Gordon Bland ALLEGORIES Meditations on Religion and Society

In this series of acrylic paintings, I explore the allegorical potential of geometric forms, using intense colour and varied texture, playing with balance and imbalance to suggest meaning. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato argued that the world that we experience is illusory and impermanent, yet reflects eternal and unchanging Truths, which he called “Forms” or Ideas (eidos). For Plato, the world we perceive “participates” in these Truths, even though their expression may be varied or even hidden. Religion and myth, science and philosophy, literature and art have all sought to tell stories of our past, present and future. What we accept as Truth about ourselves relies on our interpretations of such stories. To what extent would the “Truths” portrayed in an abstract, or highly symbolic, painting be interpreted similarly by different viewers? Would viewers accept such abstractions as a recognizable allegorical reference? How would the viewer’s own beliefs inform an interpretation of the painting? These are questions that the series “Allegories” seeks to pose and, perhaps, to answer. For want of a better term, I am referring to the illustrative style I have used in this series of paintings as narrative abstraction. An essential aspect of the series is the interpretation that the viewer brings. I want to explore this by having response sheets available to viewers where their thoughts and/or emotional reactions can be recorded and submitted to the gallery and artist, so that the dialogue is not entirely one way (artist to viewer), but two-way. Ultimately, these responses will be included as part of the show. Gordon Frederick Bland is a North Battleford artist. He was born in Regina, moved with his family to Prince Albert, and attended the University of Saskatchewan, where he obtained degrees in Political Science and Education. He taught in Prince Albert for 30 years. Interested in art for as long as he can remember, Gordon has attended workshops by many wonderful tutors, including Kevin Quinlan, Myles McDonald, Degan Lindner, Donna Kreikle and George Glenn. He has acted, designed sets and directed plays for amateur theatrre groups in Prince Albert, Melfort and North Battleford, as well as designed sets for two plays for Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon.