{"id":26280,"date":"2014-11-25T18:38:54","date_gmt":"2014-11-25T23:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=26280"},"modified":"2014-12-20T14:15:30","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T19:15:30","slug":"carol-wainio-dropped-from-the-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=26280","title":{"rendered":"Carol Wainio: Dropped from the Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Carol Wainio in fron of her painting, Weather Events,<\/em>\u00a0at the Opening Reception on\u00a0November 14, 2014<\/p>\n

Dropped from the Calendar<\/em> is a series of generally large-scale acrylic paintings where Carol Wainio successfully manages to combine several themes and motifs.\u00a0First and foremost, the style itself is heavily inspired by 19th century works of literature, such as the fables by the Grimm Brothers, and literary criticisms from writers like Charles Baudelaire and namely Walter Benjamin.\u00a0One of her many chosen quotes by Benjamin includes:<\/p>\n

Where there is experience\u2026certain contents of the individual past combine in the memory with material from the collective past\u201d. \u201cRituals, with their ceremonies and their festivals\u2026kept producing the amalgamation of these two elements of memory over and over again. They triggered recollection at certain times and remained available to memory throughout people\u2019s lives.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Carol Wainio, Les Cailloux Blancs<\/em>, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 120 inches<\/p>\n

Benjamin\u2019s writings emerged during the Industrial Revolution, where the development of new technologies consequently hastened people\u2019s lives, requiring an individual\u2019s constant anticipation and awareness of their surroundings.\u00a0The introduction of machines allowed for unyielding productivity and relentless manufacturing of newer and newer products, essentially desensitizing and \u201cdisenchanting\u201d the individual.\u00a0Those whimsical stories of old lost their emotional impact once modern society provided endless amounts of distractions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Carol Wainio, Lost<\/em>, 2014, acrylic on canvas , 78 x 60 inches<\/p>\n

Fairy tales were among those most affected by the societal shift into the Industrial Age.\u00a0Corporate entities and advertising agencies used iconic characters like Puss n\u2019 Boots and Hansel and Gretel to appeal to the naivet\u00e9 of younger audiences and to the nostalgia of the older generation. Ironically, stories that primarily emphasized scarcity through the humble and desperate lifestyle of the protagonist(s), like Hansel and Gretel, were now associated with excessive consumerism.\u00a0As such, dynamic cultural shifts have occurred rapidly over the recent century, causing traditional human patterns to have a more outward impact, particularly towards the physical environment.\u00a0This is why many of her paintings feature discarded trash and erupting oil derricks; with new behaviours comes a necessity for new generational responsibilities.\u00a0Childishly-rendered representations of oil wells and the four seasons that are prominently featured in several of the paintings also demonstrate how recently-developed cultural attitudes revolving around excessive lifestyles become ingrained at a very early age, as would whimsical fairy-tales in earlier centuries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Carol, Wainio, One Evening<\/em>, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 120 inches<\/p>\n

Wainio\u2019s paintings are often incredibly large in physical size, as are the decrepit landscapes that she masterfully depicts.\u00a0Her paintings are rich with imagery corresponding with 19th century traditions in both literature and art: the Victorian patterns often seen in the contemporary textiles and fashion now adorning the birds, the solid-lined crosshatched illustrations such as those found in the children\u2019s books and cartoons, and the visual cues from the Grimm fairy-tales or other such literature.\u00a0However, contrasting the lavishness of the earlier 19th century, the colors remain faded and muddy while the introduction of unfamiliar subject matter (i.e. cars, tires, etc.) as well as completely abstractive brushstrokes surround the only identifiable figures, thus eliciting a sense of deterioration of the landscape.\u00a0In the work entitled One Evening<\/em> in particular, she retains the decaying landscape but replaces the intricate Victorian patterns and depictions of children with traditional introductory phrases from the century, most emphatically \u201cone evening in the month of\u2026\u201d that is clearly visible in the centre of the work.\u00a0Though it is slightly different from the others, it still holds the same themes of developing cultural attitudes attributing to the human ecological impact.\u00a0 It is through the broad juxtaposition of the dystopian landscapes and the gentle innocent presence of children that allow Wainio\u2019s pieces to convey such robust emotional connotations that is unique to her artistic style.<\/p>\n

Text and photo: Simon Termine<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: November 14, 2014 – January 10, 2015,\u00a0\u00a0Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed \u2013 Sat, 11 \u2013 5 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Simon Termine<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is through the broad juxtaposition of the dystopian landscapes and the gentle innocent presence of children that allow Wainio\u2019s pieces to convey such robust emotional connotations that is unique to her artistic style.<\/p>\n

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