The Lion’s Share

EXHIBITIONS:

The Lion’s Share, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, 2012
The Lion’s Share, Doris McCarthy Art Gallery, Scarborough, 2012
The Lion’s Share, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, 2013
The Lion’s Share, Kenderdine Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 2014
The Lion’s Share, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, ACAD, Calgary, 2014

Organized by the University of Lethbridge ArtGallery, Alberta, 2011, Josephine Mills, Curator;

DESCRIPTION:

The Lion’s Share is an installation with audio, electronics, and performance on opening night.

The Lions Share was a restaurant constructed in the gallery, which incorporated kinetics, performance, and sound. This exhibition used a humorous and dream-like scenario to raise questions about the complexities of our relationship with eating animals.

THE PERFORMANCE:

“I set out to find a dozen wild hotdogs in the coulees behind The Lions Share diner. I needed to get some fresh stock for the feedlot buffet before the dinner rush. I know there were probably hundreds maybe even thousands of them roaming through the coulees but I was in a rush and I didn’t have time to go very far. It is always hard to find them up near the buildings but I got lucky and found a dozen after about twenty minutes. They don’t move very fast so once I found them it was simply a matter of using my spear to poke them along.

It was hard to get them all going in one direction –a bit like herding cats, I imagine. . As soon as we got close to the building they all seemed to panic and they tried to turn back towards the grassland. It took me quite a while to gather them up again. I was starting to get a little frustrated. The hardest part was getting them through the door to the diner. They got more and more agitated and I had to be careful not to poke them too hard and leave marks on them. Our customers never liked to see marks on the bodies of the hotdogs. Once I got them into the diner, it was tricky moving them in between the tables and chairs, especially with people already filling the restaurant. Finally, I got them to the buffet table and I gently lifted each one with tongs and placed it into the buffet holding pen. It seemed stressful, overcrowded, and still full of hotdog droppings from the day before. I really needed to clean it out more often. To be honest, I felt really uneasy about putting them in but they were on the menu so what could I do?“

CREDITS: (This page is in progress)

I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this installation possible. I am so lucky to have the support of the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Doris McCarthy Art Gallery, Dalhousie Art Gallery, and the Kenderdine Art Gallery and all of my friends and community.

Love and Respect to all. – Rita McKeough

A Special Thank you to Josephine Mills – Director/Curator

Production Assistance for Lion’s Share – Alex Moon, Yvonne Kustec, Jude Major, Yvonne Kustec, Vicki Chau, Pamela Norrish, Mary Scott, Darlene Lee, Rod Stuart, Lowell Smith, Eric Hamilton, Joseph Lamarato, Bill Gardner, Jane Edmundson, and Fred Greene, Weeds Café Staff

University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta

Installation Assistance – Jane Edmundson, Fred Green, Juliet Graham, Chad Patterson, Miranda Grol, Bonnie Patton, Allie Spencer, Roz Jeffrey.

Baker Appliances , Carol Williams, Don Gill, Glen MacKinnon, Leane Ellias, Tom Jonnsson

Doris McCarthy Art Gallery, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario

Ann MacDonald Director/ Chief Curator

Installation Assistance – Erin Peck , Jessica Thalmann, Dax Morrison, Katrina Enros, Tara Mazurk, Joshua P’ng, Caitlin Santiago, Aathy Thambiappah, Jasmine Zeng

Nella Cucina

Jackman Humanities Institute, Toronto Arts Council, Manulife FinancialAlberta Foundation for the Arts

Canada Council for the Arts

Dalhousie Art Gallery – Halifax, Nova Scotia

Peter Dyhkuis- Director/Curator

Installation Assistance – (This page is in progress)

Michelle Gallant Registrar/ Preparator , Wes Johnston, Natalie,

Kenderdine Art Gallery/ College Art Galleries – University of Saskatchewan

Kent Archer, Leah Taylor

Blair Barbeau, Jordan Schwab, Sarah Davis, Todd Lyons

Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts