Artist adorns hospital walls with conceptual art

By Christina Zoernig

EDMONTON – With his most recent exhibit on display at the Misericordia Community Hospital’s “In House” gallery, William G. Prettie’s conceptual art is open for staff, patients and visitors alike.

The Art & Journey of William G. Prettie is a 32-piece collection of vibrant, textured and thought-provoking works that lines one of the halls of the hospital for passers-by to view during visits or rounds.

The process of creating a piece is always full of twists and turns for many artists. Prettie is no exception.

“Everything that you see on the wall here, none of that is art,” said Prettie.  “This is the piece. This is the valued bit of worth. For me, the art is the doing… when I’m doing this, that’s the art. These are just the recordings.”

The exhibit, which is comprised of pieces that have been produced in the past four years, showcases numerous techniques and styles through the use of typography, colours and even layers. Prettie’s works are fuelled by the artist’s emotions and desire to invoke feelings in those who look at his works.

“I love the idea that people can look at the artifact and they can often trace back to those feelings of joy that I have had when I was working with them,” he said.

After spending his life trying to figure out what art was for himself and others, Prettie attended the University of Victoria around the age of 42.  His intent was on finding more tools to push himself from being a private artist into a more public one.

Years later, his works have progressed into what we see now in galleries in Edmonton, Calgary and Sherwood Park.

“Love and the forest floor” is the largest piece in the collection and was one of the last important pieces he completed before another major experience – open-heart surgery.

Prettie felt that it was necessary to incorporate this event, believing that any experience can act as an important catalyst to his work.

“I don’t exactly know how yet,” said Prettie, “but I do know that as soon as I could, I started back into the studio and started producing using the methods that I had before. However, I found myself refining and limiting the palette even more.”

The artifacts include pieces from his Luminous series, which are interspersed between those of his Letters series and Black and White series, each with its own set of patterns and colours that will allow viewers to interpret it in their own way.

In addition to sharing his experiences with the public, 20 per cent of the proceeds from the “In House” gallery sales go towards the hospital and those who use the facility in the west Edmonton area.

According to Brenda Shim, the manager of volunteer services at Misericordia Community Hospital, the proceeds go towards patient care for things such as art therapy, the Art and Healing program and creative care program.

“We always have had the gallery,” said Shim, who has been there since 1999 when volunteer services took responsibility for the project.

In addition to the proceeds, the gallery encourages artists in the community to showcase their talents to the public through their pieces.

Prettie hopes to continue the exhibits in the future by using his new experiences as a foundation for his works to come.

As Prettie said, “I love to tell people that the best piece of work I have done is the next piece I am going to do.”

The exhibit is set to continue until Oct 2.