Art Metropole

29 Nov. 2008

Something, somewhat, somehow

Artist

Nestor Kruger

Art Metropole is thrilled to present a new publication: an exciting collaborative artist book entitled Something, somewhat, somehow. Please join us on November 29, 2008 at 1-3 PM to launch our newest publication and to meet the artists.

Something, somewhat, somehow is the result of a collaborative project between the undergraduate students in the Special Topics course in Sculpture ìThe Thing was Here: Fabricating Evidence of a Sculptural Experienceî at the University of Guelph held in the fall semester of 2008 with their instructor: Nestor Kruger.

The bookís initial direction and formal structure was presented by the instructor and the students provided the content, participated in the layout and supplied both the index and cover pages. The content originated out of a three-stage process:

1. To document a 3-dimensional found object through a 2-dimensional representation such as photography or drawing.

2. To write a 1-2 page description of the 2-dimensional representation of the 3-dimensional object.

3. To produce a 3-dimensional object based on the written description of the 2-dimensional representation of the 3-dimensional object.

During the process documents from steps 1 and 2 were exchanged between the students so that no one was responsible for writing or building a model based on their own 2-dimensional representation or written description.

The book is presented in the form of a catalogue and examines the complex relationship we have to objects. The catalogue functions as a typological display – such as field guides or archaeological texts – simply as a presentation of ephemera. The book also follows the long tradition of artist books that use basic formal conventions in book design to examine how we organize and present ideas: the book as legitimizing form; the book as formal document for an event or theory; the book as basic description and, finally, the book as a site of change and exchange.

The students/artists/writers for the book are:

Heather Carey Krista Commission Anthony Cooper Laura Dooreleyers Katie V. Green Brittany V. Hartley Julie Hunter Dylan Mannik-Zulinski Samuel Silversides Miles Stemp Brian Watson Donna Willard Alison Zuk

Nestor Krger’s studio practice consists of on-site painting installations that create on echo of the presentation space through strategies of mirroring and duplication; digital animations that superimpose an internal rhythmic structure with architectural models and simulated natural environments and recently a series of spatiotemporal sound works. His work has been exhibited nationally including the Power Plant, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery, the Contemporary Art Gallery and at Optica in Montreal and internationally, including Germany, Sweden, France, South Korea and in the United Arab Emirates. His work is represented by goodwater gallery in Toronto and can be found in a number of private and public collections. He teaches Drawing and ‘Media Convergence’.