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visual Disclosures of the Heart byJacquelyn Ménard For its re-opening afterthe summer break, from September 10th to October 23rd,Presentation House Gallery will show recent works by two Canadian women artists: Toronto-based Lee Dickson and Winnipeg-born Laura Letinsky. The themes of the joint exhibit are the heart, human emotions and ordinary intimacy. Lee Dickson is a multi-media visual artist who, after her Fine Arts studies at the New School of Art in Toronto, attended the Central Technical Institute to learn oxy acetylene and arc welding in order to build her own work. Following on a large work called The Heart is situated in the center of the chest because conditions are more temperate there..., her new installation, entitled The cauldron, with sculptural and photographic components, draws from such sources of inspiration as Christian iconography and history, the esoteric Western medieval crafts and Asian material culture. Having now completed a body of work started in 1988, Lee Dickson views The Caiddrorz as the end to her consideration of the "Heart" story. In the foreground of her project is the incident of Brother André's heart, which was stolen from St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal during the mid-I 970s and later recovered. In addition, The Caiddron bears witness to a medieval, metaphorical conception of the heart, and also represents an investment drawn from personal life experience. The heart! cauldron can be understood as a thematic and systematic investigation of emotional healing. This investigation gathers and brings into play the various elements of a research project through the use of uncommon techniques and materials. In her previous installations, she used soapstone, welded tacks, cigarette butts, safety pins... Here, she collects "heart" quotes and visuals from varying sources such as literature, advertising, fashion, history and medical science. She also and has widely exhibited her work there and in Canada. The exhibition consists of large colour photographs which consider how the body communicates intimate dynamics, and is concerned not with literal narrative but with the way single moments suggest psychological drama, particularly from a female perspective. The artist says she is motivated "by a need to confront the conflict between her ideals of true love, happy families, personal fulfilment and universal happiness, and her experiences as an adult which reveal to her fissures in these beliefs." Laura Letinsky works with friends and in specific settings: often bedrooms, at times living rooms and kitchens, using mainly natural light. There is much beauty in these portrayals of the simple ordinariness of everyday life. Her colours and compositions evoke aesthetic references as different as the Japanese Ukiyo-e prints or the late Renaissance European pietas. Her lush, bold, sensuous photographs convey a feeling of intimacy between her subjects, herself and the viewer. Although her images also exude loneliness, fragility and the occasional feeling of riding life's dismal waters, the work succeeds in recognizing, affirming and sharing, beyond the difficulty of otherness, something vital, erotic and compassionate. So while Lee Dickson's mixed-media work The Cauldron provides us with a provocative lexicon of the heart's functions and desires, the photographic essaylntimate Stages invites us to the theatre of today's relationships, through Letinsky's simultaneously ironic and empathic eye. - . . Laura Letinsky's photos will be on display at Presentation House Gallery in an exhibit titled "Intimate Stages" presents a study of the heart in photographic form, borrowed from a broad cross-section of cultures. In Kitty Scott's words, "The heart as a symbol translates through histories and across cultures," while the layering of these stories meshes with references to our simultaneously very public and very private contemporary conditions. Powerful and meticulously crafted, Lee Dickson's work invites the viewer to a meditation on these as well as on his/her own condition. To this inventorial and iconographic vision of the heart, Laura Letinsky's photographs offer a realistic counterpart with the exhibition of Intimate Stages, a project about the contemporary social landscape--primarily its emotional and psychological terrain. Letinsky is presently teaching in the United States Jacquelyn Ménard is the Education Coordinator at Presentation House Gallery. theatre Talking with One's Hands by Marjorie Woods Puppetry traverses all of the arts. An extension of storytelling and drama, it requires tellers of tales to weave the story: actors to play the parts and to breathe life into inanimate forms: artists to create the scenery, props and puppets: musicians to create the moods and to bridge the scenes; writers to prepare the scripts: carpenters to build the stages and scenery; costumers to dress the puppets; as well as lighting and sound technicians. Yes, there is a lot to putting a show together ad most of it is hard work, but it is also very satisfying and a lot of fun. The TalkingHands PuppetryTheatre, formerly the North Shore Puppetry Theatre and now a non-profit society. is preparing a Hungarian folk tale. Miska and the Man-with-the-iron-Head for its debut at Presentation House Theatre in the spring of 1995. In the meantime, on October 1st, a Puppet Fest will beheld at Because we are looking to increase our membership, this would be a good time for people to come and see what we are all about. Memberships are open to young and old (we already have an intergenerational group, so age shouldn't be a barrier), and they cost only $10, or $5 for students and seniors. A newsletter is circulated twice a year containing information on puppetry activities, as well as hands-on projects. We are hoping that the formation of a puppetry theatre will enable interested persons to gain skills in making and perfonning in high-calibre shows. Members can be as involved as they like, whether it be by supporting the organization by just buying a membership, orby assisting with publicity, ushering at shows, working booths at our Puppet Fests and making use of any other skills they may have to lend. the Lonsdale Rec Centre. There will be short shows, demonstrations, hands-on puppet-making, a silent auction and puppets for sale. `Another advantage of becoming a member of the puppetry theatre is staying informed. For example, it has always been difficult for people to find a place to train in this fascinating art. Most have to travel far afield, usually to the U.S., to attend professional workshops at the Puppeteers of America Festivals. Talking Hands Puppetry Theatre will keep you informed of such opportunities, especially when they are being offered locally. There is a Puppeteers of America Festival, for instance, in Victoria this year, frOm October 14-17 at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. For information on any of the above. phone Karen Eskilson at 255-4640 or Marjorie Woods at 987-3725. Arts 5 A 5 Sep/Oct 1994 7