Michael Kast was once a full participant in the Dead Head lifestyle, but he was always a full participant in the Vibrant Head lifestyle at the same time. He was one of those original hippies who lived the humble, deliberate wanderer's life made famous by the Grateful Dead band and their travelling community of fans, who valued personal expressionism and eschewed the constructs of society.
Kast was far from transient this past year. He was selected to be the artist-in-residence for the Community Arts Council (along with Lynette La Fontaine), getting him a year of free studio space plus some professional development at the Studio 2880 arts complex.
Tonight, he shows the public some of what he's been working on for that year. His solo exhibition opens at the Studio 2880 Feature Gallery.
"What a year. The name of the show is called The Long Strange Trip, once again referring to my Grateful Dead days and how that is applicable at any time in my life, as an artist and on my personal journey as well," he said. "So much happened for me and my wife this year, I got to work with Lynette as well and got to see how she works, meeting so many other artists. I know Prince George has sometimes been called cliquish, and I'm sure it is in some ways, but for me, was there ever a lot of openness to myself personally and an openness to collaborating and sharing knowledge, so I have a different view of that. I am so very grateful to the entire Prince George community for being a place that supports the arts to the degree that a guy like me got a chance."
He enthusiastically remembered experimenting more as an artist than he ever dreamed before, because he had the room and the resources to try out new ideas, new techniques, and if they didn't turn out to his liking, he could simply move on to the next experiment. As an artist with an array of genres in his collection, he was never short on ideas.
"The main reason that the arts council chose me was my digital background so I thought it only fitting that I have some digital pieces in the show. At the same time they gave me a space in order to grow and experiment. I worked on some large abstracts, and I did something I have never heard of done before in the Feature Gallery" that he did not disclose the full nature of, only that it was a surprise piece of ceiling-mounted art that had a nod of inspiration to the legendary Michelangelo.
"I believe that I've grown exponentially as an artist," he said, in thanks to the artist-in-residence opportunity. "There was so much experimenting and stretching and attempting new techniques. I found that it's okay to discover what doesn't work and not consider that a failure. I went through a lot of gesso covering a lot of junk up, but I have no shame in that, I do not call any of that failure, finding out I was no good at this, because I did find out I was good at something else. And it all came from having a comfortable space for making those experiments. And I can't say enough about the support I received from (Commuity Arts Council staff Lisa Redpath and Sean Farrell) in all aspects of the residency."
The event runs from 5-7 p.m. and is free of charge for the public to attend. Local teacher and writer Al Rempel will also be involved, reading from his new book of poetry.
Kast is now the full-time artist-in-residence at Mills Office Productivity (formerly SpeeDee Printers) downtown. He is the manager of their art department, carrying on where the Community Arts Council position left off now that his year is finished.
He will talk all about art, and the pieces he's created, during Thursday's unveiling of The Long Strange Trip.
