C: International Contemporary Art articles from December 2005

C: International Contemporary Art archives from December 2005

Art rock.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
December 22, 2005... Pop songs and art have one important thing in common, the quality a friend of mine used to call "getability," the ability to encapsulate an idea or an experience in an instantly "getable" form. A natural ability of the pop song, being gettable...

Goody-B. Wiseman: bad girl perennial.("I Will Destroy Anything," Los Angeles, California)
December 22, 2005... I Will Destroy Anything' Goody B. Wiseman's first solo show in Los Angeles, makes certain things clear about Wiseman's complex, ambiguous practice that might not have been noticed before The show is an unusual, fruitful collaboration between...

The scale of the disaster: it's a romantic time in America. God, who is popular here, and his book, the bible, are very romantic.
December 22, 2005... Americans view watching TV news and reading newspapers as activism, even protest: CNN, FOX and MSNBC, the 24-hour news channels are news-ins for the left and the right. So when well-groomed journalists like Anderson Cooper skyrocket indignation...

Taylor Savvy [Sham] artist pop imposter.(Critical essay)
December 22, 2005... Taylor Savvy's 2002 recording Ladies and Gentlemen is among the greatest musical accomplishments in the history of mankind. To say that it is also unique is an understatement. Having noticed that the chorus is the catchiest part of the song,...

Shrieks, Drones and destruction: how Fluxus altered the face of pop music [without anyone noticing].(Critical essay)
December 22, 2005... A "CLASSIC" FLUXUS PERFORMANCE MIGHT BE, FOR EXAMPLE, ROBIN PAGE'S GUITAR PIECE, IN WHICH HE PLAYED THE GUITAR FOR A WHILE, DROPPED IT, KICKED IT OFF THE STAGE, THROUGH THE AUDITORIUM, DOWN THE STREET, AROUND THE BLOCK, BACK THROUGH THE...

Gap artist: Tim Lee works the staged fantastic.
December 22, 2005... Tim Lee may be counted among the few Canadian artists who have succeeded in finding great recognition abroad. In the last few years his works were seen in Switzerland, Sweden, the USA, the United Arab Emirates and Belgium. This year the...

So faux: Canada invents a new school of art rock.(Cover story)
December 22, 2005... Loosely defined by their Montreal label, Alien8 Recordings, as having created an "indescribable mix of demented electro-noise-post-punk backed up with their own invented language," Les Georges Leningrad (LGL) seem determined to subvert the...

File under anarchy: a brief history of punk rock's 30-year relationship with Toronto's Art Press.
December 22, 2005... Being glamorous in Toronto in 1975 was the equivalent of beaming the image of Greta Garbo down onto an ice-hockey rink. Yet glamour was the goal of a 1975 quasi-manifesto by General Idea (AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal): "We wanted to...

Dan Graham.(Interview)(Critical essay)
December 22, 2005... Dan Graham's practice is exemplary for its multi-disciplinary interest in media and architecture as interpersonal, social, corporate and popular phenomena. Starting with his projects for magazines from the late 60s, his performative works...

Disquiet.(Modern Fuel, Kingston, Ontario)
December 22, 2005... DISQUIET USSA (STEVE BATES & JAKE MOORE), DAVE DYMENT, AFSHIN MATLABI, DIANE MORIN, MATT ROGALSKY, ROBERT BEAN CURATED BY CHRISTOF MIGONE MODERN FUEL, KINGSTON, ONTARIO Disquiet is the first exhibition in a year-long series at Modern...

I Really Should ...(Lisson Gallery, London, United Kingdom)
December 22, 2005... I REALY SHOULD... VARIOUS ARTISTS, INCLUDING LIAM GILLICK, TIM LEE, KELLY MARK, SIMON POPPER AND JEREMY SHAW CURATED BY STEFAN KALMAR LISSON GALLERY, LONDON, UK Kelly Mark's sound installation I Really Should... (2002) is mounted...

Martha Rosler.(Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, United Kingdom)
December 22, 2005... MARTHA ROSLER INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS, LONDON, UK In 1975, Martha Rosler created a work entitled Garage Sale, the newest version of which was on view this summer at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. Items of every description...

Le Mois De La Photo a Montreal, Montreal.
December 22, 2005... LE MOIS DE LA PHOTO A MONTREAL, MONTREAL Montreal's biennial photography exhibition marks its ninth edition this year under the artistic stewardship of Martha Langford, founding director and former chief curator of the Canadian Museum of...

L'Autre Amerique: Art Contemporain Du Bresil.(Passage de Retz, Paris, France)
December 22, 2005... L'AUTRE AMERIOUE: ART CONTEMPORAIN DU BRESIL BRIGIDA BALTAR, FRANKLIN CASSARO, FERNANDA GOMES, CARMELA GROSS, CAO GUIMARAES, LUCIA KOCH, EMMANUEL NASSAR, AMILCAR PACKER, ARTHUR LUIZ PIZA CURATED BY MICHEL NURIDSANY PASSAGE DE...

News from Nowhere.(Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto, Canada)
December 22, 2005... NEWS FROM NOWHERE ROBIN COLLYER, PATRICK COUTU, ANDREW REYES, HOLLY WARD, SHIRLEY WIITASALO ORGANIZED BY DEREK SULLIVAN SUSAN HOBBS GALLERY, TORONTO News from Nowhere has a monstrous gatekeeper. A giant replica of a reel-to-reel stereo,...

Dimensionality.
December 22, 2005... DIMENSIONALITY SHEILA AYEARST, ROBERT FONES, MORNA GAMBLIN, NESTOR KRUGER, ANGELA LEACH, KRISTEN PETERSON AND DAVID REED CURATED BY ANDY PATTON YYZ ARTISTS OUTLET, TORONTO Dimensionality is an exhibition dealing with space and with the...

Downes Point and So Departed (Again).(Judy Radul, Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver, Canada)
December 22, 2005... DOWNES POINT AND SO DEPARTED (AGAIN) JUDY RADUL PRESENTATION HOUSE GALLERY, VANCOUVER Throughout her work, Judy Radul has articulated an interest in the idea of theatricality as a sort of repressed unconscious of the visual arts--banished...

51st Venice Biennale.
December 22, 2005... 51ST VENICE BIENNALE VENICE, ITALY EARL MILLER Canada's pavilion at the Venice Biennale--its facade windowless, its single exit far off in the back--is, according to feng shui, "blocked." I discover this in a DVD and booklet by Wang Qiheng...

Affirm/Nation.(Urban Shaman Gallery of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Winnipeg, Canada)
December 22, 2005... AFFIRM/NATION JUDE NORRIS URBAN SHAMAN GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ABORIGINAL ART, WINNIPEG I felt some trepidation approaching Jude Norris' exhibition Affirm/Nation at Urban Shaman Gallery. My knowledge of traditional aboriginal art forms and...