The Guardian digs up the seemingly never-ending debate over the death of art criticism:

Read the article HERE

Raoul Hausmann, The Art Critic, 1919-1920. Image: cti.itc.virginia.edu

The Guardian Art Blog picks up the story with readers comments:

Check it out HERE

VoCA would love to hear your comments!

From today’s New York Times:

Who wants to admit that “I’ve had these posters since college, I know that…I should get some real art, but I don’t know what that means”?

Read the full article right HERE

Tracey Emin with work from the 2007 Venice Biennale.  Image: zichi.blogspot.com

Performance art at Grand Central Station, NYC:

Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places.

Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 70 missions involving thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City.

Continue reading →

Thanks to the Clint Roenisch Gallery for this Youtube link…

If you can’t see the clip, please click HERE

MoMA director Glenn D. Lowry. Image: moma.org

This morning, VoCA attended an intimate gathering around one of the AGO’s board room tables with Glenn Lowry, director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Matthew Teitelbaum, director of the Art Gallery of Ontario and members of the press.

Mr. Lowry was in town as part of his international tour to promote MoMA’s future programming and past successes.

Doug Aitken’s Sleepwalkers, projected onto MoMA. Image: hustlerofculture.com

As well as discussing upcoming programming and recent acquisitions, he offered some insightful comments that Canadian museums might learn from:

-The use of a museum’s architecture as woven into the fabric of the city.

-The use of the building itself as a ‘canvas’ for public art projects, including Doug Aitken’s Sleepwalkers projections earlier this year and upcoming work by Pipillotti Rist next year.

-The importance of building the museum collection.

-The relinquishing of control that allows for programming by younger staff members that reaches younger audiences.

Frank Gehry’s plans for a new addition to the AGO. Image: idonline.com

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Sure, there are slick, often intimidating commercial galleries and imposing museums housing contemporary art from coast to coast. But today’s art world calls for some non-tradtional thinking.

VoCA pays tribute to eight Canadian art organizations that are thinking outside the white box.

1. Wedge

Seydou Keïta: Untitled, 1950-1955. Image: ©Association Seydou Keïta, Bamako, Mali/recirca.comn

Toronto’s Wedge Curatorial Projects began life back in 1997 as a gallery inside the home of collector Kenneth Montague. It recently moved into the Burroughes building on Queen West, and is dedicated to photo-based work exploring the black diaspora and issues of identity. Over the decade, Wedge has hosted exhibitions by Jamel Shabazz, Dennis Morris, Dawit Petros, Seydou Keïta and others. Continue reading →

Shary Boyle, 2005. Image: sharyboyle.com

The Sobey Art Award is now in it’s 4th year. It is a $50,000 prize awarded every year to an artist 39 years old or younger who has shown their work in Canada in the past 18 months.

A panel of curatorial advisors from each of five regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies and the North, and West Coast), develops the list, consisting of five artists from each region. The panel then meets and chooses one representative from each region to be included on the national shortlist. The panel selects the winner.

The award, previously a bi-annual event, has now gone annual.

BRIAN JUNGEN won the first prize, in 2002. Click HERE for more on Jungen.

Brian Jungen, Untitled, 2006. Custom painted Vaughn 5500 Pro goalie mask. Image: artmetropole.com

JEAN-PIERRE GAUTHIER won the next prize in 2004. Click HERE for more on Gauthier.

Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Tribute to a Barking Dog, 2004. Image: jackshainman.com

ANNIE POOTOOGOOK won last year. Click HERE for more on Pootoogook’s work.

Annie Pootoogook, Windy Day. Image: burdickgallery.com

WHO WILL WIN THIS YEAR’S SOBEY ART AWARD?

The 2007 shortlisted artists are:

JEAN-DENIS BOUDREAU – Atlantic region. Read the artist’s blog HERE.

A work by Jean-Denis Boudreau. Image:jboud.blogspot.com

MICHEL DE BROIN – Quebec. Check the artist’s website HERE.

Michel de Broin, the model, installation and final product of Superficial, 2004 in Alsace, France.
Image: micheldebroin.org

SHARY BOYLE – Ontario. Check the artist’s website HERE.

A projection piece by Shary Boyle. Image: sharyboyle.com

RACHELLE VIADER KNOWLES – Prairies and the North. Check the artist’s website HERE.

Rachelle Viader Knowles, You Pull Me Apart, 2005. Image: uregina.ca

RON TERADA – West Coast. More on the artist HERE.

Ron Terada, Concrete Language, 2006 (Photograph). Image: catrionajeffries.com

Why is the Sobey award significant to you?

These prizes are helpful for collectors when looking at artist’s work.

It means, first that a number of art professionals from the artist’s region think highly enough of the artist’s work to recommend him or her for the longlist, and second that the deciding jury have weighed this artist’s work off against a selection of Canada’s most interesting work.

A prize like the Sobey adds critical weight to the artist’s work and gives the artist much needed money to produce more work.

The winner will be announced tonight, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Stay tuned to see who wins.

It seems that VoCA’s Nuit Blanche summation could use some clarification.

(Click HERE to read the comment at the end of our post).

And then click HERE to read the response. You might want to scroll to the last comment: “Im interested in the funny way Vezzoli is “quoted” by VOCA at the end of a Nuit Blanche warp up or summation, whatever.”

When VoCA spoke with Francesco Vezzoli, he explained that artists today must provide a big experience. He equated the art system with the Hollywood system. He was, no doubt, speaking from his own point of view. I’m quite sure he wouldn’t presume to speak for all art or all artists. Neither would VoCA. We simply meant to suggest that as audiences for art are changing, art should change to respond to those audiences. Not everyone will agree, and that’s fine.

Um….YES.

Robert Fulford fleshes out this question in today’s National Post.

He asks: “Is our country too poor? Obviously not. Are we more miserly than other countries? Don’t think so. Have we never gone out of our way to impress on our politicians that museums are crucial to national well-being?”

Read the rest of the article HERE

In other news, the London Times published this:

Percentage change in art prices from June 2006 to June 2007

+7.6 Old Masters
-7.5 British 17th-century and 19th-century portraits
+19.1 European 19th-century art
+26.3 English sporting painting
-27.5 English watercolours
+6.3 English 20th-century painting
+8.7 English 19th-century painting
+44.3 Modern art
+55.3 Contemporary art

Source: Hiscox Art Market Research Index

Read the full article - about whether we are going to see the art boom go bust - HERE

“Le marchand - voilà l’ennemi!”, said Picassso of art dealers, referring perhaps to his own dealer, Wildenstein.

Les Pains de Picasso (Picasso’s Bread), reportage for Le Point, Vallauris, 1952. Image: dailyrefill.blogs.com

This article from The Economist is a good quick weekend read.

Find it HERE

The late Daniel Wildenstein and his two sons Alec and Guy photographed by Helmut Newton.
Image: petroz.com

There’s more gossipy reading on the uber-art collecting family right HERE

The article asks whether dealers are the saints or the sinners of the art world. Perhaps in an effort to avoid having to find out, a new model of artist has arisen, exemplified by British enfant terrible Damien Hirst who seems to be taking not only his career, but the market for his work, into his own hands.

(Even as his own hands have less and less to do with actual art making.)

Damien Hirst at the exhibition In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Image: BBC/heise.de

Hirst has famously negotiated to buy his own work back in the past, which makes his dealer, Jay Jopling seem somewhat superfluous.

Now he has joined with an investor group to purchase For the Love of God, his famous diamond-studded skull for 50 million British Pounds.

Read the details HERE