Valley of the Deer: Jillian McDonald
Valley of the Deer: Jillian McDonald
Artist Jillian McDonald Examines Horror Films in Atkinson Gallery Exhibit
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
Valley of the Deer: Jillian McDonald
January 23-February 20, 2015
Artist Lecture: Friday, January 23, 4pm, Administration Building 211
Opening Reception: Friday, January 23, 5pm-7pm, Atkinson Gallery
ALL EXHIBITS & LECTURES ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Santa Barbara, CA – The Atkinson Gallery at Santa Barbara City College is pleased to present the Valley of the Deer:
Jillian McDonald exhibition. For over 10 years, Jillian McDonald has been creating work that simultaneously embraces
and critiques the genre of horror films. An immersive three-channel video installation, Valley of the Deer was filmed
during a nine-month artist residency at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. “Each scene is a separate
composition and a nearly still image where little movement, save hair in wind or an animal moving its head, betrays the
stillness,” says the artist. For each venue, McDonald also creates a unique wall drawing featuring the characters from the
video. However, while the video’s dominant subject is the landscape, the drawings solely focus on the figures. In
addition, McDonald programs augmented reality artworks that insert characters from the video into the local landscape.
In so doing, she invites viewer participation and obfuscates the separation between geographic locations (Dufftown and
Santa Barbara) and between fiction and reality. In Valley of the Deer, McDonald taps into the universal appeal of horror
films by understanding that the shared experience of catharsis is more important than fear itself.
Jillian McDonald is a Canadian artist who divides her time between Canada and New York. She is an Associate
Professor of Art at Pace University. Her solo shows and projects include the Esker Foundation in Calgary, Air
Circulation in New York, and Hallwalls in Buffalo. Her work has also been shown in group exhibitions including the
Whitney Museum’s Artport in New York and the Edith Russ Haus for Media Art in Oldenburg, and was the subject of a
2013 radio documentary by Paul Kennedy on CBC’s IDEAS. McDonald has received grants and commissions from the
New York Foundation for the Arts, the Canada Council for the Arts, Soil New Media, Turbulence.org, the Verizon
Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Experimental Television Center, and Pace University. She has
also attended several international residencies including the Glennfiddich International Residency.
http://jillianmcdonald.net/
Santa Barbara City College’s Atkinson Gallery produces six exhibitions of contemporary art each academic year
featuring international, national, regional and student artists working in a wide range of styles and media. The Atkinson
Gallery’s exhibits and programs are generously supported by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and funded
in part by the Organizational Development Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership
with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission.
http://gallery.sbcc.edu/
From the Valley of the Deer Augment Reality Artwork Information & Instructions:
http://turbulence.org/Works/fromthevalleyofthedeer/locations.html
Map of Santa Barbara City College Augmented Reality Walking Tour:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zXGhMedI3lC0.kJFVGJ878gbo
IMAGE CREDITS:
• Valley of the Deer (installation view at the Esker Foundation), three-channel video, 2013, photo by John Dean, courtesy
Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada
• Valley of the Deer (video-still), three channel video, 2013, image courtesy of the artist
• Drawing from Valley of the Deer series, 22”x30", ink and watercolor on paper, 2013, image courtesy of the artist
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
Valley of the Deer: Jillian McDonald
January 23-February 20, 2015
Artist Lecture: Friday, January 23, 4pm, Administration Building 211
Opening Reception: Friday, January 23, 5pm-7pm, Atkinson Gallery
ALL EXHIBITS & LECTURES ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Santa Barbara, CA – The Atkinson Gallery at Santa Barbara City College is pleased to present the Valley of the Deer:
Jillian McDonald exhibition. For over 10 years, Jillian McDonald has been creating work that simultaneously embraces
and critiques the genre of horror films. An immersive three-channel video installation, Valley of the Deer was filmed
during a nine-month artist residency at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. “Each scene is a separate
composition and a nearly still image where little movement, save hair in wind or an animal moving its head, betrays the
stillness,” says the artist. For each venue, McDonald also creates a unique wall drawing featuring the characters from the
video. However, while the video’s dominant subject is the landscape, the drawings solely focus on the figures. In
addition, McDonald programs augmented reality artworks that insert characters from the video into the local landscape.
In so doing, she invites viewer participation and obfuscates the separation between geographic locations (Dufftown and
Santa Barbara) and between fiction and reality. In Valley of the Deer, McDonald taps into the universal appeal of horror
films by understanding that the shared experience of catharsis is more important than fear itself.
Jillian McDonald is a Canadian artist who divides her time between Canada and New York. She is an Associate
Professor of Art at Pace University. Her solo shows and projects include the Esker Foundation in Calgary, Air
Circulation in New York, and Hallwalls in Buffalo. Her work has also been shown in group exhibitions including the
Whitney Museum’s Artport in New York and the Edith Russ Haus for Media Art in Oldenburg, and was the subject of a
2013 radio documentary by Paul Kennedy on CBC’s IDEAS. McDonald has received grants and commissions from the
New York Foundation for the Arts, the Canada Council for the Arts, Soil New Media, Turbulence.org, the Verizon
Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Experimental Television Center, and Pace University. She has
also attended several international residencies including the Glennfiddich International Residency.
http://jillianmcdonald.net/
Santa Barbara City College’s Atkinson Gallery produces six exhibitions of contemporary art each academic year
featuring international, national, regional and student artists working in a wide range of styles and media. The Atkinson
Gallery’s exhibits and programs are generously supported by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and funded
in part by the Organizational Development Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership
with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission.
http://gallery.sbcc.edu/
From the Valley of the Deer Augment Reality Artwork Information & Instructions:
http://turbulence.org/Works/fromthevalleyofthedeer/locations.html
Map of Santa Barbara City College Augmented Reality Walking Tour:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zXGhMedI3lC0.kJFVGJ878gbo
IMAGE CREDITS:
• Valley of the Deer (installation view at the Esker Foundation), three-channel video, 2013, photo by John Dean, courtesy
Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada
• Valley of the Deer (video-still), three channel video, 2013, image courtesy of the artist
• Drawing from Valley of the Deer series, 22”x30", ink and watercolor on paper, 2013, image courtesy of the artist
