In Edmonton, a writer’s despair over provincial arts cuts is both convincing and less so on Government arts support.

“Alberta artists have taken the latest news of a 15-per-cent cut (to the arts) in their stride”, says Marliss Weber in SEE magazine.

Andrew Rucklidge, Sleeper, 2009. Image: courtesy the artist.

She continues, “Art allows us to express ourselves, which is an innate human desire. Without access to art, without the ability to write and draw and act and make music, or consume all of the above, we seriously limit the effectiveness of our communication abilities. We also limit our ability to persuade, to entertain, to connect with each other.”

Can’t argue with that.  She makes some good points in her article, and yet, while cities need the arts in order to thrive, her insinuation that the arts will cease without government support is troubling.

Read the full article HERE.

There will always be art, with or without government support and there should be absolutely no doubt about that.

A painting by Toronto artist Douglas Walker. Image: tulippress.ca

It’s dangerous to equate government support with the existence of the arts. Government support is important to many arts organizations and artists to get their work made, but there seems to be an idea in Canada that the government owes support to artists.

Does that help or hinder excellence in art?

It’s true that artists benefit greatly from government support, especially as the market is so weak in this country compared to the U.S.

But take a classical pianist, who succeeds with talent, along with drive and determination. So it is with art. If you’re not talented, you’d be wise to consider whether to make a career out of art. There’s nothing wrong with being an artist with a JOB. Ernst Beyeler, the legendary Swiss art dealer, referred to himself as a ‘Sunday painter.’ I think too many artists rely on government support. It’s a very generous situation that Canadian artists have, and it’s in many ways a wonderful thing, but it breeds mediocrity and complacency among the visual arts.

How’s that for a controversial statement? It’s harsh, but I believe it’s true.

Ben Reeves, Dog Walker, 2009. Image: johnbentleymays.com

Does government support mean better art?  Not necessarily.

Artists should pursue art for art, not for ego or adulation. To be creative is a wonderful, and necessary. But to be famous or successful to your peers is a different thing altogether.

Here are some photos take this past weekend in Edmonton by friend-of-VoCA, Qasim Virjee of Design Guru. For info on the gallery, including The Murder of Crows by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller as well as Francisco Goya’s infamous print suites: Los Caprichos (1799) and The Disasters of War (1810-1820), which traveled from the National Gallery of Canada, please click HERE.

And for more on the gallery architecture, by Randall Stout Architects, please click HERE.

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It’s kind of interesting that the new Art Gallery of Alberta, which is slated to open on January 31st, will be collaborating with the National Gallery of Canada to bring works from the NGC to Alberta audiences.

Goya Disasters of War, 1810 - 20. Image: tate.org.uk

It’s a great idea that bridges the Canadian geographic gap nicely and brings excellent exhibitions to Edmonton. The first featured exhibition will be the beautiful, brutal Goya: The Disasters of War and Los Caprichos, which will run until May 30th.

Read the full article HERE.

Here are a few good art-world happenings coming up:

Edward Burtynsky, Oil Fields #22, Cold Lake Production Project, Cold Lake, Alberta, 2001. Image: arttattler.com

• Photographer Ed Burtynsky is planning a new traveling exhibition on the theme of Oil that will be on at the soon-to-be opened Art Gallery of Alberta in 2010

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“With their artists competing on an international stage, Canadians can no longer complain of their country as a cultural backwater nor luxuriate in the nostalgic charm of provincialism. In art as in political, social and economic activities, Canada is fully involved in the world of today,”
– Dr. R. H. Hubbard, former Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Canada.

Guido Molinari, Untitled, 1964. Image: artnet.com

Walking down Bloor Street in Toronto last night, we stopped at a bookshop’s outdoor display and there, right in front of us, on sale for $1.99, was a copy of Canadian Art Today, originally published in 1970 by Studio International.

Edited by William Townsend, a professor at the University of London, the slim book is filled with contributions from Canada’s art elite at the time: R.H. Hubbard, then chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada, Doris Shadbolt, then curator of the Vancovuer Art Gallery, curators Dennis Reid, Pierre Theberge and David Thompson.

“Canadian artists were dependent for generations on the artistic traditions of France and England and it is only since the last war that contemporary American influences have made a decisive impact,” writes Townsend.

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Thomas Kneubühler: Tresspass Act
and
J. Stanton: Art Paraphernalia for a Modern World
Latitude 53, Edmonton
7 August – 5 September, 2009

Thomas Kneubühler, Access Denied, Le Black Jack Resto Bar (Guard#7)
Image: thomaskneubuhler.com

Kneubühler’s artist project comprises a traditional gallery show, and more interestingly, a series of large billboard-sized outdoor photographs of security guards displayed on the sides of buildings.

“North America is preoccupied with security,” says the artist: “In the gallery exhibition, we see industrial zones and office buildings, places that are deserted at night time. The viewer can peak through the windows, yet becomes a trespasser himself while being watched by security cameras and guards.”

Surveillance is a timely and interesting topic, but in this format it doesn’t really succeed as it should.

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Richard Rhodes, editor of Canadian Art magazine, will curate the 7th Alberta Biennale at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.

Walter May, History, 1989. Image: ccca.ca

Rhodes, who is planning a series of studio visits with artists from the province, commented on how many great and overlooked artists are living and working in Alberta. He plans to mix in some less known artists with the upcoming young artists for which the province is becoming increasingly known.

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An inspiring story from Edmonton on how artist Kristy Trinier is shaking things up in Edmonton as the Public Art Director for the Edmonton Arts Council.

Kristy Trinier and Davide DiSaro, Inkognito, 2005. Image: skewgallery.com

The above work by Kristy Trinier was a collaborative sound and light installation for an exhibition of paintings by Sverre Bjertnaes at the Trondheim Kunstmuseum in Norway. Ten record players continuously looped, playing a composition developed with sound software and printed on white vinyl LP’s. The paintings in this work of the exhibition were only visible in the black lights. Materials used were vinyls, record players, black lights.

Read the full article from Vue Weekly HERE.

For more on Kristy Trinier, see Skew Gallery’s website, HERE.

Painter Graham Peacock has been teaching painting at the University of Alberta since 1969, when he arrived in Canada from England.

Graham Peacock, Valor, 2003. Image: grahampeacock.com

Perhaps not strictly speaking underrated, Peacock has been exhibiting throughout Canada on a regular basis since 1971. In 2003 he had an exhibition of recent work at the New New Painting Museum in Toronto, and in 2005 had a retrospective at the Ernest Poole gallery in Edmonton.

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How relevant are art schools today? Do artists really require education beyond basic technical training? Do art institutions hinder, rather than help the creative expression of artists today?

Bruce Nauman, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths (Window or Wall Sign), 1967.
Image: truthinart.wordpress.com

And what does Bruce Nauman think?

Read my opinion piece on the brand new news website, The Mark.

Click HERE.