Christopher Pratt
Thursday, May 20th
Event: An Evening with “Christopher Pratt”
Location: Cupids Community Centre
As part of the Visiting Author Series, Cupids 400 is pleased to welcome the renowned Canadian artist and author, Christopher Pratt, who is one of Canada’s most prominent painters and printmakers. He was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland on December 9, 1935 to John Kerr and Emily Christina (Dawe) Pratt.
He has close ties to the Conception Bay North Area. His mother, Emily Christina Dawe was born and grew up in Bay Roberts. The Bay Roberts art gallery, which is located in the Cable Building National Historic Site, is the “Christopher Pratt Art Gallery.” In addition, the Pratt family has an interesting connection to Cupids since Christopher Pratt’s great uncle Canadian Literary giant E. J. Pratt lived in Cupids and started his first day of school there. As a result, Mr. Pratt has graciously agreed to share the Pratt Family Bible during his visit.
In spite of his national and international fame, Christopher Pratt chosen to live in rural, outport Newfoundland. He lives in St Mary’s Bay along the Salmonier River. His identity as a Newfoundlander has had a strong impact on his work. His works are filled “with memories of people, places and events that have been filtered and clarified through his search for order and simplicity. In this way, they are situated between reality and fiction. His paintings have a timeless and idealized quality to them.”
He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1973 and was made a Companion of the Order in 1983. The Order of Canada is the highest civilian honour bestowed on Canadian citizens. Pratt has also been the recipient of several honourary doctorates from Canadian universities: Mount Allison University, Doctor of Literature, 1972; Memorial University, Doctor of Laws, 1972; Dalhousie University, Doctor of Laws, 1986. Throughout his career, Pratt has received many other honours as well. He has served on many committees and councils, including the Mount Carmel Town Council in St. Mary’s Bay (1969-1975), the Federal government’s Stamp Design Advisory Committee (1972-1975) and the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts (1975-1981).
While his artwork is the source of most of his honours, the ideas that inspire his visual art are reflected in his poetry and prose. He is the author of 5 books, the most recent being Ordinary Things, which was published in September, 2009 by Breakwater Books.
Ordinary Things
Ordinary Things
Ordinary Things is comprised of journal entries which were written from the 1950s to 2007. The entries deal with the creative process, art, life, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The book title is well suited to his artistic vision since “the dynamic world of the ordinary” is the inspiration for so much of his work. Breakwater Books, the publisher writes: “Ordinary Things paints with words an evocative self-portrait of a renowned Canadian artist. It is laced with astute observations that summarize the artistic process, and the motivations and contemplations of not only an artist, but any man. It contains slices of truth about life and Newfoundland itself, and the dynamic world of the ordinary, of which Pratt has drawn so heavily on in his work. These passages have an obvious appeal to anyone in the arts, though they will have a deep resonance with a broader audience as well. ”
The Newfoundland Flag – 30th Anniversary
In 1980, at the request of an all-party committee of the legislature, he designed the Provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. The flag, with its blue and red triangles and its golden arrow on a white background for some people has become a symbol of the Province’s relationship with Canada and will mark its 30th Anniversary on May 28th. In Ordinary Things, in an entry from 1997, his thoughts on the relationship between art and politics. “I don’t believe art has much political clout in any positive sense,” he says. He was not paid for the design, “despite rumours to the contrary.”
The flag was approved by the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day; June 24, 1980. The design was chosen due to its broad symbolism. The blue colour represents the sea, the white colour represents snow and ice of winter, the red colour represents the effort and struggle of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and the gold colour symbolizes the confidence Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have in themselves and for the future. The blue triangles are meant as a tribute to the Union Flag, and stand for the British heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador. The two red triangles are meant to represent the two areas of the province — the mainland and the island. The gold arrow, according to Pratt, points towards a “brighter future”; the arrow becomes a sword, honouring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders in military service when the flag is draped as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province’s dependence on its fisheries and the resources of the sea.
Newfoundland Flag
