Day in the life: Blair Taylor
- Graham Miles
Blair Taylor knows a lot about the art of sculpture, and he is adept as well at the art of work-life balance. Taylor, secretary to the dean and associate dean of humanities, is the creator of “You Blew It,” an exhibition that opened at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on April 21 and that runs through July 3. It is comprised of a series of sculptures influenced by Taylor’s dreams, which he has been recording and documenting for many years.
Between his full-time job and his artistic endeavors, he doesn’t have a lot of spare time. “It’s something you really have to dedicate yourself to,” says Taylor of his artistic discipline. “It’s almost like having two jobs—you work all day, then you go home and you do your other job, which in my case is making art. For other people it could be volunteering, or something like that. But art is not a career you can make a lot of money at in the beginning, so it’s nice to have a day job.”
Fortunately, through his training as an archivist, Taylor has developed skills that serve him in both fields. This gives him a natural affinity for administrative work, but also helps him lend order and structure to his sculptures, dismantling the common stereotype that artists are spacey and irrational.
“I like having things structured,” says Taylor. “I like to simplify processes.”
Much of Taylor’s work reflects these values directly, displaying a decidedly minimalist aesthetic. “It’s a melding of two sorts of worlds,” says Taylor, “the left brain and the right brain.”
Taylor describes his work at UVic as “fairly straightforward.” As a secretary, he provides support for the dean—sending emails, checking calendars and “keeping the machine running.” Taylor also schedules meetings with various committees, books rooms, distributes information and sends documents. He deals mostly with other faculty members, or functions as a liaison between the Faculty of Humanities and other offices.
After getting his degree in archival studies, Taylor worked as a government records archivist for a time in the Yukon. “It was a huge job, full of pressure, and it really became unpleasant,” says Taylor. “So I said: ‘That’s it, I want to do art!’ and I came back here . . . I thought maybe I could balance my career with my art.”
Taylor is optimistic about what lies in store for him, but doesn’t spend too much time thinking about it. He likes his work, and prefers to focus on the moment rather than worry about the future. “You can draw from parts of whatever you do. I’m very attentive—I categorize things, and then use them for another purpose. Who would have thought my archival background would have any kind of influence on art? But it completely does . . . it made my project for me.”