This essay was written for YYZ’s exhibition of Dax Morrison’s The Willing and Able, on until Saturday, August 8, 2009.
It’s a rare thing for galleries to find themselves as the subject of an artist’s exhibition. Yes, there have been plenty of artists who have staged interventions within a gallery space (Vito Acconci); some who have [...]
Wooster Collective recently asked their readers, “If I gave you $50 today, with the condition that you had to spend it on ‘art’, what would you do with it?” They received immediate feedback, and though it wasn’t their intention when they asked, they decided to give $50 to the individual behind one of their favourite [...]
In the past, art’s marriage to religion was paradoxically logical, functioning as a tool of communication and even intimidation—bullying to incite belief. But where, in the last two hundred years, when art has transcended its relationship with the church, does art fit into this niche anymore? What is left to believe in?
The configuration of Michael [...]
The recent proliferation of university-level curatorial programs inspires Gabrielle Moser to interrogate the necessity of curatorial training in the latest issue of C Magazine. Although Moser dedicates most of her essay to graduate-level programs, I thought I’d post some of my thoughts as an undergraduate student of OCAD’s Criticism and Curatorial Practice (CRCP) program.
Here is [...]
I didn’t realize it until I went to Montreal and Quebec a couple of weeks ago, but a lot of what bores me about art is the familiarity of media, the same ol’, same ol’ use of photography, painting, multi-dimensional materials, space, video, animation. I came to this realization first at MOCCA in Toronto, then [...]
Peter Kinstone’s 100 Stories About My Grandmother is on exhibit now at Gallery TPW, as part of both the Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival and CONTACT 2008. Interviews with 100 male sex workers who are asked to share stories about their grandmothers are split into four viewing stations. The interviews range [...]
I’m a big fan of art in public spaces. I like the site-specificity of it, the ingenuity of the design of it, and the fact that people can not only make the spaces destinations, but many people can view the work incidentally as well. Since I’m talking about CONTACT 2008 so much, I thought I’d [...]
So I toured a bunch of CONTACT openings yesterday and the one show I’m getting behind isn’t even a part of the festival. FishNet: The Great Lakes Craft and Release Project is at the York Quay Centre at Harbourfront until June 22. In what is the most beautifully displayed exhibition I have ever seen — [...]
Life in the industrialized world is dangerous. We’ve built machines bigger than ourselves that have the capacity to hurt and kill us. Of course, accidents happen and tragically on January 28, an 86-year-old woman was killed after being hit by a bus in Mississauga. Although the tragedy of collision and accident should never be dishounoured [...]
Art in public spaces is one of my areas of interest in studying critical theory. Catching people off guard with an impromptu performance is clever, immediate and impactful. In one of the best public-space/improv performaces I’ve seen in a long time, Improv Everywhere freezes Grand Central Station for five minutes. Watch the video. I could [...]
