erran 36 - Sunday, March 24, 1991 - North Shore News ‘LTastemakers © NAME: Merla Beckerman * RESIDENCE: West Van- couver * EDUCATION: Interior Design, University of Manitoba * OCCUPATION: Art consul- tant, Contemporary Art Collec- tions © FAMILY: Married; three children © HOBBIES: Aerobics, running, volunteering ¢ NAME: Betty Craig e RESIDENCE: Wes. Van- couver © EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, French literature, UBC * OCCUPATION: Art Consul- tant, Coniemporavy Art Collec- tions FAMILY: Widow; {wo children e HOBBIES: Tennis, French immersion NEWS photo Neil Lucente BETTY CRAIG (left) and Merla Beckerman have spent the past 12 years advising businesses on establishing their own art col- tections. Here they pose in one client’s spacious boardroom in front of a large work by David Sorenson. exclusively at DEEP COVE GALLERY 4391 Gallant Ave. Deep Cove INTRODUCING ARTIST FINE ART PRINTS Hours: Mon.-closed Tues.-Thurs. 10:30-6 Fri. 10:30-8 Sar-San. 1030-5 929-4035 HIGH PROFILES in the boardroom LIKE MOTHERS and their newborns, many art lovers fly into protective rages when someone violates their art — even if it involves brushing up against, or nudging a favorite painting as little as a 10th of a cen- timetre. By Evelyn Jacob News Reporter “One woman loved this paint- ing on her office wall so much, and it was going to be repiaced, so She stood in front of it, walked around it like a guard dog because she didn't want to part with it,” Merla Beckerman says of one art lover. This powerful bend with art is something Beckerman and partner Betty Craig face regularly. For 12 years the tvo West Vancouver women have been placing original paintings and prints into local businesses and corporations, turn- ing boardrooms and offices into mini-art galleries. They’ve witnessed company presidents and their employces, originally dead-set against certain works, eventually grow to love them and even offer to buy them and take them home. “We've dealt with support staff in offices who have not particular- ly liked the kind of work we've put beside their desk, phone us three months later and say, I've really grown to love this,”’ says Beckerman. ‘‘That’s really satis- fying. The two established one of the first so-called independent art consultanting firms to hit Van- couver when they first started out. Beckerman, whose background is interior design and who heads the docent program at the Van- couver Art Gallery, had been in- volved with the gallery scene in Toronto. Craig was studying art history part time at the University of B.C. They met at their children’s JAPANESE LANGUAGE Courses Canadian International College STupy IN A JAPANESE ENVIRONMENT * Communicative Approach * Japanese Language Partners (resident Japanese students) © Pronunciation Coaching ¢ Small Classes * Courses Begin — September, January. April New Spring Program: Japanese for Youth and Children 2420 Dollarton Highway North Vancouver V7H 2Y1 Tel: 929-1544 (Fax: 929-2074) school track mects, discovered they worked well together and formed their own business which they called Contemporary Art Collections. Beckerman, they tell me, is the flamboyant one. Craig, on the other hand, is a whiz with details. In the last 12 years the two have racked up a lengthy list of clients — most of whom were referred by word-of-mouth —- wanting to add flair and color to. their workspaces. While some are inter- ested in art as an investment, others are busy developing their own corporate collections. The B.C. Building Corp., Cadillac Fairview, the Cancer Control Agency cf B.C., solicitors Ladner Downs, ICBC, Wood Gundy and Shoppers Drug Mart are among the pair's notable clients. To keep on top of what's hot, Beckerman and Craig continually comb the local art market — gal- leries, studios, student exhibits — in search of new blood and works that will appeal to the corporate sector. The words ‘‘modern'’ or ‘“abstract’’ tend to set off alarm bells in the minds of many clients, but, says Craig, they often end up being the favorite. “We encourage clients to take pieces they're hesitant about, but we also want them to be comfort- able with it 10 years from now, so we have to be careful,’’ she says. Their first client, who started out with three prints, called them up after 10 years to say he had CCD-F77 Video8™ © Hi-Fi Stereo Audio Recording © Program AE © &xPower Zoom wiMacro © 2 Page Digital Superimposer with Scroll for Special Effects © 2 lux Min, it lumination © Fader © Data on Screen © Wireless Remote Purchase a Sony CCD-F77* and you'll receive receive 5 Sony 120 min. metal tapes (P6-120MP) at no extra cost IN-STORE SPECIAL AMBLESIDE TV & VIDEO 1487 Marine Drive, West Van 926-7000 or 926-1400 developed an even greater love for them. ‘tHe shou!d,’* Beckerman interjects, laughing, ‘‘they were two Toni Onleys and a (Jack) Shadbolt.”' Their biggest client — Van- couver solicitors Ladner Downs — have so much faith in Beckerman and Craig that they have acquired 130 original works over the years. The whole business of introduc- ing art to the corporate sector has taken off in recent years. Corporations are eager to be seen as supporters of the arts, bul that’s not the sole attraction. It's a tax-write-off, and in the case olf some original works, a financial investment. While Beckerman and Craig downplay the investment asp.7t of collecting, they say it cannot be overlooked. “But | think everybody who collects art,’* Beckerman points out, ‘*does it because they love it, because they want to live with it.” The pair say they, too, are committed to supporting homegrown talent. They know good art when they see it, and that’s what sets them apart from their competition. They have always drawn from a strong pool of artists like Gathie Falk, Gordon Smith, Bill Reid — big B.C. names -- as well as emerging artists. In general, Beckerman believes Canadian art is still undervalued. “But I think now, with some of our galleries going down to show at international art fairs, it will make a difference."* KV-27XBR50 Active Signal Correction, of ASC™ circuitry, is a first in television viewing: ASC cir- cuitry divides your screen in- to 248 reference points. It measures every point 60 times —:h second. for pic- . , brightness, sharp- ness. Automatically determines the amount of correction needed, Even makes adjustments based on the degree of signal noise.