Geologically Inspired Sculptures

Geo Forms, polyurethane, metallic paint, steal and interactive LED lights

At the Gulf of Georgia Cannery Historic site, in the middle of the space, the five geologically-inspired polystyrene sculptures were clustered with a projection of water rings shining downwards onto the forms and reverberating out onto the wooden floor planks of the Cannery.

Multi Channel Video – Stories

multi-channel video - imageThis multi channel video reflects the non-linear and artistic approach taken towards researching salmon, the ecological and economic catalyst of Canada’s West Coast region. It presents individual stories, and a collage of video excerpts culled from the interviews with Lleanna Clark, a reflexologist who worked as a cannery line worker at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in high school; Jim Hart, a Haida Gwaii carver; Gerald Worobetz, a chef, fishing guide and home economics teacher at a local high school; Jeff Mikus, a commercial fisherman and restaurant owner; Kathryn Ricketts, an interpretative dancer and educator; Dr. Anthony (Tony) Farrell, Professor of Biology at UBC; Una McPherson, Head Interpreter at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, who lived in cannery housing; Neil Jensen, a sports fisherman who worked on commercial fishing boats as a youth and grew up in Steveston; and Ben and Elli Answerth, young tourists from Australia. People of various cultural and professional backgrounds were sought out to create a complicated and kaleidoscopic view of the region.

Note: Videos will be added to this page soon.

Catch + Release, Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site

Installation View

Ruth Beer In Collaboration with Jim Budd & Kit Grauer

CATCH + RELEASE

Mapping Stories of Cultural and Geographic Transition

May 12-30, 2010

Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site

Steveston, BC, Canada

See images from the exhibition here

Read media release here

Disrupting Currents: Catch + Release, Vivo Media Arts Centre

Installation View

Ruth Beer
Disrupting Currents: Catch + Release
In Collaboration with Jim Budd and Kit Grauer

April 8- April 30 2010

VIVO Media Arts Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

See images from the exhibition here

Read media release here

 

Ruth Beer

Ruth Beer is a Professor in the Faculty of Visual Art and Material Practice at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is an artist and researcher who is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to these practices. Her work includes sculpture, photography, and digital new media to investigate ideas about social and cultural shifts related to marine environments and coastal communities. She has an extensive record of national and international exhibitions. She is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts and has completed several public sculpture commissions. Recently, as principal investigator, her work has focused on “Catch and Release: Mapping Stories of Geographic and Cultural Transitions”, as principal investigator of a project that is supported by a national SSHRC Research Creation in the Fine Arts Grant (2009-2013) to create artwork and exhibitions related to social history and fishing in collaboration with cultural and heritage museums.

Kit Grauer

Kit Grauer is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. She  is actively involved in art education organizations at the local, national, and international levels. Dr. Grauer’s interests include arts-based and image-based research, international issues in art education, teacher education, museum education, and art curriculum and instruction. She has given numerous presentations, in-service sessions, and keynote speeches in these areas. Her current research includes the use of artistic pedagogical strategies in both pre-service and in-service teacher education, museum education, and community-based new media education.

Jim Budd

Jim Budd is currently the Chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial Design. Until 2010, he was associate professor of industrial and interaction design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where he headed the Wearables and Interactive Products Lab. He has 15 years of academic and research leadership in human-centered, interactive product design, as well as two decades of corporate design experience. He has an extensive research and publication record and has received several design and teaching awards.