'The heart is situated in the centre of the chest because conditions are more temperate there.'
Part I (1988)
Installation view: Mercer Union, Toronto, 1990. Photo: the Artist.
General Description
Mixed Media: The welded steel structure contains 36 hearts resting on steel wire stands.
Top row of hearts are made of: slate, cast lead, painted steel wire frame, safety-pins, vinyl, Crown-of-Thorns, welded steel sheet, seaweed, braised steel wires, barbed wire, papier-mâché, aluminium, pine cone, hair, mirror & acrylic, leather, pearls & dagger, copper tubing.
Bottom row of hearts are made of: grass & earth, lentils, welded tacks, burnt matches, concrete, cigarette butts, clay, screening, painted twigs, wax, gold thread, soapstone, plaster & gold leaf, painted wood, steel wool, cloves, hammered & soldered copper sheet, woven seed beads & electrical light.
Overall dimensions: 1.8 x 6.58 x .23 meters.
Private Collection.
Release
‘The heart is situated in the centre of the chest because conditions are more temperate there.’ Part I focuses on the structure of the heart through the use of anatomical interpretations. Hearts made from various materials such as stone, twigs, plaster and gold leaf, lentils, etc. allude to both obvious and ambiguous connotations. The title is a quote from a 13th Century anatomical text.
A sister piece: 'The heart is situated in the center of the chest because conditions are more temperate there.' Part II (1990) is composed of appropriated texts and images spanning many eras.
Both works suggest multifaceted interpretations of the heart and are viewed as fragments similar to archaeological assemblages. The structures on which they rest are important to their formal museum style presentation.
Exhibition History
| 1989 | 'The heart is situated in the center of the chest because conditions are more temperate there.', (solo) Mercer Union, Toronto |
| 1989 | Scrutiny, (group) curator Bruce Grenville, YYZ Artists' Outlet, Toronto |
| 1989 | Lee Dickson, (solo) Optica, Montreal, Quebec |
| 1989 | Lee Dickson, (solo) Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta |
| 1990 | Lee Dickson & Douglas Walker, Perspective: 90, (duo) curator Michèle Thériault, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto |
| 1991 | Other Frontiers, (group) curator Katherine Wood, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Scotland & Canada House, London, England |
| 1992 | Autres Frontièrs, (group) curator Katherine Wood, Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris, France |
| 1994 | Lee Dickson, (solo) Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Grimsby, Ontario |
| 1995 | Lee Dickson, Selected Works, (solo) Lynnwood Arts Centre, Simcoe, Ontario |
Exhibition Catalogues
| Grenville, Bruce. Lee Dickson. Lethbridge: Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 1990. |
| Scott, Kitty. Other Frontiers. Glasgow: Third Eye Centre, 1991. |
| Thériault, Michèle. Perspective 90: Lee Dickson and Douglas Walker. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1990. |
| YYZ Books. Decalog YYZ 1979-1989. Toronto. 1992. |
Bibliography
| "'Artists with Their Work' Program" Art Gallery of Ontario, 1992: Photo. |
| "Artist to be on hand for opening of new show at Gallery." Grimsby Independent Sep 28 1994: 8. |
| "Autres Frontiérs." Artvision [Paris] fevrier-mars 1992. |
| Bauslaugh, Cheryl. "You gotta have heart." Simcoe Recorder Oct 10 1995: 6. |
| "Crossing Atlantic Frontier." Glasgow Evening Times Aug 1991. Photo. |
| Every Woman [Glasgow] Jul-Aug 1991, No. 74, Photo. |
| Gallery, Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Fall 1989. |
| Genereux, Linda. "Evocative Mix of Poetic and Mundane." Metropolis [Toronto] Aug 2 1990: 12. |
| Heuston, John. "Candid Canada." Culture City [Glasgow] Sep 1991: 37. |
| Hume, Christopher. "Sad exhibit mirrors today's bankrupt culture." Toronto Star Jul 20 1990: E16. |
| Knox, Sarah. "The show must go on." List [Glasgow] Jul 26-Aug 8 1991: 59. |
| Lort, Kit. "Lee Dickson, 'The heart is situated in the center of the chest because conditions are more temperate there'." Ontario Craft [Toronto] Summer 1990: 37-38. |
| Lypchuk, Donna. "Fast Forward." Canadian Art [Toronto] Fall 1989: 53. |
| _________. "The Iconography of Passion." Metropolis Jan 18 1990: 12. |
| _________. "Focus On Lee Dickson." Canadian Art [Toronto] Summer 1990: 89. |
| Mays, John Bentley. "Heartfelt craftsmanship and the flames of memory." Toronto Globe & Mail Jan 16 1990: A19. |
| _________. "The vogues of yesteryear revisited." Toronto Globe & Mail Jul 13 1990: C9. |
| Monk, Philip. "Letters To The Editor: Critics Like Hyenas." Toronto Globe & Mail Jul 21 1990: D7. |
| "Museums are where the heart is." Grimsby Independent Oct 12 1994: 21, photo. |
| "New Work." C Magazine [Toronto] Sep 1989. Ad. |
| "Other Frontiers." Sparerib [Glasgow] Jul 1991. Photo. |
| "Other Frontiers' at gallery." Focus [Grimsby] Sep 24, 1994: 5. |
| Robinson, Hilary. "Politicized pleasure, pleasurable politics: Other Frontiers." Alba [Glasgow] Oct-Nov 1991: 16-19. |
| Skene, Cameron. "The Measure of All Things." Montreal Mirror Jan 27 1989: 16. |
| Staff Report. "Artist to be on hand for opening of new show at Gallery." Grimsby Independent Sep 28 1994: 8. |
| Thériault, Michèle. " Perspective 90: Lee Dickson and Douglas Walker." AGO News [Toronto] Jul-Aug 1990: vol.12, No. 7, photo. |
| "This sculpture has 36 parts." Lethbridge Herald [Alberta] Oct 25 1989: Photo. |
| Waite, Lorna. "Artistic aspects of women's work." The Glasgow Scotsman Aug 26 1991. |
Funding
The Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.
Installation views: details, Other Frontiers, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, 1991. Photos: the Artist.