Helen Goodwin

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Helen Goodwin
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Born1927
England
Died(1985-12-18)December 18, 1985
OccupationArtist
Teacher

Helen Goodwin (born 1927 in England)[1] was a Laban-trained English artist, teacher, and organizer who specialized in dance and choreography.[2][3] Goodwin was involved with multimedia artists in the 1960s and 1970s, organizing and performing at festivals, exhibitions and artist-run centres in Vancouver.[4][5][6] She is best known for co-founding Intermedia and forming the dance troupe, TheCo.[7][8]

Background

Goodwin was Laban-trained in England before moving to Vancouver.[3] In 1955, she became a faculty member at the University of British Columbia in the Physical Education Department, and taught stage movement with the Theatre Department.[3] In 1970, Goodwin moved to New York City where she was asked to chair the Dance Department of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[8]

On December 18, 1985, Goodwin drowned herself near Spanish Banks.[1] On December 21, 1987 at 3:45pm, Winter Solstice was performed in memory of Goodwin at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.[9]

Projects

Goodwin was involved in the organization of the Festival of Contemporary Arts at UBC, on February 3-5, 1965.[10] The festival was nicknamed The Medium is the Message (after Marshall McLuhan's work).[10]

In 1965, Goodwin along with Al Neil and Sam Perry founded the Sound Gallery and Goodwin founded her dance troupe, TheCo.[8][3] Perry committed suicide at the end of 1966 and Sound Gallery dissolved.[11] In 1967, Intermedia was incorporated as a non-profit society under the BC Societies Act, which was the first artist-run centre in Canada to receive funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. Goodwin was a founder and member of the Board of Directors.[3][12]

Works

Goodwin was known for collaborating with other artists to create “environments” with which her dance troupe, TheCo, would interact.[13][14] In 1968, the Vancouver Art Gallery hosted Intermedia Nights, where TheCo (including Evelyn Roth) performed Plus Minus 216 and A Space.[2][5][13][14]

The Intermedia Spring Show - Dome Show was exhibited between May 19-31, 1970, and included Goodwin's work, City Feast, which involved participants from around the city to engage in communal dining, conceptualized as "an experiment in large-group choreography".[15][16]

In 1971, Goodwin created and directed Environmental Opera, a performance by TheCo and other artists at Spanish Banks on June 21.[17]

List of Notable Works

  • Plus Minus 216 (1968) at the Vancouver Art Gallery[2]
  • Pas de Deux (1968)[6]
  • A Space (1968) at the Douglas Gallery and Vancouver Art Gallery[5][13][14]
  • Environmental Opera (1971) at Spanish Banks[17]
  • City Feast (1970)[15]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Search Our Collection - Royal BC Museum". search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Spears, James (May 17, 1968). "The mysterious Who of Intermedia". The Province.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Pepper, Kaija (Spring 2010). "Helen Goodwin & Intermedia: Toward Live Art in Vancouver". Dance Collection Danse (69): 20.
  4. Spears, James (May 17, 1968). "The mysterious Who of Intermedia". The Province.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Barber, James (May 22, 1968). "Gallery flashes success Intermedia". The Province.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Rosenberg, Ann (October 26, 1968). "It's a Happening At Art Gallery". The Vancouver Sun.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Townsend, Charlotte (April 8, 1969). "Art Intermedia Takes Over, Switches-on". The Vancouver Sun.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931-1983. 1983. p. 195. ISBN 0-920095-00-3. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |(empty string)= (help); |work= ignored (help)
  9. "Performance in memory of dancer". The Vancouver Sun. December 17, 1987.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Lowndes, Joan (1983). Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931-1983. p. 142. ISBN 0-920095-00-3. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |(empty string)= (help); |work= ignored (help)
  11. "Search Our Collection - Royal BC Museum". search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  12. "Non-existent group wins $40,000 grant". The Province. April 15, 1967.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Barber, James (May 17, 1968). "Intermedia Nights: A massive protest by artists against the passivity engendered by TV and the atrophy of imagination". The Province.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Barber, James (May 3, 1968). "Intermedia Nights: Something new, something happening, something taking off...". The Province.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. 15.0 15.1 Wyman, Max (June 1, 1970). "Far-Out Feast". The Vancouver Sun.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. Townsend, Charlotte (May 21, 1970). "Walk into the world of domes at gallery". The Vancouver Sun.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. 17.0 17.1 Richard, Alain-Martin; Robertson, Clive (1991). Performance au Canada 1970-1990 = Performance in Canada 1970-1990. Coach House Press. p. 110. ISBN 2-920500-04-X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |(empty string)= (help)

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