Lessons In Seeing, 1989

This series of eleven 48 x 48 inch, mixed-media works grew out of an earlier project, Dreams of Knowing. The drawing grounds, mimicking chalkboards, were constructed with cradled and tempered 1/4-inch thick hardboard. These grounds were then prepared with either black or white gesso or chalkboard green paint. The works were designed to resemble layers of lessons aimed at high-school students. I wanted to conflate actual teaching with the notion that conventional education is aimed at cultivating intellectual and political complacency instead of enlightened and cultured critical thinking.

The Lessons in Seeing works display layers of misinformation pertaining to typical teenage education subjects, such as religion, mathematics, sexuality and life-style. Bits of information from these subjects are presented as fact, though disinformation permeates the images and texts.

These drawings were produced in Toronto for a solo exhibition at the Peterborough Art Gallery in 1989. They have also been exhibited at the Oakville Galleries, the Woodstock Art Gallery, The Ann Tanenbaum School of Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the McPherson Gallery at the University of Victoria.

All but three of these drawings are in private collections in Ottawa and Victoria.