The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

visual arts by Carole Badgley Discover the End at the Seymour A r t Gallery determining factor; t h e gallery has r e c e i v e d applications f o r this e x h i b i t i o n from both octogenarians a n d teenagers. Each a r t i s t can e n t e r o n l y o n e . Michelle Mathias, o n e of t w o A w a r d of Merit winners for D i s C O V E r y ' 9 8 , has n o t h i n g but praise for the D i s C O V E r y s h o w s . " T o any emerging artist with d r i v e , the D i s C O V E r y contest is t h e o n e t o enter. It is o n e o f t h e f e w j u r i e d e x h i b i t i o n s in t h e p r o v i n c e that gives a w a r d s , cash p r i z e s , a n d guarantees p u b l i c ity f o r the s h o w and its artists." T h e volunteers w h o make up the installation t e a m at t h e gallery find the D i s C O V E r y e x h i b i t i o n s always interesting, f o r several reasons, including " N o w , w h y w o u l d they have p i c k e d that? and W o w , this is a r e m a r k a b l e p i e c e and w h e r e is this g o i n g t o fit?" A f t e r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h e walls a n d plinths (filling, s a n d ing, and painting the ravages f r o m t h e previous exhibiT h e S e y m o u r A r t G a l l e r y has b e e n f o r t u nate in r e c e i v i n g annual s p o n s o r s h i p f o r t h e D i s C O V E r y exhibitions f r o m Behnsen G r a p h i c Supplies, O p u s F r a m i n g and A r t Supplies, t h e C a n a d i a n International C o l l e g e , a n d the D o w n s t a i r s G a l l e r y . T h i s year, A r t Finders Fine A r t S e r v i c e and D r . A Lau have also p r o v i d e d funding. w o r k applicants s u b m i t t e d . H e says " V a n c o u v e r artists k n o w that this is t h e o n e c o n t e s t that is o p e n t o all, and that a person's c o n n e c t i o n s , b a c k g r o u n d , and e d u c a t i o n c o u n t f o r didley." W i l l t h e applicant w h o i n s p i r e d t h e t h e m e f o r this year's e x h i b i t i o n be accepted? T h a t w e w i l l never k n o w f o r c e r tain, as t h e j u r o r s d o n o t identify t h e artists during the selection process. M - Is She o r Isn't She? O n l y HerTatooist K n o w s For Sure, ceramic 2 6 " x 2 0 " , 1998 Michelle by Mathias, as ^ A n o t h e r year, a n o t h e r D i s C O V E r y , but s o m e t h i n g is different this t i m e a r o u n d , it is t h e end. T h e e n d o f t h e m i l l e n n i u m anyway. T h e S e y m o u r A r t G a l l e r y ' s ( S A G ' s ) annually held j u r i e d e x h i b i t i o n s t a r t e d g a t h e r i n g m o m e n t u m six m o n t h s ago w i t h a t e l e p h o n e call f r o m an a r t i s t w h o , after e n t e r i n g o t h e r j u r i e d e x h i b i t i o n s at t h e gallery w i t h o u t any success, was k e e n t o get an advance s t a r t o n t h e 1999 t h e m e f o r t h e D i s C O V E r y s h o w . A s t h e r e wasn't a t h e m e in place at that p o i n t , my w o r k i n g day h a d b e e n h e c t i c a n d I w a s l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o seeing t h e e n d of it, I quickly c h o s e t h e 1999 t h e m e , T h e E n d . T h e c a l l e r w a s a p p r e ciative of t h e advance n o t i c e and r e q u e s t e d an application f o r m . The themed D i s C O V E r y exhibition started in 1994 w h e n 2 6 artists w e r e s e l e c t e d t o s h o w t h e i r w o r k s in a m a r i n e - t h e m e d s h o w e n t i t l e d Ocean Inspirations. T h i s annually h e l d e x h i b i t i o n has, since its i n c e p t i o n , s h o w n s c u l p t u r e s , i n s t a l lations, p r i n t s , m i x e d m e d i a , c e r a m i c s , a n d paintings f r o m a t o t a l o f 181 artists. N o t o n l y have t h e a r t i s t s b e n e f i t e d f r o m t h e e x p o s u r e , but the gallery has b e e n i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e w o r k s o f a large n u m b e r o f artists. A s in t h e past, t w o c u r a t o r s , myself a n d o n e invited, a n d a g u e s t a r t i s t m a k e t h e s e l e c t i o n s . T h e j u r o r s this year are A n n R o s e n b e r g , c u r a t o r at t h e V a n c o u v e r C o m m u n i t y A r t s C o u n c i l ; B r o c k C r a i g , i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y k n o w n glass a r t i s t ; and me, c u r a t o r of the S A G . T h e j u r y p r o c e s s is n o t easy s i n c e t h e gallery receives b e t w e e n , 8 0 a n d 100 e n t r i e s f o r t h e s e p o p u l a r and s o m e times provocative shows. T h e process of elimination demands m u c h dialogue between the j u r o r s as t h e D i s C O V E r y themes tend t o be of an a m b i g u o u s n a t u r e -- n o one wants t o let a g e m of a piece get l o s t in t h e shuffle. A p p l i c a n t s range f r o m those artists w h o are p r o f e s s i o n a l s in t h e i r c h o s e n field t o e m e r g i n g artists. A g e is n o t a Preparing For The W a t e r s , h.21", / 9 9 8 by Michelle ceramics. Mathias winner of the Award of Merit part of the D i s c o v e r y '98: A S i n g u l a r Face exhibition m. t i o n ) , t h e actual installation begins. M o s t o f the i n s t a l lation t e a m m e m b e r s have w o r k e d at the S A G f o r years and r e a l ize that t h e r e w i l l actually be r o o m f o r all the s e l e c t e d pieces...eventually, A p r e v i o u s juror, Keith Wallace, curat o r of the Contemporary Art G a l l e r y , says he is i m p r e s s e d w i t h the high quality o f DisCOVEry '99: The End opens at the 27 and continues Seymour Art Gallery, 4360 Gallant Avenue, Vancouver,January North to February 28. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday. 10 am to 4 pm. Call (604) 924-1378 for more information. A solo exhibition by Michelle 2000.0 Mathias will take place at the Seymour Art Gallery in November Carole Badgley is soon to enter her seventh year with the SAG.