‘Thanks for the Meal’ is an artistic tribute to farmers
- Luke Edwards
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Luke Edwards
The connection between California and Niagara that most people traditionally make is through their respective wine industries. But if a project being organized by a Niagara-on-the-Lake group gets the funding and support it needs, the two regions could share another similarity.
And that similarity is giant farmers. Or, more precisely, giant public art installations that pay homage to farmers.
Called “Thanks for the Meal” - in reference to a line from the 1973 song by Murray McLauchlin called The Farmer’s Song - the project is being spearheaded by the Art Gallery of Niagara-on-the-Lake. It replicates a similar project done in the Salinas Valley in California, which was home to American author John Steinbeck and formed the inspiration for many of his novels’ settings.
“I had the idea many years ago to bring that artwork to our fields,” said Ron Clavier, a NOTL artist and founder of the Art Gallery of NOTL.
Clavier’s no stranger to honouring farmers. He created the image that makes up the large mural on the wall of Niagara Orchard and Vineyard Corp. in Virgil.
“They work so hard, really tirelessly, and to our benefit,” he said about why it’s important to him to honour farmers.
Also a big fan of Steinbeck, Clavier took many a trek down to California and the Salinas Valley, where he came across the installations. Created by John Cerney, they’re typically about 16-feet tall, and erected along roadways for passersby to see. It started in Salinas, but has now spread across the United States, featuring little snippets of Americana.
The group’s plan for a gallery goes back several years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put things on the backburner. As normalcy returned, Clavier said he realized they still had the name registered as a non-profit and were, as far as he could tell, still in good standing. So he and some colleagues started thinking about what they could do. With the town’s strong cultural identity, Clavier said the group believed they could add something else for visitors to enjoy along that same line.
At some point there was an “aha” moment, Clavier recalled, by simply changing one two-letter word for another.
“The art gallery is Niagara-on-the-Lake,” he said.
With the idea of making it a gallery of public outdoor installations, they set out planning the specifics. It had to feature people with a focus on different aspects of farming important to the Niagara area. The group wanted buy-in from the community and Clavier said it’s important for the artwork to be created by a member of the group being depicted.
That led to an early challenge. Clavier said it only made sense to him to start with the region’s first farmers: The Indigenous people who lived here long before any Europeans arrived. However, finding an Indigenous artist who’d be willing to create the artwork at a price the fledgling group could afford was difficult.
However, eventually Clavier was introduced to Raymond Skye, who is known for - among other things - the Landscape of Nations memorial at Queenston Heights. He put the group in touch with Shayde Skye and a deal was struck.
The debut installation will feature a tribute to the three sisters - corn, beans and squash - which were main staples for many Indigenous groups, who knew the three crops benefited each other.
They soon ran into an issue. For Clavier, it was important that each installation be authentic. He spent years as a scientist, studying the brain and working both in a clinical setting as a psychologist and in academia. So for him, accuracy is important.
As they began to develop the idea of the three sisters installation, Clavier realized that for it to be authentic and historically accurate, the three Indigenous women representing the three crops should be topless. That was, after all, the cultural norm for the time. Clavier worried an art piece of three giant topless women driving into NOTL might be met with some resistance. Fortunately, after discussing it with Skye and Sandy they assured him they could put tops on the women and still be authentic. Just a slight bit of artistic licence for the benefit of the more modest types.
With that part of the plan covered, the group also had to find the right location. And they could have hardly ended up with a better spot for the debut piece of art. St. Davids Hydroponics owns a field on Highway 55 heading into Virgil between Southbrook and Hare wineries. They agreed to host the first installation on that property.
That left some of the fine print and legal details, less exciting but still important, to be ironed out.
At a meeting where Clavier explained the project to a small group of interested community members last month, he said they believed they had all the paperwork in order.
Now they just need to raise some funds. They’ve received some donations and in-kind offers already, including a donation from St. Davids, but Clavier estimates they’ll need another $15,000 or so to get the installations printed, built and erected.
Once they have a proof of concept, Clavier said he believes it will be easier to generate community support and fundraising. At that point they can apply for charity status and issue receipts for income tax purposes. There will also, presumably, be the inherent buzz as people drive by the installations.
The group has also reached out to other institutions like Niagara College. Clavier said staff at the college are eager to offer their support, from trades students helping with construction to media students creating documentaries that could accompany each installation and offer those interested more information on, for instance, Indigenous farming practices.
Other topics Clavier would like to cover include Mennonite farmers, migrant farmworkers, and the area’s wine sector. Each new installation can generate a new discussion, he said.
“Nothing promotes truth like frank, honest, respectful conversation.”
The group hopes to get the funding in place to install the artwork next spring. For more information on how to support the group, email Clavier at eye.to.eye@ronclavier.com. Cheques and money orders made out to The Art Gallery of Niagara on the Lake are accepted, as are cash donations.