The Bourbon Room

The Bourbon Room - 10th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - 2015

In the summer of 2015 we were invited to participate in an informal residency at The Bourbon Room by Kevin Kanashiro who generously sponsored our time there. Owned by the Concord group, The Bourbon Room was modelled after a mid-century private men’s club. With exclusive access through word of mouth, and a private entrance on the second floor of the National on 10th Avenue, it was a small sexist bastion of exclusivity situated in the heart of downtown Calgary. A lush, dark environment mimicking another era, they offered the largest selection of bourbon in the country. The walls were adorned with enlarged vintage black and white photos of pin up girls of the period as though this old school throw-back made the misogynistic images and general “scene“ ok.

We immersed ourselves amidst the heavy velvet curtained walls, wood banquettes and booths. While drawing in this darkened environment, we absorbed the exclusivity of the club, the upscale nightlife, waves of people moving through, drunken conversations, the images on the walls, the hard alcohol, the absinthe, the food, music etc. Battery operated table light was used to help with our sessions in the darkened room. This was somewhat useful but not ideal. The drawings that emerged from this experience were dark and addressed both the obvious and underlying elements of the scene we were exposed to.

In all of our situations such as the Bourbon Room, as we work on our drawings questions arise such as: What is this place? Who are these people? Why would anyone create a bar such as this in 2015? We responded through mark making, commenting and discussing with each other, at times having brief conversations with patrons, but mostly just participating in contemplative drawing with each other. The mass of people coming and going as well as the sounds and commotion were inscribed upon us as we engaged in our generally quiet process. The intention was not to get answers to our questions but to create a dialog and thought process.

Pieces produced