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Artch 1

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Federation of Canadian Artists 1

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Varley 1

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TBA (b)

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Editorial

The impulse to collect is one shared by artists and patrons of art alike. The gathering and organizing of ideas, experiences, objects, words and/or images forms the basis of every artist’s work. The art collector has a similar commitment, engaging with artists’ material outputs reflectively and sympathetically, thereby participating in the experiences and ideas they conjure. When it comes to contemporary art, both artist and collector are unified in reflecting upon and trying to understand what it means to be in the world today.

In this issue, we examine the _artist-collector_, who organizes and curates objects as part of his or her material output, and the _patron-collector_, who is motivated by pleasure, curiosity, and sometimes financial speculation. Complementing an artist project by Charles Stankievech, Pandora Syperek writes about that artist’s works made in the far North of Canada and in Marfa, Texas, which explore the Cold War era, Minimalism and Modernism through an engagement with artifacts from popular culture, modern art and design. Engaging similar methods for dealing with the presentation of cultural texts and objects, Sophie Springer surveys a number of book works and considers how they operate as mobile and inexpensive exhibition spaces through which collections of artworks, objects,  
images and ideas can be curated. Also on the theme of the artist as collector, Laura Kenins writes about artists who create sculptural installations using outdated media, including record albums, VHS tapes, discarded computers and hospital equipment. These  
artists work as collectors, curators and editors, often placing already-existing images or objects into new formal arrangements.

Exploring the much less visible realm of the patron-collector, Randy Gladman writes about the philosophy of Toronto-based collectors Alison and Alan Schwartz. While private collections such as theirs are shaped largely by individuals’ aesthetic curiosities and their interests in specific artists, other collections are shaped entirely by financial speculation. On the topic of art as investment, Shannon d’Avout d’Auerstaedt writes about the recently created Artist Pension Trust, discussing its data aggregation software model that predicts financial returns on works by contemporary artists, and exploring its role in shaping the kind of work that may ultimately be produced.

Collecting contemporary art is uniquely complex. Most works aim to challenge viewers to think, feel and understand in unfamiliar ways, and consequently lack many of the familiar codes that would otherwise make pieces more widely accessible. And for collectors interested in art that is likely to increase in value, it is difficult to predict which artists will acquire the level of professional and commercial success needed to guarantee a return on investment. But for those who are excited about the possible ideas and experiences that contemporary art offers viewers, it’s a highly accessible realm. Artist-run centres, as well as public and commercial galleries, present living practices that are also sited in an active public discussion. This occurs at openings, through talks and exhibition tours, through reviews and myriad other forums. For the patron-collector, such art is much more affordable than art that has already been tested by the market, and contemporary art offers an experience that is far beyond purely economic valuation.

In this issue, the artist, collector, curator and editor share similar roles in organizing and interpreting the objects and texts (and detritus) of contemporary culture. Such material always needs to be framed and supported. Responding to a persistent problem at the Donald Judd Library in Marfa, Texas, where passing trains cause books to vibrate out of place, Charles Stankievech presents a bookend he designed for Judd’s library as this issue’s artist project. While it can never be put into use because Judd’s instructions stipulate that his library remain exactly as he left it, like a room, a book or a magazine—or, for that matter, the mind of the collectors themselves—it can still serve as an apt metaphor for the deliberate containment that a collection requires.

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

Editor

Collections

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Collecting

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the projects of artist Charles Stankievech, art installations consisting of obsolete electronics and Canadian art collectors Alan and Alison Schwartz.

Editorial: Collections

Feature

Writer

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Readymade

The article focuses on Bulgarian artist Ivan Moudov and his work “Fragments,” which is made of pieces of other artists' works and is reminiscent of artist Marcel Duchamp's work, “Boîte-en-valise.” The article discusses the lack of a contemporary art museum in Bulgaria, the black market antiquities trade in Bulgaria and Moudov's works “Creation of a Museum of Contemporary Art in Bulgaria” and “Guide” and his creation of the Bulgarian Institute of Culture in Hamburg, Germany as part of a public art festival.

Ivan Moudov's Museum in Fragment

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The article focuses on the art collection of Canadian collectors Alison and Alan Schwartz, who are based in Toronto, Ontario. The article discusses how the Schwartzs became interested in art, Alan Schwartz's view of the art market and pieces located in their collection from photographers Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall and Rodney Graham. The article states the Schwartz also own art from artists Sigmar Polke, Mark Bradford and Glenn Ligon

Collecting That Matters: The Art Collection of Alison And Alan Schwartz

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Business

Work

The article focuses on the financial program Artist Pension Trust (APT) and the software apparatus MutualArt. The article discusses the plan of the APT, which is modeled on the plan of venture investment firms, the electronic sources that are available through MutualArt such as the periodicals “Artdaily,” “ARTNews” and “Art in America,” and the effect that this software could have on the art market. The article also discusses the artist Walid Raad and his relationship to APT.

Structural Mutation, Cinnamon-Scented Speculation, the Twenty-First Century and the Artist Pension Trust.

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Electronic

Found

Environment

The article focuses on artists Laura Kikauka, Gordon Monahan and Bastiaan Maris, who recycle obsolete technology into installation art. The article discusses the artists' shop, called The Glowing Pickle, which was located in the former East Berlin, Germany from 1993 to 1995 and sold discarded electronics. The article goes on to discuss the artists' later recycling endeavors and the work of Canadian artists Eleanor King, Adam Kelly and Tim Dallet, who also use found objects in their art.

Reduce, Reuse, Exhibit: Electronic Waste as Collection.

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Conceptual

Pop culture

Installation

The article focuses on the work of conceptual artist Charles Stankievech and the way in which Stankievech references archives of art, cultural and political history. The article discusses the sculpture “HOMELAND SECURITY (It's hard to find a good lamp)” which is located in Marfa, Texas and references the artists Donald Judd and Dan Flavin, the installation “LOVELAND“ which evokes the sublime and “Gravity's Rainbow,” a performance which employs the record “Dark Side of the Moon” by the band Pink Floyd.

Lands Beyond: Charles Stankievech's Intangible Archives

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Artists Books

Exhibitions

The article focuses on the artist's book as a type of designed art exhibition. The article tracks the creation of the artists' book from the traditional codex to works by artists Dieter Roth and Brian O'Doherty, the publication of the periodical “Aspen” and an exhibition catalog by artist Lucy Lippard. The article continues to discuss the evolution of the artists' book with the work of curator Seth Siegelaub and artists Ed Ruscha and Marshall McLuhan.

Volumes: The Book as Exhibition.

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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

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Libraries

The article presents Charles Stankievech’s bookend design for the JUDD Foundation, where he was an artist-in-residence. The project addresses the need for bookends at the personal library of artist Donald Judd without interfering with the collection.

BOOKEND

Review

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Performance

The article reviews an exhibition by Yuji Agematsu at Real Fine Arts in Brooklyn, New York City from March 31 – April 29, 2012

Yuji Agematsu

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Art movements

Painting

Video

The article reviews the exhibition “Morgan Fisher: The Frame and Beyond” at Generali Foundation in Vienna, Austria from March 2 – July 29, 2012.

Morgan Fisher: The Frame and Beyond

Jon Davies is a Montreal-based curator and writer. He recently received his PhD in Art History from Stanford University.

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Humour

Canadian

The article reviews the exhibition“Emotional Blackmail” organized by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) at Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario from May 9 – July 8, 2012.

Emotional Blackmail

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The article reviews the exhibition “Red Sky at Night” curated by Sarah Robayo Sheridan at Mercer Union in Toronto, Ontario from June 15 – July 28, 2012.

Red Sky at Night

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Landscape

The article reviews the commission “Foundation Izolyatsia in collaboration with Galleria Continua: Where Is The Time?” in Donetsk, Ukraine from which is a permanent installation which began on July 7, 2012.

Foundation Izolyatsia in collaboration with Galleria Continua: Where Is The Time?

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Film

The article reviews the programs “Wavelengths” curated by Andréa Picard and “Future Projections” at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario from September 6-16, 2012.

Wavelengths and Future Projections

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Nature

Participation

The article reviews the exhibition “Only Birds Sing the Music of Heaven in this World” curated by Harrell Fletcher at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco, California from March 23 – July 7, 2012.

Only Birds Sing the Music of Heaven in this World.

Kevin Rodgers is an artist currently based in Kingston, Ontario, where he is Artistic Director of _Modern Fuel_.

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Printmaking

Language

Politics

The article reviews the exhibition “Raymond Boisjoly: The Work That Work Leaves Undone” at Forest City Gallery in London, Ontario from May 11 – June 9, 2012.

Raymond Boisjoly: The Work That Work Leaves Undone.

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The article reviews the exhibition “Iain Baxter&: Works 1958-2011″ at the Art Gallery of Ontario from March 3 – August 12, 2012

IAIN BAXTER&: Works 1958-2011

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Sound

The article reviews the exhibition “Sounding Selves” curated by Heather Anderson at the Dalhousie University Art Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 18 – July 8, 2012.

Sounding Selves

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The article reviews the exhibition “Today a Legend Died. Viva La Revolution,” by artist Derek Liddington at Daniel Faria Gallery in Toronto, Ontario from April 20 – May 26, 2012.

Derek Liddington Today a Legend Died. Viva La Revolution.

Saelan Twerdy is a writer, editor, and cultural worker based in  
Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. He is the Managing Editor of RACAR, the  
official journal of the Universities Art Association of Canada, and currently works as a Student Librarian at Concordia University Webster Library.

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The article reviews the book “Artificial Hells” by Claire Bishop.

Artificial Hells, by Claire Bishop

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Internet

The article reviews the web site The Schlögel Archive, located at www.schlögel.ca, from the author Martha Baillie

The Schlögel Archive

Heather White is a writer, and a psychotherapist-in-training, in Toronto.

Museums

The article reviews the web site The Parallel Museum, located at giornopergiorno.org/2012/museo-parallelo\_en.php, from the Giorna per Giorna festival in Italy which ran from June 19-30, 2012

The Parallel Museum

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Photography

The article reviews the book “The Photographs Not Taken: A Collection of Photographers’ Essays,” edited by WIll Steacy.

The Photographs Not Taken, edited by Will Steacy

The article reviews the exhibition “Lou Ford” curated by Roger Bywater at G Gallery in Toronto, Ontario from September 7 – October 17, 2012.

Lou Ford @ G Gallery, Toronto

A review is offered for the Museum of Innocence located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Museum of Innocence Istanbul

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The article reviews the book “Digital Natives” edited by Lorna Brown and Clint Burnham.

Digital Natives, edited by Lorna Brown and Clint Burnham

History

The article reviews the web site The Guantanamo Bay Museum of Art and History, located at www.guantanamobaymuseum.org, an online museum under the direction of curator Ian Alan Paul.

The Guantanamo Bay Museum of Art and History

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Institutional critique

The article reviews the multi-gallery exhibition “The Portable Gallery Convention” in Halifax, Nova Scotia in September 2012.

The World Portable Gallery Convention, Halifax

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Issue 116