Today I'm going to talk about an aspect of the business of art making and that is the commission. To commission an artist is like hiring a consultant. Why do consultant's get hired - in order to complete a one off task with professional expertise. So hiring, or commissioning, an artist is similar in that the artist is hired for their expertise in order to make a piece of artwork. The commissioner could be an individual, a company, local, provincial or federal government or even through a third party - like Two Rivers Gallery.
Two Rivers Gallery commissioned Peter von Tiesenhausen to create a sculpture that will be permanently installed, at the beginning of June, outside of the Gallery. The sculpture, called Balance, is a 6m tall iron and bronze form that brings together a stylized human form with that of a tree. Combining the human and tree forms is a reference to the important links between nature, human beings and our community.
Peter von Tiesenhausen was commissioned with this project because of his international reputation and his professional relationship with the Gallery. In 2005 Von Tiesenhausen installed a temporary project called Requiem that explored relationships between humans and the pine forest. The working relationships between artists and gallerys is akin to working with your trusted contractor someone you can rely on and recommend to others to get the job done and done well.
The sculpture will be installed and revealed the first week of June is a permanent legacy to this era of transition between ourselves and the forest.