Lucas Glenn Co.'s “OK Cariboo” looks at industry and environment
KELOWNA (CUP) - For
Lucas Glenn, the medium is the
message.
A conceptual artist by his own definition, Glenn uses his installation art to comment on the deep historical roots, as well as the environmental and social implications of B.C.'s storied tourist industry on its peoples.
“If the concept behind the work wasn't there, I wouldn't have a reason to make it ... the public can choose to see this however they want,” says Glenn. “But whether or not this is art, a bunch of objects grouped together, or social commentary, is totally up to the viewer.”
Glenn says he was inspired by Wayne White (with whom he's worked) and by what he sees in everyday life.
The piece challenges climate change, immigration and animal rights. The objects symbolize these various aspects, which is how the piece examines the macro through the lens of the micro. That theme is found in other areas too, as Glenn uses local materials to make national statements.
He combines conceptual methodologies with grassroots research to participate in a sort of social activism all his own. The exhibition expands on “the contrast between orchard packing and problems that migrant workers face here in the Okanagan,” as well as “deforestation, snowmobiling and hunting in the Cariboo region.”
Focusing on the regional and the local, Glenn's work reveals a tourist industry hailed as a means of stimulating economic development, which he argues has come at the cost of environmental sustainability and social welfare.
Glenn calls himself Glenn Co.; by framing himself as incorporated, he comments on the trademark manner in which he works.
“Because I recycle, because I construct, it's funny to see the practicality of having a company within the practice of art, the so called non-utilitarian practice of creating art,” he says.
The company maintains that foresters, snowmobilers and industrial agriculture are the real hunters, and that in some ways we are not only hunting the mountain caribou, but ourselves as well.
With pieces like “Kicking Ass in Oil and Gas,” which deals with the impact of quading and snowmobiling in the Cariboo region of B.C., and others that comment on the industrialization of agriculture and the atomization of its workers in the Okanagan, Glenn uses his artistic nuance to attack the corporations that have exploited BC's precious natural resources.
“I wanted to reveal problems in the area and mediate the difference between tourism and reality,” says Glenn.
A conceptual artist by his own definition, Glenn uses his installation art to comment on the deep historical roots, as well as the environmental and social implications of B.C.'s storied tourist industry on its peoples.
“If the concept behind the work wasn't there, I wouldn't have a reason to make it ... the public can choose to see this however they want,” says Glenn. “But whether or not this is art, a bunch of objects grouped together, or social commentary, is totally up to the viewer.”
Glenn says he was inspired by Wayne White (with whom he's worked) and by what he sees in everyday life.
The piece challenges climate change, immigration and animal rights. The objects symbolize these various aspects, which is how the piece examines the macro through the lens of the micro. That theme is found in other areas too, as Glenn uses local materials to make national statements.
He combines conceptual methodologies with grassroots research to participate in a sort of social activism all his own. The exhibition expands on “the contrast between orchard packing and problems that migrant workers face here in the Okanagan,” as well as “deforestation, snowmobiling and hunting in the Cariboo region.”
Focusing on the regional and the local, Glenn's work reveals a tourist industry hailed as a means of stimulating economic development, which he argues has come at the cost of environmental sustainability and social welfare.
Glenn calls himself Glenn Co.; by framing himself as incorporated, he comments on the trademark manner in which he works.
“Because I recycle, because I construct, it's funny to see the practicality of having a company within the practice of art, the so called non-utilitarian practice of creating art,” he says.
The company maintains that foresters, snowmobilers and industrial agriculture are the real hunters, and that in some ways we are not only hunting the mountain caribou, but ourselves as well.
With pieces like “Kicking Ass in Oil and Gas,” which deals with the impact of quading and snowmobiling in the Cariboo region of B.C., and others that comment on the industrialization of agriculture and the atomization of its workers in the Okanagan, Glenn uses his artistic nuance to attack the corporations that have exploited BC's precious natural resources.
“I wanted to reveal problems in the area and mediate the difference between tourism and reality,” says Glenn.
