Lady Brute Eric Metcalfe was a fine arts student at the
University of Victoria and Craig was drawn to his circle of artists and performers. In 1969, he created a
mail art persona called "Dr. Brute", and Craig became "Lady Brute" also known as "Lady Barbara Brute." Kate Craig's persona, "Lady Brute," emerged in 1970 as a counterbalance to the sexual fixations of Eric Metcalfe's alter ego, Doctor Brute. Describing it as "undoubtedly a collaboration with Eric Metcalfe in the context of their marriage and shared lifestyle," she forged this persona as a distinct expression within their artistic partnership. This collaborative project created the fictional world of "Brutopia." Their collection of leopard material filled this world and the characters examined the foibles of western society. In 1972, Lady Brute appeared as the "Picture of the Week" in an issue of
FILE magazine and marched in the
Victoria Day parade in
Victoria, British Columbia. Her performances were typically informal, happening in the real world rather than on stage. She would at times attend an opening or a dinner in her leopard regalia and that was the performance. In 1974, she performed "Flying Leopard" in
Vancouver at Cates Park, and again on
Hornby Island. In 1975, she produced her first video, "Skins: Lady Brute presents her Leopardskin Wardrobe". In that same year, she and Metcalfe curated the exhibition "Spots Before Your Eyes" at the Western Front and A Space. The concept of camouflage, embodied by the leopard print motif present in both Craig and Metcalfe's works, carries nuanced implications. While Metcalfe's exploration, concealed beneath his persona, delved into uncovering repressed aspects of his identity, Craig's engagement with camouflage took a different trajectory. Her approach involved unmasking socially constructed gender norms through the tactic of masquerade, a notion later theorized by Mary Ann Doane. In Craig's portrayal, we witness a woman embodying and challenging the representation of the female body. Craig described the female personas stating, "The Lady Brutes were definitely image-bound. They still are." Lady Brute continued to make appearances and participate in exhibitions through the 1970s. • 1974 – Dr. and Lady Brute attended
Hollywood Decadence and Art’s Birthday, Elk's Lodge, Los Angeles, performing with the Brute Saxes. • 1975 – A guest appearance with the Hummer Sisters in Toronto • 1975 – Ace Space Show at the Western Front • 1976 – Dr. and Lady Brute, an evening of film video, slides and performance at the
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Performance groups In 1974, Craig was a founding member of the "ettes", a women's "
postfeminist" performance group. They performed as the "Peanettes", a chorus of female peanut characters who each held a letter to spell the word "peanut", during Mr. Peanut's campaign for mayor of Vancouver. They also performed as the Coconettes and the Vignettes in 1975. She was a founder of the Lux Radio Players in 1974, a group involved in the collaborative writing and production of radio plays performed for live audiences and broadcast throughout North America over community radio stations until 1977.
Solo exhibitions • January 31 – May 3, 1998,
Skin,
Vancouver Art Gallery • September 21 – October 20, 2002,
Kate Craig, Charles H Scott Gallery
Group exhibitions • February 14, 1989 – May 21, 1989:
Rebel Girls: A Survey of Canadian Feminist Videotapes 1974–1988,
National Gallery of Canada • October 28 – November 1, 1998:
Pinholes in Paradise: A Fundraiser for Presentation House Gallery • January 24, 2000:
Recollect, art from the permanent collection at the
Vancouver Art Gallery Costumes • Lady Brute and Dr. Brute, 1972 • Shark Fin Swimming Caps, c.1973 • Rubber Skirt, c.1973 • Pink Dress, 1975 • Pink Shirt, 1975 • Pink Shirt was another part of Pink Poem and followed a similar ideology to straight jacket. • Pink Poem was a separation of Craig from Lady Brute with the goal to redefine her artistic practice. • Pink Vest, 1977 • Craig created Pink vest and wore for
Young Adults (1977) video production.
Young Adults was a single-channel video production showcasing an impromptu punk rock band that existed solely on videotape. The band members included Terry Ewasiuk, Elizabeth Vander Zaag, and Monica Holden-Lawrence on vocals, David Larson on guitar, Michael Wonderful on Mini-moog, Kate Craig on drums, Hank Bull on piano, and Monica Holden-Lawrence also contributing on cello. •
Piranha Farm, 1978 • Kate Craig created the Piranha Farms Costume for a 1978 performance featuring Eric Metcalfe, Hank Bull, and Jane Wilson. This underwater fantasy performance incorporated elements of dance, music, costumes, video and shadow play. The production toured Canada and was also showcased at
The Kitchen in New York. • The costume is composed of a horizontally patterned orange hooded cape, with its defining feature being the meticulously crafted hood, shaped into the likeness of a Piranha. • It features a sizable opening for the wearer’s visage, encircled by teeth sewn from silver fabric and plastic “googly” eyes positioned on both sides of the face. • The Piranha Farms costume transcends its material form, becoming a conduit for exploring Craig’s vision and the cultural milieu of its time. The seventies have come to be known culturally as the
“Canadian renaissance” and signaled moments of historical rupture for society and culture • This period was marked by experimentation and boundary-pushing in the arts, with artists challenging traditional norms and embracing avant-garde techniques. "Piranha Farms" likely emerged within this context of artistic exploration and innovation, reflecting the zeitgeist of the era. Moreover, the seventies marked an exceptional period for the development of video art in Vancouver’s art scene, and this cultural milieu also played a significant role in shaping the evolution of Kate Craig's Piranha Farms costume • The Piranha Farms costume was worn by Eric Metcalfe as the
Titular character of Piranha Farms, alongside his collaborators Hank Bull and Jane Ellison. Metcalfe can be seen wearing the costume in a 1979 recording of Piranha Farms, digitized by Western Front •
Straight Jacket, 1980 • Craig recounted that due to the amount of sewing required to create the costume, the satin acetate became a strong, very tight material. Craig chose the pink material as she believed that pink clothing was psychologically calming, and sought to go against the prejudice of using the colour pink at the time. == The Western Front ==