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Editorial

The arrival of a new editor always invokes a consideration of a magazine’s history and its accomplishments, and a necessary process of re- visioning. In _C_’s more than 25-year history—which now includes six editors—there are a number of consistent trends. These include: coverage of Canadian and international work that often falls outside the purvey of more traditionally oriented institutions; the publication of visually engaging artist projects; and a decisive focus on visual and written work that is critically engaged with contemporary ideas and practices.

Back issues of _C Magazine_ show this to be a successful formula. Among our contributors are many well-known voices in cultural theory and art criticism: Kathy Acker, Thierry de Duve, Peggy Gale, Lars Bang Larsen, Philip Monk, Dot Tuer, and William Wood, among countless others. The artist projects commissioned for _C_ include works by Robert Frank, General Idea, and Richard Prince. Throughout _C_’s history, one can see a sustained debate around emergent ideas in contemporary practices and a broader concern with the problems that art often addresses. For example, in issue number three, published in 1984, Walter Klepac looked at theories of deconstruction—then current in literary theory and philosophy—in his essay “The Order of Words, The Orderof Things: Deconstruction in Contemporary Art.” This essay became a discussion when Mark Lewis—who is featured in this issue—expanded upon it several issues later, with an essay of his own refuting many of Klepac’s ideas. The effect of this kind of criticism is to bring readers into the conversation that surrounds contemporary art practices, to make them think differently—not just about the work itself, but the ideas and contexts that it engages.

The theme of this issue is the 2009 Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest and longest running art fair. The writers in this issue undertake in-depth discussion of works by a number of artists exhibiting in Venice, some of whom are not part of the “official” biennale programming. In her article, _Infinite Jest: Bruce Nauman & Contemporary Art as Continuous Process_, Heather Diack looks at Nauman’s work in relation to Daniel Birnbaum’s theme for this year’s biennale, and in terms of what it means to be “contemporary.” Directly referencing Nelson Goodman’s 1967 book _Ways of Worldmaking_, the title for the 53rd Venice Biennale is “Making Worlds.” The connection between Nauman’s work at the biennale, and Birnbaum’s theme is a mutual emphasis on process, where “art is always in the making,” rather than on the finished work. Goodman is not concerned with the art object _per se_, or with _what_ is art, but with “\_when\_ is art.” \[1\] For Goodman, art is a process of knowledge-making, containing multiple methods of truth construction, operating in much the same way as an empirical science. Art thus has an epistemological function: creating, testing, and realizing different possible worlds. As an active and present process of experimentation and knowledge-making, such work is necessarily contemporary.

Tatiana Mellema’s essay on _Reverse Pedagogy_, a project to be enacted during the opening of the Venice Biennale, reflects a similar emphasis on collaborative process and “worldmaking.” For this project, a group of artists will create their own studio and school, eschewing hierarchy and emphasizing dialogue and collaboration, intended to exist outside of the forces of the art world. A similar sensibility is present in the collaborative “Impossibility Project” _Ship of Fools_, organized by Reverse Pedagogy participant Swintak at the HMK residency in Hoorn, the Netherlands, and featured in this issue’s Artist Centerfold and on the Big Picture page. Consisting of a team of collaborators, none of whom had any actual knowledge of shipbuilding, this group created a sculptural installation that makes the impossible real.

This issue includes features on other artists who will also be part of the 53rd Venice Biennale. In “The Beautiful and the Everyday in the Films of Mark Lewis” Shepherd Steiner examines Lewis’ use of cinema as an art form, considering its relationship to painting. Lewis’ projected film loops—typically based on the length of a 400-foot roll of 35 mm film and on filmic devices such as the long take, the pan, and the tracking shot—reduce cinema to its formal elements and turns these shots into singular artworks. Placed in the gallery context, Lewis’ films reveal something of cinema’s aesthetic lineage and language—and the relationship between the documentary form and life itself.

While _C_ 102 is consistent with _C_’s mandate, and with the style established by previous editors, it does reflect some slight changes. Feature articles have been lengthened to enable a more sustained and in-depth coverage of article topics, a move accompanied by a slight increase in this issue’s page count. Our intention is that the length of the magazine will continue to increase as we overcome existing fiscal constraints. This issue also reflects an increased effort to solicit writers working within universities, as well as those directly affiliated with the art world. Starting with our next issue, _C_ will also be publishing reviews of books and exhibition catalogues, in addition to exhibition reviews.

Upcoming issues will be anchored around themes developed far in advance, accompanied by related public programming developed in conjunction with universities and art institutions as a way of developing links to artists, writers, curators, and broader audiences. Themes currently being researched include _Art Infrastructure, Contemporary Feminisms, Sports, and The Supernatural_. By developing issue themes in tandem with public programming, our intention is to launch a broader conversation among art’s diverse public via a specific set of practices. For this issue, we’ve seized the Venice Biennale as our contemporary jumping-off point for this conversation. I hope you’ll join us.

[^1]: Nelson Goodman, _Ways of World-making_ (Sussex: Harvester Press, 1978), 67.

Amish Morrell is Assistant Professor at OCAD University, where he teaches Criticism & Curatorial Practice, and Visual and Critical Studies.

Editor

Venice

issue-102-p2-3.pdf

International

Publishing

The article discusses various articles published within the issue, all of which relate to contemporary art and culture. The editor outlines some editorial and structural changes that will develop in future issues, such as a shift towards longer essays and the inclusion of book reviews.

Editorial: When is "Contemporary?"

Feature

Writer

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The article discusses the Summer 2009 Venice Biennale.

Project Biennalist by Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel

issue-102-p12-18.pdf

Performance

Sculpture

Video

The article explores the works of American artist Bruce Nauman. His work has persistently played with melancholy mixed with humour, as well as with the trope of failure and of failed communication. As he has been selected as the representative of the U.S. national pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale, he will be bringing his work into conversation with the international context of contemporary art while epitomizing an American legacy. He serves as a model for artistic practice as an investigatory procedure due to his repetitive insistence on disrupting conventions.

Infinite Jest: Bruce Nauman & Contemporary Art as Continuous Process

issue-102-p18-26.pdf

Canadian

The article explores the works of artists Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby. Their work is far removed from those that document crises grounded in the non-ideology of ethics. They make art that reflects the worry that stems from human suffering, alongside the concern that art sits comfortably within the culture industry. They also combine images, text and songs in their videos and organize them into thematic chapters. Their work also reflects how they challenge the pragmatism inherent to capitalist ideology.

Late Capitalist Pathologies and Redemptions: Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby's Beauty + Pity

issue-102-p30-40.pdf

Documentary

Film

Cities

The article examines the work of Mark Lewis and the use of cinema as an art form. His work “Algonquin Park, Early March” provides the basis of a discussion into the changeable relationship between the beautiful and the everyday, as well as how these are affected by issues that hinge on national identity and its myths. Exploring the use of cinema as an art form serves as Lewis' attempt to make sense of and bring order to the largeness of the medium of film. It also serves as his initiative to address the tension between film as a durational art form and painting as the paradigm of static art.

The Beautiful and the Everyday in the Films of Mark Lewis

issue-102-p40-46.pdf

Collaboration

Residencies

Education

An essay is presented about the project “Reverse Pedagogy” that will be enacted during the opening of the 2009 Venice Biennale. It explores the creation on art studio and an art school by a group of artists through collaborative process. It discusses the attempt of these artists in challenging art contexts by collectively directing their own experimental residencies. It examines how the project works against traditional school models.

Reversing Pedagogies with a Little Social Schooling

Letter

issue-102-p54-55.pdf

Curatorial practice

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article “Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs,” by Gabrielle Moser in C Magazine Issue 100.

Letter to the Editor, Re: Gabrielle Moser's Article "Do Curators Need University Curatorial	Programs?" 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

Artist Project

Artist

issue-102-p27-30.pdf

Installation

Environment

Artist Christine Swintak’s project “Ship of Fools,&#34 involved the collaborative construction of a life-size ship by individuals with little knowledge of ship building. The centrefold features an image titled “Ship of Fools Portal”, created by Niki Singleton in 2009.

Ship of Fools Portal

Review

issue-102-p47-49.pdf

Urban studies

The article reviews the exhibition “Actions: What You Can Do With the City” at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, Quebec.

Actions: What You Can Do with the City

issue-102-p48-50.pdf

Poetry

Text

Language

The article reviews the exhibition “Street Poets & Visionaries: Selections from the Ubuweb Collection” organized by Kenneth Goldsmith at Mercer Union in Toronto.

Street Poets & Visionaries: Selections from the UbuWeb Collection 

issue-102-p49-51.pdf

The article reviews the exhibition “The Way I Are” (sic) at the Blackwood Gallery in Toronto, Ontario. Curated by Katie Bethune-Leaneb, the exhibition featured works by Valerie Blass, Anthony Burnham, Robert Fones, Martin Golland, Jen Hutton, Kelly Jazvac, John Massey, Elizabeth McIntosh, Planningtorock and Tony Romano.

The Way I Are

issue-102-p50-53.pdf

Representation

The article reviews the exhibition “What It Really Is” at Red Bull 381 Projects in Toronto, Ontario. Curated by Nicholas Brown, the exhibition featured Kristan Horton, Liz Magor, Kristi Malakoff, Kerri Reid and Jennifer Rose Sciarrino.

What It Really is

Charlene K. Lau is an art historian, critic and Curator of Public Art at Evergreen Brick Works.
She has held fellowships at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; Parsons School of Design,
The New School; and Performa Biennial. Her writing has been published in _Art in America_,
_Artforum_, _TheAtlantic.com_, _The Brooklyn Rail_, _frieze_, _Fashion Theory_, and _Journal of Curatorial Studies_, among others.

issue-102-p52-54.pdf

The article reviews “Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009″ in London, featuring Franz Ackermann, Darren Almond, Charles Avery, Walead Beshty Spartacus Chetwynd, Marcus Coast, Peter Coffin, Matthew Darbyshire, Shezad Dawood, Tacita Dean, Ruth Ewan, Loris Greaud, Subodh Gupta, Rachel Harrison, Joachim Koester, Nathaniel Mellors, Gustav Metzger, Mike Nelson, David Noonan, Katie Paterson, Olivia Plender, Seth Price, Navin Rawanchaikul, Lindsay Seers, Bob and Roberta Smith, Simon Starling, Pascale Marthine Tayou and Tris Vonna-Michell.

Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009

issue-102-p53-55.pdf

Politics

The article reviews the exhibition “The Hugo Boss Prize 2008: Emily Jacir” at The Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Header

C Mag

Issue 102

Venice

Credits

Letters

Letter to the Editor, Re: Gabrielle Moser's Article "Do Curators Need University Curatorial Programs?" in C Magazine Issue 100