<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>HERMAN VOADEN AND THE INFLUENCE OF CANADIAN PAINTERS</DIV>
<DIV><BR>The Art Gallery of Ontario Friends of the Canadian Collection who
joined the tour of Hart House on September 25 will recall that it ended in the
subterranean theatre, where Paul Templin told us of its role in the development
of the Canadian stage, and of the collaborative efforts of visual artists,
directors and playwrights in the 1920s and 1930s.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Two of these collaborators were Herman Voaden, an avant-garde Toronto
playwright and director, and Lowrie Warrener, one of the most talented and
original of the young followers of Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven.
For our next event, Friends are invited to meet at Central Commerce Collegiate
in Toronto, where Voaden taught from 1928 until retirement in 1964, and where he
staged over two dozen multi-media "symphonic expressionist" theatre productions
through which he "expressed a highly subjective, mystical world view and life
philosophy", to quote his biographer Anton Wagner.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Like Lawren Harris, Voaden thought that a distinctive Canadian culture was
emerging, and believed that artists would play a leading role in its
development. He therefore helped Central Commerce to assemble a collection
of contemporary Canadian artworks that grew to include six out of the seven
members of the Group of Seven and artists as diverse as Emily Carr, Jack Bush,
John Alfsen and William Winter. The collection includes some real
surprises, such as Lawren Harris's large ca. 1923 canvas of Rossport, Lake
Superior. These are still used by the school for teaching purposes.
Central Commerce Collegiate has one of the highest art course enrolments in the
city, and plans for a gallery to permanently display the collection.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Our event begins at 5:00 p.m., on Thursday, November 7. Central
Commerce Collegiate is located half a block south of Harbord Street, on the west
side of Shaw Street, which runs one way southbound. Park on the street or
in the lot on Roxton Road on the west side of the school. Roxton runs one way
northbound. We will meet just inside the southern entrance to the school
facing Shaw. Peter Wood, head of the school's art department, will tell us
about the school's studio programme, then lead us to classrooms and areas of the
school where art is displayed. Following his introduction and tour, we
will assemble in the school's magnificent old auditorium, where highlights of
the collection will be displayed. Anton Wagner will give an illustrated
talk on Voaden's theatre work (in front of the stage where Herman produced his
plays) and the influence of Canadian painters, particularly Lawren Harris,
J.E.H. Macdonald, Arthur Lismer and Lowrie Warrener, on his multi-media
symphonic expressionist productions.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This event is free of charge and is open to all members of the local
community. For more information about the Voaden slide presentation, contact
Anton Wagner <A href="mailto:awagner@yorku.ca">awagner@yorku.ca</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I look forward to seeing you on November 7.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best wishes,<BR>Christopher Varley<BR>Co-chair, Friends of the Canadian
Collection</DIV>
<DIV>Art Gallery of Ontario</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>