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Lilian Broca

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Lilian Broca
Born (1946-06-15) June 15, 1946 (age 78)
Bucharest, Romania
NationalityCanadian
Alma materPratt Institute, New York
Concordia University, Montreal
Known forByzantine Glass Mosaics, Paintings, Drawings
Notable workQueen Esther Series, The Judith Series
MovementContemporary Baroque, Feminist Art
AwardsLorenzo il Magnifico (2003)
Websitewww.lilianbroca.com

Lilian Broca was born in Bucharest in 1946. The Broca family immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 1962. There, she attended and graduated from Northmount High School in 1964. Her love and aptitude in drawing and painting since a very young age had manifested in several artistic awards even before she enrolled in the BFA programme at Sir George Williams University (Now Concordia University). Broca graduated with honours in 1968. She became a Canadian Citizen in 1967. In 1969 Broca received a Bourse de Perfectionnement from the Quebec Government to study abroad. She enrolled in the Graduate Fine Arts programme at Pratt Institute in New York City, graduating with an MFA (honours) in 1971

In 1971 Broca married David Goodman in Montreal and together they relocated to Vancouver BC. She taught at Douglas College (later named Kwantlen College and presently Kwantlen Polytechnic University) for 15 years as well as being a guest lecturer at UBC, SFU and the Okanagan School of the Arts.

In 2000 Broca collaborated with distinguished Canadian author/poet Joy Kogawa on the book A Song of Lilith[1] , based on the legend of Lilith, an ancient Hebrew mythological figure. Joy Kogawa's text and Broca's images were incorporated into a concert/performance directed by Kristine Bogyo with classical composer Larysa Kuzmenko, writer Joy Kogawa, actor Moira Wylie, and five classical music performers. The premiere of the concert opened in Toronto at the St. Lawrence Centre for The Arts in Sept. 2000; the following year it was performed in various cities across Canada.

In 2015 Broca was appointed as a Jack and Doris Shadbolt Community Scholar [2] , a subset of the Shadbolt Fellow in Graduate Liberal Studies at Simon Fraser University.

In 2017 Broca was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board for Mosaic Research Center at Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey.

Documentary

Broca was the subject of the documentary film Return to Byzantium: The Art and Life of Lilian Broca [3] premiered in Canada at The National Library and Archives in Ottawa in 2012.

Director and producer Adelina Suvagau led the Canadian/Romanian co-production which spanned over a five year period. The documentary was selected for participation in five International Film Festivals in the USA and in Canada, including the San Pedro International Film Festival, where it won the Best Documentary Award in 2012[4]. The film was acquired by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) television network and first aired on July 20, 2013.

Artistic Practice

The 1970s were years of experimentation with various abstract styles, exhibitions in Vancouver and several commissions by the city and Kwantlen College for large painted murals. At the beginning of the 1980s Broca began her slow return to a more realistic phase, her first love; at a time when representational art was not widely recognized, Broca persisted and her works which dealt with human relationships were exhibited across Canada. Meta Perry of Regina's Leader Post said: Broca wants to continue exploring human relationships because from a psychological standpoint, there is a lot to be explored in relationships. What else is there in life if not relationships? [5]

The 1990s were very productive with more emphasis on social issues particularly women's issues. The Vancouver Art Gallery purchased Broca's work and the-then director Brooks Joyner commented: Lilian Broca is an accomplished artist, a superb draughtsman, who knows about art history. ...a committed artist producing a significant body of work....She is discovering things in our present and past that are keys to understanding heroics in life[6]. At the end of that decade, a major solo exhibition at the Frye Art Museum was the result of the then-director Richard V West comment: There is no question that the breadth and scope of Broca's work justifies an exhibition here at the Frye. I was impressed by the complex interweaving of themes and form, her draughtsmanship, and her control of all the elements on a large scale. The issues of representation advanced in her work would make it a fine addition to the Viewpoint series... [7]

In 2002 Broca changed her medium from paint and canvas to glass mosaics. She began to create large scale mosaics using historical iconography and materials such as Byzantine smalti, gold smalti and millefiori on honeycomb aluminum panels. The inspiration came from biblical women who, through their courageous acts become allegorical role models for contemporary women in the 21st century. In the words of Cynthia Ramsay, editor of The Jewish Independent: The artwork is visually stunning. It is colorful, luminescent and skilfully put together. But what is most compelling is the depth of character that Broca communicates in her depictions of the Purim heroine. Broca's Esther is intelligent, sensual and strong; an ancient role model worth emulating in today's world.

In the Book The Hidden and the Revealed: The Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca, Yosef Wosk wrote: For her, it's not just art for art's sake – which, at times, is the highest calling – but rather art for the sake of and the benefit of creation. Lilian Broca herself has become the archetypal instrument through which the biblical women are given voice, form and personality. She has created what might be called a visual midrash. She doesn't just draw. Lilian is one who studies in depth... She is a researcher and a recognized independent scholar[8]

Exhibitions

Broca's solo exhibitions include: Judith and Esther, Two Critical Post Modern Heroines[9], Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca [10], The Judith Mosaic Series [11], Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca [12], The Hidden and The Revealed [13], The retrospective Lilian Broca: Mirrors and Reflections [14].

Some notable group exhibitions of the same period include: Mosaic Arts International 2017[15], Mosaic Arts International 2016 [16] and Characters in a Book in the same year [17]. Gaziantep International Contemporary Mosaic Exhibition in 2013 [18], International Contemporary Mosaic Art Convergence – Top Artists from Around the World Exhibit in 2012 [19], International Mosaic Exhibition AIMC in 2010 [20] and at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, Chicago, IL (catalogue). Opus Veritas: Fragments of Truth in 2004 [21].  Florence Biennale International Exhibition (catalogue) in 2003 [22].

Books

In 2015 Il Museo at the Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver, Canada, published the book/catalogue Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca, by Yosef Wosk, Sheila Campbell, Angela Clarke, Adolfo Roitman and Lilian Broca.[23]

The same year the book The Bible Retold by Jewish Artists, Writers, Composers & Filmmakers, edited by Helen Leneman and Barry Dov Walfish, included a chapter on Queen Esther and Lilian Broca's mosaics.[24]

In 2011 the hardcover book, The Hidden and The Revealed: The Queen Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca by Sheila Campbell, Yosef Wosk and Lilian Broca, was launched in Canada and the US.[25]

In 2010 the book Tiffany Studios' Techniques Inspiration for Today's Artists, by Edith Crouch was published. Broca was prominently featured on 21 pages. [26]

The same year Broca was one of 5 featured artists in the book Mosaic Fine Art: Portraits by Pam Givens and Irit Levy.[27]

2008 Feminist Theology with a Canadian Accent by Mary Ann Beavis, Broca was highlighted in the chapter The Influence of Feminist Theology on Canadian Women Artists by Mary Ann Beavis. [28]

2003 Lilith avatars et métamorphoses d'un mythe entre romantisme et et décadence by Pascale Auraix-Jonchiere Broca's works were analyzed with printed images. [29]

2001 A Song of Lilith, text by Joy Kogawa, Artworks by Lilian Broca.[30]

Selected Awards

Broca received First Place awards for her mosaic artworks in International exhibitions at the Italian-American Museum SF, 2004, and in Chicago, 2006; as well, Broca received the Juror's Choice award at Women's Museum of California, San Diego in 2016.

In 2003 Broca received the Lorenzo il Magnifico (Medici) gold medal in the 2003 Florence Biennale International Exhibition, Florence, Italy.

The prestigious Bourse de Perfectionnement was awarded to Broca to study abroad in 1968 and in 1969, by the Provincial Government of Quebec.

Selected Presentations

  • From Pebbles to Pixels: The Importance and Evolution of Style, Lilian Broca and Sheila Campbell (2017) Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, TX
  • Can mosaic be an artistic expression of our times? (2017) Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC
  • Heroines of a Thousand Pieces: Judith and Esther in Lilian Broca's Mosaics (2016) JD Carrier Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
  • From Pebbles to Pixels (2016) Women's Museum of California
  • Two Heroines of Antiquity: From Byzantium to Post-Modernism (2015) Vancouver Academy of Independent Scholars, Vancouver, BC
  • Two Heroines of Antiquity: From Byzantium to Post-Modernism (2014) Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
  • Return to Byzantium (2010) AIMC Conference, B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts, Athens, Greece
  • The Queen Esther Mosaics (2004) Academy of Independent Scholars, Vancouver, BC
  • The Legendary Lilith and My Work (2000) The Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA

References

  1. ^ Joy Kogawa (2000). A song of Lilith, Polestar Book Publishers, Vancouver. ISBN 1-55192-366-1
  2. ^ Simon Fraser University, Shadbolt GLS Community Scholars
  3. ^ Return to Byzantium: The Art and Life of Lilian Broca (2012), Documentary, 50min IMDb
  4. ^ San Pedro International Film Festival (SPIFFest) (2012) Winners
  5. ^ Meta Perry (1985). Regina Exhibit of Drawings Peeps at Artist's Private Life, Regina Leader-Post
  6. ^ Paula Gustafson (1996). Director's Choice – From the Director's Fund, Artichoke Magazine, Calgary, AB
  7. ^ Richard V West (2001). Lilian Broca: Mirrors and Reflections, The Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
  8. ^ Lilian Broca, Sheila D. Campbell, Yosef Wosk, Gareth Sirotnik (2011). The Hidden and the Revealed: The Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca, Geffen Publishing House Ltd., New York, Jerusalem
  9. ^ Judith and Esther, Two Critical Post Modern Heroines 2019. International Museum of the Baroque, Puebla, Mexico
  10. ^ Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca (2017). Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, TX
  11. ^ The Judith Mosaic Series (2016). JD Carrier Art Gallery,Toronto, ON
  12. ^ Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca (2015). Il Museo, Vancouver, BC (catalogue)
  13. ^ The Hidden and The Revealed (2006). JD Carrier Art Gallery,Toronto, ON
  14. ^ Lilian Broca: Mirrors and Reflections (2001). Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, (catalogue).
  15. ^ Mosaic Arts International (2017). Janice Charach Gallery, West Bloomfield, MI
  16. ^ Mosaic Arts International (2016). Women's Museum of California, San Diego, CA
  17. ^ Characters in a Book (2016). Lexington Public Library Fine Arts Gallery, Lexington, KY
  18. ^ Gaziantep International Contemporary Mosaic Exhibition (2013). Zeugma Museum, Gaziantep, Turkey
  19. ^ International Contemporary Mosaic Art Convergence – Top Artists from Around the World Exhibit (2012). Clauiano, Italy
  20. ^ International Mosaic Exhibition AIMC (2010). B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts, Athens, Greece
  21. ^ Opus Veritas: Fragments of Truth (2004).American Italian Museum, San Francisco, CA (catalogue)
  22. ^ Florence Biennale International Exhibition (catalogue) (2003). Florence, Italy
  23. ^ Yosef Wosk, Sheila Campbell, Angela Clarke, Adolfo Roitman and Lilian Broca (2015). Heroine of a Thousand Pieces: The Judith Mosaics of Lilian Broca, Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver, Canada.
  24. ^ Helen Leneman, Barry Walfish (2015). The Bible Retold by Jewish Artists, Writers, Composers & Filmmakers Sheffield Phoenix Press.
  25. ^ Sheila Campbell, Yosef Wosk and Lilian Broca (2011). The Hidden and The Revealed: The Queen Esther Mosaics of Lilian Broca, Gefen Publishing House New York, USA and Jerusalem, Israel
  26. ^ Edith Crouch (2010). Tiffany Studios' Techniques: Inspiration for Today's Artists, Schiffer Publishers, USA, ISBN: 978-0-7643-3264—9
  27. ^ Pam Givens and Irit Levy Mosaic (2010). Mosaic Fine Art: Portraits, Fine Art Books Publishers, ISBN: 978-1-4461-0599-3.
  28. ^ Mary Ann Beavis, Elaine Guillemin, Barbara Helen Pell (2008). Feminist Theology with a Canadian Accent Novalis, St. Paul University, Ottawa.
  29. ^ Auraix-Jonchiere (2003). Lilith avatars et métamorphoses d'un mythe entre romantisme et et décadence, U.clermont-Ferrand Blaise Pascal publishers, France.
  30. ^ Joy Kogawa (2000). A song of Lilith, Polestar Book Publishers, Vancouver. ISBN 1-55192-366-1.
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