Analysis Of Bill Pechet Emptyful

Bill Pechet’s artwork titled Emptyful depicts the essence of life in Winnipeg; the complexion of nature and its relationship with the quality of life perceived by the locals. The public art was completed in August 15th, 2012. It is located in the Millennium Library Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pechet who is also an architect designed and constructed Emptyful as part of the project by the Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada and the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Public Art Program. The piece is over 10 meters high and could be viewed in all angles (Winnipegarts.ca). Moreover, the context and design of the back and front sides of the artwork is identical to one another. Its medium is stainless steel, water, lights, fog and the weather. This public art

is striking in a way that certain elements caught my attention; to further understand the message Pechet implies in Emptyful. Most importantly, to interpret the deeper purpose of the artwork; to reveal the essence of life perceived by the city; the relationship of the people and the environment.
As the title suggests, the piece Emptyful is stimulated by the notion that Winnipeg and the prairies is full of emptiness.

This abstraction was observed by Pechet at a young age as his father first settled in the city. Pechet states “When I saw the place for myself, I could sense, through space and people, an old soul of a city, where even, within its apparent areas of vacancy, a fully robust culture was humming away…a place where people are thinking deeply about their city, through art and culture” (Winnipegarts.ca). The intent of Emptyful is to capture such quality of life in Winnipeg; the motion of the people and the environment. The artist states “This gave birth to the idea that perhaps a piece of art could express this notion of a simultaneous empty and full environment where event comes and goes…. with as much force as weather itself” (Winnipegarts.ca). Pechet used the idea of space to resonate the emptiness of the city. Solid outlines support the structure of the city, but it also suggests the significance of who creates such structure. In addition, contrasting textures dominate the entirety of the artwork to identify the elements that create the integrity of the

Winnipeg.
The concept of space; bare and hollow dominates the artwork to resonate the emptiness of the city.

As I walked closer to the artwork, the entirety of the artwork’s shape disappeared; leaving me with nothing but uncertainty of the space. Such space resonates with the vast land of the city in which wind flows through at ease, similar to the transparent ease of the artwork. Though, the emptiness is soon filled with the environment; everything on the other side; the woman walking her dog and the police walking on the sidewalk. Such events occur in the city in a daily basis that follows a cycle in which it comes and goes. The hollow space of the artwork resonates the emptiness of the city; defined by the simplicity of life in Winnipeg. Though, the transparency of the space; being hollow, reminds us the occurrences that comes and goes throughout the city; that the empty is and had always been

full.
Furthermore, Pechet creates the shape of a scientific flask as the outline of his artwork. The shape; curved and simple is presented with strength and boldness. The outline is the boundary of the city that contains the empty space; the vast land of the city. However, the thickness of the outline; full of power and firmness, resonates the importance of the people in the city; the locals who has the capability to create the shape and the structure of the city. Moreover, the horizontal line connected to and expands to the curvilinear of the flask is immense and firm. The simplicity of the horizontal line is exaggerated by its heavy outline. I feel that such intense outline implied the way the locals of Winnipeg perceives their role in the city; in which the people are distinguished to be peaceful but the power the communities have; the impact of the people in profound. Such intensity found in the outlines of the artwork captivates the power the people have in creating the structure; the “outline” of Winnipeg.
In the other hand, textures within the artwork were successful through the use of different materials as mediums. Pechet used stainless steel, water and fog to create various textures within his work. The stainless steel is continuous and polished; effortless on its own. Such texture translates to the flatness of the city and of the prairies. In addition, the artist uses water to create visual texture that contrasts with the polished steel. The water sprinkles with pauses in between each drop; creating a visual texture of rigidness. Though, the harsh, uncompromising texture of the sprinkling of water is soon balanced with the visual texture of the fog; soft and velvety. The serene motion of the fog is smooth and tranquil. Such textures resonate with the physical and environmental diversity of the city; the textures of the environment; the smooth land of the prairies, the rigid visual texture of a blizzard and the fog on a Sunday morning. Though, the textures embodied in Empyful also epitomize the diversity in life maturity within the city; from the smooth, to the harsh and unforgiving circumstances people experience. The textures within the artwork resonate the components that establish the virtue of the city.
In conclusion, the artwork Emptyful depicts the essence of Winnipeg as a city; the pure reality of the city. The hollow space creates the idea of emptiness that resonates throughout the vast land of the parries. Though, the emptiness is reciprocated with the daily occurrences of life; the fullness Pechet perceive through the idea of Winnipeg as the city of things that “comes and goes”. To add, the intensity of the outlines identifies the power the people have in impacting the city; the intense outline in which is able to shape the structure. The various textures within the artwork embodied the diversity of land and life recognized in Winnipeg. Such elements imposed by Bill Pechet created a purpose; an intention to represent the truth of the city through his artwork; to reveal the quality of life perceived by the people and the environment of Winnipeg.