B: December 10, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario
D: January 5, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario
Michael James Aleck Snow, as he was born, was considered by many to be the most significant experimental filmmaker in the world. In addition to films, he is a famous painter, a photographer, sculptor and musician. Of his many works he is probably best known for his “walking woman” series which he worked on, in all media, from 1961 to 1967. Eleven sculptures formed part of the Ontario Pavillion at Montreal’s Expo ’67. For Expo ’86 he produced a 48-image group of holographic pictures for a work titled The Special Image. Snow has received many awards and fellowships throughout his career including The Molson Prize and a Governor General’s Award in Visual Art. He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and given France’s Chevalier de l”ordres des arts et des lettres in 1995. A resident of Toronto his work can be seen throughout the city. From the figures of 15 cartoonish fans that adorn the Rogers Centre, to a 1979 installation titled Flight Stop, comprising 60 suspended fibreglass Canada geese at the Toronto Eaton Centre as well as regular exhibitions in art galleries and museums. The art world mourned his death, the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) stating that Snow “knew no boundaries.” Sarah Milroy, chief curator at the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg, Ont., north of Toronto, described Snow as a “one of the leading lions” in Canadian art and the National Gallery of Canada said it was “deeply saddened” by his death. It called him a “giant in the art world” in Canada and around the world. “His innovative, versatile artworks radiate beyond our borders, and made him a formidable ambassador.” Michael Snow as 94 when he died of pneumonia in Toronto on January 5, 2023. Also see: Joyce Wieland
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