La Cloche Spirit: The Equivalent Light

CONTACT 2012, May 13 – May 26, 200 Bay St., Toronto

Opening Reception on Monday, May 14, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

‘The La Cloche Spirit: The Equivalent Light’ is a photographic exhibit by Jon Butler exploring the equivalent light of dawn and how it evokes inspirational space capturing the timeless beauty of nature.

The impressive and spiritual qualities of the La Cloche Mountains of Northern Ontario have drawn artists and travelers for centuries. The mystical light, windswept pines and quartzite vistas of the area have enthralled the Anishinabe, French voyageurs, British traders, Canada’s Group of Seven and today’s visitors.

An Equivalent is a photograph that functions as a work of art because while it communicates it also suggests mental images. This is what the natural colour of Butler’s photographs inspires. Alfred Stieglitz pioneered this photographic concept, which was adopted and widely taught by Minor White.

The digital and analog exhibition photographs were taken in the Willisville Mountain area of La Cloche. This area was recently saved from the possibility of any future mining as a quarry. In 2011, the mining company Vale liberally surrendered the license for this property so it may be enjoyed for generations to come. Butler was instrumental in saving the Mountain and establishing the La Cloche Mountains Preservation Society.

Butler’s 30 years of photographing La Cloche has resulted in a photographic style that conveys the colour fields of Mark Rothko and landscapes of Franklin Carmichael.

The exhibit will be in the South Tower Lobby of the Royal Bank Plaza at 200 Bay St., Toronto from Sunday, May 13 to Saturday, May 26, 2012. The opening reception will be on Monday, May 14 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.

The exhibit was funded in part by the Ontario Arts Council and Vale.