Albrecht Dürer, William Hogarth, and Patrick Mahon with Stowaways

This exhibition presents new graphic/wall sculptures by Patrick Mahon, alongside prints he has selected from McMaster’s collection by Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528) and William Hogarth (1697 – 1764) as well as objects contributed by contemporary artists, including David Merritt, Sky Glabush, Jamelie Hassan, Colette Urban (1952-2013) and Jeannie Thib.

Mahon examines the critical role of visual art in moral teaching in the West in the past and the complex ways in which many artists engage in the ‘ethical side’ of their work today.

Says Mahon, “As an artist, I am interested in my role as a social critic, and also fascinated at the idea of the artist as a suspicious or foolish figure in culture.” To this end, his selections from McMaster’s collection include 4 woodcuts by Dürer from Sebastian Brant’s book Ship of Fools, and 24 engravings by William Hogarth, the most celebrated British engraver of the eighteenth century who was known for his narrative prints offering biting social commentary. Both are reminders of the critical role of visual art in moral teaching in the West prior to the Modern period.

Mahon’s new works made specifically for this exhibition, are “printed stick drawing”/relief sculptures of a shipwreck. The graphic detail on the sticks are drawn with references Hogarth’s prints. The objects to be borrowed from the contemporary artists, to be collectively titled Stowaways, are presented together amidst a handmade black net on a light table.

Patrick Mahon is a London-based artist, writer and teacher/academic; he was Chair of Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario from 2000 – 2010. His work as a visual artist includes print-based projects that engage with historical and contemporary aspects of printmaking, and involves responding to gallery and museum collections as well as establishing community-based art initiatives, including several regarding the environment. Mahon’s artwork has been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally.

List of Works:

Patrick Mahon (Canadian b. 1957)

Shipwreck Study #1, 2013, ink on balsawood 30 x 56 cm
Shipwreck Study #2, 2013, ink on balsawood 27 x 52 cm
Shipwreck Study #3, ink on balsawood 28 x 51 cm
Shipwreck Study #4, ink on balsawood 40 x 67 cm
Shipwreck Study #5, ink on balsawood 38 x 40 cm
Shipwreck Study #6, ink on balsawood 28 x 56 cm
Voyager 1, 2013, ink on pine hardwood 230 x 260 cm
Voyager 2, 2013, ink on pine hardwood145 x 270 cm

Stowaways #1-13

List of Artists:

David Merritt
Kim Moodie
Sky Glabush
Kelly Jazvac
Patrick Howlett
Andy Patton
Janice Gurney
Dickson Bou
Jamelie Hassan
Wyn Geleynse
Jeannie Thib
Colette Urban
Ron Benner

Albrecht Dürer (German 1460-1531)

Of Old Fools, c. 1494, Folio 15, Chapter 5 from Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools / Narrenschiff, Woodcut, Purchase, 1974
Of Hasty Tempers, c. 1494, Folio 46, Chapter 35 from Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools / Narrenschiff
Woodcut, Purchase, 1974
Of Taking Offense at, but Learning From Fools, c. 1494, Folio 50, Chapter 39 from Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools / Narrenschiff, Woodcut, Purchase, 1974
Mocking of a Good Deed, c. 1494, Folio 136, Chapter 114 from Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools /Narrenschiff, Woodcut, Purchase, 1974

William Hogarth (English, 1697-1764)

The Harlot’s Progress, Plate 1, 1733-1734, Etching and engraving
The Harlot’s Progress, Plate 4, 1733-1734, Etching and engraving
The Harlot’s Progress, Plate 5, 1733-1734, Etching and engraving
The Harlot’s Progress, Plate 6, 1733-1734, Etching and engraving
The Lottery, 1721, possibly reprinted c. 1822, Etching and engraving
Some of the Principal Inhabitants of ye moon, 1724, Etching and engraving
The Laughing Audience, 1733; printed 1822 (?), Etching and engraving
The Man of Taste, 1822, Etching and engraving
The Rake’s Progress, Plate 1, 1735, Etching and engraving
The Rake’s Progress, Plate 3, 1735, Etching and engraving
The Rake’s Progress, Plate 4, 1735, Etching and engraving
The Rake’s Progress, Plate 6, 1735, Etching and engraving
Company of Undertakers, 1736, Etching and engraving
Scholars at a Lecture, 1736, Etching and engraving
Characters and Caricaturas, 1743, Etching
Industry and Idleness, Plate 2: The Industrious ‘Prentice Performing the Duty of a Christian, 1747, Etching and engraving
Industry and Idleness, Plate 5: The Idle ‘Prentice turn’d away, and sent to Sea, 1747, Etching and engraving
Industry and Idleness, Plate 7: The Idle ‘Prentice return’d from Sea and in a Garret with a common Prostitute, 1747, Etching and engraving
First Stage of Cruelty, 1751, Etching and engraving
Second Stage of Cruelty, 1751, Etching and engraving
Cruelty in Perfection, 1751, Etching and engraving
The Reward of Cruelty, 1751, Etching and engraving
The Times, Plate 1, 1762, Etching and engraving
The Times, Plate 2, 1762-1763, Etching and engraving

All Hogarths: On loan from Dundurn National Historic Site