I have been anticipating diving into this post for some time and I finally decided I just had to introduce my readers to Dyan Marie. My husband's aunt, Dyan Marie, is an incredibly innovative and gifted artist whom I've personally admired for many years. What inspires me most? Her art straddles art and activism while effectively embodying both! She is on the edge!Dyan Marie uses her art as a tool for social change and social awareness in a way that is unique, powerful, and provocative. A resident of Toronto, the epitome of Canadian urban settings, Dyan Marie has applied the grassroots concept of community activism to the sprawling city streets which form for her neighbourhood, and home!
My favourite of Dyan Marie's exhibitions over the last few years is that of the "Vine People". This experiment in transformative public art, fraught with symbolism marked "areas of Concern" in the city's Bloor-Lansdowne-Dupont area. For those of you unfamiliar with Toronto this area is known for its perilous nature. Dyan Marie called her "Vine People" ambassadors. The vine people images are inspired by the local flora of Poison Ivy, and weeds--beautiful in there own right and meant to transform crack houses, contaminated lands, and other signs of despair on her cities streets into areas of hope. They are meant to be ambassadors of what could be, of possibilities. Greening a community takes on a whole new meaning and Dyan Marie does not take this lightly but rather tackles this task head-on with in-your-face images approaching graffiti art! You must view her Vine People You-Tube videoclip {performance art if you will}!
This year's exhibit entitle Transmissions poses the question "Where does my body end?" Though I have not discussed with her these images and the meaning behind them, to me they represent the way we as humans exhibit a need to fill our environment; how our existence fills and inevitably effects the world around us; and perhaps symbolize our connections to a world beyond ourselves. Okay, I am a true novice at art interpretation! All I know is that her images excite emotions in me and a passion to make a difference!
Please Visit: Dyan Marie.
Images are from Dyan Marie's website.
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