Days and Vision: an appreciation of George Wallace, his art and his life
by Robert Clark Yates
Canadian artist George Burton Wallace is known primarily for his splendid sculptures and graphics. He was born in Ireland in 1920, came to Canada in 1957 and taught art at McMaster University in Hamilton from 1960 until 1985. He retired to Victoria, B.C. where he died in 2009.
Robert Clark Yates & George Burton Wallace
I HAVE HAD CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY finding a way to begin what you are now reading. I could talk about George Wallace in impersonal and truthful terms as a significant Canadian artist whose sculptures should be recognized as work of national importance, even though they seem to have escaped notice of those who determine who should be mentioned in the official art story of Canada. Or I could simply talk of Professor Wallace as an outstanding teacher and public speaker who for 25 years worked in the Department of Fine Arts at McMaster University. Almost everyone who is currently involved in the production of visual arts in the Hamilton region is aware of his influence on several generations of up-and-coming artists during his time at McMaster. Directly or indirectly his presence can still be felt in the local art scene 25 years after he retired and moved from Hamilton to Victoria. Finally, and most personally satisfying, I can tell you some of my memories of Geo Wallace as a friend.
As you can see, this essay has begun so I guess you could say my problems with how to begin have been overcome. I hope what follows will be an appropriate appreciation of George Wallace, his art and his life. If you are interested in Canadian art, it sure wouldn't hurt for you to know something about him and you really should become familiar with his work. I know his sculptures and prints deserve a more scholarly presentation and discussion, but that will have to be at another time elsewhere. I'm going to ramble on here in an informal manner and interweave facts, memories, speculations and daydreams as they occur to me.
YOU HAVE JUST HEARD ME MAKE THE CLAIM that George Wallace is an important Canadian artist. Certainly his work is far more deserving of a place in our National Gallery than, say, the Brillo soap boxes of Andy Warhol. I know there are those who would reject any recognition of excellence that has not been accepted by the establishment mainstream as being merely a Philistine’s reactionary matter of opinion. This cannot be helped. My only qualification in this matter is that I am approaching the age where I can pretty accurately be referred to as "an old fart" (a happy and irreverent phrase used by Wallace to mock himself in one of the later exhibitions of his work). I have spent most of my life looking at art, making art and thinking about art. This considerable accomplishment has unsurprisingly led to neither fame nor fortune nor a position of recognized wisdom and authority. Be that as it may, I have acquired a deep sense of how extremely important an activity art is. It is profoundly important for all of us — especially in these dark days when there seems to be no need for it. We as a society and civilisation will be remembered by the artistic production of our time. It reflects our activities, what we think is important and the environment we have chosen to make for ourselves. But I am telling you nothing new in saying that art is no longer a priority. Surely we can all sense our collective goals and social purpose have been monopolized by business interests, money, automobiles and uncontrollable free-fall advances in technology. Instead of providing the essential framework for our lives together, the humanities have been relegated to being merely a personal hobby of little consequence. And almost in spite of itself, a Brillo soapbox in our national collection of art may provide the valuable service of allowing us to see how trivial our collective concerns can be. Here is art presented to us by experts marching obediently to the incessant drum-roll of celebrity and wads of money. Most people are simply not interested. And who can blame them?
Although George Wallace may not have come to the attention of the most influential gate-keepers of the Canadian art establishment, his work is "established" because each of his sculptures radiates an independence that says it really belongs here, no strings attached. It is of a genre of human creation that is permanent because it is so strongly in sync with the human condition. It addresses the heart and soul of what concerns us individually when we face the Great Mystery that is being alive, our lone nakedness in the face of the universe and our having come to be. Not just those schooled in fine arts but Everyman can see it. It is not superficial. It is charged with a mood and feeling that make it part of something that has always been. With Wallace's work you cannot be forced into the way of looking at art that longs for the "always new" or "the latest fad" or the voice of the future that is divorced from our heritage. His use of Biblical and classical mythologies and stories make his work untouchable by capitalistic notions of commodities and advertisements. He has placed his work on a sure footing but it is on a path that is walked increasingly less often these days. He is, let us say, off the beaten track, which is, let us also say, the only sane position to be in when the beaten path is one of exploitation, pollution, inhumanity, greed and excess.
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[Distillate © HA&L + Robert Clark Yates | {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life. | George Wallace: Portfolio]. This article is sponsored by Wolsak & Wynn, acknowledged with thanks by the Editor and Samizdat Press.] |
