Kevin Schmidt, Wild Signals, 2007
video installation
Collection of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Purchased with support from the Audain Foundation, 2008
Kevin Schmidt’s video installation Wild Signals (2007) was produced for the Belkin’s 2008 exhibition Exponential Future while Schmidt was in residence in the Yukon Territory. Wild Signals presents a video of a stage rig set in the midst of a northern snow-covered lakebed and features the five-note melody that served to communicate with extraterrestrials in Steven Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind played over speakers on either side of the projection. Set in the a scene of unspoiled nature, Wild Signals offers a light and sound performance played for no one.
Kevin Schmidt’s (b. 1972) practice explores the role of the artist in contemporary, spectacle-driven society, particularly with respect to faith, mythmaking, craft and popular culture. To this end, Schmidt’s work often takes him on an excursion or journey, either nearby, like along the Fraser River in Vancouver, or as far away as the Canadian Arctic. Schmidt holds a BFA from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. In 2017, he received the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in Visual Arts from the Canada Council for the Arts and in 2008, he was awarded the VIVA Award from the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts, Vancouver. Schmidt’s recent solo exhibitions include a major exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery (2018); Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, Canada (2015); Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2014); Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2013); and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2011). Recent group exhibitions include Lichtparcours 16, Braunschweig, Germany (2016); La Biennale de Montréal (2014); SITE Santa Fe (2014) and The Jewish Museum (2014).
Works from the Collection considers one work in the Belkin’s permanent collection that particularly inspires us. This round of Staff Picks is brought to you by Annette Wooff, the Belkin’s Administrator since 2004. Annette takes care of the Belkin’s finances and human resources, with special skills in spreadsheets and speedcharts. In her spare time, Annette checks out the best concerts with friends and family, as well as forming half of the Daughters of Beer. To see more of the Belkin’s collection, visit https://collection.belkin.ubc.ca.
