

Paul.

beginning of photos for show

images from the show

Memorial with installation material remains...

View from south end of gallery...

Working on the labels...

View from north end of gallery...

more to follow...

Day 8 and Day 9

Finished and Successful!

Tonight is the opening. Everything was finished on time. I will enter the space this evening, take some pictures and sit it just in case anyone comes in. There is no official opening but I will go prepared. I have met a great many people over the last week but one person has left a lasting impression. All in all though the experience of interacting with the public has been special. I have given two tours, one a small group of public school students. The second one today was very informal and was given to a large group of high school artists, they were taking painting and had done a number of artistic attractions that day already.

The show looks good. In total there are nine works plus a small memorial in one of the alcoves. I made all the labels and the didactic by hand. I enjoyed it actually and they are floating on a small piece of foam core. Charlie, the tech at the gallery helped me extensively. He set things up, did lighting and helped me hang the pieces. Whenever I needed something he was there to helpout. The front desk staff helped as well. I am extremely grateful to all those involved and even though their parts may seem small, it comes together as a whole. Pictures of the works will follow this evening.

I am leaving a guest book and info on how to contact me, I want to get as much feed back as possible. paul.

Day Six and Day 7

Spent the last two days working feverishly. Monday from 10am to 8pm. There were a few breaks but I managed to finish two large ones and start a medium sized one.

Today I managed to finish the medium and start another. To date that includes two portraits with landscapes, two large landscapes, a small, and two mediums. That leaves me with one last large landscape and two small ones.

There are also alcoves in between the boards and they are suggesting very temporary sculptures made from the materials that I used during the show. I'm not sure if this will be too “confusing” for the public but little notes might be a good idea so that people looking at it will understand. It will also give me the chance to work on something a little less finished or commercial. The space is essentially mine to do what I want with. I wonder how far they will let me go to do this.

I have come up with the idea for making small memorials. I'm not too sure if this is something that will work out but the materials that I made the work will could be manipulated to make this happen. I have images of these individuals and I can make it work with some careful construction.

Of course all this is just a thought.

There are only a few things left to do. A guest book, labels and a small didactic.

I also hung the first piece today. It looks a little rough but is quite nice on the wall. There were fears that perhaps the pieces would not stay on the wall or would curl too much but the smallest most problematic piece is hanging well with only a small amount of tweaking.

I have three days left and a few things to do but all in all I am on track. I will work on Wednesday for five or six hours and then again on Thursday. By then end of Thursday I should be completely done minus labels/didactic and guestbook.

Response from the public has been favourable. The common reaction to what I am trying to do is raising eyebrows or a smile. I like both reactions. There have been a few people who are fairly sceptical but I have invited them to come back and look on my progress. I will be hanging a couple of pieces tomorrow morning so that there is something to view.

I had one gentlemen walk out of the gallery this evening after everything closed, he seemed to be dissatisfied with the amount of interaction the “performance” promised. Normally I would explain that it is not customary for the artist to be available for discussions or to see the work in progress, but he left way before I got a chance to discuss this. It was an unfortunate event that I hope is not repeated. I have done quite a bit of work in public spaces spaces and it seems that every time I put myself in that position there is at least one person who is not satisfied with my project/work. I will accept this as my status quo.

Dec 4th and 5th

Day four and Day five 6:31pm…

I have been working for the last two days on and off. I managed to get some work done in the common room of the British hotel where I am staying. I made the smallest piece which was a good tester. Although I have made countless drawings in my lifetime and I have been through the process that I am using for these works in my head a hundred times it was necessary to make sure that all will go as planned.

It worked rather well, the end result being quite attractive, though a bit rough. It is the image of the boat that the family travelled on to get to Canada. This morning I went to St James where I am being allowed to use a board room. The location suits my purposes just fine as I just needed space to size and cut the drawings and begin working on the first layers. I managed to get the two portraits of my grandparents first layer finished and will draw them completely. With these two smaller ones done, and the ship that would make three out of a quite a few. The larger drawings will take a lot less time as it is not as detailed work. After the grandparents I am working on a drawing with the great grandparents. When this is done I can move on to the three large drawings. I believe that given one full day of work uninterrupted I can be finished the majority of the drawing by Tuesday night. This will give enough time to do labels and hang the works. The first drawings are laying quite flat, I have no worries that they will hang well on the wall and will only have to battle the natural curve of the paper from its original roll.

So far I am not feeling very stressed. I am more worried about the fact that the temperature is dropping in Malta and that there is no heating in the room. This of course is expected as it is a Maltese way of life. I bought thermal underwear in London, this would be forward thinking at its best, and quite possible easier on my bones.

I am happy with the way that things are going. If all goes well I should have time to relax and visit relatives after the opening and perhaps spend a few days in Gozo sightseeing or somewhere else. I hadn’t really thought past the creation of the work because it was all I could think about, so I have not planned anything. Though I imagine that there is something that I can do and it will come to me.

I will see about posting photos, still no card reader.

Friday December 3rd 8:43pm

I am currently sitting in the hotel restaurant and have just finished my meal… I read a lot, mostly of the late 19^th and 20^th century classics. A lot of these authors glamorized the living abroad travelling for work. I always thought it was a bit of a romanticized notion that it didn’t really happen in the way that they were describing.

Though sitting here and realizing that the last time I had a self directed time off from life in the fast lane was quite a long time ago. Even then, I had to rely on other people. This time though things are a little different. It’s all on my shoulders and I feel as though things are heading in the right direction. That being said, these were the new obstacles that I seem to have found this afternoon.

I have been told that the humidity will ruin the work. Well not so much ruin as make it un-viewable. Luckily I have already tried out a solution at the show in Humber from October. I hung the work and it kept it more or less straight but not perfect. I’m sure that I can get it perfect this time. I will be using rocks from the debris that scatters back alleys and construction zones in Valletta. The city is made out of the stuff and is constantly falling off, breaking and crumbling. The bottom of the drawings will have these weights. It is a literal metaphor for my connection to the land. I am reconnecting myself to this place through the creation of the works. Like everything else, one thing leads to the next, and to the next. When I create like this is brings out the ideas that help illustrate what I am doing as a whole. It is almost as if someone is reading the ideas back to me after it is done. I feel like this approach is now a part of my process.

The next hurdle is the holiday coming up mid week, it is a feast day and it happens on December 8^th 2010. I wasn’t aware of it and unless I looked at a Maltese calendar probably wouldn’t find out. I have to work around it unless the center is open. I have a feeling that it is.

The crew in the office and the staff are absolutely fantastic. They were a little hesitant but I think that they are reading my confidence and understand what I am trying to do. Essentially the project has begun. Even with the letter of invitation and the space being booked for me it would not happen if they didn’t extend their hand and share my vision if only a little. It is important for artists to have support, especially ones that are operating under my kind of practice which needs to feed off the moment as much as constant practice. The only way to be prolific is to work in the moment and plan for the future at the same time. So both must be acknowledged.

I have finally chosen the final images, I have worked out where the family is from, where the original farm was and exactly how everything took place. The photos that my mothers parents took are actually a very stable narrative. Shots at the family farm engagement pictures, pass port photos, child photos of two births in Malta (Victor, Joseph), pictures of the family being left behind, pictures with Soldiers at the barracks (where my Grandfather was stationed with the British and Maltese), a shot from the docks boarding the customs officials ferry to the ship and then the ship itself.