Class Pictures
Afterimage, Sept. 1989, v. 17, no. 2, pp. 4-5
Three festivals concerning the relationship of art and labour occur simultaneously: The Great Labour Arts Exchange in Washington, DC and the concurrent Vancouver and Toronto Mayworks festival. For one week working artists, unions and labourers collaborate or work by themselves on producing a series of works addressing issues surrounding unions, (un)employment, homelessness, class-based societies and working communities. These works are displayed both in and outside of gallery settings, allowing the middleclass to view the work outside of the pretense created by the art world. A wide range of mediums are employed, from photography to performance-based art. As much as an opportunity to raise awareness within the community of artists and workers, Mayworks serves as an opportunity for artists and workers to find common interests and goals in each other's work.
ITEM 1989.082 – available for viewing in the Research Centre
Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited
Working Pictures – Carole Conde
Working Pictures – Karl Beveridge
This Dud's For You – Brian Davies
Installing The Bowery, St. James Park, Toronto – Vince Pietropaolo
Good Medicine – Parachute Club
Post Script – Parachute Club
De-Industrial Strength Soap – Glen Richards
De-Industrial Strength Soap – Ground Zero
Re:Connections – Ground Zero
Parkdale Works – David Smiley
Workers' Own – Louise Matchett
Carrying The Calf – Shirley Barrie
Dry Lips Ought to Move to Kapuskasing – Tomson Highway
In The Neighborhood of My Heart – Don Bouzek