Part photography, part sculpture, and part collage – FOLD, SPINDLE, MANIPULATE showcases three related bodies of work by artist Karina Kraenzle beginning tonight at The Red Wall Gallery in Ottawa’s Byward Market.

The collection spans three years of production beginning in 2008 and shows Kraenzle’s formal and conceptual evolution of this line of inquiry. Each successive body of work conveys a different aspect of the artist’s critique of the relentless use and manipulation of images of women in popular culture and its ensuing psychic cost.

Using advertising as their source material, the techniques employed (a scanner for some images and a scalpel for others) operate at both physical and metaphorical levels to underline the powerful qualities of propaganda inherent in the carefully constructed image of “female”.

These re-presented pictures examine the fragile nature of both the subject and the viewer from their vantage point at the crossroads between photography and sculpture.

Vernissage: Friday,  Feb. 4 | 6 – 9pm
On View: February 4 – 28
Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm, Saturdays: 10am – 3pm

The Red Wall Gallery is located in SPAO at 168 Dalhousie, at the corner of Bruyère, in the Byward Market.

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Louis Helbig’s first exhibition of 2011 opens today at Exposure Gallery in Ottawa and the show,  Aerial Abstractions,  features all new work.

Aerial Abstractions runs from January 21 until March 15, with the vernissage today (Friday, Jan. 21) from 6 – 8pm.  Helbig will also do an artist talk Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 6:45 – 7:45pm

WHEN: January 21 – March 15
WHERE: Exposure Gallery (Second Floor Studio at Thyme and Again, 1255 Wellington St W, Ottawa)

Also, Beautiful Destruction: Aerial Photographs of the Alberta Tar Sands will show in Toronto in conjunction with the play Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show at Theatre Passe Muraille. The play and exhibition run February 3 – 26.

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Those of you in the GTA keen to see Philip Bloom during his limited engagement in Canada are in luck! He’s added a Toronto date to the roster – November 4, to be exact – so make sure you get your ticket now while they’re still available.

As it stands, the Nov. 2 date in Calgary has already sold out, the Nov. 3 date only has a few seats left, and Ottawa’s Nov. 5 date has room for only 5 more bodies!

Register NOW while you still can!

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 @10am | Vistek Calgary
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010 @10am | Vistek Toronto
Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 @10am | Vistek Ottawa

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This November, noted ProFusion 2010 Keynote Speaker Philip Bloom will be appearing, live & in person, at Vistek Calgary & Vistek Ottawa.

Vistek is honoured to welcome the world’s foremost authority on video DSLR technology and technique. Philip Bloom – acclaimed filmmaker, Director of Photography and Director – will be in Calgary for two days & Ottawa for one, to conduct his wildly popular interactive hands-on workshops. If you’re interested in video, this is a rare opportunity to get a close-up look at one of the industry’s most brilliant innovators in the field of HD-DSLRs.

Bloom’s workshops at ProFusion 2010 – the country’s largest video tradeshow – were sold out. Three months after the show and people are still talking about them.

So what are you waiting for? Now’s your chance to check it out for yourself!

Register today:

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 @ 10am | Vistek Calgary

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 @10am | Vistek Calgary

Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 @10am | Vistek Ottawa

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Ottawa’s School of the Photographic Arts part-time studies 2010 fall calendar is now available.

For more information and details about the courses and workshops visit the SPAO website, pick up a calendar at community centers, galleries, and retail locations around the city, or give them a call at 613-562-3824.

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Attention all PAST AND PRESENT part time students!

The time has come for the third annual contest and exhibition of selected images from SPAO’s continuing education community. If you have taken a part time course or workshop at SPAO, you are eligible to enter your work for a chance to have it shown in the Red Wall Gallery as well as displayed on the SPAO website.

Entries for Ottawa’s A+3 Show are being accepted in two categories:

• Silver Gelatin/Alternative Processes
• Digital Imagery

Submission Deadline: 5pm Friday, Aug. 6, 2010
Exhibition Dates: Sept. 10 – 18
Opening & Awards Ceremony: 6 – 9pm | Sept. 10, 2010
Get full submission details HERE.

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Secret Garden by Angelina McCormick is, on the surface, a collection of flower photographs spanning 5 years of obsessive imaging of dying and artificial flora. Assembled for the first time in the Red Wall Gallery, the resulting array of images is much more than a botanical collection.

This exhibition reveals how McCormick’s practice has evolved over time. The formal elements of her photographs have changed with each collection; passing through several film formats, camera types and production approaches to the most recent iconic 8” X 10” shot, large, clean images.

More significantly, the expressive content of her work has also evolved. Each successive grouping, although always of either real or artificial flora, conveys a different aspect of the artist’s search for self.

Early work tackles aging, sickness and also death as transformation. Images of this ultimate of changes from life to death are made by someone who describes herself as “ruined and living in both worlds”, and pose important questions about our perceptions of both states of being. McCormick’s Holga series is playful and made with deliberate misdirection. These photos of fake flowers cloak gallows humour in a seductive surface of candy colours and soft edges. The most recent works become larger and more iconic. Crisp and bright, they induce awe sometimes at odds with their unpretentious look at human relationships, personalities and archetypes.

Artist: Angelina McCormick
On View: June 18 – August 28, 2010 | Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm, Sat 10am – 3pm
Where: The Red Wall Gallery @ SPAO, 168 Dalhousie (at the corner of Bruyère, in the Byward Market)

For more info contact: 613.562.3824 or info@spao.ca

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Artist: Matthew Higgins
On View:  until March 30, 2010
Viewing hours: Mon. – Fri. 10:00 -18:00, Sat 10:00-15:00
Sundays and late evenings by appointment or by chance.

The Block by Matthew Higgins, documents in chilling detail, weapons made by the inmates of Kingston Penitentiary.

Born of a fascination with prison life, this scanographic collection takes a look into the darkest corner of life behind bars. Through access to Kingston Pen’s evidence room, Higgins has documented the knives, pipe bombs, zip guns, and shivs made by convicts in all their alarming and fascinating detail. Many of these weapons have remarkable stories and as a group tell a tale of determination, desperation, violence and chilling creativity.

Red Wall Gallery at SPAO 168 Dalhousie St. Ottawa
For more info contact: 613.562.3824 info@spao.ca

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1pm Session | Sony debuts the NXCAM
Presenter: Brian Young
A complete tutorial on the HXR-NX5U camera, including its functionality, workflow capabilities and position in the market.

Highlights include:

• High quality recording in AVCHD format at maximum bit rate of 24Mbps
• Full-raster 1920 x 1080
• SD/HD-SDI and HDMI outputs
• Built-in GPS and improved Steady Shot

Register for the 1pm Session>>

4pm Session | Refresher on the EX family
Presenter: Brian Young
Go in-depth on the new PMW-EX1R and the PMW-EX-3, including: Available firmware upgrades, New Pro Media options.

Who should attend:

Professional videographers and video producers looking to experience the latest Sony technology and upgrade their high definition capture.

Register for the 4pm Session>>
Event attendees will be able to take advantage of Special Event Pricing on select Sony Products.

Vistek Ottawa
499 Bank Street, Ottawa Ontario
Tel: 888-428-4466
Map Link »

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Session times have been confirmed & you can register now for the Dec. 2 Nikon D3s Product Launch at Vistek’s Ottawa store.

Vistek Ottawa
499 Bank Street, Ottawa Ontario
Tel: 888-428-4466
Map Link »

• Register for the 4pm session

• Register for the 6pm session

The Toronto event was a smash with standing room only at the afternoon session. So, if you’re in the Ottawa area, don’t miss out on this exciting event! Event details can be found here & here.

Standing room only at the Nov. 25 Nikon D3S Product Launch at Vistek in Toronto.

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