An Order of Canada-winning sculptor and his Juno-nominated musician son are currently on tour, presenting a unique combination concert and visual art show, rolled into one.
A Tune To Art: Sculpture and Songshowcases new works by father Joe Fafard and son Joël Fafard, formerly of Madeira Park, now turned Roberts Creek resident. They will show their work at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery (GPAG)this Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Musician Fafard has teamed up with Toronto guitarist Joel Schwartz, also on the tour, to bring out their latest CD, Borrowed Horses. Each of the song titles on this tour matches up with a bronze sculpture, many of which are Canadian animals, "including the human one," said the older Fafard. Moose and bison, bears and birds are rendered in small bronzes that are transported from place to place on a cargo trailer. There's even a raccoon which gives rise to the song title Trouble in Mind.
The tour is going great, said Joël when Coast Reporter reached him in Calgary last week.
"We do something different every night," he explained. "We look at the space together with my father and decide how to place the work."
The audience has a chance to look around, chat with the trio and buy CDs or a book about the tour before the performers give a concert.
Joe has created some of the most recognizable public art in the country, including the Running Horses that greet visitors outside the National Gallery of Canada.
His life-size bronze bull sculpture, Royal Sweet Diamond, stands in front of the B.C. Turf building in Vancouver.His bronze cows "graze" outside the Toronto Dominion Centre in Toronto.Along with the Order of Canada, he has also been honoured with other prestigious awards and honorary degrees.
He continues to live close to his roots in Saskatchewan where he has built a foundry. In this latest work, he speaks to the presence of humans that threaten the balance of many other species.
"Love and respect for all life is imperative if we are to survive," is part of his artist's statement.
Over the course of nearly two decades, the younger Fafard has carved out a music career that has included stints as a singing, song-writing roots rocker, an acoustic guitar instrumentalist, and, most recently, a southern roots and blues revivalist.Audiences on the Coast have had the opportunity to hear him in various venues where his entertaining style and guitar work makes him a hit.
Borrowed Horses, his new album, represents the evolution of that project.It features gorgeous duelling acoustic and electric guitar and his weathered vocals, belting out standards such as John Hardy and Long Black Veil. The new album also features a trio of originals from the pair, along with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's State Trooper.
The show is one night only on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 available in advance at the GPAG, MELOmania and Strait Music; or $25 at the door the night of the show.
