Myfanwy Macleod facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Myfanwy Macleod
Myfanwy Macleod's The Birds (2010) sculpture
Born	1961 London, Ontario
Education	Concordia University
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Known for	sculptor with exhibited work in Canada, the United States of America, and Europe
Notable work	Whole Lotta Love
Awards	La Fondation André Piolat (1995), VIVA award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation

Myfanwy MacLeod (born in 1961) is a Canadian artist. She lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her art has been shown in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

MacLeod has received several awards for her work. These include an award from La Fondation André Piolat in 1995. She also received a VIVA award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation in 1999. Her art is part of many public and private collections. You can find her work at the National Art Gallery of Canada and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

About Myfanwy MacLeod's Art

Myfanwy MacLeod often uses humor and satire in her art. She also includes references to pop culture and old stories. She is interested in how an image or object can change its meaning.

Since the 1990s, MacLeod has been known for art that connects different ideas. She links "high culture" (like classical art) with popular entertainment. In her recent work, she looks at how popular culture shows masculinity. She explores this through the history of modern art.

MacLeod works with many different art forms. These include sculpture, drawing, painting, and photography. She also creates performance videos and sound installations. MacLeod has also written essays and an artist's book. Her book is called “Whole Lotta Love” (2012).

Early Life and Education

MacLeod grew up in Oakville, Ontario, and London, Ontario. After high school, she traveled around Europe. When she returned to Canada, she went to Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She first studied film there. Later, she changed her focus to visual arts.

MacLeod earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 1990. In 1994, she studied independently in Paris, France. She completed her Master of Fine Arts in 1995. This was at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Teaching Art

Myfanwy MacLeod has also taught art. She taught at the University of British Columbia in 1995. From 2001 to 2006, she taught at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She was also an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario from 2007 to 2008.

Group Art Shows

Bounce (2002)

MacLeod was part of an exhibition called Bounce. This show featured three new artists from Vancouver. It was held at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto. The show included sculptures, sketches, and drawings.

MacLeod's works in Bounce included The Tiny Kingdom (2001). Other pieces were Wood For The People (2002) and A Shady Place (2002). These works together hinted at how "hillbillies" are shown in popular culture.

Hammertown (2002-2004)

Hammertown was an art show that traveled to different cities. It was shown at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Scotland in 2002. It also went to the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver in 2002. Finally, it was at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2004.

MacLeod's piece Our Mutual Friend (2002) was part of this show. It is a large wooden sculpture. It shows her interest in satire and unusual parts. The sculpture is nineteen inches long and ten inches around.

Art in Scotland

In 2005, MacLeod was an artist-in-residence at the Glenfiddich Distilleries in Scotland. This program lasted three months. During her time there, she took photos, made sculptures, and drew. She recorded how buildings on the distillery land were changing.

MacLeod was the first Canadian artist invited to this residency. She was one of seven international artists there. The art she created was shown in 2006. The exhibition was at the Contemporary Art Gallery. It was called Where I Have Lived and What I Have Lived For.

Solo Art Shows

Myfanwy MacLeod: A Brief Overview of Personology (2000)

MacLeod's show A Brief Overview of Personology was at the Charles H. Scott Gallery in Vancouver. It explored themes of self-help books, buying things, and comedy. The show used satire to create a lively setting.

MacLeod took ideas from a self-help book. She used illustrations from it in her fine art. Her works included four silkscreen prints called How To Make a Man Fall in Love With You (2000). She also had a wood sculpture, One Week (2000). Other pieces were ink drawings and a video projection called The Greeter (2000). In the video, MacLeod acted like a greeter in a big store.

The Tiny Kingdom (2001)

The Tiny Kingdom (2000) is a large sculpture made of wood and other materials. It is fourteen feet tall. It looks like an outhouse, inspired by one from the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). It was first shown in 2001 at the Or Gallery in Vancouver.

This sculpture is meant to be a place for quiet thought. It also explores the connection between art and society. It touches on ideas of country versus city. The Tiny Kingdom is now part of the permanent collection at the National Art Gallery of Canada.

Where I Lived and What I Lived For (2006)

The art MacLeod made at Glenfiddich Distilleries was shown in 2006. This exhibition was at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. It included photography, which was a new medium for MacLeod at the time.

The show featured large photographs, drawings, sculptures, and installations. It highlighted how Scotland influenced her art. MacLeod said her time there was a "voyage of discovery." She felt Scotland gave her a chance to approach her work differently.

Myfanwy MacLeod, or There and Back Again (2013-2014)

Myfanwy MacLeod, or There And Back Again was a special art show. It looked back at MacLeod's art from the past ten years. The show explored pop culture from the 1970s. It also had a theme of minimalism.

The name of the exhibition hints at JRR Tolkien's book The Hobbit. It also refers to 1970s music, like Led Zeppelin. The show also suggests the idea of a coming-of-age story.

This exhibition was shown in two places. In 2013, it was at Museum London in Ontario. In 2014, it moved to the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia.

MacLeod was born in London, Ontario, in 1961. She grew up with rock and roll music and car culture. This exhibition showed her feelings of nostalgia for the past. By showing the art in both her childhood hometown and her current city, she connected her past and present.

The show included art MacLeod made over ten years. It featured rock band posters, movie posters, and snapshot photos. It also had origami, folk crafts, and children's crafts.

At the Vancouver Art Gallery show, MacLeod helped curate a part called Artist’s Choice Cock and Bull (2014). This part combined her works with pieces from the Vancouver Art Gallery's collection. It followed a theme of a "Cock and Bull story." By only including art made by men, MacLeod explored how art display can show the challenges of being a feminist in modern art. The exhibition was set up to reflect a theme of "Rock and Roll."

The Vancouver exhibition had three extra pieces not shown in London. These were Albert Walker (2014), Dragon (2014), and Presence (2013). Presence was a small sculpture on a dolly. It referenced a Led Zeppelin album, linking 1970s heavy metal music with minimalism. Dragon was a large photo mural. Albert Walker was a sculpture that looked like an entertainment center.

MacLeod often includes music, especially 1970s heavy metal, in her art. This shows her connection to that time. She refers to the band Led Zeppelin in some works. Her artist book Whole Lotta Love (2012) is one example. Stack (2013) is an installation of screen prints. It looks like huge Marshall speakers. Some pieces in Myfanwy MacLeod, or There And Back Again are named after Led Zeppelin songs. These include Ramble On (2013), a car on a stand. Another is Living, Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman) (2013), a sculpture with a mannequin and beer cans.

MacLeod uses origami to add geometric shapes to images. She folds magazine center-folds directly. This creates humor in the forms. MacLeod also included images of Dorothy Stratten, an actress from the 1970s. The geometric shapes in the origami are seen throughout the exhibition. For example, Don’t Stop Dreaming (2004) has geometric speakers and wallpaper. This piece connects rock and roll with origami. It also relates to her earlier work about self-help books.

MacLeod has also explored old folklore traditions. Her Hex series (2009) is an example. It was shown at the Catriona Jeffries gallery in 2009. It was also in Myfanwy MacLeod, or There And Back Again. This series has hand-painted signs based on Dutch patterns from Pennsylvania. These symbols have special meanings. They are inspired by traditional Hex signs found on barn doors. By showing these symbols in an art exhibition, MacLeod gives them a new meaning.

Commissioned Artworks

The Birds (2010)

The Birds was MacLeod's first big public art project. It is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. This large sculpture shows two house sparrows. These birds are not native to British Columbia. The sculpture makes people think about ideas of place and what seems impossible. It was partly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963).

Playtime (2016)

Playtime is a public art piece in Vancouver. It is at the British Columbia (BC) Women's and Children's Hospital. MacLeod created this piece with Vancouver artist Shannon Oksanen. It was made for the BC Children's and BC Women's Redevelopment Project.

MacLeod and Oksanen used playground design as their starting point. They made five "modernist play" sculptures. These are black and white and made of glass fiber and concrete. Each piece has its own name: Two Figures in Oribit, The Family Man, Dryad, The Magic Stones, and The Musician. Together, they are called Playtime.

Playtime is an interactive art piece. It is part of the Wellness Walkway at the BC Women's and Children's hospital.

Images for kids

• 

  Myfanwy Macleod's The Birds (2010) sculpture