Editor, The Times:
They know the price of everything but the value of absolutely nothing.
In January of 2017, now a year past, I opened the gallery season at the old Dutch Lake school (now Dutch Lake Community Centre with municipal offices, etc.).
I put on a photography display “Reflections of the B.C. Coast.” This was a collection of photos that I had taken in my 40 years as a commercial fisherman.
SEE MORE: PHOTO: The life of a fisherman (Feb. 5, 2017)
Despite the crudity and unfinished aspect of my display, I received a lot of positive feedback – far more than I expected. In fact, I was just working in my slow and uneven style on another display (Wrecked and Abandoned Ships on the B.C. Coast.)
But what’s the use? As of a short while ago, the Clearwater Gallery no longer exists.
The facts, as I’ve been told them, is that as of Jan 1, 2018 the rent for the gallery space went from $100/month to $700/month all at once!
READ MORE: NT Arts Council opens public gallery as it seeks new members (Dec. 7, 2016)
This is market value, they say. Remember the price of everything?
However, what is the value of an art gallery here in Clearwater, where wannabees like myself can exhibit our works? Nothing! Nada! - The value of nothing!
In small industrial towns like Clearwater (and I’ve lived in several) the important thing is to keep as many logging trucks moving as possible and keep that mill cutting. Don’t get me wrong here, this is very important – vital in fact!
In this atmosphere the artists, painters, photographers and carvers are thought to be oddities, not really contributing much to society. It helps to pause here and reflect that, over the centuries, it’s the art that has survived – Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, etc.
When the last tree has been trucked and cut, whether the pipeline built pays for itself or doesn’t – art will still survive to carry the rest of humanity into the future. Market value? Indeed!
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.