Detail of an untitled work by R. Weghster. Glazed ceramic tiles. Feb 1975 in the lower level of Place du Portage, phase 2 in the City of Gatineau. This is one of the works that was commissioned as part of the Department of Public Works Fine Arts acquisition program that purchased or commissioned artworks for goverment buildings all over Canada between 1964 and 1978. This program was quite controversial and was eventually dismantled , probably never to return. There are "seasons" of boom and bust directly tied to the vigour of the economy when it comes to public art commissions with taxpayers as the patron. To the credit of the commisioners, many of these works are made of durable stuff and have survived more or less as they were at the time they were installed.

Some general information about these pictures:

Like many other photographers, I have often made pictures of art for institutions and artists. While doing this I have learned much, made many friends and occasionally a little money. However much fun doing that kind of work is, my satisfaction from it has always been tempered by the creative limits placed on me as someone elses hired "shooter". The client always provides the subject, approves the treatment and judges its success.

This new body or work is made outside of those contraints. The pictures are of artworks from the National Capital Region. This project has several dimensions.

There is the documentary component that designates a time, place and creator (usually) to the works photographed but it is not comprehensive or a catalogue for this kind of artwork in the NCC region. I have picked and chosen according to my interests. Often the artworks are displayed at a distance or they are not featured as the pictorially strongest part of the image. In any event, there is a lot of stuff excluded from here that someone might expect in an index.

I am doing this because I am more interested in using these pictures to articulate some ideas and put questions about living with this kind of art which is a such a defining aspect of seeing my city. As this project grows in size (- currently there are at least 125 images -) many themes and issues become easier to see and illustrate.

These pictures show a wide spectrum of stuff including temporary public works, a few graffitti works, some commercial appropriations of well known artists, monuments and works that exist in the exotic territory of the comtemporary fine arts milieu. . There are good, bad, neglected , expensive, forgotten , reviled, sentimental and sometimes wonderful things that suggest issues common to much of our public art in our cities. What is it for? Who paid for it? Has it lasted. Should it last? How does it work? What does it mean? And what does it mean to me?

I hope you like them - I will continue adding to this site for quite a long time I expect......