C: International Contemporary Art articles from September 2007

C: International Contemporary Art archives from September 2007

Canada, locate yourself!(Editorial)
September 22, 2007... It is often pointed out to me that people from Canada can't stop talking about the place. This is doubly true if you come from Toronto. Although I'll leave aside the anecdotal evidence for now, I know that I indulge in this habit. It's a weird...

Artists and air miles: the peripatetic life of the 21st century artist has some unexpected consequences. Jacob Wren on report (not announcement).(Views)
September 22, 2007... REPORT (NOT ANNOUNCEMENT): Transitionary Report on the State of Mobility at the Beginning of the 21st Century (BAK/Revolver, 2006) is a book about artists and travel. Its title asks us to think about the difference between a report and an...

Two versions of engagement: Jon Davies on Harrell Fletcher and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
September 22, 2007... "I'm not making a sign, I'm not creating an image... " "I can't even say that it's work." --Rirkrit Tiravanija "Pointing is the most basic form of making art or showing what I think is significant." --Harrell Fletcher ...

Biennale de Montreal 2007: can art exhibitions have upsets, just like a sports competition? Leila Pourtavaf reports from Montreal.
September 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the shadows of the big-name international art events of this past summer, the fifth Montreal Biennale opened the season with Crack the Sky, organized by Centre International d'Art Contemporain de Montreal and...

Anarchy at documenta: Toronto artist Luis Jacob and University of Victoria Art History Professor Allan Antliff have had a lone association based on their common interest in anarchism. They spoke about Jacob's installation for documenta, in the weeks leading up to his departure for Kassel.(Interview)
September 22, 2007... I first met Peruvian-Canadian artist Luis Jacob in the summer of 1998, at meetings to found the Toronto Anarchist Free School (1998-2001). We co-facilitated a class on "Anarchism and Art" at the AFS and have since worked together on a number of...

The Munster sculpture project: Vesna Krstich reports on the site-specific "long study" that is this once-in-every-10-years event.
September 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We are all familiar with the basic premise: every 10 years, a number of international artists are invited to visit the city of Munster, and, after having spent time there, each decides on a location and creates a...

Artist centrefold.
September 22, 2007... Victoria Kent Staring Therapy (2007) A refurbished Victorian teddy bear and a set of percussive chimes appear at the finale of a Staring Therapy session. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

documenta 12: all art is contemporary--or at least that would seem to be the argument advanced by documenta 12. C's editor.
September 22, 2007... The global boom in biennales and art fairs is the subject of much commentary at the moment, mostly because as a new phenomenon it s not well understood. While at least partially money-driven, the globalization of the art world seems to be also...

Memory trigger: Susan Philipsz talks to Manuel Segade about the emotional and psychological properties of song, and how this became the basis for her art.(Interview)
September 22, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In his opening question for this interview, Manuel Segade characterizes the art practice of Scottish artist Susan Philipsz as "odd" Working with popular songs as, in her words, "found objects,' Philipsz' principal...

The 52nd Venice Biennale: Petra Halkes finds this year's edition of the art world's most venerable exhibition to be low-key, even self-effacing.
September 22, 2007... This year, a record number of countries--77--are taking part in the Venice Biennale, and the International Art Exhibition features about 100 artists. Thirty-four collateral events round out this gigantic art fest, which exhausts its visitors...

Chih-Chien Wang: Optica Gallery, Montreal.
September 22, 2007... In the spring, artist Chih-Chien Wang transformed Optica Gallery into a stunning lexicon of foodstuffs, objects, plants and body parts that see-sawed between fantastic daydreams and unforgettable nightmares. This compact exhibition of...

Gordon Matta-Clark: You Are the Measure.
September 22, 2007... Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, curated by Elisabeth Sussman I used to think Gordon Matta-Clark's work was about the deconstruction of architecture, a postmodern exercise in the revelation of process. It is, but it's also about...

Jon Sasaki.
September 22, 2007... Antihero Decor, The Centre for Culture and Leisure No. 1; Wishing for Three More Wishes, Gallery TPW; Toronto Given the breadth of media he employs, including film, video, sculpture, painting, installation, multiples and performance (but...

Anitra Hamilton: Retrospective on Parade.
September 22, 2007... Art Gallery of York University, Toronto Outside the gallery proper, on the far side of the AGYU'S reception room, sits Anitra Hamilton's Bomb Ride (2004). For a dollar, gallery visitors can play on this altered shopping mall ride,...

Projections: A Survey of Projection-Based Works in Canada, 1964-2007.
September 22, 2007... Doris McCarthy Gallery, Blackwood Gallery, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, University of Toronto Art Centre Curated by Barbara Fischer [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Much ink has been spilled about the current ubiquity of video in the...

Jeremy Shaw: Best Minds Part One.
September 22, 2007... Or Gallery, Vancouver Jeremy Shaw's exhibition at Vancouver's Or Gallery, Best Minds Part One, is a continuation of his interest in and exploration of subcultures, specifically youth subcultures and their function as a form of...

Monika Baer, Thomas Bayrle.
September 22, 2007... Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin This exhibition at Galerie Barbara Weiss brings together paintings, videos and installations by artists Monika Baer and Thomas Bayrle. Each artist's work differs in sensibility and execution, yet they share...

Lynne Marsh, Ballroom.
September 22, 2007... Video Pool/Gallery IC03, Winnipeg There is a specific strength that a female presence has. This sometimes unknowing, undeniably powerful effect, combined with an investigation of the relationship between physical and psychological spaces,...