CANMORE – A portrait of a woman’s face was the subject of sabotage by audience members at an arts celebration in Canmore.
The painting was scratched, battered, and by the end, it was warped, asymmetrical, and swollen.
The art entitled, “Women’s Rights Matter,” says artist Chrissy Nickerson, is an image of a woman that is developed then removed, leaving a ghostly presence.
“The overall image is rough, as it should be,” Nickerson said about her artwork.
“Her gaze reaches back at the viewer behind the statement ‘Women’s Rights Matter,’ so what? What’s next? Does anyone care? I’m worried. I chose to paint this piece to share in this dialogue.”
Nickerson’s artwork captured the audience’s attention and was voted best at the 10th anniversary of Creative Combat 10.0, an art competition at artsPlace in Canmore between 12 artists. The creative dozen had just 20 minutes to produce a painting in front of the live audience, which immediately voted once the time expired. “Women’s Rights Matter” sold for $2,500 during a live auction later that night.
Having participated in every Creative Combat, quite a bit of forethought goes into Nickerson’s designs each year, she said. Once, a live model bared her breasts and did a body print on one of Nickerson’s canvases as an example of the artist’s use of crowd involvement.
For Nickerson, it’s a performance art and not about producing an image for an otherwise boring wall.
“But this year, with some of the more sensitive issues going on in politics, I wanted to say something,” she said.
Nickerson hesitated on what she would do until the day of the competition. She had ideas, but went with the self-portrait, allowing some of the audience to repeatedly scrape off the image with tools.
“The symbolism of having audience participation is akin to the politics of our time,” Nickerson said. “Every vote counts. Every move matters here. We are on a knife’s edge.
“Human Rights have been developing, but it’s a tough go as they are also taken away.”
She spoke to the division in the current landscape, adding “we need to work together to protect what matters.”
With the sensitivity surrounding political matters, especially so full on in a public display, Nickerson wasn’t entirely sure if Creative Combat, which is also a fundraiser, was the right venue to potentially cause any division among the viewers. However, she said she was “blown away” to have won.
“It is a slippery slope. Until everyone has equal constitutional rights, we are all at risk,” said Nickerson.
“I, as an artist living in Canmore, am so privileged, but it breaks my heart to see what is going on in the world. It is terrifying.”
A long time artist in the Bow Valley, Nickerson also won the inaugural Creative Combat in 2015. During the same week, she won the Town of Canmore’s Mayor’s Spotlight on the Arts award, which was a “welcome to being a career artist” moment for the esteemed oil painter.
“For me, I’ve been in the valley a lot longer than [2015], but it was cool to come full circle 10 years later. It was pretty special,” said Nickerson.
In the fast-moving competition, in which artists have 20 minutes to create something amazing, it has a high stakes, pressured feel to it. Artists have to commit to whatever they are working on, even if a single out-of-place inky line of paint runs down the piece or large spaces of the canvas are left untouched by a brush.
The three runners-up at this year’s competition were Holly Kaquitts, Rowan Hill and Mindy Johnstone. Also participating were artists Patti Dyment, Avi, Ralph Temple, Kathryn Cooke, Jon Prom, Jay Nigro, Kat Wright and Jamie Sheridan.
Another art piece included was from special guest artist Kaitlyn Abel from Bow Valley Connections.
Heather Walter, head of Creative Combat’s volunteer committee, said the annual event is a celebration of the arts, with established and emerging artists putting a colourful brush to blank canvas for 20 minutes is “an incredible work of creativity to witness.”
“We really leave it with the artist to come up with something that is meaningful for them and that they can do in 20 minutes, which is a huge feat of its own,” said Walter.
“Chrissy always does something different and this year, of course, was a rocket of self-portrait in celebration of the power of women, which was just really a great statement and of course, a great piece of art.”
There were only two rounds this year, with each participant producing one art piece. It freed up more time for a live auction and live performance by Beau Valley Circus during the evening.
“You felt the energy in the room,” said Walter. “It was really a fun glam night out, but it was also, of course, in support and celebration of the arts and the sound.”
The biggest fundraiser of the year for artsPlace, Creative Combat 10.0 pulled in more than $100,000.
