(Sunday, January 28, 2007)
- **The Fulcrum - February 1st, 2007**
SAW Gallery hosts offline space for Easel's online community
By Heather Robertson Fulcrum Contributor
AN OPTICAL ORGASM anyone? For some people, this may describe the world of visual arts, while for others it might sound a little intense. Intense is good though, and the words echoed through my mind as my eyes took in every piece of art at Easel Inside on Jan. 27. Pawel Dwulit and Mike St-Jean coordinated the event, combining Club SAW and the SAW Gallery to fuse contemporary art with musical talent, enabling artists and guests to intermingle throughout the evening.
Dwulit, an U of O student, and St-Jean, from Carleton University, are the creators of the online community known as Easel—created in 2004, although officially online in 2005—which St-Jean loosely compares to eBay: its specialty is in promoting and selling original works of art. As an e-commerce tool, it’s used to market artists and give them the control to generate sales of their work. Needless to say, more money means more productivity. In this case, more productivity means more art, and helps expand the online community.
Shortly after the evening started, people were scattered throughout the gallery. In the back corner, a table representing Amnesty International was festooned with pamphlets and brochures. Easel supports the organization and donated a portion of the night’s proceeds to the advocacy group.
Stefan Thompson’s work received a lot of attention, with its bright colours and skewed representation of animals. To add to the casual atmosphere, Thompson and his friend Daser—two among many artists present—toiled on another pending project. This served as a gateway into the process of art-making, especially for those of us who overlook the immense amount of time and precision that goes into each piece. When asked about his work and its focus on animals, Thompson replied, “They’re less complicated, you know?”
Thompson appreciates the sciences and the natural environment for its simplicity and predictability. His work joins fantasy and reality with impressive detail. This is not to say that the other showcases were substandard. In fact, each contribution had its own unique quality. Be it the geometric canvas abstracts by Daser, the photography of Jason Chiu, or the Impressionist-style pieces by Eva Lewarne that obscure form and figure to penetrate consciousness. Dwulit also contributed several photographs.
While hip-hop artist DJ Memetic took a break, St-Jean discussed Easel’s development over the years, as well as his own personal motivations behind the project. He further expressed his intent to “bring together intellectual explorers and an expressive community that likes to have a good time with great music”. As we both glanced around, it was apparent that his goal that night was achieved.
Check out the Easel website for upcoming events—ocular orgasms not guaranteed.
Pawel Dwulit volunteers for the Fulcrum as a photographer and sits on the Board of Directors of the Fulcrum Publishing Society. Jason Chiu is the art director for the Fulcrum.
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