A piece we produced in concert with CBC Television’s ‘The Exhibitionists’ on the arts scene in Hamilton, Ontario. Starring Chris Farias of Kitestring Creative and broadcast nationally in 2016.
CBC Television Story
Produced in concert with CBC Television’s The Exhibitionists, this piece explores Hamilton’s arts scene, starring Chris Farias of Kitestring Creative. Broadcast nationally in 2016.
Client
CBC Television
Industry
Public Sector
Type
Documentary
Platform
Web & Social Media, Broadcast
Audience
CBC Television – "The Exhibitionists" Transcript
Hey everybody, it's Chris Frias, local creative and man about town, and I'm here in beautiful Hamilton, Ontario. When you think of Hamilton, you probably imagine the steel stacks behind me. While this landscape doesn't really scream inspiration, I have a feeling that the artists we meet today are going to show us how industry inspires beauty.
Let's go! My name's Steve Massa. I am a maker. I'm an artist. I create. So when I make my own work, yeah, absolutely. It's these twists on the imagination. So I want to make sure that I am constantly experimenting and trying new ideas. And then as that happens, from that process of flexing those creative muscles, that's when the inspiration starts to develop.
There's a lot of things about Hamilton that I love. The community of artists that I work with, the history that comes with the city. There's a lot of great industrial heritage around here that's definitely had an impact on what I do. I think it sort of hovers in the background, and it's the kind of stuff that I just think about every day, and I experience the city, and eventually something happens.
Yeah, art is my work. It's not an escape. I use whatever is appropriate. I use styrofoam. I'll use concrete. I'll use fiberglass, carbon fiber, hot glue if it's the right choice. It's about making the final product and what best serves that when I'm making it for myself or for whatever client hires me. It looks like someone didn't have their V8 today.
Yeah. It's what's going on here. Are you uncomfortable right now, Steve? Not at all. Because I'm a little bit uncomfortable. Oh, look it. Instantly thinner. I like it. I like it, Steve. Oh, tell me about these. These are leftover bits from a series I did a few years ago, all sort of revolving around the factory skyline of Hamilton.
Well, you think of Hamilton and you think of the manufacturing and the steel industry and all those old buildings, and then lately that's changing, and these factories are turning into condos or artist centers or whatever else. So there's definitely a transition that's going on in Hamilton, and I wanted to sort of capture that moment as it shifted. So this is a piece I did for the Pan Am Games.
It's an unlucky cat, and so it references the piece you see in restaurant windows. And it's sort of meant to represent the gentrification of Hamilton, and so it's like a double-edged sword. I need to make things, you know. When you say I need to make things, what does that mean? You know, some people are bankers, some people, you know, play sports, I don't know.
But for me, this is absolutely part of my identity, yeah. Steph Seagram, that's me. Mixed media artist. I have been working since the late 90s, mostly drawing and painting. I think when you become inspired, you just want to get to it. And it's almost like this tunnel vision that happens. You know when you're sailing or windsurfing, and you get this like wind, and you're just so excited about it.
It's the same thing, it's this excitement that happens. I love it. I think the way that nature comes through in my work is how it's sort of the chaotic part. The part that has no rhyme or reason against the juxtaposition of mechanical, geometric, industrial stuff. And in Hamilton, it's all around you here. So I find Hamilton itself also really inspiring in terms of the visual topography.
I tend to refer to my work as drawings, even though a lot of people refer to them as paintings. So I use things like pencil and ink, graphite, markers, spray paint, pencil crayons. Anything that's really sort of tactile and you can kind of work with it and push it around. And at some stage in my art making, I have to think and work with my hands.
So Sarkoa commissioned me to make some site-specific work. And they wanted the waterfront in there. And basically you see this horizon line here and these abstract shapes. But really what's interesting to me here is all the maps that I've used that I found in the Hamilton Library archives. And it's all from the shoreline of Hamilton over the past 150 years.
And I've transferred them onto here to create this really interesting interaction between the space outside and the painting inside. Beautiful. It's like fire under my feet. It pushes at my head, at my heart. And I know that if I don't make art, it will be the biggest regret in my life. There you have it, Canada. From smoke sacks to bike racks and everything in between.
It's not that hard to find inspiration here in Hamilton. You just have to keep your eyes and your heart open to it. Until next time, I'm Chris Farias. Stay inspired.
About this project
CBC Television – "The Exhibitionists" Transcript
Hey everybody, it's Chris Frias, local creative and man about town, and I'm here in beautiful Hamilton, Ontario. When you think of Hamilton, you probably imagine the steel stacks behind me. While this landscape doesn't really scream inspiration, I have a feeling that the artists we meet today are going to show us how industry inspires beauty.
Let's go! My name's Steve Massa. I am a maker. I'm an artist. I create. So when I make my own work, yeah, absolutely. It's these twists on the imagination. So I want to make sure that I am constantly experimenting and trying new ideas. And then as that happens, from that process of flexing those creative muscles, that's when the inspiration starts to develop.
There's a lot of things about Hamilton that I love. The community of artists that I work with, the history that comes with the city. There's a lot of great industrial heritage around here that's definitely had an impact on what I do. I think it sort of hovers in the background, and it's the kind of stuff that I just think about every day, and I experience the city, and eventually something happens.
Yeah, art is my work. It's not an escape. I use whatever is appropriate. I use styrofoam. I'll use concrete. I'll use fiberglass, carbon fiber, hot glue if it's the right choice. It's about making the final product and what best serves that when I'm making it for myself or for whatever client hires me. It looks like someone didn't have their V8 today.
Yeah. It's what's going on here. Are you uncomfortable right now, Steve? Not at all. Because I'm a little bit uncomfortable. Oh, look it. Instantly thinner. I like it. I like it, Steve. Oh, tell me about these. These are leftover bits from a series I did a few years ago, all sort of revolving around the factory skyline of Hamilton.
Well, you think of Hamilton and you think of the manufacturing and the steel industry and all those old buildings, and then lately that's changing, and these factories are turning into condos or artist centers or whatever else. So there's definitely a transition that's going on in Hamilton, and I wanted to sort of capture that moment as it shifted. So this is a piece I did for the Pan Am Games.
It's an unlucky cat, and so it references the piece you see in restaurant windows. And it's sort of meant to represent the gentrification of Hamilton, and so it's like a double-edged sword. I need to make things, you know. When you say I need to make things, what does that mean? You know, some people are bankers, some people, you know, play sports, I don't know.
But for me, this is absolutely part of my identity, yeah. Steph Seagram, that's me. Mixed media artist. I have been working since the late 90s, mostly drawing and painting. I think when you become inspired, you just want to get to it. And it's almost like this tunnel vision that happens. You know when you're sailing or windsurfing, and you get this like wind, and you're just so excited about it.
It's the same thing, it's this excitement that happens. I love it. I think the way that nature comes through in my work is how it's sort of the chaotic part. The part that has no rhyme or reason against the juxtaposition of mechanical, geometric, industrial stuff. And in Hamilton, it's all around you here. So I find Hamilton itself also really inspiring in terms of the visual topography.
I tend to refer to my work as drawings, even though a lot of people refer to them as paintings. So I use things like pencil and ink, graphite, markers, spray paint, pencil crayons. Anything that's really sort of tactile and you can kind of work with it and push it around. And at some stage in my art making, I have to think and work with my hands.
So Sarkoa commissioned me to make some site-specific work. And they wanted the waterfront in there. And basically you see this horizon line here and these abstract shapes. But really what's interesting to me here is all the maps that I've used that I found in the Hamilton Library archives. And it's all from the shoreline of Hamilton over the past 150 years.
And I've transferred them onto here to create this really interesting interaction between the space outside and the painting inside. Beautiful. It's like fire under my feet. It pushes at my head, at my heart. And I know that if I don't make art, it will be the biggest regret in my life. There you have it, Canada. From smoke sacks to bike racks and everything in between.
It's not that hard to find inspiration here in Hamilton. You just have to keep your eyes and your heart open to it. Until next time, I'm Chris Farias. Stay inspired.
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