Rideau Hall, Friday, March 23, 2007

Explore life and be transformed.

That, in essence, is the basis for any artist’s creative process.

As we take in the culmination of their tremendous work, here at Rideau Hall, in museums, galleries, studios and elsewhere, we celebrate the fruits of their labour.

Every time we look at their work, we see it in a new light. And no two people have the same experience.

What you have shown us is unique. Your work is different from any other human endeavour, because it conveys your personal world view, your perspective on space and time.

From the moment we open our eyes, we are inundated with a rush of stock images. But your images rise above the commotion—the commonplace and the commercial. Your images shape our world and influence the way we live in it.

As René Payant put it, your images engross, haunt, challenge and surprise us.

Therein, perhaps, lies the real strength of your work, in relentlessly testing our ability to be surprised.

In shaking our deeply rooted beliefs.

In making the way from convention to discovery.

In reminding us that every act of creation is a call for freedom.

In immeasurably broadening our definition of beauty.

Enriched are the lives of artists and of we who experience your work.

That enrichment comes from the wealth of senses and sensations we are afforded, body and soul, when we see the world through your eyes.

Through your eyes, we learn to see past appearances.

And that fragile and invincible part inside us is reinvigorated.

And if for no other reason, that is why the role you play in our lives is precious, essential and priceless.

I am telling you this tonight on behalf of all Canadians.

And I honour you.

To Ian Carr­-Harris, whose commitment to a new generation of artists only adds to his already remarkable works, thank you.

To Aganetha Dyck, who, with a lot of spirit, brings new dimensions to everyday objects, thank you.

To Bruce Elder, who breathes new life into avant-garde film, thank you.

To Murray Favro, whose multidisciplinary approach demonstrates a continuous quest for the unattainable, thank you.

To Fernand Leduc, whose every painting is a field of light and an ode to colour and his internal demons, thank you.

To Paul Mathieu, whose ceramics exhibit the functional and decorative qualities of an age-old art, thank you.

To Daphne Odjig, an enchanting and inspired messenger of Aboriginal and modern traditions, thank you.

To David Silcox, whose extraordinary efforts have made, and continue to make, Canada a fertile ground for the arts, thank you.

Without you, dear laureates, our imaginations would be weakened, at the mercy of the marketing machine, without a soul.

Furthermore, because of your determination to do away with predictability, to see beyond the horizon and aim for the impossible, you are living proof to those who may be tempted to believe there is no beauty left in the world.

For that especially, I thank you and embrace you.