AV俱乐部

What does Working Culture mean? Is it a name for the culture of the workers? Does it mean that the artist 鈥渨orks鈥� culture, the same way artists work clay between their hands? Or is culture itself working 鈥� in either sense of the word? The only sure thing is that Working Culture鈥攆eaturing the art and photographs of Carol Conde and Karl Beveridge鈥攊s the newest exhibit at the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery, and its teaser title is a hint at its enigmatic contents.

Working Culture 鈥渇eatures a selection of major photographic projects spanning their (the artists鈥�) 30-year career,鈥� says Jan Allen, curator of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. But Working Culture chronicles more than Conde and Beveridge鈥檚 artistic longevity. It鈥檚 more about what lies beneath the surface鈥攚hat meaning the audience can tease out from brilliantly coloured photographs, lithographs, and inkjet prints littered with a wealth of red herrings and redder cola cans.

If you go... This is the last week to see the exhibition Carole Cond茅 and Karl Beveridge: Working Culture at the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery. Drop in for a free guided tour by the gallery's Outreach and Education Officer, Mark Stebbins, on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m., the gallery presents a talk by installation artist Adrian Kuiper.聽She will discuss her work including her recent commission titled Capsule located on the AV俱乐部 campus grounds.

The exhibit provides its audience with a few hints. A glimpse of the artists鈥� inner life is offered in Roz Owen and Jim Miller鈥檚 award-winning documentary, Community Matters: the Art of Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge. The film revolves around Conde and Beveridge鈥檚 鈥渁rtist鈥檚 practice鈥� and is featured as a part of the exhibition. Within Owen and Miller鈥檚 short movie, university professors critique the artists as political and artistic leaders; we also get shots of Conde and Beveridge in action鈥攄iscussing working conditions and pay for artists, for instance.

Some pieces feature feminist undertones. In the cibachrome Standing Up (1981-1982), a factory worker in a plaid shirt鈥擫inda鈥攕mokes and fixes her hair during a bathroom break. Throughout the series of photographs, the graffiti on the bathroom wall behind Linda evolves from 鈥淭AKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT鈥� to 鈥淭AKE THIS COMPANY AND UNIONIZE IT鈥� Right On!鈥� According to the accompanying text, this is exactly what Linda is attempting to do; having worked for four years as a full-time warehouse stock-handler, Linda is dealing with professional and personal obstacles as she attempts to unionize.

The Fall of Water (2007) spills over with men bleeding money, leaping fish, and woman warriors. In Cultural Relations: Ad, Art, Plant and Community (2004-2005), dedicated to the memory of Pedro Alderete and featuring a cryptic reference to murdered union leader Isidro Gil, Coke stuff is everywhere (disguised as ambiguous 鈥渃ola鈥�). No Immediate Threat (1985-1986) turns a bleak eye on the Canadian story of Chalk River with Fight Club-esque graphics. Other pieces deal with depleted fish stocks, privatized health care, women鈥檚 wartime labour, and the effects of globalization. That Conde and Beveridge act as activists, as well as artists, becomes clear throughout the exhibit.

Next up... It's the final week to enter work for the 55th Student, Staff, Faculty and Alumni exhibition. Up to three entries per person will be accepted during regular gallery hours until Sunday, Nov. 23. For entry forms or more information, visit the gallery website at or phone 494-2403. Entry forms are also available by dropping by the gallery, located downstairs in the AV俱乐部 Arts Centre.

And the pair have acted; they helped found the annual Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts; they鈥檝e produced posters and trade union banners. They also turn their 鈥渁rtists鈥� gaze鈥� onto themselves. It鈥檚 Still Privileged Art, 1975, calls to mind a children鈥檚 book with its simple India-ink illustrations of family scenes from the couple鈥檚 home life. The terse, acerbic captions, however, lend Privileged Art鈥檚 bubblegum sweetness a razor edge. 鈥淢orning,鈥� one text reads. 鈥淭he family breakfast scene. It鈥檚 not actually like this. In fact their mornings are neurotic and tense, but it鈥檚 an image they all maintain.鈥�

Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge make 鈥減olitical art鈥�. But, in their case, the pejorative 鈥減olitical鈥� simply isn鈥檛 that kiss of death so often lobbed at artwork. The art鈥檚 politics are so seamlessly and fearlessly integrated within the framework of the pieces that they become a source of power, rather than a drawback鈥攃ataloguing the wrongs done to workers and demanding justice. Implied throughout the exhibit is Conde and Beveridge鈥檚 other, vital point: artists, as producers of a final, finished, polished project, are workers, too. They embrace the label. Art Is Political, 1976, features black-and-white photographs of an ecstatic couple dancing鈥攑olitical art made joyful and exuberant.

As I wander through the art gallery, I squint at the dark silhouettes in the darkened projection room, thinking that they must be a part of the exhibit. It takes me a second to realize that the abandoned boxes and stuffed bears are actually bits of the Gallery鈥檚 previous exhibit, Exalted Beings, being quietly shuffled away to make room for new art.

It鈥檚 business as usual in the gallery. Maybe Conde and Beveridge are right.