Check out Stefan’s last post about Carl Jung’s red book.   We love that Jung made his own mandalas to illustrate the book.  Om.

Title image for Mois de la Photo. Jeff Guess, From hand to Mouth, 1993. Courtesy of the artist.

The Spaces of the Image speaks to the widening scope and challenge of the creation and display of photography. In the age of digital media, the production, traffic and presentation of images has become common currency and the relationship between photographer and viewer has morphed and mutated and become incredibly complex. The range of works within the Mois de la Photo exhibitions reveals this fact; artwork ranges from video to panorama to large-scale installations to sculpture to electronics to various other modes of presentation. All the while, each exhibit speaks of the condition of the image in today’s world.

Hocine Zaourar. Massacre à Bentalha, September 23, 1997. World Press Photo Award of the Year 1997 © AFP/Hocine Zaourar.

Pascal Convert, Madone de Bentalha (2001–02) © Pascal Convert / SODRAC (2009)

French artist Pascal Convert’s life-size wax sculpture Madone de Bentalha (2001-02) may not seem to be related to photography at first. Yet, the moving iconic object on view at Galerie de l’UQAM stems from a photo that spread across the world’s press following the tragic massacre of more than 200 people in the city of Bentalha, Algiers in September 1997. Whereas the photo could zip around the world instantly through the Internet and be published in newspapers anywhere on any continent, the medium of wax sculpture demands thorough and thoughtful manipulation. The result is sensuous, moving and profound. Thus, in his work, Convert communicates the power of the image without using photography at all. (The artist will actually be at Galerie de l’UQAM this Thursday).

Robert Burley, Photographic Proof. Installation view on the north façade of the CCA © Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal

Canadian photographer Robert Burley’s Photographic Proof (2008-09) cannot be missed. The site-specific work features a monumental reproduction of a Polaroid photograph installed on the north façade of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (check out the video interview with the artist). The image depicts the destruction of a Kodak plant in December 2007 in the town of Chalon-sur-Saône in France, the birthplace of photography by the hands of Nicéphore Niépce. Burley manipulated the image to recreate a Polaroid, complete with its enclosure and make it larger than life with adhesive strips that were stuck to the building. While it speaks to the disappearance of a mode of production and a medium, the work shows Burley’s ingenious savvy in finding a new relationship to his viewer, a new relationship to his art. (Aside from the image on its façade, the CCA also features six of Burley’s photos of photography plants on display inside as part of the thoughtfully put together show The Disappearance of Darkness).

Shelley Miller, Cargo (The Wealth of Some and the Ruin of Others), 2009. Installation after rainfall. Courtesy of the artist.

Dispersed around Montreal, the other exhibitions all play with the idea of the spaces of the image in interesting ways. Colombian photographer Oscar Muñoz’s Aliento [Breath] (1996-2002) invites the viewer to breathe on polished metal discs to reveal the portraits of victims of political violence. Montreal artist Shelley Miller created the nautical mural Cargo (The Wealth of Some and the Ruin of Others) (2009) out of sugar in the style of Portuguese tile work and documented its disintegration. Québec–based photographer Luc Courchesne’s panoramic circular images (taken with a Panoscope, a device invented by the artist) encourage viewers to engage with the disc-like photos and uncover a new way of seeing.

While spread around the city, the Mois de la Photo event quite thoughtfully stretches the boundaries of photography and explores the ever-evolving art of image making. The free-admission exhibitions and events culminate this Friday with a colloquium hosted by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, bringing together artists, curators, art historians and critics to discuss this year’s intellectually rich topic.

Luc Courchesne, 050623-2 (Chicago), 2005 (from the series Journal panoscopique, 1999-2006). Courtesy of Galerie Pierre-Francois Ouellette art contemporain.

The artful logo of the Art & Design Montreal event

Last Friday’s event succeeded in promoting Montreal’s distinction as being a UNESCO City of Design (a recognition it earned in 2006 along with Berlin and Melbourne). The showcase of 13 artists ranged in medium from evocative photography to slick graphic design to quirky illustration. Reading the exquisitely produced and highly professional catalogue, I have to say I was impressed: each of the artists on display has garnered national and international attention and distinction. An introductory essay further revealed other Montrealers working behind the design scenes in Paris, Las Vegas, Singapore, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Montreal design talent is definitely much stronger than I gave it credit.

The young, funky and aesthetic crowd at Art & Design Montreal. Photo by Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin

But let’s get to the art (and for all the art-curious in Montreal who missed Friday’s event, the works go up at the W Hotel starting with another bash September 18 and will be up until December). Not knowing of the award-padded resumes of some of the artists, I surveyed the spread of work at Art & Design with confusion. While some of the young creative aesthetes showed undeniable strength, others missed the mark completely. In bringing work done for corporate and commercial clients onto the exhibition wall and out of its natural context, the work’s strength can be lost.

Dynasty by Richard Bernardin

For example, the work of fashion photographer Richard Bernardin, who has been featured in Brazilian Vogue, seemed to be gratuitous. Apparently he is an extremely sought after talent. And he very well may be, yet outside of his commercial setting, do his images of saucy naked girls really stand as art? Similarly photographer Roger Proulx, while lauded with awards on the national scene, presented a rather insipid reality-TV-like collection of drinking shots. When I see art, I want to think, I want to dream, I want to react. The “art” on the wall from these two left me wanting something else. So I looked at their websites to see learn more of their story. I saw very clearly that these creative minds do indeed have strong talent to share – it’s a shame that their publicly presented work did not do them justice.

Untitled by Christophe Collette

Charms by Jason Cantoro

Two artists whose work did very effectively stimulate the mind were Christophe Collette and Jason Cantoro. Even though Christophe Collette only showed two images, they were immediately mesmerizing. His photography is so richly textured and imaginative. An image of a woman leaning up against the wall, as if listening, draws its viewer in, we examine, we wonder, we are transported. In the same vein, Jason Cantoro sends his viewers to another dimension with his playful silkscreens of imaginatively mixed images.

View of installation, Francis Léveillée's illustration work in the foreground. Photo by Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin

Art& Design Montreal also featured the cinematographic photography of Jimmi Francoeur, the crisp graphics of 123 Klan, the imaginative and evocative images of Varial, the strength and pop of Julien de Repentigny, the witty and fun objects of Studio Rita, the truly artistic book creations of Transistor Design, the illustrations of Francis Léveillée and Mélanie Baillairgé and the colourful work of Seripop (actually on display in Philadelphia at Space 1026). The celebration of design was sweetly rounded out by a live art creation station and a collaborative project where each artist decorated a pair of Creative Recreation high tops.

Live art creation station, a camera projected her work-in-progress onto a screen for all to see. Photo by Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin

All in all, Art & Design Montreal presented a polished successful event and put design as art out there. While the larger question remains as to the value of design as art, I applaud this event for posing the question. They brought talent into the spotlight and found a way to get people curious, talking and excited about design in their city.

A pair of Creative Recreation High Tops decorated by Studio Rita. Photo by Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin

]]> http://www.theartblog.org/2009/09/art-design-montreal/feed/ 2 http://www.theartblog.org/2009/09/robert-polidori-at-the-musee-dart-contemporain-de-montreal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=robert-polidori-at-the-musee-dart-contemporain-de-montreal http://www.theartblog.org/2009/09/robert-polidori-at-the-musee-dart-contemporain-de-montreal/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:36:16 +0000 stefan zebrowski-rubin http://theartblog.org/?p=9261 I first encountered Robert Polidori’s photography in a small exhibit of his Versailles work at the Art45 Gallery.  The images were rich, sensuous, highly detailed and intelligent. The New York-based photographer produces large-scale highly realistic chromogenic prints that bring the viewer into the scene. In the intimate setting, the effect was evocative and enthralling. The current retrospective at the Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal (MACM) showcases 59 of Polidori’s images, however its large scope dilutes the impact of the photographer’s oeuvre.

Ancien réchauffoir, r.-d-c, corps central, Château de Versailles, France, 1985 101,6 x 127 cm Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive, © Robert Polidori

Polidori, a staff photographer for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, rose to critical attention with his 2006 commissioned exhibition New Orleans After the Flood at the Metropolitan Museum.  This display of 20 prints was the most attended photography exhibit in the history of the Met. The chilling images from this series witness the abandoned vestiges of personal lives assaulted by Hurricane Katrina.

2520 Deslondes Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2005 101,6 x 137,16 cm Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive, © Robert Polidori

While the Katrina images still resonate in the MACM’s retrospective curated by new director Paulette Gagnon, their strength is diminished. Before reading the initial text, or even realizing that the show’s begun, the viewer unknowingly encounters Polidori’s earliest work, three interiors of New York apartment belonging to the recently deceased and intended as illustrations for the court to support the owner’s repossession. Later in the exhibit proper, images of Jordan and India come as an afterthought to the show, while photos from Cuba pale in strength to the figure-less post-destruction testimonials of Chernobyl, New Orleans and Beirut.

Samir Geagea Headquarters #1, Rue de Damas, Beirut, Lebanon, 1994 101,6 x 127 cm Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive, © Robert Polidori

At Versailles, Polidori very shrewdly observes the work behind putting history on display. The prints show us not the opulent king’s palace of fairy tales but the modern museum under construction and in transition. As viewers, we encounter a different side of both the museum and interior space.

Gymnasium in School #5, City of Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, 2001 101,6 x 127 cm Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive, © Robert Polidori

When the Montreal-born photographer confronts the domestic echoes of larger atrocities, he produces haunting images. The ravaged bullet-ridden rooms of Beirut. The toppled interior spaces of Chernobyl. The flood-strewn bedrooms of New Orleans. Confronted with all of these images, the viewer faces a humanless silence that suggests a previous human presence. The rubble and the ruins imply lives lived and comment upon the futility of the built environment in face of war and disaster, both man-made and natural.

These scenes of destruction along with the very manicured shots at Versailles are among Polidori’s strongest work, testaments to memory and history not often seen.

Portrait of Marat by David, r.-d-c, aile du Midi, Château de Versailles, France, 1985 127 x 152,4 cm Chromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive, © Robert Polidori

With less than a week left to view left of the show, this is your last chance to see the Robert Polidori exhibit, if only to have a personal séance with his evocative scenes of life in the ruins.  For a more raucous and fun evening, visit the MACM this Friday night from 5 to 9pm as it hosts its Nocturnes party (first Friday of every night), a soiree complete with live music, bar service and the freedom to roam around the galleries.

Kent Monkman, Dance to the Berdashe, video installation, 2008 with kind permission of Bruce Bailey Fine Arts, (c) Christopher Chapman

As the natives dance to traditional aboriginal music, they morph into gentleman/native hybrids, sporting umbrellas and top hats. Bowing down to the central blank screen, the dancers grow weak and blurry, while Monkman appears as the central figure of the Berdashe, a man dressed as a woman. As the music becomes trance-like and contemporary towards the end of the 12-minute dance, the men dance in synch with the Berdashe, spinning to a final electrified moment of power and divinity.

As a viewer, I was left in awe, curious about this central figure and his/her power.

Kent Monkman, Dance to the Berdashe, video installation, 2008 with kind permission of Bruce Bailey Fine Arts, (c) Christopher Chapman

The piece by the Toronto-based Cree-artist Monkman, on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art (MMFA), was created in response to artist George Catlin’s reaction to the male/female figure he encountered in his travels documenting Native Americans in the early 1800s. Witnessing the dance, Catlin called it “unaccountable and disgusting” and even went so far as to “wish that it might be extinguished before it be more fully recorded.” (1) While his statement very strongly dismisses the custom, Catlin’s painting Dance to the Berdashe seems innocuous. This painting shows native men dancing around a male/female figure. One dancer appears shocked but otherwise the others seem celebratory. While seemingly innocuous, it is what is not painted that illuminates the impact of the European point-of-view on the conception of Native peoples.

George Catlin, Dance of the Berdashe

What image comes to mind when you hear the term Native American? A stereotypical image à la Pocahontas? A stoic, strong, painted and feathered hunter? Where do these images come from? The Western eye and consequently Western art has arguably oversimplified and misrepresented Native people. Monkman, in his oeuvre as painter, performance artist and filmmaker, tries to revisit and complicate this history by offering another point of view.

Kent Monkman's recreation of Bierstadt's Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868

In a painting, on display in an adjacent room at the MMFA, Monkman has masterfully recreated Albert Bierstadt’s Among the Sierra Nevada, California (1868). Or so it seems. Upon closer inspection, the majestic scene is actually populated along its lower edge by buff half-naked settlers, well-coiffed gentlemen, casual natives, a cross-dressed man posed as a Botticellian Venus, as well as Westerners pretending to be Natives for a photographer. The work, entitled Trappers of Men (2006), wittily, humorously and masterfully pokes fun at history/colonialism/gender/sexuality/representation. A plaque below the painting attributes it not to Monkman but to his alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testicle.

Detail of Trappers

Monkman challenges his viewer to rethink the history they think they know. Dance to the Berdashe reveals a simple, pure ritual, yet it does not mine the questions of reinterpretation of history fully. Berdashe, as I later discovered is actually an extremely derogatory denotation, deriving from the old French word bardache, meaning gay male prostitute or passive sodomite. Monkman fails to really educate his viewers and tell them this definition. He does not mention the now politically correct term two-spirit or the privileged role of these male/female figures in Native communities.
While his video installation and accompanying text create a dissonance, they fail to really educate the viewer. The act of posing the question What is our History? is indeed important in stimulating dialogue and paving the way to greater intercultural understanding. However, I wish that, beyond the questions, Monkman had provided some answers so that the process of education he very aptly catalyzed could have gone further.

(1) George Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of North American Indians, London: 1844.

More on Monkman here; article by the artist and his alter-ego here; and more about Two-Spirit (or duo-gender Native Americans) here.

We’d been talking about going to Montreal for over a year and it was either going to happen this summer or maybe never. So Stella, Steve and I set out on the 466 mile drive girding our loins to pay the $4-plus per gallon gas prices. I had never been to Vermont which is kind of sort of on the way so we decided to touch down in Burlington, VT just to see a little bit of the other state that chedder cheese made famous (Wisconsin being the first and foremost, ahem).

Essex-Charlotte Ferry seen from Essex

That little deviation through Vermont from the normal route up I-87 provided us a water challenge since Lake Champlain, that long finger of water, stood in the way of getting between upstate New York and Vermont.  Steve found us the quickest and, according to one experienced person we talked with, the most pleasant lake crossing via the Essex-Charlotte Ferry. The 20-minute ride was fantastic.

Even the trip from the interstate to the ferry was great– a little county road through rolling farmland, quiet and pristine. Stella — who as a child said she wanted to be a ballerina/farmer when she grew up — was smitten and wanted to know if we could move up there. Probably not.

We arrived at Essex at about dusk and a big full moon — pink in color — was rising in the East, the ferry ride in practically perfect weather was a summertime high.

Lovely little ferry on a lovely night in July.

Steve, Stella and I are off to Montreal today for a short visit. This will be my first trip to Canada if you can believe that. Among other things we’ll be going to the Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal to see the Quebec Triennial, a show of 38 emerging artists from the region. I’m very excited about that.

See you next week, and seek shelter all you Philadelphians — it’s going to be nasty the next few days.