Subject: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: black walnut Date: 07 Dec 05 - 01:45 PM This article is really interesting. But if you want to see the colour photos to go with it, click HERE . Stompin' Tom riled by Fafard sculpture Last Updated Thu, 01 Dec 2005 11:04:25 EST CBC Arts Joe Fafard's sculptures are displayed in major galleries and public spaces across Canada but one of his latest pieces has landed the Prairie artist in hot water. The acclaimed artist's depiction of Stompin' Tom Connors on horseback has drawn disapproval from the Canadian musical icon. The bronze sculpture 'Nice Cowboy Hat!' by Joe Fafard, who sought to pay tribute to Canadian musical icon Stompin' Tom Connors but drew the singer's disapproval instead. (Photo courtesy Mayberry Fine Art) "I thought I was doing a very wonderful piece of Stompin' Tom, in the sense I was paying tribute to him," Fafard, an officer of the Order of Canada, told CBC News. "When I did get a reply, and it wasn't very cooperative, ... we were [told] to cease and desist and take the piece off the market." Stompin' Tom was unavailable for comment and the CBC was denied a request for an interview. However, Tom Stewart, manager of Stompin' Tom Ltd., said in an email to Fafard that the singer was "not satisfied with the likeness that is being portrayed of him, feeling that it is denigrating to what he stands for in this country." The email added that the name "Stompin' Tom" is a registered trademark and that the singer "will not grant his permission to allow the sale of such sculpture." Originally entitled Stompin' Tom, the painted bronze has now been renamed Nice Cowboy Hat!, and despite the negative reaction from the singer, six of the eight sculptures Fafard created for the series have already sold for $30,000 each. Fafard's dealers at Winnipeg's Mayberry Fine Art say the issue revolves around artistic freedom. A close-up of Joe Fafard's 'Nice Cowboy Hat!' "I think Fafard, like Tom Connors, enjoys the same freedoms as an artist to be able to express the things that he sees in the world around him," Shaun Mayberry said. "I am not sure Tom Connors recognizes the irony there." Fafard's works have included painted bronze depictions of celebrities such as Pablo Picasso, Pierre Trudeau, Maurice Richard, Frida Kahlo and Bill Cosby. He is also known for his large public art pieces, including the beloved cow sculpture The Pasture outside of the Toronto Dominion Centre in downtown Toronto, and Mind's Garden, the circle of intricately carved bronze panels he donated to the University of Regina in June. Nice Cowboy Hat!, shown in Toronto by the Mira Godard Gallery in 2004, is included in Mayberry Fine Art's current exhibit of Fafard's work, entitled The Bronze Age, running through Dec. 17. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: TheBigPinkLad Date: 07 Dec 05 - 02:09 PM Such sybolism! A little horse (too much singing?) Rooster (Ride a cock horse) Feeling a horse's ass ... I laughed, I cried, it became part of me. Seriously, it ain't obvous why Tom would take offence; he must be suffering from taste. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: black walnut Date: 07 Dec 05 - 07:26 PM Joe Fafard is respected artist. Look at more of his work before you jump on Stompin's bandwagon. And the point isn't about whether you like the sculpture or not, it's about Joe's right to create art of representation as he wills...much like a cartoonist has the freedom to do so in the newspaper. What right does someone like Stompin' Tom have to tell Joe Fafard to not represent him in art? Isn't that the right of the artist? If artists can be squashed like this, then any one of us who creates art will be looking over our shoulders. ~b.w. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: TheBigPinkLad Date: 08 Dec 05 - 01:44 PM What right does someone like Stompin' Tom have to tell Joe Fafard to not represent him in art? Isn't that the right of the artist? Well, bw, Fafard is definitely taking advantage of ST's fame and it's backfired on this occasion. Tom has both the legal right to protect his trade mark and the moral right to dislike the sculpture. My comment on taste is, as I often say in Mudcat threads, that it is the enemy of art. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: Clinton Hammond Date: 08 Dec 05 - 01:49 PM " feeling that it is denigrating to what he stands for in this country" Ya... like what "Stompin' Tom" does isn't denigratiing enough... I live in fear that his idiocy is what the whole world thinks is Canadian.... What an insult that would be |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: gnu Date: 08 Dec 05 - 02:04 PM Well, I don't know art, but, I know what I like. I'd like to see one good ol' New Brunswick boy stomp on that piece a shit! Oh, don't ask me to explain myself. Ask the "artist" to explain himself. Can't wait to hear it... tribute me arse. PS... The detail is excellent. Very nice work. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: gnu Date: 08 Dec 05 - 02:08 PM CH!! Whay are you constantly pissing on people? Tom has sold a few more tickets than you. Lighten up! |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: Clinton Hammond Date: 08 Dec 05 - 02:37 PM Tom sells tickets cause a lot of people are as dumb and desperate for entertainemnt as he is for their money... he's got a few good songs sure, but even a blind mouse gets cheese sometime... Mostly he's a dick... especially when you meet him face to face... But it's just opinion Gnu.... take it or leave it... it hardly matters |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 08 Dec 05 - 09:43 PM I would be flattered if I were Connors. Fafard is a master humorist among Canadian artists doing country and western themes, one of the best of our Canadian artists. On my mantelpiece are small bronzes of cattle sculpted by him, and a couple of his prints hang in my entry. I hope that I can afford more of Joe's work in the future. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: number 6 Date: 08 Dec 05 - 11:21 PM Stompin'Tom was born right here in Saint John. yup, he came from the north end of SJ along with Samuel B. Mayer and Walter Pidgeon sIx |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:00 AM What in the world is a 'sculpturer'? to use a favorite cliché of Dobbs on CNN. 'Tain't in the Webster's Dictionary. Could you possibly mean sculptor? "No child left behind' program needed here! |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: black walnut Date: 09 Dec 05 - 08:31 AM I knew there was a better word. My migraine brain just couldn't retrieve it . thanks! ~b.w. |
Subject: RE: Stompin' Tom vs. Joe (sculpturer) Fafard From: gnu Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:56 PM Sculpin? (Sorry, couln't resist.) Q said, "Fafard is a master humorist (sic) among Canadian artists..." Apparently, Tom ain't laughin at the joke... which is???? sIx... don't forget Donald Sutherland... or did you? Hehehe. |
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