By Steven Frank
Special to Slowcity.ca

As TURN SIGNAL / NEXT EXIT is ready to exit Steelcase Art Projects, Markham on Sunday, August 30th I wish I could, like artist Janine Miedzik’s play on warning signs, give you more of a warning to catch this summer treat before it is gone.

Janine, with a BFA from OCAD and a MFA from Guelph, appears to draw less from her fine art background, than from the trades in which she works. These include scenic painting, set dressing, prop building and even house painting. Inspired by both street signage and her observations of job sites, she employs the material vernacular of the trades: tarps, sign vinyl, coloured duct tape, blowers, blocks and 2 x 4s. She invites us to look at everyday items in a new way finding wonder in unexpected places.

“Inspired by transitory urban spaces her work isolates and recontextualizes graphic icons and wayfinding systems. Removed from their functional purpose, these visual languages shift from tools of navigation to abstract fields of perception.” (From the exhibition handout)

By recontextualizing sign iconography the meanings of the signifiers are lost, but instead of being fuzzy and blurred the medium truly does become the message. But this ‘McLuhanism’ issues no stark warnings about the danger ahead, that is a given, instead we are encouraged to find a little time for play. The bold colours and shapes are reminiscent of Matisse’s cut-outs (1937-54), but unlike Matisse’s more organic shapes, the 30' x 40‘ Turn Signal makes use of hard geometrics turning part of a room into a colourful funhouse. Although viewers are not encouraged to traipse across the massive vinyl installation, one can still appreciate its kaleidoscopic effect as you try to make sense of it all. Hopefully this piece will find a wall large enough someday to be seen full-on.

The other major piece is entitled Blinker. The air from a blower is channelled through a wide twisted ‘tube’ adorned with bright vinyl and tape filling a huge blue bladder that could double as an inflatable landing pit. When one considers the length of this tube leading from the blower to the large bloated shape, the piece is every bit as long as Turn Signal. One may get the feeling that with all the hot air being blown around these days we might as well do something creative with it. Just outside the window on the other side of Blinker is a bright yellow dumpster. Could this be another piece by Zeke Moores who had built one from scratch for a previous exhibition at Steelcase Art Projects? These types of interventions are possible in this art exhibiting environment. Like Oshawa Space Invaders, opportunities to work in vacant commercial and industrial spaces provide artists and viewers an exciting alternative to traditional galleries. Let’s hope that Project Manager Andrea Carson Barker and Curator Yuluo Wei continue to offer these unique experiences. (“Deconstruction", an outdoor installation by Jose Luis Torres continues until Nov. 15th.)