{{Short description|Canadian artist}} '''Sarah Beck''' is a Canadian artist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She received her Bachelor from Ryerson Polytechnic University, and her Masters from The Ontario College of Art and Design University. She currently works and lives in Toronto, Ontario.
== Artistic approach == Beck's artistic practice is characterized by its humour and its accessibility. These characteristics are employed to address her interests, frequently subjects of ecology, economy, labour and questions of fact and fiction.<ref>{{Cite web|title = About|url = http://sarahbeck.com/about/|website = Sarah Beck|access-date = 2016-02-15|language = en-US}}</ref> Her work is often large-scale, and can be seen outside of the traditional gallery space as often as inside.
In 2001, Beck entered the art scene with her first artwork ÖDE. ÖDE is a company that designs, markets and produces economically affordable weapons using inexpensive materials. The weapons can be purchased in one of seven seasonal colours and assembled using an allan key.<ref>{{Cite web|title = ÖDE|url = http://shopode.com/|website = shopode.com|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> ÖDE premiered in Vancouver at the Third Avenue Gallery in August 2001,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Érudit {{!}} Espace Sculpture n59 2002, p. 48-49 {{!}} Sarah Beck|url = http://www.erudit.org/culture/espace1041666/espace1049596/9331ac.html?vue=resume|website = www.erudit.org|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> going on to be exhibited widely, including in Seattle and Philadelphia, and winning her The Canada Council's Joseph S Stauffer Prize, created to "encourage young Canadians of outstanding promise or potential."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes {{!}} The Canada Council for the Arts|url = http://canadacouncil.ca/council/prizes/find-a-prize/prizes/joseph-s-stauffer-prizes|website = canadacouncil.ca|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> The original ÖDE armoured vehicle will be on display in Calgary at The Military Museums until early September 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://activehistory.ca/2018/07/art-as-prescience-reflections-on-sarah-becks-2001-ode/|title=Art as Prescience: Reflections on Sarah Beck’s 2001 ÖDE|date=2018-07-06|work=ActiveHistory.ca|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-CA}}</ref> thumb|Sarah Beck, ÖDE, 2001 In 2009, Beck created ''Dirty Loonie''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sarahbeck.com/artworks/dirty-loonie/|title=Dirty Loonie|work=Sarah Beck}}</ref> as Canada's official entry into the VIièmes International Jeux de la Francophonie in Beirut, Lebanon, winning Canada a silver medal in the sculpture category.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Les meilleurs moments des Jeux 2009|url = http://www.tv5monde.com/TV5Site/publication/galerie-288-1-Les_meilleurs_moments_des_Jeux_2009.htm|website = www.tv5monde.com|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> This artwork went on to be exhibited at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games in the Cultural Olympiad,<ref>{{Cite web|title = CV|url = http://sarahbeck.com/cv/|website = Sarah Beck|access-date = 2016-02-15|language = en-US}}</ref> and in Toronto's 2012 Nuit Blanche as part of ''The Museum for the End of the World''.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Dirty Loonie: powerful art about wildlife and oil|url = http://envirolaw.com/dirty-loonie-powerful-art-wildlife-oil/|website = Environmental Law and Litigation|access-date = 2016-02-15|language = en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Top 10 Art Shows|url = https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/features/top-10-art-shows-2012-12-27/|website = NOW Toronto Magazine - Think Free|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> Beck also created ''Postcards from the End''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sarahbeck.com/artworks/postcards-from-the-end/|title=Postcards from the End|work=Sarah Beck}}</ref> as part of ''The Museum for the End of the World.'' Beck describes ''Postcards from the End'' as "sculptural postcards viewers posed with to commemorate their visit".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Postcards from the End|url = http://sarahbeck.com/artworks/postcards-from-the-end/|website = Sarah Beck|access-date = 2016-02-15|language = en-US}}</ref> The three large-scale works were disaster themed life-sized dioramas meant for the taking and sharing of selfies, and meant to blend photo ops with disaster.
In 2015, her work ''The Light'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sarahbeck.com/artworks/the-light/|title=The Light|work=Sarah Beck}}</ref> was exhibited in Jubilee Plaza in Fort McMurray, Alberta at the end of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title = McMurray Musings: Fort McMurray, We Have Ignition|url = http://www.mcmurraymusings.com/2015/11/fort-mcmurray-we-have-ignition.html?m=1|website = www.mcmurraymusings.com|access-date = 2016-02-15}}</ref> Created as an epitaph to the last days of the tungsten light bulb, which as of 2015 will no longer be produced in North America, ''The Light'' is filled with 360 light bulbs that ran continuously until they all burned out. The channel letters are a line from Dylan Thomas' poem 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night'. thumb|Sarah Beck, The Light, 2015
As part of ''Gallery'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/new-art-exhibition-is-a-love-letter-to-toronto-s-relic-galleria-shopping-centre-1.3576065|title=New art exhibition is a love letter to Toronto's relic Galleria Shopping Centre|website=www.cbc.ca|access-date=2016-05-19}}</ref> Sarah Beck and her frequent collaborator Shlomi Greenspan<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shlomigreenspan.com/|title=Artist Shlomi Greenspan - HOME|website=Artist Shlomi Greenspan - HOME|access-date=2016-05-19}}</ref> exhibited '''Clean Sweep''', a converted claw machine with a miniature imagined version of the aging Galleria Shopping Centre. The exhibition was curated by Aisle 4.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aisle4.ca/|title=Aisle 4 {{!}} Curatorial Projects|website=aisle4.ca|access-date=2016-05-19}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{official website|http://sarahbeck.com/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Sarah}} Category:Canadian women artists Category:Artists from Saskatoon Category:Living people Category:OCAD University alumni Category:Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)