Artist in Residence: Grant McConnell
“Good art will always bring the viewer back to the significant questions”
Welcome to Artist in Residence! A new feature in which we talk to artists about art, inspiration, work-adjacent life skills, current projects, great places to see great art, and all kinds of other things.
Grant McConnell is very special to us at Imprimo. Along with Paddy Lamb (about whom you’ll read more in a future “Artist in Residence” post), Grant’s involvement goes back to when we were merely the seed of an idea. He has brought decades of experience — as an artist, educator and arts administrator — a positive outlook and a probing perspective to the table over many months (years!) of discussions. His insights into what artists want and need have been invaluable to Imprimo’s development. We wouldn’t be here without his help.
Hi Grant, thanks for being our first Artist in Residence!
Imprimo: You’re answering our interview from Saskatoon. What’s the view from your window?
Grant McConnell: Beautiful day…Spring finally. It’s usually a long time coming in Saskatoon but great when it finally arrives.
I: You draw inspiration from historical events and works. How do you see contemporary art as being in dialogue with the past?
GM: The conditions of life change, but not the themes. When I read ancient literature and look to the art of the past, I’m reminded of this. I hope that my art is seen to work, hand in hand, in solidarity with the artists of the past.
I: Was there a major hurdle you had to overcome when applying for funding early in your career? Or did you get the ball rolling a different way?
GM: Funding is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to making a living as an artist. I’ve never been a big advocate of relying on one source for your income as a living in the arts is precarious by nature. Funding that came early was modest, and sporadic. Between funding, sales, arts-related work, (teaching), I’ve been able to make a living and feed my family over the years without compromising what I feel is the critical core of my work.
I: “Educator” takes equal billing in your bio with “artist.” You teach studio and art history at St. Peter’s College in Muenster, Sk. and studio and Canadian Art History at the University of Saskatchewan. Is your work as an educator integral to your practice as an artist? Do you see artists as having a role to educate?
GM: My role as a teacher may be more defined than it is with many artists, but if educating means “bringing things to light” for others, then yes, artists have a role to play in this. Just last night I was reading a quotation from James Baldwin, “The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers.” This may be what most distinguishes art from other modes of illumination. Sometimes angular or quirky, and frequently difficult, good art will always bring the viewer back to the significant questions.
I: In an interview, you said that: “You can’t make anything of substance without implicating yourself.” What do you mean by that?
GM: When art appears to be made from on high, or apart from the fray of life, it loses its general appeal and its validity. This is a criticism commonly levelled at art, and at artists. We live in the world. In one way or another, we all sit at the same table. From the most meditative through to the most provocative, art should acknowledge this in form and content.
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I: OK, quick-fire round: What artist(s), living or dead, would you most like to meet for coffee?
GM: Anonymous. The writer of Gilgamesh, the makers of the art of Lascaux.
I: Is there an unlikely skill you’ve acquired in service of your art?
GM: Stubbornness. Won’t quit, (even when I should).
I: Can you remember the first piece you exhibited publicly (as an adult, student or child)?
GM: My parents would show guests the juvenile scrawls I would leave on any blank page in a book
laying around the house. Necessity = Invention.
I: What’s the last gallery you visited?
GM: The Remai in Saskatoon. Great range of exhibitions, which I like.
Learn more about Grant’s work on Imprimo, here.
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