The Mass Produced Calendar – 30th October, 2016

I realize that there is a lot to research with regards to my calendar. Therefore, rather than do minimal research on a broad range of topics, I think I will instead focus on one or two of my major points and delve into how they contribute to our class discussion on wilderness. Still, in order to be thorough, I need to touch on the others that I do not explore. The very concept of a paper calendar is, in and of itself, an interesting idea. It is a highly commoditized item that, really, in today’s world is not a necessity when we have constant access to digital calendars. The addition of the Group of Seven’s works of art, and indeed, any image onto a calendar, is an attempt to give calendars value and visual appeal. Without these, the calendar would merely be a numbered grid on nice pieces of paper.

            I tried to find an academic paper or book on the history of printed calendars through the UVic library and google scholar to provide a historical context on why they became popular but to no avail. So, I just googled “History of Printed Calendar” and came across a blog post from the CalendarClub UK website from January 8^th, 2012. According to the post, the oldest printed calendar the writer was able to locate was from China in the year 877. The onset of the printing press lead to the widespread availability of the printed calendar. It wasn’t until 1909, Joseph Salmon made the first set of calendars that resemble what we now know as wall calendars – images and dates combined in a flip-book format (“The History of Printed Calendars”).

            We know that keeping track of time has been an integral part of human nature throughout our evolution. What this blog post makes clear, however, is that this urge to track time has been accompanied by images – things that we deem beautiful – for centuries. Since images were introduced to calendars, these time-trackers have become a household staple, with anything from weekly family planners, inspirational quotes, and, indeed, famous works of art, adorning our living rooms, bedrooms and fridges.

Matters of Topics and Exploration – 25th October, 2016

For my research project, I had originally focused on a theme – Asian immigrants as they relate to wilderness – and set out to find source material that would complement and guide my research. However, the other day, my roommate, Sarah and I were at SaveOn and came across a calendar using landscape images from the Group of Seven. She jokingly said that somebody should do their project on it, and thus my new research project was born. I mulled over the idea of switching, and came to realize that given the context through which we have been discussing wilderness, this calendar would be a more appropriate stimulus because much of what we talk about in class is based around wilderness as a western concept.

            Through my research, I hope to discover and explore the following:

1.     The group of seven and why were they interested in the depiction of Canadian landscapes?

2.     Each individual painting’s origin, medium, and painter

3.     The locations of each painting

4.     The relation of these paintings to the calendar format

5.     How, if at all, does the paper calendar format relate to themes regarding wilderness?

These five points will hopefully serve as a guide for my research. I aim to critically examine the discoveries and connections I make through this research process in order to more firmly understand the role of Wilderness in today’s Canadian society.

Works Cited

A. Y. Jackson. Sunlit Tapestry. 1939. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017
Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Random House. 1998. Web.

Carmichael, Franklin. Hilltop Cedars. 1920. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Carmichael, Franklin. Lake Wabagishik. 1928. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Casson, A. J. At Rosseau, Muskoka. 1920. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

"Collections: Artists A to Z." National Gallery of Canada. National Gallery of Canada, 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

Dean, Misao. "Why the Canoe Might Not Be the Glorious Symbol of Canada You Think It Is." Interview. Is the Canoe a Symbol of Canada, or of Colonialism? CBC Radio. Victoria, BC, 6 Mar. 2016. Radio.

Glaves-Smith, John, and Ian Chilvers. A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2015. Oxford Reference. Web.


Harris, Lawren S. Icebergs, Davis Strait. 1930. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Harris, Lawren S. Pic Island. 1924. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

"The History of Printed Calendars." Blog post. CalendarClub.co.uk. N.p., 8 Jan. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Johnston, Frank. Late Summer. 1918. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Kelly, Jon. "Why Do We Still Buy Calendars?" BBC News Magazine. BBC, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Larsen, Erik. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." The Modernism Lab at Yale University. Yale University, 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
Lismer, Arthur. McGregor Bay. 1933. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Loo, Tina. "CHR Forum--Making a Modern Wilderness: Conserving Wildlife in Twentieth-Century Canada." The Canadian Historical Review 82.1 (2001): 91-121. ProQuest. Web. Accessed on 25 Oct. 2016.

MacDonald, J. E. H. Lake McArthur, Lake O’Hara Camp. 1924. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

McKay, Don. Vís a Vís: Field Notes on Poetry & Wilderness. Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau, 2001. Print. Thomson, Tom. Aura Lee Lake. 1916. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Roberts, Charles G. D. The Heart of the Ancient Wood. N.p.: HardPress, 2013. Print.

Thomson, Tom. Twisted Maple. 1914. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.

Trudeau, Pierre Elliot. « Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic in a Canoe. » Canoe, http://www.canoe.ca/che-mun/102trudeau.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.

Varley F. H. Early Morning, Sphinx Mountain. 1928. McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Group of Seven 2017 Calendar. Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2017. N. pag. Print.