Glow, not Gold, inspired by the expression "All that glitters is not gold" is an artist book produced by the Centre for Art Tapes and Conundrum Press on the artistic practices of Lucie Chan (Toronto), Barry Doupé (Vancouver), and Libby Hague (Toronto). The book also invites two animation artists and critical writers: James MacSwain and Steve Reinke who write on the relationship of animated moving image practices within the visual art exhibition. Chan, Doupé and Hague utilize digital media in tandem with a visual art practice, and use drawing, paper, and installation design, pointing to the tactility of their materials as process for creation. A somewhat underrepresented field in contemporary art, animation has not seen a great deal of theory-based writing that aims to disambiguate the various techniques and address artwork that reaches beyond the animation of a video, to spill into the gallery space with the purpose of the immersive experience. Lucie Chan unpacks complicated and intimate relationships with watercolor drawings that are also transposed to delicate animations, and show emotional depth with meditative presence. Barry Doupé's animations are saturated with layers of color and digitally drawn characters. Inspired by a dream state or the subconscious the artist carefully builds a narrative at a quiet pace. Libby Hague constructs paper and video installations approaching trauma and suffering when living in a precarious world, and allows vulnerability to enter through text and poetry.
