AV俱乐部

AV俱乐部 Art Gallery has been invaded. There are squirrels underfoot, bears around the corner, and tigers taking in the sights. You can hear dogs, cats, and goats in the corners of the gallery; horses dash across the walls, and a stuffed raccoon calmly eats Cracker Jacks from a box in a corner.

Despite the cheerfully chaotic state of the display space, curator Peter Dykhuis is not offended by the intrusion of the furred-and-feathered set. Truth be told, he orchestrated it.

鈥淭his project鈥檚 been in my books for about four years,鈥� says Mr. Dykhuis, who is curating Dal Art Gallery鈥檚 new exhibit 鈥� Exalted Beings: Animal Relationships. 鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in the relationship between human beings and the species of animals that are considered close to us鈥� I鈥檓 looking at them as having a special relationship with human beings.鈥�

The relationships portrayed are rather unpredictable. In William Wegman鈥檚 film fragments from the 鈥�70s (Smoking, Spelling Lesson, and New And Used Car Salesman, among others),

Panel discussion In conjunction with the exhibition Exalted Beings: Animal Relationships, AV俱乐部 Art Gallery will be hosting a catalogue launch and panel discussion on Thursday, Oct. 2, 8 p.m. The panel will be moderated by the exhibition's curator Peter Dykhuis and will feature participating artists Barbara Berry, Michael Fernandes, Susan McEachern, Jan Peacock and Mitchell Wiebe who will discuss their works in relation to the exhibition. As well, the newly-published exhibition catalogue will be launched and available for purchase. This event is free of charge and everyone is welcome.

Wegman tries to teach his dog to smoke, corrects the animal鈥檚 鈥渟pelling,鈥� and uses the dog as a bartering tool. Wegman鈥檚 short films are amusing and thought-provoking. 鈥淗e set up these projects with his dog at a time when other people were making rather large monumental sculptures,鈥� muses Mr. Dykhuis. 鈥淗e started with something that is really close and familiar, which is his dog. He almost sets up this comedy routine between the two of them. But in almost all of these videos, the dog is in some ways the smarter of the two.鈥�

In another corner of the gallery, Kelly Mark鈥檚 Sniff plays on a loop. An unidentified hand offers an unimpressed cat several different objects, including a Bible, a liquor bottle, a twenty-dollar bill, and a kitchen knife. 鈥淲hat he looks at quite closely are things that he can play with,鈥� Mr. Dykhuis says, noting the cat seems especially fond of the leather-bound Bible.

鈥淭he dog and the cat have both become rock stars in their own ways,鈥� he chuckles. 鈥淚n many ways, the artist is kind of upstaged by the animal.鈥�

Exalted Beings has been a long time in the making for Mr. Dykhuis. 鈥淭o me, this is a dream come true, to have all the work together,鈥� he says. He started with a small group of core artists, and incorporated more talent as the exhibit鈥檚 plans grew organically. 鈥淚 grew the project from four artists into 11. I just had the ability here (at AV俱乐部) to map it out.鈥�

Exalted Beings is eye-catching but there is a deeper message鈥攁 method to the menagerie. 鈥淚 was really specific about the subject matter of the show, in that it鈥檚 not really about the description of animals,鈥� says Mr. Dykhuis. 鈥淭here are animals in here as content, but the project鈥檚 called Exalted Beings鈥� the subject matter is the relationship between animals and human beings.鈥澛�

Exalted Beings: Animal Relationships is curated by Peter Dykhuis and features artwork by Barbara Berry, Tonia Di Risio, Michael Fernandes, David Harper, Kelly Mark, Susan McEachern, Jan Peacock, Corinna Schnitt, William Wegman, Mitchell Wiebe, and Jon Knowles. It runs until October 5 in the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery. Admission is free.