Terrance Houle Landscape #2 2007 C-print, 38" x 24".

The Dunlop Art Gallery presents:

Terrance Houle: GIVN'R

To August 28, 2012
Reception: Friday, August 24 at 7:00 pm, performance to follow at 8:00 pm

Give'r: (Verb) Canadian, particular to rural areas, especially in the Western provinces, meaning 1.) to work very hard. 2.) to get wasted and rock as hard as possible. 3.) To finish a job or task in an efficient and quick manner.

GIVN'R is a solo exhibition by interdisciplinary artist Terrance Houle, featuring a new installation alongside selected works from recent years.

Houle's newest work shown here is an installation inspired by his father's experiences. Houle's father spent the first part of his life on the Sandy Bay Reservation in Manitoba. Attending Residential School during the day, Vern Houle spent the rest of his time learning the traditions of the Salteaux (Ojibway) First Nations People. Joining the Canadian Armed Forces at a time when Aboriginal men were not predominant in the service, he traveled across Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, writing to his mother weekly. Offering insight into a young Native man's journey and relationship with his Ojibway mother, this work speaks of home, connection, place, and time.

Houle's examinations of identity, alienation, assimilation, and Hollywood stereotypes (not to be mistaken as autobiographical) are intended to provoke. His extensive body of work encompasses photography, painting, drawing, video, new media, performance and installation, often using tools of mass dissemination such as billboards and bus signage.

About the Artist:

Houle's artwork has been shown internationally. Involved with Aboriginal communities all his life, he has traveled to reservations across North America, participating in Powwow dancing and other Native ceremonies. He lives and maintains his art practice and Aboriginal Youth Mentorship in Calgary, Canada.

Exhibition and tour organized by Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg.
Curator: Anthony Kiendl

The exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, and Winnipeg Arts Council.

Contrary Collective (Ulysses Castellanos, Cathy Gordon, and Terrance Houle), Little Big Man Remix at Toronto Free Gallery, June 28, 2012. Pictured: Terrance Houle. Photo by Shandra Spears Bombay.

Special Performance:

The Contrary Collective (Ulysses Castellanos, Cathy Gordon, and Terrance Houle): Little Big Man Remix
Friday August 24 at 8:00 pm

Held in conjunction with GIVN'R, Houle joins collaborators Ulysses Castellanos and Cathy Gordon, remaking the 1970 Hollywood film Little Big Man into a new media performance. This piece examines the legacy of American colonialism, Hollywood stereotypes of First Nations and the figure of the traitor by making allusions to the historical chief Little Big Man and the fictitious Dustin Hoffman character of the same name.

Little Big Man Remix was developed in residency at The Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts (ANDPVA) at the invitation of ANDPVA Executive Director Wanda Nanibush, and made its debut in Toronto as part of ANDPVA's House of Wayward Sprits festival of indigenous performance.

About the Collective:

The Contrary Collective is comprised of Toronto artists Ulysses Castellanos and Cathy Gordon together with Calgary artist Terrance Houle. The collective's name refers to a social designation in Plains culture – a "Contrary" was a member of a tribal group whose behavior and mannerisms were deliberately opposite of others. The Contrary is related, in part, to the clown organizations and reverse warriors who were a part of traditional Plains societies. However, clowns' social role was ceremonial, and reverse warriors' contrarian efforts were restricted to the battlefield, while the Contrary's everyday life was lived in opposition to social norms. As an ad-hoc performance collective, Castellanos, Gordon, and Houle critique popular culture and history, creating narratives contrary to dominant discourse.

Dunlop Art Gallery
Regina Public Library Central, 2231-12th Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3Z5

Hours:
Monday through Thursday 9:30 am to 9:00 pm
Friday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 1:30 to 5:00 pm
Closed statutory holidays

http://dunlopartgallery.org

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Curtis Collins, Director
Tel.: 306.777.6045
Email: ccollins@reginalibrary.ca

The Dunlop Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskCulture, and Saskatchewan Lotteries.