Pe SANT eo RT tteeg tee Ape eet se on, ERTIES aR ore IRF ENE Sete md ME TENET ON NE Clothier’ s formal matters OBERT CLOTHIER surveys his latest sculpture with a frown. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a penny and quietly slips it under the metal base that supports a skinny, abstract figure. “af it’s just a little bit off it doesn’t work,”’ he pronounces, returning his hand to his pocket in search of another coin. To Clothier’s critical eye, a sculpture fractionally off balance is as troubling as a nervous actor on stage. Any ideas one has in the roman- tic sens2 must be presented with “an air of repose,” insists Clothier, better known as a veteran of the theatre and small screen, in a high-minded soliloquy on art. ““Otherwise,” he says, “you can’t really see what they’re about. “The formal side of sculpture is every bit as important as the con- tent — although it’s easy to get swept away with content. But unless you have a form to bring that to light, you might just as well play with Plasticine.” The Prince Rupert born and English-trained artist has been playing with metals for just about as long as he’s been acting. But sculpting has almost always taken a back seat — until now. With the demise of the Beachcombers, Clothier has turn- ed increasingly to sculpture. His current exhibit at West Van- couver’s Ferry Building (to Aug. 25) is his second show this year. Sculpting, he explains, was more or less put on hold from 1971 until 1990, when CBC Toronio axed the weekly show and with it, Clothier’s !ong-standing role as Relic. More than a generation of Ca- nadians will remember Clothier as the curmudgeonly ald salt of Howe Sound. The role brought him exposure and a steady paycheck, but, after 19 years, Clothier isn’t mourning the Beachicombers passing. “Not all the shows were gems, and that got frustrating,”’ he recalls in between sips of tea on the patio of his North Vancouver home, surrounded with some of his larger pieces of sculpture. ‘On the other hand, having Howe Sound as a studio was really quite re- markable — better than a dusty studio. And the freedom muckin about in the boats was wonderfu f loved Relic. | built most of him Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE myself. “We'd been mucked around rather badly by the people in the east -- they thought they would make the show slicker — but it wasn’t meant for that,”” he con- linues. ‘‘There are so many ways of killing a show and they tried all of them. In the last couple of years it had become so distorted that it became difficult to maintain the enthusiasm.’ Clad in shorts and T-shirt, Clothier moves into the kitchen and puts a pot of water on for tea. Reaching into the cupboard for biscuits, he begins reminiscing about his own theatre career and how the business has changed since his early days in Vancouver. One thing that hasn’t changed is the struggle of trying to survive as an actor. “It’s still impossible,” he says, “for an actor to make a living today on the stage alone."’ Even large theatre companies like the Vancouver Playhouse and Arts Club Theatre are struggling. Clothier believes we live in an an- ti-arts society and that the only theatre that captures attention nowadays is out-of-town mega- shows like Phantom of the Opera. Cap “It's (Phantom) got lots of great production values but it’s a haliow piece of crap that is absorbing everyone’s entertainment dollar. Eighty-five dollars ior a ticket is highway robbery. When it comes down to content, to the music itself, it’s garbage.” Despite this, the theatre was, and still is, a passion that com- plernents his sculpting career well. Lately he’s been working with metals and that’s what makes up the bulk of the Ferry Building show, which also features Van- couver artist Monique Mees, He says all of his sculpture takes its inspiration from the human form. “‘It’s concerned mainly with human suffering and ego. | guess there will never be a world without suffering, and you can’t get away from the human ego, which in large measure is the cause of suffering.’”” The hard-edged, rectangular shapes of his Clothier’s early work has given way to softer, rounder, mere romantic forms. His newest piece — metal discs supported by what looks like knee bones — has all the gracefulness of a ballet dancer. But don’t ask Clothier what he intended it to be: he’ll tell you that you can interpret it any way you wish. That would expiain his re- fusal to give names to his work. “All I’m conscious ef is the form I'm working with at the time,” he explains. ‘‘Whether it's theatre or painting, the artist puts certain forms forth because they are who they are. They're (forms) not thought out. Of course, there’s emotional rumblings, but it’s not conscious thought. | don’t think you can ever do anything wor- thwhile unless you can forget yourself. The moment the self enters into it, you' ve killed what you're doing.” College holding auditions for program THERE ARE still a few spaces open in Capilano College’s new Jazz Degree program. Apolications have been pour- ing into the college following the announcement of a new Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies program, according to Capilano Coilege. For an audition, call 986-4951. 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(a private B.C. company) * Terms: Cash, major credit cards, bank cards or bank cheques * 10% freight, brokerage and warehousing charges to be added. 1991 ~ North Shore News - 27