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Old 06-20-2017, 08:58 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Default My visit to the Group of Seven Guitar Project exhibit, part 1 of 3

EDIT: THE EXHIBIT HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 18, 2018

Rather than piggybacking on David Wren's excellent thread (here) in the Custom Forum, I thought I would post up my own thread of my visit to the Group of Seven Guitar Project exhibition (May 06 - October 29) at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg (Ontario, Canada). I was very impressed with this unique exhibit and felt it worthwhile to give this event broader exposure on the AGF. As I live 10 minutes away, I thought I could also provide a simple overview of the facilities and the general area to help anyone who may be thinking of making the trip.

The McMichael (website here) is situated north of Toronto, just above the city of Vaughan. At its inception, the gallery was originally located in a small village surrounded by beautiful countryside; yet today the city is now catching up to it. With this being said, the immediate surroundings are still picturesque and would allow visitors to get a feel for the natural beauty of the area (the fall colours in particular are quite spectacular). The grounds are large and provide a wonderful setting that compliments the work of the Group of Seven. There are substantial groomed walking trails with many sculptures to be viewed outside of the gallery itself. Though focused on the works of the Group of Seven, the McMichael Gallery also supports other artists work.








The gallery has good parking and a restaurant on site. There are different exhibits on at any given time and there are guided tours and staff to help answer any questions. One benefit of the city growing closer is you can now get a taxi to take you there and pick you up. There is limited public transit that will only take you into the Village of Kleinburg, though the walk into the facility could be enjoyable for those so inclined.

EDIT: Apologies to David Wren for spelling his name incorrectly, error fixed.
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Last edited by IBKuz; 01-21-2018 at 10:42 AM.
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Old 06-20-2017, 08:59 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Default At the exhibit, part 2 of 3

The Group of Seven Guitar Project is situated in it's own wing. A documentary of the making of the guitars is being played on a large screen, in a continuous loop throughout the day. The production on this documentary is quite high, and well worth seeing.






Upon entering you are first greeted by the Tom Thompson inspired guitar that was a collaboration between all seven luthiers involved in this project. Just wonderful on many levels.








The exhibit contains some physical background documentation about the builds and some of the luthiers individual history. Though a little more of this kind of material would have been interesting to me, the guitars themselves say a lot. The documentary and digital media available fills in the important details and gives you a look into the build process.








In addition, there are paintings and info on the individual Group of Seven artists that the luthiers drew inspiration from so that you get a feel for the various artist's style. Here are a couple Tom Thompson paintings at the exhibit if you have never seen his work.






And Lauren Harris (one of my favourite artists)






There is only a small sample of the Group of Seven collection on display in the exhibit yet this provides a good variety of their combined works. I recommend you take some time to view what the rest of the gallery has to offer, it is not so large that you need more than a half day to see it all. The works of art at the McMichael Gallery are likely the most extensive collection related to the Group of Seven anywhere.
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Old 06-20-2017, 09:02 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Default What inspired me the most, part 3 of 3

I debated on whether to post the individual pictures of the guitars I had photographed but instead decided on only posting some of the details that I found most interesting. As David Wren is posting such beautiful pictures of the individual guitars, my pictures do not really add anything to the party. Please go to David's thread starting here, to see his excellent images of the individual guitars.

First on my list would be the documentary being shown at the exhibit, this for me was worth the price of admission. You get to hear the individual luthiers provide their impressions of the Group of Seven artist that influenced their build as well as the guitars being played. All the guitars are beautiful to behold, being a guitar player, the audio recordings really added a nice dimension to the exhibit for me. The quality of the recordings and the musicians playing the guitars are fantastic. Various playing styles, different genres of music, all full songs being played front to back, what more could you ask for.

(EDIT: From a note by David Wren, the documentary shown in the exhibit is one of two available at the Gallery. A full length documentary is available in the McMichael theatre as a On-demand presentation. If you go to the theatre, you can request them to que up the video and can enjoy a private showing of the documentary in the 40 person theatre.)




Throughout the duration of the exhibit, the gallery will be presenting individual concerts highlighting these guitars. The corresponding luthier will be present to talk about the build and will interact with the musician scheduled to play that day. You can get details and tickets for these performances on the McMichael website here. There are some good guitarists in the documentary and lined up for these concerts.

One of the most interesting design features for me was the headplate of the Tom Thompson collaboration guitar.




The 3D aspect of this 2D canoe image created by David Wren is enchanting in person while the watercolour depicting a river (added by Linda Mazner) blends well into Grit Laskin's inlay work on the fretboad. Seeing the collaboration and creativity between the luthiers through these different mediums was inspiring. Of all the guitars present, this is the one I really wanted to pick up and play.

At each guitar being displayed, there is a video presentation. However, the most interesting part in how the guitars are displayed is you get to view both the front and back of all the guitars. In the case of the backs, you can get very close and see all the details.



The back of Linda Mazner's guitar is particularly intriguing. The image, overtop of the Flamed Maple (which can still be seen through the image), is well executed and the rippled side detail is amazing to see in person. The design features on all the guitars is superb and the quality of the woods that were chosen are first class. I felt like a kid in a candy store the whole time ... lol

The custom Birchbark guitar case that Tony Duggan-Smith had made for his guitar was an interesting curiousity at the show. Not something you see every day (at least not for me).




What was my favourite guitar you may be asking at this point? While they were all beautiful in their own way (all sounded spectacular as well), I did find myself drawn to one, which was built by David Wren.






The subtle details of this guitar really needs to be seen in person (which could easily be said for any of the guitars). The customized body shape, oval sound hole with burned image on the top (as well as the Headplate and Endgraft), bridge shape, and the curved shape of the end of fretboard really worked well together. I enjoyed the scale and proportions he used in building this guitar, which is hard to convey in a picture. Every detail was well thought out; all-in-all this guitar in particular reminded me of a piece of art, well suited to be in a gallery.

Though I have a favourite, that does not mean I think any less of the other guitars. Sergei de Jonge's nylon stringed guitar while seemingly simplistic in design and details, was one of the nicest looking and sounding guitars of the exhibition (my fathers favourite guitar of the show). George Gray's use of Granite material from the Canadian Shield in the rosette of his guitar, worked well with the image painted on the top. While Toney Springer's blues song on Jean and Wendy Larrivee's guitar was my favourite performance of the documentary.

I can not name all the wonderful details I saw or experienced at the show as there are just too many. It is well worth the effort to make the trip if you enjoy art and guitars. What I hope is evident from this thread is that I was highly impressed with what I saw at this exhibit and the skill presented by all the luthiers (and the designers of the exhibit). I hope this helps persuade others to make the effort to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.

You may be feeling that the images in David Wren's thread gives you a good feel for these guitars as I originally did, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the impact these guitars and exhibit will have if you can get there in person.
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Last edited by IBKuz; 06-21-2017 at 08:46 AM.
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Old 06-20-2017, 09:05 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Default Supplementary info

For anyone planning on visiting Toronto this summer, IMO this is a worthwhile side trip to make (and also for those of us living here as well). For most people on this site, I suspect any activity that includes a guitar exhibit is just icing on the cake. Likely the only thing better would be if we could play the guitars ... lol

For those visitors that may not want to stay in the downtown core of Toronto, this area of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) may be a good alternative. Places to visit, that may be of interest include -

- The village of Kleinburg (where the gallery is located), which has shops and restaurants.
- The Kortright Centre for Conservation (5 minutes south) and the many other natural conservation spots in the immediate area. The Forks of the Credit River is a worthwhile drive close to this area (30 minutes West)
- Paramount Canada's Wonderland (amusement park, 15 minutes South/East). Great if you have children or like to ride the roller coasters.
- Right next door to this is one of Canada's largest shopping malls, Vaughan Mills. All the shopping and stores one could look for.
- City of Barrie on Lake Simcoe (45 minutes north)
- Wassaga Beach & Collingwood on Georgian Bay (70 minutes north)
- Lots and lots of Golf courses, there're everywhere ... lol

In addition, there are numerous hotels (City of Vaughan) and two major theatre and restaurant complexes (at Hwy 400 & Hwy 7). There is a major North/South Highway (Hwy 400) connecting you with direct access to Toronto, Toronto International airport, and to northern destinations if you are more inclined to getting out into the countryside. From this area a trip downtown to Toronto can be accomplished via the GO Train (about a 60 minute trip), which will take you directly to the main train terminal (Union Station) near the Toronto waterfront. This area is a nice alternative if someone has already visited Toronto's city core.
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Old 06-20-2017, 12:05 PM
MC5C MC5C is offline
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I swore a mighty oath that I wasn't doing the 3500 km round trip back to the Big Smoke ever again, but I'm already planning a trip later this summer, just before the exhibit closes. This is about the only thing that would get me on the road and rolling west...
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Old 06-20-2017, 03:49 PM
Steadfastly Steadfastly is offline
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I have a lengthy business trip in September and while most of the time will be spent in St. Catharines, ON, this may just make the list of side trips. Thanks for posting.
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Old 06-21-2017, 12:12 AM
markrj markrj is offline
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I purchased a Group of Seven poster and took it to be framed today. I could have purchased a pretty good, cheap guitar for what that frame and mat job cost! lol

It's going to look spectacular in the music room.
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Old 06-21-2017, 06:51 AM
WaltH WaltH is offline
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I seem to recall reading a nice article on this exhibit in the June issue of Acoustic Guitar. I wish I could make the trip, but it's not in the cards. The exhibit looks to be something to see.
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Old 06-21-2017, 12:03 PM
Jobe Jobe is offline
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Great stuff! Thanks for sharing.
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Old 06-21-2017, 09:48 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 06-22-2017, 09:19 AM
JSDenvir JSDenvir is offline
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+1 to everything Ian said. Looking forward to seeing David Wren's guitar played by Mike Francis, who, back a few years, was the top session guitarist in Toronto.

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Old 07-01-2017, 02:28 AM
Proclaimer888 Proclaimer888 is offline
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Cool stuff! So now ya got me interested in Tom Thompson as well. Never heard of the guy till now. Looking forward to learning more about him and his art.
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Old 08-21-2017, 08:27 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Cool

Just thought I would bring this post back up to the top again for a late summer bump for those who might have missed this earlier in the year. Still well worth the visit, the exhibit is ongoing until Oct 29th.
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Old 01-21-2018, 10:57 AM
IBKuz IBKuz is offline
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Talking

Just bumping this to the top again.

As I drive by this site every day, I keep seeing the poster at the entrance announcing this exhibit. It only took me 2 1/2 months to wonder why it was still there after the exhibit was suppose to end Oct 29th of last year.

Upon looking at their website I found out that the exhibit has been extended until March 18, 2018. If you missed this previously, take the time now to go for a visit. There will also be one more concert event on March 18th with William “Grit” Laskin from 1:00 - 3:30 PM, details are posted on the McMichael gallery website.
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Old 01-21-2018, 11:19 AM
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Thanks for posting all of this, Ian. Such a cool project...how it was conceived and the luthiers coming together, the choice each luthier took to choose their Go7 artist, the respective build processes, and the exhibitions (including artists playing) and film. Quite something.

The documentary film screened in a movie theatre in the Ottawa/Gatineau area this past fall. My wife and I attended. Sergei deJonge is my neighbour (in the rural Chelsea, QC area) and as luck would have it, he, his wife and some of his grown children (who are also accomplished luthiers) also attended. We were the only ones in the entire theatre, which was really neat. Of course, we chatted afterwards.

I winter in SW Florida and am here now, so unfortunately I won’t be travelling to this exhibit.
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