Culture at WLU

With the goal of stimulating
appreciation, enjoyment
and knowledge of
Canadian art and culture,
the Robert Langen Art Gallery
re-opens on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and
will be offering four new exhibits this
school year.

Funded mainly by the university,
the Langen Gallery, which was established
in 1989, features Canadian artists
working in a variety of disciplines
and techniques.

According to the gallery’s curator
Suzanne Luke, this year’s four exhibits
will include sculpture, photography,
video and a mixed media installation.

With the goal of making the gallery’s
art connect with student life,
each exhibition will relate to a specific
course being taught at the university,
including those in the music, history,
communication studies and women’s
studies fields; as well, each artist
will be required to give a lecture
at the class associated with his or her
exhibition.

“This is a better way of connecting
the gallery to the whole campus,” said
Luke.

“We’re accessing a whole range of
different students on campus and giving
them the opportunity to come to
the gallery and experience visual arts,”
she continued.

Luke explained that the Langen
Gallery plays a key role for all students
by allowing them to investigate avenues
that they wouldn’t normally.

Often people find themselves intimidated
by the complex nature of art
when they walk into a community gallery,
Luke said, adding that the Langen
Gallery provides an opportunity for
students to become acquainted with
art on campus.

“When we have these new installations,
it gives students a new appreciation
for art and helps break down
those barriers and allow them to explore
other exhibition venues in the
community,” she added.

“It gives students the opportunity
for new experiences and that’s the basis
of a well-rounded education.”

Currently on display

Marla Hlady’s Playing Piano is being
showcased in the first exhibition of the
year. Running from Sept. 16 to Oct. 24,
Hlady’s kinetic sculptures relate to a
music composition course.

A professor at the University of
Toronto, Hlady’s work has been displayed
internationally since 1990.
Playing Piano has been showcased in
throughout Canada for the past year.

Nothing like a classic art exhibition,
Playing Piano features a piano that
has been restructured and modified to
explore the mechanics of sound, and
examine how we listen to and experience
our environment.

Hlady has customized the piano to
present its interior functions – it has
been turned inside out, with the meat
and bones of the piano on display. The
reel has been relocated to the top of
the piano, where a system of tubing
and wires has been attached.

The tubing and wires, along with
an old piano roll and microprocessorcontrolled
machines allow the piano
to generate its own sound. Marla has
engineered the piano to play a composition
that she has modified.

“I’ll never give away what the piece
is before opening,” said Hlady, encouraging
students to come see and
listen to the piano themselves.
-With files from Rebecca Vasluianu

The series “Culture at WLU” will continue
for the next two weeks, exploring different
avenues for the arts on campus.

Exhibits

Sept. 16 – Oct. 24
Marla Hlady: Playing Piano
Kinetic sculpture

Oct. 28 – Dec. 5
Jeff Thomas: VERSO
Photography

Jan. 6 – Feb. 13
Ed Pien: From Thin Air
Video installation

Feb. 24 – Apr. 3
Janet Morton: Hive
Mixed media

The Robert Langen Art Gallery
is located on the first floor of
the John Aird Centre. Admission
is free and the gallery is open
Wednesday to Saturday from
noon until 5 p.m.