Since her inclusion in WACK Art and the Feminist Revolution a few years back, the work of Detroit-born, Toronto-based artist Suzy Lake is enjoying a well-deserved resurgence. Following showings in the last few years in California, New York, Italy and Turkey, Lake is the focus of a much-anticipated survey exhibition at UTAC opening next week as part of CONTACT. Word is the AGO is also prepping for a big Lake show in the next few years, one that may tour as well.
A few weeks ago, I got to talk with Lake in her studio about this recent flurry of exhibition activity and her 30-plus years of production so far--as well as her connections to Cindy Sherman, who was a colleague during the artists' upstate New York days. The results are condensed into a Q&A in today's Post. An excerpt:
Q Your early artworks resemble those of Cindy Sherman, who started later and went on to worldwide fame. How do you feel about that?
A Oh, the Suzy-Cindy thing? Well, it's almost like a market question, although it's probably not intended to be. Cindy has always, right from the very beginning, gone out of her way to give Eleanor Antin and I credit as being her influences. The thing is, Cindy as a person and as an artist is one thing, but Cindy as a commodity in the art market is a different thing. People don't want to know that there's a precedent to her, because of her value. I went to New York too early: My work that influenced her was thought of as being narcissistic and uninteresting -"women's work" as an accusation, not an adjective. So timing is everything. Ultimately, my work and her work are more different than people assume. And sure, sitting in Canada you always wonder, "How far could I have gone if I didn't go to Canada?" But those questions are irrelevant; they come up on a bad day when you're feeling sorry for yourself. I was teaching, I had a family, I loved making work. And now that I've taken early retirement to be in the studio full time, it's like, well, timing is everything, you know? All of a sudden people are interested in seeing what happened between then and now, and I couldn't be busier. So I think I'm a lucky duck, really.
Check out the back page of the Post's movie section today for some great images of Lake's work, and more commentary about her career. If you can't get a hold of the print version, the text-only version is available today online as well.
Lake's show at UTAC opens May 2 and runs to June 25, while a smaller show at Paul Petro opens May 6 and runs to June 4.
(Image: Suzy Lake, On Stage, 1972-5. Performance/photography. DVD Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art; Prints Courtesy of the artist..)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Suzy Lake Q&A Out in Today's Post
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Reece Terris' Wow-Inducing Art Bridge
Today for Canadianart.ca, I helped write up a previewy-type item about Sitely Premises, an interesting-looking spring show at the Surrey Art Gallery. The exhibition focuses on West Coast artists who have used the space around detached single-family houses (usually their own) to create work.
Writing this thing pushed me into full Reece Terris fan territory, as it prompted me to view a video of the bridge he built between his own house and a neighbouring one in 2006. Here's some pretty cool documentation from Terris' website:
Bridge (2006) from Reece Terris on Vimeo.
Of course, I'm not the only one in the Terris fan club. The guy's receiving a VIVA Award this year, and his crazy recentish apartment installation at the Vancouver Art Gallery got tons of press. My pressing question now: When will he do an installation in Toronto? I'd love to see this happen. Read More......
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Must-Read: George Zimbel's Copyright Crusade w/ the NY Times
Last month, through what is perhaps the most unlikely of means—a conversation with one of Toronto's city councillors, Michael Thompson—I became aware of the work of well-respected photojournalist George Zimbel. (Zimbel is Thompson's father-in-law, and Thompson cited him in an interview as anecdotal proof that culture, beyond being a creative realm, is also a business realm.)
Anyway, shortly after that conversation with Thompson I started perusing Zimbel's site and came across an absolute must-read: A Freelance Photographer vs. the New York Times. This copyright-related correspondence is a bit of an oldie (1999/2001 era), but a total goodie—nuanced, well-argued, persistent, passionate, and sporting a hell of a kicker. (No wonder it was reproduced in the Columbia Journalism Review soon afterwards.)
Because I'm now scared of copyright infringement myself, I'm not going to reproduce any of the correspondence here. But I highly recommend it for a read over at Zimbel's site.
If you enjoy the exchange, you may also want to note that Zimbel is due to give a talk in the Toronto area this week. He's chatting at the McMichael Collection in Kleinburg on April 30 from 11am to 12:30pm. Tickets cost $30 for the public, $15 for members—a bit steep in my view, but given Zimbel's experience, tempting. The talk is to focus on Zimbel's iconic Seven Year Itch pics of Marilyn Monroe, but it would still be a great chance to ask him questions about life as a freelance photographer in general. For more information, visit the McMichael's event page.
(Image of the New York Times building from VentureBeat)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Papier 11 in Pictures (Plus a Few Just MTL-Related Snaps)
My Papier 11 roundup last week compiled some of my thoughts on the annual Montreal works-on-paper fair. (In a nutshell: I'd love to see Toronto adopt some of Papier's strategies, like free admission, a nice tent setup and an outdoor kiosk component. But is this actually possible, like ever? Given Toronto's general citywide prediliction to unaffordability? Dunno.)
Anyway, to flesh that out a bit, I'm posting some images of some things I enjoyed at Papier 11—this is a far from comprehensive attempt, but hopefully helpful to those who didn't get to drop by at all. Also included at the end are some things I found interesting in Montreal beyond of the fair. So without further ado:
Here's some of the outdoor kiosks that were out on the sidewalk in advance of and during the fair. They featured reproductions of select works at the fair. I would love to see something like this at a Toronto fair reaching out to a public audience.
More outdoor kiosks. It's worth noting they could be a bit better constructed; bottom edges were cracking apart by Sunday.
A view of the fair's tent from the kiosks.
One entrance to the tent (there were two in total). I liked the reinforcement of the paper theme in the entrance design.
This was in my last post: part of Adrian Norvid's large drawing at Galerie Joyce Yahouda. Apparently it is to be part of an upcoming public art project in Montreal called Metro Lines, curated by Renee Baert.
The Papirmasse wall at Maison Kasini's booth. If you subscribe to Papirmasse, you get art like this in the mail for just $5 a month.
Jon Rafman's Matisse David - this isn't the exact image that was printed for the fair, but you get the idea: one sculptural or architectural icon wrapped in the "wallpaper" of another iconic artist or graphic. All done digitally as part of his Brand New Paint Job project. At Art 45's booth.
I should know what these are/who made them/where they were, but I don't. Feel free to chime in! They are basically lotus flowers that look like they're floating in cardboard boxes.
A very small, 3-inch-wide drawing by Kelly Wallace at Michael Gibson Gallery. He had a lot of big drawings with similar themes, but I really preferred the small ones.
Self-explanatory... well, almost: Micah Lexier's I Am the Only Micah Lexier at Birch Libralato's booth. The formula for this one was that the word for row 1 could only be 1 letter long, the word for row 2, 2 letters, etc.
Some members of the group En Masse continue their collaborative drawings on canvas at Galerie Pangée's booth.
And... the official Papier 11 washroom trailer!Like I said previously, this a far from comprehensive look at the fair. I also really enjoyed Marion Wagschal at Battat Contemporary, Nadia Myre's beadwork photos at Art Mur, and Landon MacKenzie's watercolours at Art 45, the Chih-Chien Wang focus at Pierre-Francois Ouellette, Shuvinai Ashoona at Feheley Fine Arts, Stephen Andrews' prints at Paul Petro, Nadia Moss' Balint Zsako-esque drawings at Galerie Push, Jocelyn Philibert's photos at Galerie [SAS], Maclean's ART/ARRET interventions and Michael Merrill's drawings at Galerie Roger Bellemare, the big print names like Karel Appel at Jean-Claude Bergeron, Mark Igloliorte's diptychs and Jerome Ruby's crazy drawings at Galerie Donald Browne, Jamie Angelopoulos' big drawings, Susi Brister's photos and Valerie Blass' collaborative collages at Parisian Laundry, the Carl Beam–dedicated booth at Art Kanata, and last but not least Michel Campeau's darkroom photos and book at Galerie Simon Blais. I couldn't believe I had never seen the Campeaus before.
On a purely Montreal note, here's a few more pictures from my visit to the city:
A Bill 101 protest at the McGill campus gates. I was surprised such a protest still existed given it's been some 34 years since the bill was passed.
Military/paramilitary folks kitty corner to the Bill 101 protest. (There was also a long line of police cars at the ready, which is what attracted my attention in the first place.)
What's a better advertisement for a jazz bar than... a somewhat grubby Panda Band diorama? I can't think of one.
Only in Montreal? Fromage graffiti.
Finally, a little public-art witticism. This Duchampian bicycle wheel contraption was locked up to various bike-rack-type environs during the couple of days I was in La Belle Ville.Distillery-Area Reviews: Owen Kydd, Mandy Keeping, Daniel Hutchinson
With new galleries popping up as far west as the Junction, the east end seems more remote than ever to some art scenesters. (Case in point: the person this weekend who told me it's been years since he went east of Yonge. I get it.)
But the east end is still well worth a visit, as my reviews in this past Saturday's Post indicate. They cover Owen Kydd @ Monte Clark, Mandy Keeping @ Pikto and Daniel Hutchinson @ G Gallery. An excerpt:
Owen Kydd at Monte Clark Gallery
55 Mill St., Bldg. 2, to May 1
In these video portraits, Vancouver’s Owen Kydd continues to draw out the decisive moment, allowing us to look at people and places for several seconds rather than just 1/100th of one. Created along two sometimes down-at-the-heels strips (Vancouver’s Kingsway and Los Angeles’s Florence Avenue), Kydd’s videos find beauty in many things we might otherwise miss: a bungee cord-covered painting, strawberries scattered across a scratched wood tabletop, a lush tree spied through a bare window. Communing with Kydd’s artworks (particularly the Kingsway, Home series) produces the intense sensation that life is beautiful, if you only take the time to look at and appreciate it. He really has a knack for showing how worn our world and its people might be, but also how alive and how vibrant. Granted, some could quite reasonably query if it’s ever really this sunny in Vancouver, whether physically or philosophically. Others might opine that it’s all a bit too precious. Personally, I don’t mind Kydd holding my vision still for a few moments while the world marches on. One video focusing on a petal-losing Camellia (a plant that supposedly blooms just one week per year in Lotusland) underlines Kydd’s point: Life is falling away every moment, people. Let’s enjoy it — and maybe actually even see it — while it lasts.
Read on at the Post for the Keeping and Hutchinson reviews.
One thing I noticed from this outing: when I really, really like a show, I tend to try and think of (or acknowledge) how other people might also object to it. With shows I feel less exuberant about, I actually let go the critique thing a little more. Don't know quite what this is about, but I'll be watching this tendency a bit more from now on.
(Still from one of Owen Kydd's Florence Avenue videos from Canadianart.ca)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Art Museum Directors call for National Museums Policy in Canada
Many may have already seen this, but given the policy request, I thought I would post. Last week, the Canadian Art Museum Directors' Organization (CAMDO) released a statement concerning the 2011 federal election. No parties were named (damn!) but I thought it was notable it calls for a National Museums Policy. Here's the statement:
CONCERNING THE 2011 FEDERAL ELECTION
A strong culture is fundamental to the health of every nation and its people. It is the basis of our sense of right and wrong, fairness and opportunity. Culture is founded in education and one of the most important ways people engage as citizens and participate in their communities. Canada's public galleries and art museums are stewards of Canadian culture and, through their collections, programs and exhibitions, essential to its ongoing production and evolution. We therefore call on political representatives of all parties to confirm their support for the following seven principles, which are essential to a secure and thriving cultural life.
1 Freedom of Expression – This is the foundation of all culture. Artists must be free to create and public institutions free to support and present their work without fear of favouritism, bias or prejudice.
2 Open, Transparent and Accountable Government – Our public institutions rely on government to be open about its goals and policies. Support programs for culture and the arts must be transparent so they can be properly understood and accessible. Accountability is fundamental to ensure fairness.
3 Philanthropy and Private Investment in the Arts and Cultural Industries – The independence and financial security of the arts requires diversification as well as increases to the funding base to keep pace with the remarkable growth of the cultural sector.
4 Domestic and Foreign Market Development – A successful market can only come about if artworks can be shared with Canadians from coast to coast to coast and promoted outside Canada.
5 Copyright – This essential framework must fairly balance the rights of creators with the rights of the public in order to ensure the richness of Canadian culture is available for the benefit of all.
6 The Canada Council for the Arts – Founded in 1957, the Canada Council is the figurehead and model for arts funding throughout the country. Its capacity to play this essential role is compromised if it does not have access to sufficient funding to fulfil its mandate.
7 A National Museums Policy – Leadership is needed to guide research, conservation, travelling exhibitions, public learning awareness, and promotion of our heritage, and the development of programs to secure the financial conditions of creators and the institutions that present their work, including Canada's public galleries and art museums.
It's a pretty neutral statement in my eyes, but again, interesting to see from a policy perspective.
(Image of Canada's Parliament from Defense Industry Daily)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Papier 11 Roundup: 5 Things You Never See in Toronto
This past weekend, I went on a junket to Papier 11, the annual Montreal works-on-paper fair. Having had my trip paid for by the organizers, I'm inevitably going to be biased when subjectively assessing the event. (Secret scoop: I quite enjoyed it.) But I can objectively tell you Papier 11 had 5 Things You Never See In Toronto (At Least At A Professional Art Fair):
1) A tent as venue
2) An outdoor display to draw passerby into the fair, or give them some non-thresholded experience of it
3) Free admission for the public
4) Free, professionally produced book/catalogue handed out to all members of the public
5) Free coat check for all members of the public
It's a measure of either my lack of sanity or my city's that that it was really the free coat check that pushed me over the edge into totally, head-about-to-pop-off flabbergasted. Or, as one Ontario dealer put it, "Welcome to subsidized culture!"
More subjectively speaking, here's what I enjoyed about Papier 11:
-Accessibility: It was really nice to see the fair so busy and open to newcomers. It had a friendly feeling.
-Seeing works on paper by artists who I thought of as "people who don't work on paper." I'm talking drawings and prints by people like Shirley Wiitasalo, Stephen Andrews, Renee Van Halm. These offered a nice mix of surprise and familiarity.
-Seeing works I hadn't yet seen in person, like stuff by Jon Rafman and Marion Wagschal
-Seeing a focus on works on paper, period. I grew up loving books and I studied photography in art school, so guess what? I'm pretty much predisposed, folks. Deal with it.
-Innovative approaches. Gallery Joyce Yahouda hosted a different "solo show" in its booth every day. The first day I went, it was a huge drawing by Adrian Norvid. The next, several prints by Milutin Gubash. I also enjoyed the booth for Maison Kasini, which set up a pegboard advertising its Papiermasse mail-art subscriptions (just $5 per month!)
-The size: Lots to discover without being overwhelming. About 40 dealers overall.
-A public opening as well as a VIP opening. Whatttt?????
Here's what some dealers told me they liked about Papier 11:
-Everyone gets the same size booth. I have never, ever, considered this point. Ever. But it seems to be a big deal to dealers because many of them mentioned it to me in conversation.
-Low cost to participate. Word was booths were around $2,900 as opposed to the $7,600-ish "discounted NEXT section" rate at Art Toronto and the $11,000-ish "standard" rate at Art Toronto. (Note these figures were estimated by dealers, not the fairs themselves.)
-Proximity to other galleries. Being located close to the Belgo Building and the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art was considered a boon by many dealers, especially (of course) those Montreal ones located in the Belgo. They could just direct clients to check out solo shows there.
-The tent. Some dealers said they preferred a nice tent to being stuck in, say, the Toronto Convention Centre, as the tents mimic Frieze and other famed fair setups.
-The colleagues. Many dealers said they preferred being in what they considered a well-curated "smaller" fair rather than a "larger" fair with many galleries they might consider to be amateurish.
-And not so much liked as simply noted: The fair opened at 10am each day rather than 12 noon--a rare thing, though hard for some hard-partying dealers to handle. A signal of difference, though, for sure.
Here's what some of the problems or areas for improvement might be:
-Two words: Washroom. Trailer.
-Integrating some print or works-on-paper-focused artist-run centres, which could amp the educational side
-Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing other galleries from across the country, though I know it's a stretch to get there from Halifax and Vancouver.
-Also--and this is a borrowed dealer observation--if the show wants non-Quebec galleries to participate again in future, it may have to try ensuring that attending collectors don't just collect Quebec art. Apparently this is a big focus for collectors who reside in Quebec, and it's understandable because the province is home to so many rad artists, but it makes it difficult for outside galleries to participate.
Outstanding questions emerging from this trip, at least for me:
-What might Toronto's big art fair look like if it was organized by a professional association (like Papier organizer AGAC) rather than a profit-driven corporation?
-Could a better venue be found (or built, or tented) for Toronto's big art fair?
-Could an outdoor component ever be developed for Toronto's big art fair?
-Would free admission for the public (and not just "VIPs") ever be a possibility for Toronto's big art fair? Dealers are being charged a fair bit for booths already, so I speculate as to how much the door really brings in.
-How much does a fair really need to charge for a booth? How are those levels set or evaluated?
-How much more is Quebec funding the arts than Ontario? (I know this is a question that likely has an answer, I just haven't looked it up yet.) Is that level of funding sustainable?
To find out more about Papier 11, visit its website.
(Image of Adrian Norvid's massive drawing at Joyce Yahouda's Papier 11 booth by yours truly)
