"One, two, three, four/Tell the people what she wore," was the line at the end of each verse of the 1960 hit novelty song telling the story of a shy girl wearing a revealing bikini at the beach. At the Foyer Gallery, this "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny" is the title of a large canvas that was painted by Zo毛 Evamy and myself at the Canada Day celebrations on display as part of the Polka-Dot-Com group art exhibition.
Evamy explains, "Toby and I often talked about collaborating on a painting and this was a fantastic opportunity to get together and combine it with a public art demo. Louise and Herb Klassen donated the 5-foot-by-5-foot canvas and Kris Krentz from Rona donated most of the paint. Our intention was to make a big, bold, happy painting to eventually hang in one of the dining rooms at Hilltop House.
"Once the first brush marks were in place, we worked easily together, taking time to chat with visitors and spectators. The painting has a terrific energy and was a lot of fun to do!"
This quirky summer show, running from Aug. 9 to Sept. 5 at the Foyer Gallery, presents works by 20 artists using various polka dots blended with current technology, patterns consisting of arrays of filled circles or random diameter assemblages, splatters, dots on a computer image or even digitally shot spots found in nature.
Why the theme of polka dots? Well the pattern rarely appears in formal contexts, so that means it represents nothing but amusement and fun - hence a clown's polka-dot pants. Dots playfully appear on bathing suits, lingerie, and are most commonly seen on kids' clothing, toys and furniture, but they have also materialized in a wide array of contexts.
Traditionally, polka dots are used in the clothing of flamenco dancers and performers with a connection linking the pattern to the dance. Musicians have strummed polka dot guitars. Recent fashion designers have created polka-dotted couture and even wedding dresses. In the Tour de France, the leader in the mountains competition wears the distinctive large red polka dots on a white jersey.
Perhaps the most famous "dotsy" avant-garde artist is Yayoi Kusama, who has used polka dots throughout much of her work. Born in Japan in 1929, she started to paint using polka dots as motifs at around age 10 and since then has created strange but fantastic paintings and sculpture obsessing in with repetition, pattern and accumulation. On Nov. 12, 2008 Christie's New York sold a work by her for $5.1 million, a record for a living female artist.
This somewhat mischievous Foyer Gallery show has paintings and sculpture, jewelry and wall hangings on display - for sale at much less. Now, just like information technology, polka dots are universal, not just a memorable gimmick.
So come down for the lively artists' opening reception on Tuesday (Aug. 9) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will feature art, iPod polka tunes and polka-dotted nibblies of course, come wearing your finest Polka-Dot attire. Clowns welcome. For a contact list of participating artists, visit squamish.bclibrary.ca/services-programs/foyer-gallery
