Time and place are two central themes in Russell Mang’s latest artworks, with viewers encouraged to experience the particular locations by using the GPS co-ordinates written on each creation.
The subjects in Mang’s artworks should look familiar to people, as his paintings reflect areas in the Wakamow Valley, Coteau Hills and surrounding countryside.
“Working on location doing the drawings, one of the things I discovered as the progression of the drawings (occurred) over the years is the process of drawing draws me — pardon the pun — into a mindset of quietness, (of) paying attention to the land, and then I began to realize I was developing a presence of the land,” Mang said.
“Time is (also) involved. When (you) look at (the) titles, the title alludes to where the particular work was done, but also the times are often referenced (by) the season,” he added. “You can see it was done northwest at this geographical location indicated by the GPS … paying attention to time and place creates a sense of presence, both for myself looking at the land, but also for the viewer looking at the particular works.”
Time, presence and place: those themes are highlighted in Mang’s latest art installation now showing at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG), under the title of Time, Presence, Place. The art gallery honoured Mang’s work — and that of artist Elie Marshall — during an art installation opening on Oct. 10.
Mang drew many of his works in 2014 while on location or from the roadside, he explained. He then spent several years adding colour to each painting. He thought the drawings were strong enough to stand on their own but wanted to involve colour since that was important to him.
“The colour work was based on my memory and based on photographic references so I would get the colours right,” he said. “Even with all those factors, I had to make changes in the work for a variety of reasons. Sometimes when you’re working on a painting, you figure you’re going to do it this way. If you’re in tune with what you’re doing, sometimes the painting will actually demand to be painted differently.”
Mang grew up in the country. His family lived on an acreage outside of Melville in east-central Saskatchewan. They usually took trips to the Qu’Appelle Valley to see the spring runoff. That sense of being in the land has been with him since childhood.
His time at university also influenced him to paint and draw landscape pieces. He lived five minutes away from the University of Regina’s art gallery and would often stop by to see what was on display. Many of the pieces were created by Saskatchewan artists, who focused on the landscape.
“I guess it just seemed to be a natural thing to continue doing that after I left university,” he said.
There are three pieces that Mang created that he particularly enjoys. One is from a location downstream of the weir in Wakamow Valley. Another piece is from a green space in Tatawaw Park, while a third is a virginal prairie landscape that is a 20-minute drive from Moose Jaw.
“I was able to drive in there on a farmer’s trail and you get a fantastic view of land,” he added. “That particular day was a really, really hot August day.”
Russell Mang’s artwork is on display at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery until Jan. 5, 2020.
