REQUIEM: The Vanishing Face of The Canadian Prairie
Photographs by George Webber, RCA
George Webber's work reveals his deep fascination and affection for the people and landscape of the Canadian west. Webber was born in the western Canadian town of Drumheller, Alberta in 1952. Since the early 1980s he has photographed this region extensively.
"My concern is one of photography's most fundamental, the impulse to seize and arrest what is passing away," says Webber. "This desire seems to be felt most keenly when dealing with an aspect on one's own history and culture. In the prairies, all that is human is ephemeral."
Publisher Peter Duthie has written, "Through Webber's photographs the prairie becomes a passionate metaphor. It is a passion play of man's stoic struggle in life."
REQUIEM: The Vanishing Face of The Canadian Prairie was published by Calgary's Folio Gallery in 1995.
Webber's photographs have been published and exhibited widely. His work is found in major Canadian and international collections including:
The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
The Canadian Auto Workers, Port Elgin, Canada
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Canada
Scott Springfield Manufacturing, Calgary, Canada
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Canada
The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
Saskatchewan Archives Board, Saskatoon, Canada
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Canada
The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
The Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Canada
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada
The Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Canada
The Alberta Foundation For The Arts, Edmonton, Canada
Musee de la Photographie, Charleroi, Belgium
Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich, Switzerland
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France