Landscape of Moving Images documents artist’s work and independent film histories from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Covering a range of topics from individual artistic practices to the institutional histories of artist-run centres and queer film festivals, this publication assembles some of the perspectives and histories that give shape to prairie media arts. As stories that usually exist ephemerally and are rarely written about within a critical lens, this text aims to archive and expand the discussion about how environments and moving images shape one another in the diverse landscapes of the Canadian prairies.
EXCERPT:
Through the sheer cliffs of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling foothills, the grassy plains, and the rocky lakeshores of the prairies, landscape shapes identity. As with many places, the prairies are made up of life-long residents who have multi-generational roots in the place and newcomers who call Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba home. Either way, the isolating distance, often-harsh climate, and lack (or erasure) of visible long-term history means that residents often have to make a choice to love the place. There are few ready-made connections; it requires ongoing labour, and this has meant that many prairie residents feel deep investment in the landscape—even while they may feel hostile towards it at the same time. These complicated sentiments come across in the work of artists who produce work in Canada’s prairie region, as they record alternate histories, mythologize known-narratives, and envision potential futures.
Edited by Melanie Wilmink & Solomon Nagler
Artist projects by: Mike Maryniuk + Lindsay McIntyre + Dianne Ouellette + Rhayne Vermette
Essays by: Vicki Van Chau + Hannah Godfrey + Peter Hemminger + Jonathan Petrychyn + Alexander Rogalski + Daina Warren + Janine Windolph
Produced with the support of WNDX Festival of Moving Image & the Canada Council for the Arts