Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Head of Nail, Meet, Uh, Hitting Implement: OCAD Director Pegs TO as Too Self-Contained


Just wanted to relay a little something worth repeating from the Canadian Art Gallery Hop panel that happened on Saturday at OCAD.

On the plus side, the presentations by artists Adad Hannah and Emily Vey Duke were very strong. Hannah told the crowd more about his awesome re-creation of the Raft of the Medusa performed by teenagers from 100 Mile House in BC. And Vey Duke spoke pretty nicely to the difference between good irony (saying two things at once and meaning both quite sincerely) and bad irony (saying two things at once and believing both to be false, hopeless, weak, fail and totes ridonk).

AGO curator David Moos' presentation was a little more troubling. In it, he spoke a lot about Toronto and how he feels like it's finally a really exciting time in the city again--an excitement, in his mind, signalled mainly by all the construction cranes that dot the landscape. He talked also about how he'd like to increase the gallery's focus on Toronto in the future.

I kind of cringed at Moos' descriptions because (a) the idea that cultural excitement need be correlated to new buildings and architecture is a fallacy that has recently cost Toronto an unfortunate crapload of cash money and (b) the AGO is actually a provincial institution and, on that count at the very least, should be working extra hard to see beyond the Toronto-centrism that tends to pervade our city's cultural scene.

So while I was cringing silently, OCAD president Sara Diamond spoke up and hit the nail on the head, saying that the Toronto scene (and related AGO foci) is, in her experience, much too self-contained—-and that it suffers from that self-containment quite severely, in part by sacrificing potentially helpful international connections.

Though I don't always see eye to eye with Diamond, I gotta say, she was spot on with this. I would also add a lack of national--and even regional--connections is a disadvantage that most Toronto-sited cultural institutions happily put themselves in. Since the whole Windsor-to-Ottawa corridor is home to some quite productive and exciting artists--not to mention the whole Vancouver-to-St John's span--I hope that Moos opens his mind a bit... or at least gets his presentation points thought through a bit more next time around.

Image from the City of Toronto

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Damien Hirst meets the Dollar Store: A Q&A with Laura Kikauka


Ontario- and Berlin-based artist Laura Kikauka prompted quite a few chuckles at the Toronto International Art Fair last year when her Berlin gallery, DNA, distributed posters with her gaudy, sequiny, low-rent version of Damien Hirst's For the Love of God printed on them.

With Kikauka returning to show some of her dollar-store crystal skulls at MKG127 this fall, I knew I wanted to line her up for an interview to see what her reasoning behind these witty works was. Our condensed conversation is published in today's National Post. An excerpt:

Q Your sculptures, as you've suggested, can be thought of as critical of Hirst. But is there anything you admire about him?

A I think he's an excellent businessman. I really liked how he auctioned his own work at Sotheby's last year, making his gallery buy it from him at top dollar. I thought that was a smooth move. His way of working in the art world goes against the grain, but I think it can be good to shake things up. What kind of artist can get attention these days not by splattering blood, but by actually having something to say?


Image of Laura Kikauka's Eye Candy from the artist and MKG127

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Monday, September 28, 2009

Out today: Unofficial Nuit Blanche & Rues des Refuses in the National Post


What can art rebels do when major exhibitions move out of the box and into streets? Go right along with them.

That's what the Toronto project Rues Des Refuses is doing with respect to Nuit Blanche, taking the longstanding Salon Des Refuses tradition out of the box and into open air.

You can read more about the project in my piece in today's National Post.

In the piece, I also try to point to the fact that there are tons of unofficial projects running during the Nuit Blanche time slot that have no affiliation with the corporate-sponsored fest—-nor any desire to join a "refuses-style" initiative.

One of these latter types of projects is "Out of Site", a show organized by independent curator and critic Earl Miller and sponsored by the Queen St West BIA.

Unlike RDR, "Out of Site" sports artists more in the respected-gallery-circuit vein, like Lisa Neighbour, Kerri Reid and duo Daniel Borins and Jennifer Marman. It will also likely turn heads with its use of Queen West storefronts, including that of the much-loved, recently defunct Pages Bookstore.

More coverage of Nuit Blanche is bound to dominate the local media this week--including welcome snark and snappiness from Artstars*, who promise to cover the Nuit as it unfolds. Stay tuned.

Image of Teeth's saloon-doors project from Rues des Refuses

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Friday, September 25, 2009

Interview: Emily Vey Duke on Art Futures and Fears


Today, an audio interview I did with Syracuse-based Canadian artist Emily Vey Duke was posted at Canadianart.ca. The interview relates to Duke's appearance on a panel happening tomorrow about the idea of "promise" and future stuff in the art world. Though the interview had to be pretty severely edited, I think what comes across overall is Duke's fairly radical-in-a-good-way-in-the-current-context opinion that art should have a moral impulse as well as a critical one. It's about six minutes long. Here ya be:






Two notes:

1) Man, I have to totally get better at audio-recording stuff. The quality is quite crappy, and for this I apologize to the artist and listeners (same going for the Myfanwy Macleod interview I posted earlier this week)

2) The panel Vey Duke is on happens from 11am to 12:30pm tomorrow (Saturday the 26th Sept) at OCAD as part of the Canadian Art Gallery Hop. I'm a bit of a shill for this event because (a) I work a bit at Canadian Art and (b) I'm doing a talk and tour as part of the Hop tomorrow, starting at 1:30pm at Diaz Contemporary and visiting the Tecumseth Street galleries. It's all free and I will even let you leave anytime you want if you deign to join me. Promise.

Image of one of Emily Vey Duke's collaborative installations created with art/life partner Cooper Battersby from their website

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Duly noted: William Thorsell leaving the ROM in 2010


OK, so I was going to lay off the museum stuff for a while, but I just wanted to duly note a brief item from today's Toronto Star——namely, that Bill Thorsell is retiring as CEO of the ROM next August. As reported in the print edition of the Star (not to be found online):

"I knew my contract was coming up and that prompted me to think about what we've achieved over the past decade," Thorsell, 64, explained in an interview yesterday. "This seemed like the right time for me to make this move."

Sal Badali, chair of the ROM's board of trustees, said Thorsell's decision comes as a shock because of the key role he has played since taking on the job in 2000 after serving 10 years as editor of the Globe and Mail.


The Globe and the Canadian Press also ran items today, and the ROM issued a related press release yesterday.

But the most interesting media to come out of this news item for yours truly was one I missed last year and found while Googling around this evening—a profile in local queer mag Fab, which opines:

A gay man takes over an old building and what’s the first thing he does? Drops a quarter-billion in renovations.

In 2000, William Thorsell, who had been editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail since 1989, took over as CEO of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, the fifth-largest museum in North America. That makes him one of this country’s top antique dealers. Of course, the collection he oversees is priceless.

Thorsell is one gay man for whom the word “crystal” has a positive connotation. Nobody can walk by the corner of Bloor West and Queen’s Park Crescent without marvelling at the 2800-tonne steel skeleton of what will eventually become the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the ROM’s current expansion project designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.

The project is nothing short of spectacular, and it could not be any gayer. This is drag architecture at its finest: it’s not just about being noticed, but about having the most stunning gown at the ball. When New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) completed its recent expansion, it struck the Manhattan cityscape like a well-tailored power suit amidst a sea of ready-to-wear. MoMA had a straight person at the helm. The ROM is led by a man with two white sofas in his office.


A pretty different reading of the whole ROM/Thorsell collision than any other one I've read. Good to see & recommended.

Image of Thorsell in 2007 from the Canadian Press

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Yep, That's Pretty Much It


Noted in the comments book for Elizabeth Seigfried's show at Stephen Bulger Gallery:

Hi

My name is Nare from Korea

I like your art

Your picture have soidjfosdji pain

Thank you!


Yep, sometimes that's pretty much it, in a nutshell, eh?

Image from Markmatrana.com

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

You Know You've Got Your Head Too Much in Museum Politics When...

...you start to get excited/agitated about press releases like this:

The National Gallery of Canada Foundation announces the launch of The American Friends of the National Gallery of Canada
New organization facilitates support of the Gallery by US-based donors


Ottawa, September 23, 2009 – The National Gallery of Canada Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of The American Friends of the National Gallery of Canada, its affiliate in the United States of America. The new organization was established to strengthen the Foundation’s presence in the United States and to expand its ability to reach US-based art patrons.

“As a result of the close cultural and economic relationships between our two countries, millions of people residing in the United States have personal ties to Canada,” said the Chair of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation Board of Directors, Thomas P. d’Aquino. “The National Gallery of Canada offers them a wonderful opportunity to stay connected to or learn more about Canada’s cultural heritage and we are pleased to facilitate their support of the National Gallery.”

Internationally renowned, the Gallery’s collections include the most comprehensive holding of Canadian art. “Among other things, our national collection tells the evolving story of Canada and makes that story accessible nationally and internationally,” noted NGC Director, Marc Mayer. “A great example of this is the presentation of the exhibition Yousuf Karsh at 100: Portraits of Artists at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC, which marks the launch of The American Friends. We hope that it will stimulate interest in Canadian art and in our institution among our neighbors.” The exhibition is on view until December 18, 2009.

Patrons filing their income taxes in the United States can now be issued a tax receipt by The American Friends of the National Gallery of Canada, which is recognized by Internal Revenue Services (USA).


But, you know, I did get excited/agitated about this announcement anyway.

Why? Well, it was basically kind of fun to examine my own instinctive reactions, namely: Whaaaaaaat? You think Americans are or will be interested in Canadian art? Enough to donate to Canada's national gallery?!? Whaaaat? Why would they do want to do that? Why would they care? etc.

Basically, I've never seen a move like this on the part of a Canadian museum or gallery before, and part of the reason is that most of us assume there's little interest in us south of the 49th. Or that if there is, you usually move south of the 49th yourself, not parka-wrap yourself up here.

On a more measured note, I'm basically like, "Whatever raises more money for the museum, from those who can afford it, sure, National Gallery of Canada, go for it." Who knows? Maybe some money could, after all come out of it. (Crazy kids!)

One more brain-tangent that emerged from all this: perhaps I'm accustomed to Canada's national gallery pursuing partnerships with European funders, sites or institutions rather than American ones. France is kind of a natural given the whole Quebec thing, and the UK, well, hell, the Queen is still our official head of state and all, so I guess it feels more natural to expect a little cultural cash flow from the Commonwealth. Approaching the US is more unusual on a cultural front, perhaps also because it's the pop-cult megaforce that state-funded Canadian institutions are explicitly attempting to contend with.

It was also pointed out to me that NGC head Marc Mayer, not yet 12 months on the job, did work in the States for a while, making the NGC likely more open to such "Canuck-radical" activity.

In any case, I'm interested to see what funds might come out of this all in the future—and if so, which other institutions might try to follow suit. Any thoughts?

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