Gun Sculpture
Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta
In 1995, Sandra Bromley and Wallis Kendal embarked on a five-year quest to produce the monumental Gun Sculpture. Seeking donations from around the world, the two Alberta artists acquired guns from across North and Central America, and from as far as South Africa, Ireland and South Korea.
Ultimately they collected and deactivated over 7000 guns. These weapons were then welded together into 14 panels that make up a massive dark cube measuring 8’ tall, 12’ long and 8’ wide, and weighing almost 20,000 lbs. The walls of this sculpture are comprised of handguns, rifles, semi- and fully automatic weapons, landmines, grenades, rocket launchers and bullets.
The sculpture is accompanied by photographs of individuals who are victims of and, in some cases, survivors of gun violence, and a space for visitors to reflect on and react to the Gun Sculpture. This artwork demands our attention and makes a clear statement about the impact of guns and their proliferation throughout the globe.
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Glenbow Museum began with the remarkable vision of petroleum entrepreneur and lawyer Eric Lafferty Harvie. Mr. Harvie came into his fortune when oil was discovered on the land to which he held the mineral rights to, with the discovery in Leduc in 1947 and in Redwater in 1949. With this prosperity, he decided to pursue his favourite passion — collecting — and simultaneously return some of his good fortune back to the region that had been so generous to him. Mr. Harvie's goal was to collect the objects representing the history and culture of Western Canada as well as from around the world.
Eric Harvie began collecting material relating to the history of Western Canada in the 1950s, developing an extensive collection of artifacts from North America that tell the fascinating story of Aboriginal peoples, frontier exploration, and the development of western Life. He built on these North American collections with extraordinary artifacts and art from Asia, West Africa, South America, and islands in the Pacific, eventually amassing a huge museum collection. Establishing the Glenbow Foundation in 1954, Mr. Harvie's collection became an eclectic blend of western history and international art and artifacts.
In 1966, Eric Harvie and his family donated his impressive collection of art, artifacts, and historical documents to the people of Alberta. Today, Glenbow Museum is one of the most entrepreneurial museums in Canada, playing an essential role in defining Western Canadian culture. Glenbow also continues Eric Harvie's vision to be "Where the World Meets the West," inviting visitors to explore three major special exhibitions annually, and an eclectic range of permanent galleries featuring significant Western Canadian and international collections.
Glenbow's vision is for more people to experience art and culture more often. In February of 2014, Glenbow announced its new direction - to provide visitors with a new kind of art museum experience. Glenbow showcases world-renowned travelling and permanent exhibitions that are meaningful to many diverse groups in our community, boasts the largest art collection in Western Canada and provides access and care to our collections.
Glenbow also tells the story of Southern Alberta and the West to thousands of visitors to our city each year through permanent exhibitions on our third floor.
Last year, 120,000 guests passed through Glenbow's doors, including more than 63,000 school children who took part in our School Programs and Chevron Museum School. Glenbow's Library and Archives is Canada's largest non-governmental archival repository. It is a major research centre for historians, writers, students, genealogists, filmmakers and media.
The Glenbow Shop offers visitors a unique retail experience while providing a viable revenue stream for the institution. Glenbow also serves as a rental facility for many corporate and private functions, offering a 210-seat theatre, meeting rooms and three gallery floors as event space.
Glenbow is a member-based, not-for-profit, non-governmental arts and culture organization located in the heart of Calgary's cultural district.
Lonely Planet Review
For a town with such a short history, Calgary does a fine job in telling it at the commendable Glenbow Museum that traces the legacy of Calgary and Alberta both pre- and post-oil. Contemporary art exhibitions and stunning artifacts dating back centuries fill its halls and galleries. With an extensive permanent collection and an ever-changing array of traveling exhibitions, there is always something for the history buff, art lover and pop culture fanatic to ponder. The best museum in the province - hands down.
Reproduced with permission from the Lonely Planet website www.lonelyplanet.com © 2014 Lonely Planet
fonte: @edisonmariotti #edisonmariotti http://www.glenbow.org/
colaboração: Ilana Sunderland
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