A disease or physical affliction puts stress on the cells of the boy, but there are also the cells of the spirit to consider. Artists have an easier time than most about expressing those cellular impressions of the mind, even if there are no words, even if the impressions are distorted or surreal.
Jos Delgado-Guevara is an artist several times over. He put down his violin (he is the concertmaster of the PGSO, as well as a music teacher) to become a painter and quickly became a locally distinguished one.
He then put down his paintbrush to pick up the pencil and create a series of detailed sketches all talking, in their way, about the illness he lives with. He never discloses the illness, in art or in conversation, so as to keep at least some of that reality all his own, and partially to let the drawings do their own talking. The show is called The Night-Side of Life: A Personal Iconography.
Tonight, he discusses this series of sketches for the first time in his hometown of Prince George. The exhibition goes on display tonight at 7:30 p.m. at UNBC's Rotunda Gallery.
This will, however, be the fourth time it has been shown to the public. The exhibition was this year's touring show presented by the Two Rivers Gallery to the neighbouring towns of the region.
It has been extensively displayed in Mackenzie, McBride and Valemount prior to this final stop.
Delgado-Guevara also did workshops in those towns (minus Valemount, as he was out of country during that run), and offers one here as well.
"It was fun to meet those people and to do the workshops there," he said. "It was a workshop for beginner's drawing. I offer some technique in the first hour, and then we talk about thinking of a personal icon that we work on as a project to complete in that time we are together."
By choosing a personal image for the drawing exercise, he said, it shows the participants that beginner drawing can be done of images found in the abstract imagination just as much as it can be a still-life or landscape.
It is the first time Delgado-Guevara has ever taught art classes, although he is well prepared thanks to years of teaching music. His first efforts on the tour should make his Prince George workshop the best of the bunch, he said, now that he has developed better vocabulary and classroom structure through that experience, rewarding though they were.
He found the discussion of his Night Side of Life sketches to be the most emotional art conversations he has ever encountered. All art comes from a deep inner source within the mind of the artist, he said, but when the topic is illness - his own illness at that - the general becomes specific with breathtaking speed.
He admitted "I started to choke" during the opening reception in Mackenzie, as he found himself stuck midway in a sentence that, if finished, would surely result in tear. But a child's voice finished his sentence instead, with the charmingly innocent summation "because it's going to kill us all, like the plague?"
The roar of nervous laughter saved the moment, he said.
"It was dark comic relief and I'm glad it happened," he said.
"This is a very personal exhibition. It has to do with chronic illness but they are not cathartic drawings. They were not done for the purpose of healing, it was to document my thoughts. They are flowers, potatoes, sponges, which have nothing to do with my illness; those are not universal symbols. They are personal symbols that talk about my feelings and impressions. The flower is preciously done and it represents decay.
"It is coming out of something - the sponge - which represents illness. But you wouldn't be able to look at that piece and think 'oh, this is clearly a reflection on illness.' So, it all works together and it is very personal. It's more about understanding a feeling like how an illness can overtake your ego; how your friends will react and how you react to that reaction; how illness can become an excuse for some things."
Tonight's opening event starts at 7:30 p.m. with a talk by Delgado-Guevara, some light refreshments provided by the UNBC Arts Council, and a free flow of discussion during the public's initial viewing. It will then hang at UNBC until Oct. 28.
The workshop is open to all and takes place Oct. 15 (1-4 p.m.) at the Two Rivers Gallery.
It is $10 to sign up; all materials are provided. To register, visit the gallery downtown, call 250-614-7800, or email [email protected].
