Thomas Kneubühler was born in Solothurn, Switzerland. However, he has been living in Canada as from 2000. Thomas completed a Master's degree in Studio Arts in 2003 at Concordia University, Montréal. His works often focus on social issues and the effect of technology to people's lives. He has had his work showcased in many exhibitions in Europe and North America. The most recent was at the Québec Triennial 2011 at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Thomas is a photographer whose works often focus on various dimensions of daily modern living. He works at sensitizing the changes that are present due to technological changes.
One instance of his work, Under Currents, from his talk is the Hydroelectric Installation Plant in Northern Quebec. These pictures he says he took from the power plant that was being commissioned in Quebec. From his talk, he shows us various things this modern phenomenon is affecting the lives of people in this region. He thus took pictures of the disruptions in the environment due to the plant like landslides. He shows how people in the region are being shifted from one place to the other.
He took pictures of the nomadic people of the region and their disrupted way of life due to this installation. He also took videos of the activities of the workers who have become nomadic. They are taken to the place of work and then shifted back to places they reside. We see that Thomas is an artist who tries to show the world the effects of various installations affect the native populations, how they change landscapes and the way of life of a people.
Gary Spearin
The other analysis will look at the artist Gary Spearin. Gary Spearin is one of the celebrate artists in Canada. His exposure to a different audience even extended outside Canada and gained ground in the United States and the United Kingdom (Edward Day Gallery). These exhibitions have managed to hone the stylistic preference of Spearin in adhering to abstract concepts and focus on the actual art of painting. Although, it must be noted that Spearin has also experimented with several mediums and materials in some of his presentations.
The production of his works is conducive to artistic growth, as it primarily showcase the artist’s painting techniques and his works greatly complements his aesthetic growth. Spearin speaks about his general direction in the arts as translating invisible concepts into visible products. Likewise, he also responds to visible materials that connote intangible ideas and concepts. In this manner, the artist projects abstract concepts in his composition through the subjective inclusion of space-like illustration of galaxies and other galactic presentation. Oftentimes the abstract technique confuses the viewer in incorporating them into a realistic point of view.
He says that it is important to recognize the contribution of the arts to the society. Firstly, it is a form of manifestation of the human’s intellectual evolution. The journey of art history has transpired from basic representation of the physical environment to an intricate display of precision with the appropriate incorporation of space and light behavior.
The contribution of Spearin to the community has led to the importance of abstract interpretation and its effect on viewers with their concentration to the material choice and technique of the artist. The integrity of art has been preserved through the evolution of ideas and teaching the viewers to respond positively to this kind of art manifestation. In such way, the importance of interpreting invisible subjects through visible medium requires advance cognition not only for the artist but also to the viewers.
References
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Patrickmikhailgallery.com,. (2014). THOMAS KNEUBÜHLER - Artists - PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY. Retrieved 2 December 2014, from http://www.patrickmikhailgallery.com/artists/thomas-kneubuhler
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