Seascape gives eye relief amid city traffic

 

A shimmering vista of sea and lichen-covered rock greets users of the escalator in the new Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex, thanks to artist and teacher Holly King.

The large-scale photograph measures 4.1 by 3.5 metres, or roughly 13 by 11 feet. It is mounted on the wall facing the escalator from the lobby of the glass-walled building down to the metro level, and will be seen by many people every day.

The colourful seascape has the sheen of hyper-reality, and indeed, the artist made it herself. “In my studio, I build miniature landscapes with sculptural props and painted sky backdrops to make a fabricated world. These scenes are lit with powerful studio lights and then photographed.”

Thus she was amused, as she told the audience at the unveiling on May 18, to overhear two construction workers discussing the provenance of the work. “One, an older Italian man, said it was inspired by Tuscany, while the other said it was from Matane [Quebec].”

King is a native Montrealer. She began her career in Quebec City, where her performance art attracted notice, and earned her BFA in visual arts at Université Laval in 1979. She moved to Toronto, studying modern dance and art at York University, and acquiring an MFA. She worked with Laurie Anderson in the Toronto premiere of United States II (1981). Since the 1980s, she has lived and worked in Montreal.

Her commission for the new building came about through a competition among members of the Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association to celebrate the union’s 15th anniversary. CUPFA has about 1,000 members, and many CUPFA teachers in the Faculty of Fine Arts are, like King, successful artists.