John Cullen Nugent
John Cullen Nugent RCA (1921-2014) was a Canadian artist and educator known primarily for his public art works, often in the form of abstract sculpture.Born and raised in Montreal on 5 January 1921,[1] the young Nugent attended high school in St. Paul, Minnesota before returning to Canada prior to the Second World War and joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, training at Regina and Ottawa.[2][5] Nugent attended the Emma Lake Artist's Workshops in the 1950s and 1960s, studying with Jack Shadbolt, Joseph Plaskett, Will Barnet, and Clement Greenberg.[5] In Lumsden, Nugent established his first studio (formerly a barn) and bronze casting foundry on a 2.7-hectare parcel of land that forms the north slope of the Qu’Appelle Valley.[2][7] According to Timothy Long, these works were "simplified, yet expressive": chalices and crucifixes which demonstrated Nugent's interest in modern interpretations of early Christian and Romanesque models.[2] The Shop's wick material was specially woven from beeswax bought from the beekeepers co-operative processing plant at Tisdale and treated with a solution, the ingredients of which were a trade secret taught to him by L. H. Shirley, a Roman Catholic priest in Young, Saskatchewan.[9] Long describes how Nugent's work differentiates itself from that of others:While often incorporating identifiable parts, such as wheels, his sculpture eludes easy metaphorical readings, instead creating meaning through unexpected combinations of forms and materials.[12] After Macdonald's role in the Canadian Indian residential school system and other dealings became common knowledge in the 2010s, there were calls to remove the statue from its location in Victoria Park.[19] The federal government's Cultural Property Inventory cites complaints from employees and the general public that the work was "ugly and meaningless", and "charges that the piece was dangerous in the winter because someone might walk into it and injure themselves.[9] The title, an invented term, was suggested to him by the final form of the sculpture, which originally sat as one of the many strewn about his studio, the uncoated welded steel gaining a patina of characteristics of the material itself.[9] Welded steel shapes of different sizes and lengths, the central piece a trapezoid suggestive of a hammock, located at the Confederation Centre Plaza in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
MontrealLumsden, SaskatchewanSaint John's Universityliturgicalpublic sculpturephotographyLouis RielNo. 1 Northernpublic artabstract sculptureSt. Paul, MinnesotaSecond World WarRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceReginaOttawaCanadian Armyprovost corpsSt John's UniversityCollegeville, MinnesotaEmma Lake Artist's WorkshopsJack ShadboltJoseph PlaskettWill BarnetClement Greenbergbronze castingQu’Appelle ValleychandlerRomanesqueWindsor, OntariobeeswaxTisdaletrade secretRoman Catholic priestYoung, SaskatchewanClifford WiensKenneth LochheadRoy KiyookaCanadian Register of Historic PlacesDavid SmithconstructivistcollageVictoria ParkPrairie ProvincesBanff CentreRegina, SaskatchewanCanadian Grain CommissionWinnipegNational Capital CommissionRobert McLaughlin GalleryOshawaSaskatchewan Arts BoardUniversity of ReginaWinnipeg Art GalleryRoss ThatcherJohn A. Macdonald Memorial (Grandmaison)Prime Minister of CanadaJohn A. MacdonaldsolderedCanadian Indian residential school systemCanadian CentennialMétisMacKenzie Art GalleryrealisticUniversity of SaskatchewanArt McKayburlapgenitaliametaphorspring wheatEugene WhelanRevenue CanadasurpluspatinaCharlottetown, Prince Edward IslandRoyal Canadian Academy of ArtsThe Leader-PostCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian EncyclopediaHistorica CanadaGovernment of SaskatchewanRegina Leader-PostConcordia UniversityThe Western ProducerCarleton UniversityMcGillQueen's University Press