ESTEVAN - The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) has a couple of new exhibits from Saskatchewan artists.
Keith Moulding’s Crowd Control is in Gallery No. 1, and Frank and Victor Cicansky’s Keep on Going is at Gallery No. 2.
Crowd Control features a collection of Moulding’s large, black and white photos of crowds taken from 1985-1989 at three different events: Buffalo Days (now known as the Queen City Ex.), the Craven Country Jamboree (now named Country Thunder) and Agribition.
“He is an artist, but most of his career was actually a photojournalist,” said Amber Andersen, the curator-director at the EAGM. “As he was at these events documenting them, he was also participating as an artist, capturing candid moments of people.”
He used a variety of cameras for those photos.
Andersen marvels that Moulding took the pictures using film cameras rather than modern digital technology.
“That idea of capturing the spirit of something, pre-digital, and getting these results, is really engaging,” she said.
Moulding plays with scale and size, as he printed the photos quite large, and he captures the details in those crowds.
When someone looks at the photos, they can evaluate how much some things have changed, while others have remained the same.
Moulding was supposed to be at the EAGM last year, but was rescheduled, like many other artists, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cicanskys' Keep on Going features paintings, sculptures and craft objects of the late folk artist Frank Cicansky, along with the ceramics and sculptural work of his son Victor Cicansky.
Jennifer McRorie, who curated the exhibit, said the presentation of these artists’ works together offers an opportunity to consider the shared values, creative drives and narratives of memory, place and origin that inform both of their artistic practices.
“Together these works reflect a sincere and compelling response to place, offering immigrant narratives of first and second generation settler Canadians in southern Saskatchewan, while also exploring the influential connections between our province’s folk art and funk art genres,” she wrote.
“Keep on going” was a common phrase of Frank Cicansky. It spoke of his sheer determination to persevere through life’s many challenges. This determination, combined with a strong work ethic, a love for making things and for craftsmanship and a deep connection to the land, were values that he passed on to his children, McRorie said.
The exhibits highlight different moments in Saskatchewan history, Andersen said, and they explore themes of this province.
Both exhibits will remain until Jan. 21, 2022.
