Sharing a gaze across centuries of time
Shows of new works and big-name travelling exhibitions tend to grab all the art-world attention. But the permanent collections of large art institutions are important resources for scholarship and research. They're crucial in the preservation of cultural heritage.
Beyond that, there's just something satisfying for regular gallery visitors in being able to return to favourite pieces over the years, visiting them like old friends.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Portrait of a Lady (dated about 1540) by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Cranach was a painter to the Saxony court in Wittenberg, and his portraits of women generally express Northern Renaissance ideals of beauty and fashion.
Here, the subject has a high, unmarked forehead, which was considered a sign of beauty and serenity. (Elegant women of the day often painstakingly plucked their hair to achieve this look.) She also has the physical slightness, the narrow sloping shoulders, the extreme paleness that Cranach favoured in the female form, holdovers of the Gothic style.
The sitter's outfit shows off not just her wealth and status but also the artist's ability to capture texture and detail. We see the sumptuous, velvety material of the dress, the hard metallic gleam of the chains, the delicate puff of feathers atop her intricate headgear.
But underneath all this finery, who is this unnamed woman? In historical portraiture in the European tradition, men are generally defined by their achievements, while women are defined by their physical appearance.
Cranach has painted her as she is expected to be — beautiful and stylish. The one place where her individuality might break through is in her facial expression, and that remains enigmatic, hard to read.
This mysterious quality was only underlined when a radiographic examination revealed that at one point the good lady had a platter with a severed human head under her arms, in the lower left of the panel.
This suggests the sitter was initially portrayed in the guise of Salome, who danced before Herod and then demanded the head of John the Baptist as a reward. Cranach had kind of a thing for lovely women and decapitations, and he often painted women of the court as Salome or as Judith with the head of Holofernes. There are weird juxtapositions in these works, between the smooth, pale, composed faces of the women and the gawping mouths and raggedly bloody necks of their victims.
WHY IT MATTERS: Galleries and museums often reframe and recontextualize works in their permanent collection through themed exhibitions. There are two such shows on right now at WAG-Qaumajuq, Crying Over Spilt Tea and a matter of time, and these are important projects, demonstrating how the meanings and effects of art can shift over time, as culture, society and audiences change.
But there's also something valuable in the serendipitous experiences that can be found when wandering through the historical galleries, where groupings are loosely chronological or regional. Without a lot of connecting information, a viewer often ends up in an odd, unexpected, one-on-one connection with a work that just draws them in, sometimes for reasons that aren't initially clear.
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Cranach's work might just be an arrangement of paint on wood, but because it's a portrait, it can feel like a personal encounter — we look at her, and she looks at us, across centuries of time.
In the daily art posts he wrote during the COVID-19 lockdown, Stephen Borys, WAG-Qaumajuq's then director and CEO, said he finds her gaze 'both intense and gentle,' and I can see that, too.
At other times, I think I see a hint of haughty, dangerous eroticism, perhaps a holdover from her incarnation as Salome. Is there even something a little challenging in the direct way she looks at us?
I honestly don't know, which is frustrating but also fascinating — and why I keep going back.
alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca
Alison GillmorWriter
Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sharing a gaze across centuries of time
WHAT IT IS: A painting of oil and tempera on wood, Portrait of a Lady (dated about 1540) by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, is from the WAG-Qaumajuq's permanent collection. It is currently on view as part of the historical collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture and decorative art in the long, narrow Gallery 1. Shows of new works and big-name travelling exhibitions tend to grab all the art-world attention. But the permanent collections of large art institutions are important resources for scholarship and research. They're crucial in the preservation of cultural heritage. Beyond that, there's just something satisfying for regular gallery visitors in being able to return to favourite pieces over the years, visiting them like old friends. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Portrait of a Lady (dated about 1540) by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Cranach was a painter to the Saxony court in Wittenberg, and his portraits of women generally express Northern Renaissance ideals of beauty and fashion. Here, the subject has a high, unmarked forehead, which was considered a sign of beauty and serenity. (Elegant women of the day often painstakingly plucked their hair to achieve this look.) She also has the physical slightness, the narrow sloping shoulders, the extreme paleness that Cranach favoured in the female form, holdovers of the Gothic style. The sitter's outfit shows off not just her wealth and status but also the artist's ability to capture texture and detail. We see the sumptuous, velvety material of the dress, the hard metallic gleam of the chains, the delicate puff of feathers atop her intricate headgear. But underneath all this finery, who is this unnamed woman? In historical portraiture in the European tradition, men are generally defined by their achievements, while women are defined by their physical appearance. Cranach has painted her as she is expected to be — beautiful and stylish. The one place where her individuality might break through is in her facial expression, and that remains enigmatic, hard to read. This mysterious quality was only underlined when a radiographic examination revealed that at one point the good lady had a platter with a severed human head under her arms, in the lower left of the panel. This suggests the sitter was initially portrayed in the guise of Salome, who danced before Herod and then demanded the head of John the Baptist as a reward. Cranach had kind of a thing for lovely women and decapitations, and he often painted women of the court as Salome or as Judith with the head of Holofernes. There are weird juxtapositions in these works, between the smooth, pale, composed faces of the women and the gawping mouths and raggedly bloody necks of their victims. WHY IT MATTERS: Galleries and museums often reframe and recontextualize works in their permanent collection through themed exhibitions. There are two such shows on right now at WAG-Qaumajuq, Crying Over Spilt Tea and a matter of time, and these are important projects, demonstrating how the meanings and effects of art can shift over time, as culture, society and audiences change. But there's also something valuable in the serendipitous experiences that can be found when wandering through the historical galleries, where groupings are loosely chronological or regional. Without a lot of connecting information, a viewer often ends up in an odd, unexpected, one-on-one connection with a work that just draws them in, sometimes for reasons that aren't initially clear. Monthly What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. Cranach's work might just be an arrangement of paint on wood, but because it's a portrait, it can feel like a personal encounter — we look at her, and she looks at us, across centuries of time. In the daily art posts he wrote during the COVID-19 lockdown, Stephen Borys, WAG-Qaumajuq's then director and CEO, said he finds her gaze 'both intense and gentle,' and I can see that, too. At other times, I think I see a hint of haughty, dangerous eroticism, perhaps a holdover from her incarnation as Salome. Is there even something a little challenging in the direct way she looks at us? I honestly don't know, which is frustrating but also fascinating — and why I keep going back. Alison GillmorWriter Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Home-based Winnipeg venture gives savoury stuffed Asian dumplings their due as the main attraction — not just as an appetizer
Forks up if you remember the cheeky advertising campaign that was hatched a few years ago by the Egg Farmers of Canada, the one that carried the slogan 'Eggs Anytime: It's Not Weird,' and encouraged people to enjoy eggs for lunch or supper instead of just first thing in the morning. In that same vein, Aaron Li, owner of Super Flying Dumpling, a home-based venture that turns out four varieties of hand-formed Chinese dumplings, posted a message on Instagram asking his followers 'What's for dinner?' together with a snapshot of one of his crescent-shaped treats. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li markets Chinese dumplings based on family recipes and sells them at farmers' markets around the city. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li markets Chinese dumplings based on family recipes and sells them at farmers' markets around the city. 'If you go to restaurants in Canada, you only see dumplings listed on the appetizer side of the menu and because of that, people here have this preconceived notion that they aren't a main dish,' Li says, seated in a Pembina Highway coffee shop, not far from where he lives with his wife Ruby and their two young children, Jasper and Oscar. 'In China, however, it's a very common food. If you get married, you eat dumplings. If you go to a funeral, you eat dumplings. My goal is to change people's way of thinking, and get them to consider having dumplings as an entrée, maybe together with some soup or noodles.' Li, 37, was born in Baotou, the second-most populous city in Inner Mongolia, China. Following their marriage, he and Ruby lived in Jonesboro, Ark., for six years, where he took a video-production course at Arkansas State University. Upon their return to China, Ruby made the decision to continue studying abroad. She did her homework and settled on Winnipeg as their next stop, owing to its affordability and the province's welcoming immigration policy. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Ruby (from left), Jasper, Oscar and Aaron Li serve up dumplings at the Wolseley Farmers' Market. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Ruby (from left), Jasper, Oscar and Aaron Li serve up dumplings at the Wolseley Farmers' Market. Li laughs, saying Super Flying Dumpling probably wouldn't have seen the light of day if he hadn't been as ravenous as he was when he arrived in the city in January 2022 to join his wife, who preceded him here by several months. Ruby had a late class the night he arrived at their Linden Woods apartment. After unpacking his belongings, he rifled through the fridge, searching for something to satisfy his hunger. Hidden in the back of the freezer was a box of what he took to be dumplings, from the photo on the no-name packaging. He proceeded to boil the lot in water, adding a splash of vinegar and drops of sesame oil, the way he'd been taught by his mother and grandmother when he was growing up in Baotou. Although the outer crust turned out thicker than he was accustomed to, he bit into the first specimen, expecting to be greeted with a burst of flavour. 'To my surprise, there wasn't any… nothing,' he says. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Li uses a pair of portable induction cooktops to prep his creations for customers. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Li uses a pair of portable induction cooktops to prep his creations for customers. A second bite confirmed the filling to be 'mashed something-or-other.' 'I'm normally open to trying new things — I never say something tastes bad, instead I say it's not for me — but as I kept eating I couldn't figure out what was good about this.' He turned to Google only to discover these weren't Chinese dumplings at all. Rather, they were potato-filled perogies, a foodstuff he wasn't previously familiar with. The next morning, he asked Ruby why she'd bought such an unappetizing product. She didn't have a clue what he was referring to. After giving the matter some thought, she concluded the box must have been left behind by the previous tenant. That got Li thinking. If Winnipeggers were willing to spend their hard-earned money on an item that, in his opinion, lacked any flavour whatsoever, perhaps they'd be open to purchasing superior tasting Chinese dumplings, ones he would conjure up using his family's time-tested recipes. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Li adds a squirt of garlic-vinegar sauce to dumplings while working at his Wolseley Farmers' Market booth. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Li adds a squirt of garlic-vinegar sauce to dumplings while working at his Wolseley Farmers' Market booth. That spring and summer Li, who had some restaurant experience from his time in the U.S., attended farmers' markets throughout the city, to see if any vendors were peddling something similar. Satisfied nobody was, he began spending his spare time preparing dumplings for Ruby and the kids, to solicit their opinion on what flavours worked best. By March 2024, he had settled on three combinations: pork-and-cabbage, zucchini-shrimp-and-egg and tofu-and-kimchi. Next, he secured space in a registered commercial kitchen, then hit the pavement to gauge interest in his offerings. Super Flying Dumpling made its official debut in May 2024 at the South Osborne Farmers' Market, at 725 Kylemore Ave. (Li intended to dub his biz Flying Dumpling, but ended up adding 'Super' to his moniker after realizing a local restaurant chain goes by the name Flying Pizza.) Despite being on maternity leave when Li's application was accepted, Cortney Ramsay, South Osborne's market co-ordinator since 2021, remembers being overjoyed when she learned of his impending presence there. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li's wife and sons were recruited to decide what flavours worked best. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li's wife and sons were recruited to decide what flavours worked best. 'I love dim sum, my standards for it are very high, so of course I was excited to find out we were going to have somebody selling a super-unique product like dumplings,' Ramsay says, seated at the market's information booth on a recent Wednesday afternoon. 'I tried them the first week he was here, and oh my gosh, they were so good, the pork ones especially. Plus, he was only charging $5 for six dumplings so I was like, how can you go wrong?' Ramsay says it didn't take long for Li's dumplings to become a crowd favourite. In fact, after he was relocated earlier this year from a space reserved for food trucks — Li readies his dumplings on-site, using a pair of portable induction cooktops — to a main area inside an outdoor hockey rink, the information booth was immediately peppered with questions along the lines of 'Hey, where did the dumpling guy go?' Li, who recently added beef-onion-and-carrot dumplings to his arsenal, has also become a familiar face at the Wolseley Farmers' Market on Tuesdays and at the St. Norbert Farmers' Market on Saturdays. His long-term goal is to expand his menu to include other Chinese-style foodstuffs. 'Dumplings are just the first step,' he says, mentioning he's kept so busy between Super Flying Dumpling and his video-production work that he hasn't had time to set up a website for online ordering, another objective. 'My thought is if people continue to like my dumplings, then I might add things like soups and noodles, maybe even my own drinks. Ultimately, I'd like to get into retail, but that's still a ways away.' In the meantime, Li hasn't been shy about sharing secrets when customers pepper him with how-to questions. 'I know it sounds like it'd be bad for business, but if people ask, I'm happy to tell them how to make their own dumplings at home,' he says. 'Some come back later and tell me they tried, but that it was too hard, and they're happy to leave it up to me.' Besides serving up hot Chinese dumplings at local farmers' markets, Aaron Li also sells frozen dumplings. Here are his directions for sizzling them up at home. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li frys dumplings before steaming them. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Aaron Li frys dumplings before steaming them. COOKING INSTRUCTIONS Add 75 ml (5 tbsp) of cooking oil to a non-stick frying pan. Place 12 dumplings in a single layer and fry at medium-high heat until the bottoms turn golden. Add enough water to cover 1/3 of the dumplings, then cover immediately. Steam until the water evaporates, approximately 8 minutes. Enjoy the perfect balance of crispy bottoms and tender tops. Dipping Sauce: Combine soy sauce, black vinegar, a drizzle of sesame oil and chili crisp for a flavourful dip. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Drake officially cancels postponed Australia, New Zealand shows after months of delay
TORONTO – Five months after Drake backed out of concerts in Australia and New Zealand, his fans are set to get their money back. Live Nation Australia has notified ticketholders that four postponed shows for the Toronto rapper's Anita Max Win tour are now officially cancelled, after assurances earlier this year that they would be rescheduled. The entertainment company says refunds will be issued, stating on the TicketTek retailer website that 'extensive efforts' to reschedule the shows 'within the necessary timeframe was not possible.' It added that Drake remains committed to performing in the countries again 'when his schedule permits.' Drake blamed a 'scheduling conflict' when he sidelined the tour, which was his first since a crippling spat with rap rival Kendrick Lamar. At the opening show Feb. 4 in Perth, he walked onto the stage wearing a black hoodie that appeared to be punctured by bullet holes, the mock wounds on his back pouring out theatrical smoke. A few shows later, he handed out cash to a few lucky fans, which attracted so much attention that people started showing up with signs begging him for financial aid. The Anita Max Win tour stalled out shortly after that, and he postponed the last four shows. Ticketholders were offered refunds or the opportunity to hang onto their tickets for rescheduled dates that never materialized. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Since then, Drake has performed elsewhere. Last month, he surprised fans of Morgan Wallen with an appearance at the controversial country star's second tour date in Houston. He then took the stage with the Backstreet Boys a few weeks later in Toronto, where the boy band jokingly welcomed him as their 'sixth member.' He also made a guest appearance at rapper Central Cee's concert in Toronto, telling the audience that his star-studded hip-hop concert OVO Fest would return this summer. So far, dates have not been announced. Drake also joined his collaborator PartyNextDoor for a run of U.K. tour dates earlier this month, with more European shows booked throughout September. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.
