Crowds and Flowers

Molly (Lamb) Bobak was born in Vancouver in 1922, the daughter of the ineffable Harold Mortimer-Lamb, who is the subject of a current exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Bobak studied with Jack Shadbolt at the Vancouver School of Art before eventually settling in New Brunswick, where she took a teaching position.

Crowds and flowers are two of Bobak's favourite subjects. I have always believed that her poor eyesight might have contributed to her seeing in these subjects more similarities than differences. For example, I too have looked down at certain kinds of crowds and seen flowers, just as I have looked down at certain kinds of flowers and seen crowds.

The painting above is entitled The Rink (1960). Although a static view of skaters, Bobak is skilled enough to convey the sensation of something turning. This is all many of us aspire to in life -- to "feel to be a cog in something turning," as Joni Mitchell once sang in her effort to describe a rather crowded event she skipped in favour of appearing on a more flowery television talk show.