MOCA Calgary at ContainR October 10-21, 2012

MOCA Calgary is delighted to coordinate a number of visual arts exhibitions for presentation at ContainR, Riverwalk, East Village; Calgary. Some of the components will be displayed in the unique environment of the idiosyncratic shipping containers that give the festival its namesake, while other components will alight to animate other venues throughout the festival site. MOCA Calgary has invited TRUCK to bring their CAMPER to present a series of art videos.  At the Simmons Building visitors will greet two exhibitions, Barbara Astman’s ironic multi-media installation: Dancing with Che: Enter Through the Gift Shop- Selected works 2011 plus Mexican Painter: Rolando Rojas. Derek Besant’s projects are located in adjacent ContainR structures.

What constitutes fame? Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevera is no less than infamous. Reviled by some as a ruthless murderer, on the other hand his image continues to be elevated to the status of pop culture icon. Astman extends the logic and creates a faux gift shop peddling all manners of Che memorabilia.

You are what you wear.

Rolando Rojas: Mexican Modernist

In cooperation with the Consulate of Mexico, we are pleased to present of paintings by renowned contemporary Mexican artist Rolando Rojas.

Born in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Rojas identifies with the culture of the Záa. The ancestors of the people of Tehuantepec, believed that they descended from mystical trees and animals such as lizards, fish, and turtles. Rojas’ work is inspired by the legends, stories, and myths that are passed down from generation to generation. This oral tradition created a non-verbal language, imagery from a sub-world of dreams, myth, and fantasy. In his colorful oil paintings, he portrays this mythical world and interweaves it with his present and childhood experiences.

Derek Besant: Fifteen Restless Nights – Image + Word + Sound Collaboration 

The installation of Fifteen Restless Nights includes sound and text as well as large-scale printed images by Derek Besant, an internationally acclaimed visual artist and art educator from Calgary. Massive digital photographs of rumpled motel-room beds created during Besant’s trip across the Trans -Canada Highway, reflect tales of isolation, hope and longing. The images create an aura of voyeurism, recording what Besant calls “metaphoric landscapes”. Besant has led a collaboration with a diverse, mostly Alberta-based project team that includes that includes composer Paul Connolly, the Bent Spoon Ensemble Jazz Trio, Governor General’s award-winning Diane Schoemperlen, and various readers in French and English. These performances complement Besant’s images and are autonomous works of art. MOCA Calgary Artistic Director, Jeffrey Spalding is an artist, author and curator. President, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (2007-2010), recipient of the Alberta College of Art and Design Board of Governors Award of Excellence (1992), awarded the Order of Canada (2007), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).