Sviatoslav Ciaputa, Art in Crisis, 2007, photograph.
Sviatoslav Ciaputa: Historical Miscellany
September 4 – October 18, 2007
Teck Gallery
Sviatoslav Ciaputa's Historical Miscellany is one of three simultaneous exhibitions at SFU this fall based entirely on book covers. The other two exhibitions, of work by Douglas Coupland and R.B. Kitaj will be on display at the Burnaby campus.
Ciaputa's book images were all shot on film on a photographic copy stand at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL). Ciaputa alludes to the mysterious place books hold in our lives. On one hand, the books in these images represent subjective choices, linked to Ciaputa's personal history. At the same time, some of the choices were left open to chance. Certain books, for example, may have been left on the book re-filing cart by other readers at the VPL.
Ciaputa's procedure is very similar to Pop Art's Warholian strategies of picturing products in the world, but here, the subject matter is not popular; rather, Ciaputa's book selections verge on the arcane.
Sviatoslav Ciaputa is a Vancouver-based photographer who documents the ordinary in Vancouver's day-to-day activities. He is originally from Winnipeg, where he obtained an LLB from the University of Manitoba. Ciaputa's work circumnavigates the idea of the impossibility of the complete archive.
Curated by Bill Jeffries.
Events
Opening reception
Wednesday, September 12, 2007, 7–8pm