Media releases

• Water activist, accessibility leader and sports icon to be honoured at Brock’s Spring Convocation

  Tuesday, May 28, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: May 28 2024 – R0068

  When Brock University’s newest graduates gather to mark their accomplishments next month, they’ll be ushered into this new chapter of their lives by the inspiring words of an environmental activist, an accessibility champion and a baseball legend.

  As part of Brock’s 115th Convocation celebrations from June 10 to 14, the University will bestow honorary doctorates upon Maude Barlow, Tricia Pokorny (BA ’95) and Ferguson “Fergie” Jenkins, who will each then deliver an address to the graduating class.

  A respected Canadian activist and author, Barlow chairs the board of Food and Water Watch, which advocates for safe food, clean water and a livable climate for all. She is also the founder of the Blue Planet Project, a leading water justice organization.

  Barlow will be honoured during Brock’s 10 a.m. Convocation ceremony on Tuesday, June 11.

  In 2008-09, she served as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly and was a leader in the campaign to have water recognized as a human right by the UN. She is the creator of the Blue Communities project in which municipalities pledge to ban or phase out the sale of bottled water and to recognize water as a human right and a public trust. There are now more than 25 million people living in official Blue Community towns and cities around the world.

  A proud Brock graduate, Pokorny is the program lead for the Come to Work program at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Victoria, B.C., where she assists participants with sight loss in developing workplace readiness skills.

  She spent 10 years as Senior Manager of Accessibility for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, where she managed the Crown corporation’s compliance with legislative and administrative requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act across the province.

  Pokorny, who will receive her honorary degree at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony on Tuesday, June 11, also led the development, implementation and management of an award-winning accessibility and diversity program at Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls for 13 years.

  At the 2:30 p.m. ceremony on Wednesday, June 12, Brock’s final honorary degree of the week will be awarded to Jenkins — an icon in professional baseball and Canadian sport.

  With a career spanning nearly two decades in Major League Baseball, during which he played for the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, Jenkins was the first Canadian inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (1991).

  Among his many accolades, the three-time All Star from Chatham, Ont., was awarded the National League Cy Young Award as a member of the Cubs in 1971 and was honoured with Canadian postage stamps featuring his image.

  Off the field, he founded the Fergie Jenkins Foundation, which aims to “serve humanitarian need through the love of sport” and has supported hundreds of charities across North America.

  Brock’s 115th Convocation will include nine ceremonies held from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14 in the Ian D. Beddis Gymnasium of Brock’s Walker Sports Complex. Ceremonies will take place at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day, except for Friday, June 14, when only a morning ceremony is scheduled.

  All ceremonies will be livestreamed online at brocku.ca/livestream

  For more information and a full schedule of Brock’s Spring Convocation, visit brocku.ca/convocation

  Media are welcome to attend Brock’s Spring Convocation ceremonies. Photographers shooting from directly in front of the stage are asked to wear a Convocation gown, which can be arranged through Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock prof reflects on divisive history of portraits

  Monday, May 27, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: May 27 2024 – R0067

  The public’s divided response to portraiture — as recently seen with works depicting King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales — is as old as the art form itself, says Linda Carreiro.

  The Brock University Professor and visual artist says tension has long existed between an artist’s approach and the way artwork is viewed, particularly when its subject is famous. That division has only become more apparent in the age of social media, with portraits gaining much wider public reach.

  “One of the most fascinating aspects about this tradition is the friction that invariably results from an unveiled portrait, both arising from expectations of the sitter, who wishes to be viewed a certain way, and the public, who see the subject as iconic and not as open to artistic interpretations,” Carreiro says.

  Portrait painting was historically reserved for those deemed deserving of lasting representation — those who held power, fame, beauty or wealth.

  “But, in the past 200 years, there has emerged a different type of portraiture depicting working-class, under-represented and marginalized individuals,” Carreiro says.

  While the subjects of portraits have become more diverse, the desire to commission a painted legacy of well-known individuals who are considered societally “valuable” continues, with entire museums, boardrooms and chambers adorned with such artwork.

  In the case of royalty or other famous people who commission a portrait, the value to both sitter and artist is significant, Carreiro says, as the art cements long-standing attributes of prominence and posterity and often fetches enormous sums at future auctions.

  “If the artist is well known, the sitter is bestowed additional celebrity; if the artist is less recognized internationally, there is anticipated opportunity to launch a more lucrative career,” she says.

  Conventionally, a painter develops the artwork while the subject is present, says Carreiro, who has many years of portraiture under her belt. The portrait then becomes the result of an interpersonal dynamic and response between the artist and the subject, similar to any other relationship.

  In the case of Jonathan Yeo’s portrait of King Charles, however, the sittings were clearly followed with the use of a reference photograph to complete the piece. This means there was more intention to how the painting was constructed, with less influence of the sitter in the environment, she says.

  “This is in line with the shift in current portraiture generally, where selfies are controlled and excessively edited to create a highly managed public persona,” Carreiro adds.

  Whether the viewer enjoys the portrait or not, she says it is clear that “as long as artists are commissioned to depict and interpret famous subjects, so too will there be strong reactions to the portrait — offering an opportunity to think about the fascinating exchanges between artist, sitter and audience.”

  Brock University Visual Arts Professor Linda Carreiro is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256 

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  Categories: Media releases