Synopses & Reviews
Eric Cameron is a conceptual and process artist of international stature who has influenced many contemporary artists throughout his fifty years of inspired teaching and unusual art. This is the first book written critically and comprehensively about his work. Editor Ann Davis joins three respected and renowned art scholarsPeggy Gale, Diana Nemiroff and Thierry de Duveto critically assess Cameron's work in all its glory and considerable enigma. This includes his early work, his perceptive writings, his videos, and his Thick Paintingsin which the artist coats objects with thousands of layers of gesso, transforming them into something else entirely.
Synopsis
Eric Cameron is a major contemporary Canadian artist. Born in 1935 in Leicester, England, he arrived in Canada in the 1970s and has taught at the University of Guelph, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and at the University of Calgary. Over the years Cameron has also continued to work in his primary medium, painting, but moved from traditional figuration to a highly conceptual practice with both his process paintings and his "thick" paintings. He has also expanded into video and has written a great deal about his work. His inspired teaching and unusual art have been recognized with major awards, including the Victor Lynch-Staunton Award (1993), the Gershorn Iskowitz Prize (1994), and the Governor General's Award (2004). Despite Cameron's prominence, much of the writing about him to date, primarily essays in exhibition catalogues, is by the artist himself. Cover and Uncover thus makes a major contribution to the field as it explores in depth Eric Cameron's art and philosophy. The book is composed of four essays, each covering a different aspect of Cameron's art, starting with Peggy Gale's analysis of his writing, then turning to Ann Davis's consideration of his process paintings and his philosophy, moving to Diana Nemiroff's review of his videos, and concluding with Thierry de Duve's observations on his Thick Paintings and his blind rejection of chance. The essays, though written independently, resonate with each other so that the reader comes away with a full picture of a complex artist, his life, his thought, his art production, and how these elements inform each other and have evolved through time. The expert commentary here, richly illustrated with Cameron's works in multiple media, provides a vital and long overdue critical lens through which to view this important artist. With Contributions By: Ann Davis Thierry de Duve Peggy Gale Diana Nemiroff
Synopsis
A painter, writer, and teacher, Eric Cameron is a major contemporary Canadian artist. Born in Leicester, England in 1935, he arrived in Canada in the 1970s and quickly became established, teaching at the University of Guelph, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and the University of Calgary while continuing to work in painting, his primary medium.
Over the course of a distinguished career, Cameron moved from traditional figuration to a highly conceptual practice, both with his process paintings and "thick" paintings, expanded into video, and wrote a great deal about his work. His inspired teaching and unusual artwork has been recognized with major awards, including the Victor Lynch-Staunton Award, the Gershorn Iskowitz Prize, and the Governor General's Award.
Cover and Uncover explores Eric Cameron's art and philosophy with a series of interconnected essays that create a full picture of a complex artist. This expert commentary, richly illustrated with reproductions of Cameron's works in multiple media, provides a vital and long-overdue critical lens through which to view this fascinating artist, his life, his thought, his art production, and how these elements inform each other and evolve over time.
About the Author
Ann Davis is Director of The Nickle Arts Museum at the Unviersity of Calgary and a prominent art critic, curator, and teacher.