I looked up at the walls of the Edge Gallery, awestruck. Small postcard-sized drawings were everywhere, covering the walls like tiny freckles.
The Edge Gallery sits on the periphery of the downtown area, off Main Street just past the Disraeli Bridge turnoff. Late last Thursday evening I stepped off of a bus and hurried through the gallery’s front door, escaping the cool fall weather creeping between the fabric of my sweater. Breathing heavily, rubbing my frozen fingers together, I was politely ushered inside. The entire gallery was mine, so I stared shamelessly up at the walls, glassy eyed and mesmerized.
Today the gallery featured the artwork of a group called the Peanuts, an arts collective who gather to create their work together. The collective consists of such local artists as Toby Gillies, Josh Ruth, Ben Clarkson, Janessa Brunet, Evin Collis, Claire Childs, Scott Leroux, Elise Nadeau, Ted Barker, Steve Basham and Tea Radic. To be clear, the individual artwork (on display in a different part of the gallery) is separated from the work that the group has produced together.
For some reason, the idea of collective or collaborative art fascinates me. The interests of the individual, and the often selfish motivations that accompany personal interests, melt into the background. In an interview with the Manitoban, one of the many Peanuts articulated this ideology.
“Being a Peanut means making art for art’s sake. It’s about getting away from the notion of the individual artist and working together with artists from all walks of life.”
The walls in the gallery, the small drawings that are for sale and the sketches filling the pages of the Places for Peanuts zine do not bear any single artist’s name. There is an ambiguity that is both humble and intriguing.
“We’re all coming up with our own ideas from our own places,” one of the Peanuts said when asked if the collective nature of this project compromised the creativity of the individual. “We’re a very diverse group. When we see something someone else is doing, we mutate it into something new. We do lose a bit of individual freedom, but I think we get a net gain.”
The massive wall of drawings feels organic. There are connections between particular pictures, particular phrases, all emerging as one massive display. Every drawing is different. Most of the images were generated through different drawing games, more-often-than-not, while sitting around a table in a bar, an apartment or a restaurant. Some of the creations are hilarious.
There is definitely something informal and relaxed about the work of Places for Peanuts. I have never had so much fun looking at art. There is a creepy synergy moving between the small images spotting the walls. There are also a lot of perfectly rendered penises. The Peanuts give you reasons to laugh, moments to ponder and a great opportunity to see some local artwork.
“It feels like people are paying us to hang out,” said one of the peanuts. “It’s a great feeling.”
Places for Peanuts will be on display at the Edge Art Gallery until Nov. 4. Admission is free. If you are up to braving the cold, it will be worth your while.
