Art
Tim Forbes and the New Heresy of Art by Carla Rover, photos by Tim Allen
Abstract art in the digital age, has rejected its boundaries and emerged as lawless, dynamic and personal, mimicking the ubiquitous nature of the Internet by leaving its imprint everywhere in pop culture. Award-winning Canadian sculptor Tim Forbes has fully embraced the “New Heresy” of contemporary abstract expressionism; art which seduces rather than alienates is nonetheless relevant; art which courts emotion rather than scorn is not, in itself, superfluous to the modern canon. Forbes’ work includes sculpture, painting, line drawings and photography which defy the traditional limits of each genre — each piece reflecting a diverse, engaging semiotic tapestry with a vibrant, emotive core. Contemporary art, according to Forbes, is a way of processing a visual world of constant change, rather than a sacred discipline laden with a hierarchy of procedural rules and critical edicts. Art’s role, Forbes believes, is to liberate the viewer’s senses rather than train their eyes to see according to the dictates of a curator. “Art,” says Forbes, “has always served as the stream-of-consciousness of human communication since the time of the cave dwellers.” That passionate belief in the social necessity of art and its value beyond the whimsy of popular culture has inspired Forbes’ work for decades
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