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MOCA Toronto Sept

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Walter Phillips

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Art Museum Sep 1

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Editorial

Since this issue is my last as editor of C, it seems natural to ask what exactly I have been doing these past four-and-a-half years. Having been the editor of two art publications (_C Magazine_ \[(2004-2008)\] and the now obscure _MIX Magazine_ \[(2001-2002)\] what do I now believe an art magazine can do?

Because contemporary art as a discipline promulgates a specialized kind of language, perhaps a better way to phrase this question is: what does language do for art? Anyone familiar with art history knows that this question is seminal. In a number of significant ways art _is_ its language. Many notable artists have dedicated their work to making this idea explicit: from Marcel Duchamp to Joseph Kosuth to Lawrence Weiner to Art & Language. And for all significant instances of contemporary art, to practice art is to make a proposition about art, with language as its vehicle.

I want to look at this condition from a publication-specific angle . The question ‘What can an art magazine do for art?’ breaks down into two parts: one focusing on the type of language customarily used by writers about art; and the other, on the claims made for art-in general, and for specific artworks-that writers writing about art tend to make.

In terms of the type of language art criticism uses, I confess to being a skeptic. Of necessity, art criticism borrows from a number of academic disciplines-especially philosophy-because the most effective artworks have deep philosophical implications; but, like any specialized language meant to bestow authority on its user, theoretical language often indulges in obfuscation for its own sake.

In the previous issue of C, Earl Miller ruminated on this subject (“The State of Art Criticism and Critical Theory,” _C100_, Winter 2008). As a working art critic, Miller is well-placed to assess and clearly articulate the shortcomings of his chosen profession. The only thing I would add is that my own antipathy to ‘artspeak,’ to theoretical writing, stems from the occupational hazard of having to edit it; more often than not, the application of theory to the consideration of artworks makes for bad writing.

However, a topic for which I do have an affinity is the claims of significance that art writing can make for art. Along with bad writing, prescriptions for ‘art’ are something I’ve indulged in my career, such as it is, as an art critic. Without the opportunity to affirm faith in the idea that art exists somehow as a living entity, and is therefore animated by a purpose, art magazines would be left with merely descriptive art reviews, and these are only of ephemeral, journalistic interest at best.

For examples of what I am talking about, this issue of _C_ provides a convenient-to-hand case study. For instance, I like Chen Tamir’s interview with the French art duo known as ‘Claire Fontaine’ for its extravagant sense of the possible. In the interview, the artists evince an acute awareness of the constructed nature of any art initiative; this includes the name of the artist, which in their case is borrowed from a French brand of stationery. The artists make their view clear: art is a construct that is potentially liberating. Hence the claim that their project “works on the transformation of subjectivity by pushing the boundaries of authorship and collectivity” -a statement that was itself collectively authored by interviewer and interviewee.

Another example of art’s propositional muscle is found in Johan Lundh’s text, “The Art of Disappearing,” which distills an interview he conducted with the Dutch curator Krist Gruijthuijsen. The two men spoke about Gruijthuijsen’s ongoing project to create an archive of artists who leave the art world, the American Lee Lozano’s ‘defection’ being perhaps the most well-known instance of this. Discussing art’s ability to reclaim such refusals _as art_ Lundh notes, “ \[e\]ven a rejection of the art world is ultimately a confirmation of its power;” this is to advance the idea that the art world is like some highfalutin Hotel California: you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave! However odd this proposition may seem to outsiders, those of us on the ‘inside’ know it to be all too accurate.

Vancouver artist Eli Bornowsky makes another “claim” for art. In his letter to the editor printed in this issue, he continues a dialogue he has been carrying on in these pages with Toronto painter Sholem Krishtalka. The spark for this conversation was Krishtalka’s less-than-enthusiastic review of a Brice Marden show he saw in Berlin. Krishtalka’s dismissal of Marden’s brand of abstraction prompted Bornowsky to lay out a program for criticism, one which begins with looking at _the work_ itself. While this may seem like an already self-evident component of the art critic’s job, in Bornowsky’s view, the inability of certain critics to do so is symptomatic of a wider malaise. It is a “contemporary negligence,” that can provide a program for art-one for which the artist and the art writer have complementary roles. If, to borrow Bornowsky’s words, paintings (and, by extension, all artworks) can be said to have their own “mysterious coordinates,” this might explain why the work of finding out what they are, and trying to articulate this identity, is a perpetual task-one for which an art magazine is uniquely suited.

That’s it. I just want to say thanks to all of _C_‘s writers and staff. I enjoyed working with you.

Editor

All-Interview Special

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Publishing

Criticism

The author focuses on the impact of an art magazine on the art industry. She stresses that art is a language and that language is a channel to practice art. She mentions the type of language used and perspectives written in art magazines and the philosophical implications of art criticism.

What Can a Magazine Do?

Feature

Writer

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Film

Canadian

The article discusses the autobriographical film “My Winnipeg,” by Winnipeg-based Guy Maddin.

The Lap, The Fur

Jon Davies is a curator and writer based in Toronto.

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The article discusses visual depictions of political conflict in the films “Je veux voir (I Want to See),” by Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, and “Hunger,” by Steve McQueen.

What Can Cinema Do?

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The article discusses the inspirations and the making of the Archiving Disappearance project of the Dutch curator Krist Gruijthuijsen. The project, which is about artists who have left artmaking, produced two symposia, one at Platform garanti Contemporary Art Center in Istanbul, Turkey that was attended by Swedish curator Andres Kreuger and American curator Bob Nickas and another at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Gruijthuijsen described the works of American artist Lee Lozano, his main inspiration for the project, such as “Dialogue Piece” and “Boycott Women Piece.” Gruijthuijsen also talked about Swiss artist Anna Winteler and American artist Laurie Parsons.

The Art of Disappearing

Interview

Jacob Korczynski is an independent curator.

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Collaboration

An interview with filmmaker Andrew Lampert is presented. When asked about deviating from expanded cinema, Lampert explains that he is fond of seeing mistakes in films, and says that to him, expanded cinema means multiple projectors and multiple means. He shares that he finds it hard to collaborate in his films and discusses his collaborations with cellist Okkyung Lee and guitarist Alan Licht. Lampert also talks about his film “The Purpose Crossed” and the performance “Temporary Measures.”

Those of Us Who Know about These Darkened Rooms

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Drugs

An interview with Lars Bang Larsen is presented. Larsen pointed out that psychedelic has the essentialism it aims to instill in one's thinking and that the concept does not identify between psychedelic art, drugs, and media. Larsen comments on Jeremy Shaw's video titled “This Transition Will Never End #I” (TTWNE) which has trip sequences from mainstream movies. Larsen thinks that “TTWNE“ suggests that psychedelic art and culture have an arsenal of effects.

PCP: Pop/Conceptual/Psychedelic

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Migration

An interview with the visual artist Brendan Fernandes is presented. When asked about his installation “Future (ƒ — -- — …) Perfect (FP),” Fernandes said that his practice is about migration and movement because of his cultural trajectory and immigration to Canada from Kenya. He is also inspired by the concept of changing urban cities and gentrification. 

Future Forward

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Politics

International

An interview with Claire Fontaine, a French collective artist, is presented. When asked about her writing's purpose, Fontaine explained that she writes for everybody who can understand. Fontaine shared her meaning of an artwork, which has a political meaning and power but is not an action. She also talked about U.S. President Barack Obama and the issue of racism.

Political Action Figures

Letter

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A letter to the editor in response to C Magazine Issue 100 is presented.

Letter to the Editor, Re: Sholem Krishtalka's Letter to the Editor in C Magazine Issue 100

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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

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Performance art

The article reviews the exhibition of Tino Sehgal's solo show, curated by Massimiliano Gioni, at Villa Reale in Milan, Italy.

Tino Sehgal

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. 

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The article reviews the 7th Gwangju Biennale in Korea, featuring works by Adel Abdessemed, Francis Al¯s, Kaoru Arima, Sadie Benning, Nina Canell, Eunji Cho, Seoyoung Chung, Thomas Demand, Seamus Farell, Hans Haacke, Donghee Koo, David Lamelas, Ken Lum, Mona Marzouk, Gordon Matta-Clark, Steve McQueen, Apinan Poshyanada, LÍappartement 22, Jewyo Rhii, Joachim Sch\_nfeldt, Kohei Yoshiyuki, and Dolores Zinny and Juan Maidagan, among others.

The 7th Gwangju Biennale Annual Report: A Year in Exhibition, Directed by Okwui Enwezor

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Video

The article reviews the exhibition of Nathalie Djurberg in Zach Feuer Gallery in New York.

Nathalie Djurberg

Patricia Reed is an artist and writer based in Berlin. She has exhibited and lectured internationally at venues including Artists Space, Archive Kabinett, The House of World Cultures, Württembergischer Kunstverein and Witte de With (forthcoming). Texts have appeared with Fillip, Sternberg Press, 010 Publishing, Shifter Magazine and Art Papers, amongst others.

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Installation

The article reviews “Staging Shadows without Source,” an exhibition of Claude Wampler's art, at the 3rd Yokohama Triennale in Yokohama, Japan.

Claude Wampler: Staging Shadows Without Source

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The article reviews the exhibition “Making Real,” at Or Gallery in Vancouver, curated by Eli Bornowsky and featuring the works of Mat Bushell, Monique Mouton, Richard Tuttle, and Guido Molinari.

Making Real

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Feminism

The article reviews Fiona Kinsella’s exhibition “Chapel (Rose),” at Transit Gallery in Hamilton

Fiona Kinsella: Chapel (Rose)

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

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The article reviews the “28th Bienal De São Paulo: In Living Contact,” curated by Ivo Mesquita and Ana Paula Cohen in São Paulo, Brazil. Artists: Featured artists include: Mabe Bethonico, Erick Beltran, Carsten Hollerm Armin Linke, Dora Longo Bahia, Allan McCollum, Rivane Neuenschwander, Paul Ramirez Jonas, and Carla Zaccagnini, among others. 

28th Bienal de Sao Paulo

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The article reviews the exhibition “Second, Third, Fourth,” by Gareth Long at Oakville Galleries in Oakville, Ontario.

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C Mag

Issue 101