#: locale=en
## Hotspot
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## Media
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### Floorplan
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### Popup Image
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### Subtitle
panorama_3BB5B052_31E0_95E9_41B6_324460ADCF82.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
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panorama_3BB6410E_31E3_B779_41C6_F634CA33AF48.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
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panorama_3BB2DD38_31E1_8F99_41B4_029EC54B0593.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
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panorama_3BB345E4_31E0_9EA9_41A0_6561FCCF5F43.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
panorama_3BB37EF1_31E0_8AAB_41C5_18526CCB1A86.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
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panorama_3BB35ED0_31EF_8AE9_41C1_E7D3FC4E0BB6.subtitle = BAG | Dan Starling
### Title
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## Popup
### Body
htmlText_5A0E003B_436D_2966_41D0_8D5C550A74A9.html = Dan Starling
Unsettled Histories
Unsettled Histories takes as its starting point Rembrandt van Rijn’s renowned work Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses, a copper plate etching completed in 1653. Beginning with his replica of Rembrandt’s work, Starling created forty drypoint prints using just one piece of copper, drawn upon and then burnished, or rubbed flat, to be printed again and again. Areas of each image are embellished and erased, creating shifting tableaux that seem to traverse back and forth through time.
Known for his distinct and moody approach to portraiture and significant contributions to the rise of landscape as a pictorial genre, Rembrandt offers up an interesting paradox through the creation of five different variations, or states, of Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses. Some have speculated that his motivations were revisionist or experimental. For example, Rembrandt is known to have corrected inaccuracies in historical costumes within the crowd, to have re-drawn Christ’s expression, and to have played with a heavier inking of the plate itself—increasing the dramatic tones of the scene. The various states of this print suggest that the working methods of Rembrandt, one of the most revered artists in the Western art historical canon, might have been quite flexible and spontaneous.
Starling, through his process, questions the legitimacy of colonial histories, prodding at the foundations of settler-occupied cultural narratives. Starling’s single copper plate carries within it a multitude of propositions, fictions, literary accounts, and imaginings. In a sense, each preceding image has been “struck” (a process wherein a printmaker defaces an edition, signalling its end). Starling’s ambitious work offers viewers disruptions in historical continuity and propositions of overlooked or speculative narratives.
Accompanying Starling’s series are a number of Rembrandt etchings held in the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection. While each of the plates for these works was created by Rembrandt himself, these are considered “late editions,” or “restrikes,” printed hundreds of years after his death. Yet, they are still considered to be “original.” A print, as Starling has pointed out, is positioned in a beautiful state of “in betweenness,” without a true original and dispersed in a democratic fashion that resists reverence for the singular art object. Here, each of Starling’s works within the series Unsettled Histories is a state unto itself, defying the concept of the uniform edition. Each vignette can be thought of as a possible history.
Embedded within this artistic process is a critical re-examination of history, wherein Starling realigns the values of timelessness associated with the original with the timeliness of contemporary socio-political struggle in settler-colonial contexts. Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses depicts the foundational moment of Christ’s death outside the walls of Jerusalem, a site of ongoing conflict and occupation. By moving Rembrandt’s work, and this site, through a process of erasure, reconstruction, and superimposition, Starling highlights the instability and unfixed qualities of historical narratives. Within this work, we might glimpse sparks of friction within a specific historical timeline and reflect upon possible methods by which to unsettle the unfolding of this narrative.
Jennifer Cane
Exhibition Curator
Dan Starling
Unsettled Histories
Unsettled Histories takes as its starting point Rembrandt van Rijn’s renowned work Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses, a copper plate etching completed in 1653. Beginning with his replica of Rembrandt’s work, Starling created forty drypoint prints using just one piece of copper, drawn upon and then burnished, or rubbed flat, to be printed again and again. Areas of each image are embellished and erased, creating shifting tableaux that seem to traverse back and forth through time.
Known for his distinct and moody approach to portraiture and significant contributions to the rise of landscape as a pictorial genre, Rembrandt offers up an interesting paradox through the creation of five different variations, or states, of Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses. Some have speculated that his motivations were revisionist or experimental. For example, Rembrandt is known to have corrected inaccuracies in historical costumes within the crowd, to have re-drawn Christ’s expression, and to have played with a heavier inking of the plate itself—increasing the dramatic tones of the scene. The various states of this print suggest that the working methods of Rembrandt, one of the most revered artists in the Western art historical canon, might have been quite flexible and spontaneous.
Starling, through his process, questions the legitimacy of colonial histories, prodding at the foundations of settler-occupied cultural narratives. Starling’s single copper plate carries within it a multitude of propositions, fictions, literary accounts, and imaginings. In a sense, each preceding image has been “struck” (a process wherein a printmaker defaces an edition, signalling its end). Starling’s ambitious work offers viewers disruptions in historical continuity and propositions of overlooked or speculative narratives.
Accompanying Starling’s series are a number of Rembrandt etchings held in the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection. While each of the plates for these works was created by Rembrandt himself, these are considered “late editions,” or “restrikes,” printed hundreds of years after his death. Yet, they are still considered to be “original.” A print, as Starling has pointed out, is positioned in a beautiful state of “in betweenness,” without a true original and dispersed in a democratic fashion that resists reverence for the singular art object. Here, each of Starling’s works within the series Unsettled Histories is a state unto itself, defying the concept of the uniform edition. Each vignette can be thought of as a possible history.
Embedded within this artistic process is a critical re-examination of history, wherein Starling realigns the values of timelessness associated with the original with the timeliness of contemporary socio-political struggle in settler-colonial contexts. Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses depicts the foundational moment of Christ’s death outside the walls of Jerusalem, a site of ongoing conflict and occupation. By moving Rembrandt’s work, and this site, through a process of erasure, reconstruction, and superimposition, Starling highlights the instability and unfixed qualities of historical narratives. Within this work, we might glimpse sparks of friction within a specific historical timeline and reflect upon possible methods by which to unsettle the unfolding of this narrative.
Jennifer Cane
Exhibition Curator
Dan Starling
Unsettled Histories
Unsettled Histories takes as its starting point Rembrandt van Rijn’s renowned work Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses, a copper plate etching completed in 1653. Beginning with his replica of Rembrandt’s work, Starling created forty drypoint prints using just one piece of copper, drawn upon and then burnished, or rubbed flat, to be printed again and again. Areas of each image are embellished and erased, creating shifting tableaux that seem to traverse back and forth through time.
Known for his distinct and moody approach to portraiture and significant contributions to the rise of landscape as a pictorial genre, Rembrandt offers up an interesting paradox through the creation of five different variations, or states, of Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses. Some have speculated that his motivations were revisionist or experimental. For example, Rembrandt is known to have corrected inaccuracies in historical costumes within the crowd, to have re-drawn Christ’s expression, and to have played with a heavier inking of the plate itself—increasing the dramatic tones of the scene. The various states of this print suggest that the working methods of Rembrandt, one of the most revered artists in the Western art historical canon, might have been quite flexible and spontaneous.
Starling, through his process, questions the legitimacy of colonial histories, prodding at the foundations of settler-occupied cultural narratives. Starling’s single copper plate carries within it a multitude of propositions, fictions, literary accounts, and imaginings. In a sense, each preceding image has been “struck” (a process wherein a printmaker defaces an edition, signalling its end). Starling’s ambitious work offers viewers disruptions in historical continuity and propositions of overlooked or speculative narratives.
Accompanying Starling’s series are a number of Rembrandt etchings held in the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection. While each of the plates for these works was created by Rembrandt himself, these are considered “late editions,” or “restrikes,” printed hundreds of years after his death. Yet, they are still considered to be “original.” A print, as Starling has pointed out, is positioned in a beautiful state of “in betweenness,” without a true original and dispersed in a democratic fashion that resists reverence for the singular art object. Here, each of Starling’s works within the series Unsettled Histories is a state unto itself, defying the concept of the uniform edition. Each vignette can be thought of as a possible history.
Embedded within this artistic process is a critical re-examination of history, wherein Starling realigns the values of timelessness associated with the original with the timeliness of contemporary socio-political struggle in settler-colonial contexts. Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses depicts the foundational moment of Christ’s death outside the walls of Jerusalem, a site of ongoing conflict and occupation. By moving Rembrandt’s work, and this site, through a process of erasure, reconstruction, and superimposition, Starling highlights the instability and unfixed qualities of historical narratives. Within this work, we might glimpse sparks of friction within a specific historical timeline and reflect upon possible methods by which to unsettle the unfolding of this narrative.
Jennifer Cane
Exhibition Curator
Dan Starling
Unsettled Histories
Unsettled Histories takes as its starting point Rembrandt van Rijn’s renowned work Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses, a copper plate etching completed in 1653. Beginning with his replica of Rembrandt’s work, Starling created forty drypoint prints using just one piece of copper, drawn upon and then burnished, or rubbed flat, to be printed again and again. Areas of each image are embellished and erased, creating shifting tableaux that seem to traverse back and forth through time.
Known for his distinct and moody approach to portraiture and significant contributions to the rise of landscape as a pictorial genre, Rembrandt offers up an interesting paradox through the creation of five different variations, or states, of Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses. Some have speculated that his motivations were revisionist or experimental. For example, Rembrandt is known to have corrected inaccuracies in historical costumes within the crowd, to have re-drawn Christ’s expression, and to have played with a heavier inking of the plate itself—increasing the dramatic tones of the scene. The various states of this print suggest that the working methods of Rembrandt, one of the most revered artists in the Western art historical canon, might have been quite flexible and spontaneous.
Starling, through his process, questions the legitimacy of colonial histories, prodding at the foundations of settler-occupied cultural narratives. Starling’s single copper plate carries within it a multitude of propositions, fictions, literary accounts, and imaginings. In a sense, each preceding image has been “struck” (a process wherein a printmaker defaces an edition, signalling its end). Starling’s ambitious work offers viewers disruptions in historical continuity and propositions of overlooked or speculative narratives.
Accompanying Starling’s series are a number of Rembrandt etchings held in the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection. While each of the plates for these works was created by Rembrandt himself, these are considered “late editions,” or “restrikes,” printed hundreds of years after his death. Yet, they are still considered to be “original.” A print, as Starling has pointed out, is positioned in a beautiful state of “in betweenness,” without a true original and dispersed in a democratic fashion that resists reverence for the singular art object. Here, each of Starling’s works within the series Unsettled Histories is a state unto itself, defying the concept of the uniform edition. Each vignette can be thought of as a possible history.
Embedded within this artistic process is a critical re-examination of history, wherein Starling realigns the values of timelessness associated with the original with the timeliness of contemporary socio-political struggle in settler-colonial contexts. Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses depicts the foundational moment of Christ’s death outside the walls of Jerusalem, a site of ongoing conflict and occupation. By moving Rembrandt’s work, and this site, through a process of erasure, reconstruction, and superimposition, Starling highlights the instability and unfixed qualities of historical narratives. Within this work, we might glimpse sparks of friction within a specific historical timeline and reflect upon possible methods by which to unsettle the unfolding of this narrative.
Jennifer Cane
Exhibition Curator
Shown alongside a clean, unmarked plate is the copper plate Starling worked from in making his prints. The intensity of the printmaking process is apparent, especially as the plate has been built up over the creation of many images. In addition, a few of Starling’s tools used to make lines on the copper surface are included. When ink is applied to the plate, and it is run through the press, an impression is made.
Starling’s single copper plate carries within it a multitude of propositions, fictions, literary accounts, and imaginings. In a sense, each preceding image has been “struck” (a process wherein a printmaker defaces an edition, signalling its end). Starling’s work offers viewers disruptions in historical continuity and propositions of overlooked or speculative narratives.