I came across a funny, smart article called “A guide to the market oligopoly system”, which is a piece by Felix Salmon that uses a drawing by the artist William Powhida to deconstruct the complexities of the American art market.

William Powhida, A Guide to the Market Oligopoly System. Image: reuters.com

It makes interesting reading, particularly the part of the pyramid where locales are listed on a scale from Topeka to New York, where he notes “the value of a work of art is to a very large degree a function of the city where it’s being sold. New York’s at the top of the heap (or, to be precise, Manhattan); Berlin punches well above its weight; Paris, the erstwhile center of the art world, is conspicuous by its absence.”

It suggests that Toronto, which I would put on par with Philadelphia or Seattle at the lower end of the scale, is a small market that determines the fate of its artists. It’s a bit of a double-edge sword for artists: Do they wallow in relative obscurity in a small going-nowhere market like Toronto (or all of Canada, for that matter), but where they can teach and have the support of government grants and artist-run centres and have a decent quality of life, or do they dive into the overpopulated, over-competitive waters in New York or London, where they also risk obscurity (and, likely, poverty)?

I’m thankful for the excellent, world-class artists who have decided to remain in Canada. Though they may never achieve super-star status, we need and appreciate them.

Read the full article, HERE.

Oh, and Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

This evening, members of the Toronto arts community gathered at the Four Seasons Centre for an “open reception” hosted by the Canada Council.

The Toronto arts community, listening to speeches. Image: VoCA

Luckily, I arrived late, mid-way through the interminably dull speeches in which speakers bandied about terms like ‘synergy’ and other corporate boardspeak. My first impression was that this event perfectly represented the chasm that exists between government and the arts community. Wine cost $10 a glass, beer $6. There were hors d’eouvres too, a nice gesture.

The council is launching a new strategic plan, called Strengthening Connections, which “envisions a stronger relationship between the Council, the arts community and the Canadian public.” It will strengthen connections between “artists and their publics, the Canada Council and other funders, the public and private sectors, different regions, cultural communities of Canada, and Canada and the rest of the world, the Council will…ensure that the arts continue to play a dynamic and transformative role in our society.”

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A friend of VoCA recently drew my attention to this article in the Independent.

So-called “It” curator Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld. Image: iwanttobeariotfeld.com

The It curators: A new breed of young socialites are selling art is about the likes of Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, son of French Vogue editor and eternally glamorous woman Carine Riotfeld, Vito Schnabel (son of Julian) and Tyrone Wood (son of Ronnie) becoming the new, super-well-connected art curators.

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Did you go to Toronto’s “All Night Contemporary Art Thing” – Nuit Blanche this year?
What did you think – Did you LOVE it or LOATHE it?

Fujiko Nakaya’s fog installation at philosopher’s walk at Nuit Blanche 2006. Image: topleftpixel.com

The organizers blocked of Yonge Street – was this a good thing?

How did the art fare? Better or worse than last year?

What were your favorite installations? Least favorite?

Let us know – Nuit Blanche will only improve if we generate a discussion on what worked, and what didn’t.

Please comment below!

Here is another example of how art and life – through design – are drawing closer together all the time. Mirror has a long history in art going back to at least the Renaissance and of course more recently the wonderful pieces by Michelangelo Pistoletto and Michael Snow, David Altmejd and Jeff Wall, among many, many others. Over the past few years, I’ve been predicting the return of mirror as a material in art, and now it’s seemingly everywhere.

Sweden’s Tree Hotel has a room called Mirrorcube. Image: geeknewscentral.com

I came across this awesome hotel room that looks very similar to one of Michel de Broin’s sculptures, his Superficial from 2004, which is essentially a large mirrored rock that he installed in a forest in Alsace, France and then documented. I love the idea of using mirror to create camouflage.

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Lady Gaga’s meat dress. Image: highsnobiety.com

Well, ok not exactly.

But Lady Gaga definitely channels Montreal artist Jana Sterbak, who made a huge splash when her piece Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic (1987) was first displayed at the National Gallery of Canada.

The Vogue cover was shot – big surprise – by fashion provocateur Terry Richardson and styled by Nicola Formichetti.

According to THIS excerpt, Sterbak’s installation, originally shown on a hanger for emphasis, was aiming to “emphasize the contrast between vanity and bodily decay.”

It’s quite interesting to think of that idea in relation to Lady Gaga, no?

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Every city is full of those little artistic gestures, those flourishes made – sometimes deliberately, often not – by people who take the time to do things a little differently.I think they are too often overlooked – and I find them inspiring. Not as high art of course, but possibly inspiring for architects or designers looking for ways to inject more visual interest in our world.At Harbord and Spadina, a framed piece of fence, decorated with string that blow in the breeze. Continue reading →

The Walrus has a good interview with Simon Brault, author of No Culture, No Future, the new book that exploresthe fact that the arts are a necessity, not a luxury.

As he puts it, the book is a “call to action” – for Brault, it’s up to everyone to communicate with one another to promote and encourage the arts.

Image: cormorantbooks.com

Here is some of what Brault has to say in the interview:

“When you look in the papers, the conversation around arts and culture is reduced to the economy or to presenting a particular cultural product. It’s not a broad conversation about what arts and culture bring to people — to children, to people who are lonely, to people who have a need for expressive life.”

“Every human being has a relationship with the arts. The fact that we are ignoring that — and trying to lecture people as if they are completely ignorant, as if they are completely disconnected from everything we believe in – is a big problem.”

“I read, I think, I write, but mostly I act. And I try to act with people around me. I still believe that ideas can change the world. I know it can sound like a very romantic vision — but it’s not so romantic because things are changing… ”

Author Simon Brault. Image: cormorantbooks.com

I haven’t read the book, but I’m looking forward to it.

If you want to know more on Brault’s thoughts vis a vis the arts in Canada (and the world), buy the book HERE.

I came across THIS link from the art:21 blog today – in it, Anna Milandri talks about what’s been going on, art-wise, in Berlin recently.

Baby Ghost From the 1900s Says Beat It With Your Chain, 2009, by Berlin-based Montreal painter Wil Murray.

New York’s Triple Canopy put together six evenings of art-related discussion, including one titled “Print and Demand” in which several publications, including Berlin’s 032c(a great issue, btw) and Vancouver’s Fillip, where they discussed the changing nature of print and online publishing.

It seems that some intriguing ideas came out of the discussion, including the idea that readers – and particularly commenters with something to say – should consider contributing.

I agree, and I welcome contributions from regular commenters on VoCA. Whether you agree with my posts or not, it’s the only way to get a real dialogue going among this community of readers. Of course, I’d be happy to feature perspectives other than my own.

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One more thought on the link between religion and art, which I blogged about HERE. This comes from a fascinating CBC radio podcast with religious scholar (and 2008 TED Prize winner) Karen Armstrong. Listen to the podcast, a must for artists (I think) HERE.

Image: mimenta.com

In it, she argues that religion, in order to be successful, demands action. Specifically, it demands putting the practice of compassion – towards everyone – into our daily life.

What I found interesting is that she goes on to talk about the cave paintings in Lascaux as the first record of human ideas, and that religion’s logic is more akin to art in that it is something that must be experienced, that cannot be put into words.

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