Margaret Case Art
About
Framing of personal experience in a snapshot of a scene
My art is a way of returning to my experiences, using photos of my travels, home life and local scenery. When I see something or do something particularly striking, I take a photo, edit it later and paint it. The action of painting shows me details I didn't notice before, and I think deeply about what happened during the event, recreating emotional reactions, considering the situation and thinking about the people I was with. It gives me a deeper connection to the place, as well as the people involved, and my own feelings.
Explorations in my work include personal perception, commenting on the truths one knows through their own experience, and presenting views of the natural world. Paintings are created while considering family ups and downs and resolution of personal conflict. Painting titles refer to experiences and what I'm thinking about.
On the Domestic Life:
Mundane everyday-life activities have value in the artistic process - in order to be able to make authentic comments about humanity - of working 9-5, commuting, budgeting, raising children, running a household, walking your dog. Each of these mundane experiences provides us with the opportunity to pay attention, to be alive, to be a witness. And then as an artist, play it back. We, as the thinking, sentient beings, can rise above the basics of being a mammal on the planet earth and see the rhythms, the connections, the magic and the miracles.
On Modern Society:
Where does culture rank in our experience, as compared to interacting with the physical environment around us, such as walking in the forest or strolling through a downtown core? Does mass media (TV, movies & the internet), shopping malls, Paris fashion week or the New York stock exchange shape our collective consciousness? What experiences matter most at this point in history?
On Unique Perspective:
Globally, how does my experience as a Canadian white woman compare to experiences of other individuals on this planet, in various time periods in history? This leads to a question about truth, which linked with the word perspective. They are one and the same, meaning if we are to witness to an experience, to represent a view of the world, the only perspective we have is our own. To try to represent someone else’s view is not genuine and does not speak to the truth an artist would share.
I focused on art in high school and graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a concentration in acrylic painting. My professors were Doug Morton, Robert Youds and Pat Martin Bates, among other influential Victoria artists. My philosophy professor, J.O. Young also taught me great thinking and musing skills. I finished a master's degree in Public Relations at MSVU in Nova Scotia in 2018, helping with my critical thinking, as well as perspectives on racism, privilege, consumerism, social responsibility and social status.
Shows include UVic, the Ministry of Health, the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria and the Oak Bay Studio Artist Tour.
