Library Panels

Derek Besant: A Loss for Words
On display until September 28, 2010

Derek Besant is an accomplished interdisciplinary artist who has produced compelling art since the early 1970s. He is a leader among Alberta-based contemporary artists in presenting sophisticated exhibitions to audiences throughout the world. He has influenced and mentored many young artists through his position as a long-standing faculty member of ACAD in Calgary and as a visiting lecturer internationally.

A Loss for Words is inspired by Besant's passion for comic book artists, metal-plate engravers and illustrators of elementary grammar school books, who render line expertly. The series also reflects his ongoing interest in botany, ornithology, human anatomy (which he has taught for over 30 years), architecture, and illustrated technical manuals.

Besant notices small details in nature and life, perhaps aided by his early training as a geophysicist (his first career path). He comments on the passage of time and constructs meaning through a cast of characters such as the welder, carpenter, magician's assistant and suburbanite. They mysteriously appear in a variety of situations – fragmented and interpreted by their relationship to aspects of nature, manufactured objects and various interior settings.

Philosopher Richard Kearney says, "Humanity is immersed in stories woven for us by us. The past is given a future through our stories." A Loss for Words gives people the power to construct their own narratives. Each artwork in this exhibition is divided into five or six sections resembling a film strip or storyboard. The exquisite hand drawn images that occupy each cell vary in size and tonal frequency to subtly move objects and scenes forward or backward in space. Phrases below each image can be read sequentially or matched with other cells in the exhibition. Mysterious, playful and poetic connections abound.

This exhibition will be on display at Red Deer College Library until September 30, 2010. We welcome your visit to this educational and entertaining exhibition.

Derek Besant: A Loss for Words is a touring exhibition developed by the Alberta Society of Artists for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. The AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is financially supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

For more information about art in the Library, contact Anne Marie Watson at 403.342.3402 or via email at annemarie.watson@rdc.ab.ca.