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Editorial

Nineteen eighty-four, the year this magazine was founded, marked the end of an era. In February of that year Pierre Trudeau announced his retirement; subsequently, Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives were elected in a landslide. We all know what happened next. 

The election of the Mulroney government ushered in an era of wildly unfettered capitalism, which may now be coming to an end ( or not; greed is a fine motivator and capitalism is a protean survivor above all). Mulroney threw open Canada’s doors for business-a move that would eventually lead to the free-market ideology of the time affecting government arts-funding policies, especially those concerning periodicals-but Chad deep roots in the institutional culture that preceded the era. 

After World War II, the British government pursued a policy of full-employment; and so they had it. The art world infrastructure we enjoy today in Canada was funded as a result of similar government largesse. The Welfare State analogy is apt because it was the second and not the first generation of welfare recipients that was thought to suffer from the indolence this culture perhaps inevitably bred. Which is not to say that Canadian arts organizations suffer from sloth as a result of government funding, but there is something to the parallel I am drawing here, not the least in the ideological “corrective” of free-market economic policies these institutions have been asked to endure in recent years. 

It is also important to acknowledge the funding history of Canada’s art institutions given recent cuts, and the intimations that they may come under an even greater threat from the recently re-elected and yet not-quite-fully-mandated Harper government. We can only hope this will not happen. 

Framing the impressive longevity of C in terms of the shifting tides of fiscal policy, rather than in trends in art, reflects the wholly intrusive effects the free-market ideology has had on everybody’s lives. The current global economic crisis is just the icing on the cupcake. For a quarterly periodical to publish 100 issues is a remarkable achievement; and yet the struggle to survive in the face of inconsistent funding and economic vicissitude – especially during the last 1 o years – means that C has just barely made it past this particular finish line. Currently, the magazine has an excellent stable of writers associated with it, and benefits from the collective vitality of their intelligence – a benefit that it seems necessary to point out has value beyond any economic price one could put on it. Structurally, however, many years of struggling with decreasing ( or non-increasing) funding levels have left the magazine greatly undermined.

C Magazine exists today because of the tremendous efforts of many people, some of whom should be mentioned. 

C was founded in 1984 thanks to the vision of Richard Rhodes, current editor of _Canadian Art_, and his wife, the artist Dyan Marie. Much of its longevity is due to the stewardship of its longest-serving editor, Joyce Mason, who carried the organization for 13 years. C would not exist in its present incarnation without the hard work and generosity of Paul Petro, president of C’s board of directors for the last eight years. There are, of course, many others, but these four individuals deserve the magazine’s special thanks.

In this issue, C looks at the emergence of pedagogy as a popular model for contemporary art practice. It is a trend that bridges the divide between artist and curator, and a prime example is Vancouver artist Kristina Lee Podesva’s colourschool, profiled for C100 by Michael Birchall. Elsewhere in the magazine, Gabrielle Moser questions the value of formal pedagogy when it comes to curatorial practice in her article, “Do Curators Need University Art Programs?”-a title intended to echo and extend the dialogue initiated by Reid Shier’s essay, “Do Artists Need Artist Run Centres?,” in the 2007 Artspeak publication _Vancouver Art and Economies_ (Arsenal Pulp Press). Meanwhile, the exhibition that “learns from itself” is the subject of a text by the curator and former director of Toronto’s YYZ artist-run centre, Gregory Elgstrand. 

Although a motivating factor in do-it-yourself pedagogy is a desire to examine the conditions under which knowledge is acquired, this tendency in art also partakes of the wider shift in our culture from reverence for hierarchical structures of authority to a preference for the crowd sourcing of information and ideas. This change is undoubtedly one reason for the contemporary eclipse of art criticism, which is the subject of Earl Miller’s article. 

Also in this issue, on the occasion of our 100th edition, we publish an essay by Catherine MacTavish on the paintings of Rae Johnson. The same writer wrote about the same artist in C’s first issue, so it’s a fitting way to bracket chis magazine’s first century.

Editor

Art Pedagogy

issue-100-p2-3.pdf

Publishing

Canadian

The author discusses the longevity of “C: International Contemporary Art.” She states that the magazine was founded in 1984 through Richard Rhodes, editor of “Canadian Art,” and his wife Dyan Marie. She also acknowledges Joyce Mason and Paul Petro. She notes that the topics tackled within the issue include the emergence of pedagogy as a model for contemporary art practice and the paintings of Rae Johnson.

Feature

Writer

issue-100-p4-9.pdf

Artist-run centres

Money

Cultural Studies

Museums

Critique

The author tackles the competition between small arts organizations and large institutions for sponsorship in Canada. She states that since contemporary art is not deemed essential, the industry can only resort to celebrity culture, branding, sponsorship advertising, and hype production. She also questions the art being produced by the burgeoning culture industries and art hubs.

No Typical Donor

issue-100-p8-11.pdf

Performance art

Public art

The author evaluates the performance “I Promise It Will Always Be This Way,” by Jon Sasaki, on Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2008\. The author thinks that Sasaki has ambivalence towards socially ameliorative art processes with cheerful anatagonism. The author believes that the event addresses the questions about Nuit Blanche's social function. The author also thinks that there is exhaustion on the performance for the sake of entertainment.

Enthusiasm at the Limit

issue-100-p12-14.pdf

Painting

Catherine MacTavish, who wrote about the Toronto artist Rae Johnson in the first issue of C, revisits her work 24 years later

To Be Seen and Not Just Heard About: On a Painting by Rae Johnson

issue-100-p14-18.pdf

Education

The author examines colourschool, the experiment in art pedagogy of artist Kristina Lee Podesva. He relates that Podesva founded the freethinking alternative school colourschool which is described as open to interpretation like art and consists of the mythologies of unequal opposites. The author furthers that colourschool has organic, dialogical, and collaborative approach to learning and is influenced by the precedents of Black Mountain College.

On Kristina Lee Podesva's Colourschool

issue-100-p18-23.pdf

Exhibitions

The article examines the concept of the learning exhibition. The exhibition as a learning system is focused on considering how the exhibition learns once the artists are not in the building. Philippe Parreno believes that an exhibition must be a stimulant instead of a model narrative. An exhibition which aims to generate knowledge must incorporate time itself as an essential constituent of an exhibition structure. Hans-Ulrich Obrist explained that time is important because of the actual consumption of ideas and images that exist in time. The author expressed that he wants the idea of an exhibition structure based on an episodic television format.

Exhibitionism

Gabrielle Moser is an art historian, writer, and independent curator. She is the author of Projecting Citizenship: Photography and Belonging in the British Empire (Penn State University Press, 2019) and, with Adrienne Huard, co-edited a special issue of Journal of Visual Culture on reparation (2022). A founding member of EMILIA-AMALIA, she is an Associate Professor of Aesthetics and Art Education in the Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto, Canada

issue-100-p26-32.pdf

Curatorial practice

The article analyzes the professionalization of art curation in Canada. The educational efforts in Canada for curators are University of Toronto’s Master of Visual Studies and the Ontario College of Art and Design’s Criticism and Curatorial Practice Master of Fine Arts degree. There is a separation of practice from instruction since many curators are self-taught and would make their careers through developing a practice while there are post-secondary programs that educate and train curators for the contemporary art business. The activities that are being considered as curatorial include organizing and mounting exhibitions, writing and publishing critical essays, and coordinating fundraisers. Clement Greenberg said that access to education gives curators job opportunities.

Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs?

Earl Miller is an independent critic and curator residing in Toronto.

issue-100-p34-38.pdf

Criticism

The article discusses the issues in the practice of art criticism. Art criticism can be found in venues such as international art magazines, gallery and museum catalogues, and daily newspaper reviews. Issues in art criticism include the emphasis on description over evaluation and critical theorizing does not appear. Art critics also have to acquire knowledge on various disciplines such as art history and cultural studies. Since they also receive low pay, many critics have resorted to academia to make a living. Art criticism is believed to be limited in the U.S. and Europe. There is a problem in the lack of competent and knowledgeable critics who are also into evaluative criticism.

The State of Art Criticism and Critical Theory

Letter

issue-100-p46-47.pdf

A response by Sholem Krishtalka to Eli Bornowsky’s letter to the editor in C Magazine Issue 99.

Letter to the Editor

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Chris Lee is a graphic designer and educator based in Buffalo, New York and Toronto. His research explores graphic design’s entanglement with power, standards and legitimacy. Chris is an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo SUNY.

Designer

Publisher

Review

issue-100-p38-40.pdf

International

Politics

The article evaluates the exhibition, which is part of the Democracy in America: The National Campaign project organized by Creative Time, featuring the works of artists such as Chris Sollars, Luca Frei, Pia Lindman, Carlos Motta, Duke Riley, Mark Tribe, and Allison Smith.

Convergence Center (Part of Democracy in America: The National Campaign)

Jesse McKee is a curator and writer in Vancouver, where he works as Head of Strategy at 221A. Previously he was the Curator of Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery and a curatorial resident with tranzit, Romania and Things that can happen, Hong Kong. 

issue-100-p39-41.pdf

Installation

The article discusses the highlights of the Nought to Sixty program of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, England, including the work of Sarah Pierce. The institution showcased 60 projects in six months from artists and art centers based in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. There were two solo exhibitions and features such as panels, salons, performances, and screenings.

It's Time Man. It Feels Imminent

issue-100-p40-42.pdf

The article reviews the exhibition “Mushroom Studio,” by Katie Bethune-Leamen, that will take place at the Toronto Sculpture Garden in Ontario and end on spring 2009.

Katie Bethune-Leamen: Mushroom Studio

issue-100-p41-43.pdf

Sculpture

Drawing

The article reviews the exhibition “Back in 5: Accessing the Back Story,” by Corin Sworn, held at Blanket Gallery in Vancouver.

Corin Sworn: Back in 5: Accessing the Back Story

issue-100-p42-44.pdf

The article reviews the 55th incarnation of the Carnegie International exhibition “Life on Mars,” at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburg. Curated by Douglas Fogle, the exhibition included artists such as Ryan Gander, Mike Kelley, Maria Lassnig and Thomas Hirshhorn. 

Life on Mars

issue-100-p43-46.pdf

Film

The article reviews the exhibition “The Spectre and the Sphere,” by Jesse Jones, at the Blackwood Gallery in the University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario.

Jesse Jones: The Spectre and the Sphere

issue-100-p45-47.pdf

Photography

Video

The article reviews the exhibition “Désespéré/Desperate,” featuring works by Erwin Wurm curated by Patrice Duhamel, at La Galerie l'UQAM in Montréal, Quebec in 2008.

Erwin Wurm: Désespéré/Desperate

Header

C Mag

Issue 100

Art Pedagogy

Credits

Letters

Letter to the Editor

Editorial

Art Pedagogy

Features

No Typical Donor

Enthusiasm at the Limit

To Be Seen and Not Just Heard About: On a Painting by Rae Johnson

On Kristina Lee Podesva's Colourschool

Exhibitionism

Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs?

The State of Art Criticism and Critical Theory

Reviews

Convergence Center (Part of Democracy in America: The National Campaign)

It's Time Man. It Feels Imminent

Katie Bethune-Leamen: Mushroom Studio

Corin Sworn: Back in 5: Accessing the Back Story

Life on Mars

Jesse Jones: The Spectre and the Sphere

Erwin Wurm: Désespéré/Desperate