[BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: Why only Group os Seven or Aboriginal art

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

And an interesting (and timely) response by Nicolette Prince.

In the world of visual arts, Canada has few "specialties of the house", 
subject matter that has sufficiently wide appeal that it can attract large 
audiences wherever in the world it is displayed. Aboriginal art definitely 
is one category given the uniqueness of our First Nations cultures and 
histories: another is the Impressionist Group of Seven style, insofar as it 
portrays the Canadian landscape on a scale no other set of paintings can. 
The superb War Art collection in Ottawa also is of that calibre thanks to 
our country's broad military experience and how well the CWM holding 
documents it - in imagery, at least.

Why argue with success? Dollar for dollar, loaning-out any ar all of the 
three categories above to a world that will genuinely grasp their underlying 
meaning as well as beauty in exchange for magnificent material we borrow to 
show at home is a truly good deal.

Dan Gallacher



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Subject: Re: [BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: Why only Group os Seven or Aboriginal art


Interesting article.

Jean-Luc Pilon and I were the curators of the show that traveled to China, 
Japan, Germany and Mexico. The show started with a request from China for an 
exhibit of cultural objects from Canada's Aboriginal people. Once the show 
was put together, the CMC decided to travel the exhibit to other areas. The 
borrowing institutions were very enthusiastic. There was no preconception on 
the part of CMC that only Aboriginal art would be appealing to an 
international audience - but we took the opportunity to confront stereotypes 
and misinformation about Aboriginal people and catalogues published from the 
show will add to people's understanding of Aboriginal cultures and people.

I do agree it would be beneficial to have more exhibitions from Canada - but 
few institutions have funding levels to consider such activities.

Nicholette Prince
Executive Director (interim)
Hli Goothl Wilp-Adokshl Nisga'a / Nisga'a Museum
250-633-3050
nisgaamuseum.ca


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Subject: [BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: Why only Group os Seven or Aboriginal art


EDITORIAL
Why are foreign museums only interested in Group of Seven or Aboriginal art?
Paul Gessell, Ottawa Magazine, Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Canadian Museum of Civilization recently announced it is making plans to 
tour an exhibition of West Coast aboriginal art around several European 
countries during the next few years.

The exhibition - titled Haida: Life. Spirit. Art - previously appeared at 
Civilization and at the McCord Museum in Montreal.
Most of the artifacts are owned by the McCord Museum but Civilization is 
spearheading the travelling project because of expertise developed over the 
years in forging foreign partnerships.

The announcement of this deal raises important questions: Why do foreign 
museums only seem interested in Canadian aboriginal art? Or is that all we 
offer them?

Civilization has, over the years, struck deals with China, Japan, Mexico, 
and other countries to give them aboriginal art exhibitions in exchange for 
exhibitions from those countries.

Aboriginal art seems to be the subject of practically all exported 
exhibitions by Canadian museums, with the exception of occasional travelling 
Group of Seven shows, usually organized by the National Gallery of Canada.

One Group of Seven show just ended in London and was next to appear in Oslo, 
Norway.

Why is that? Don´t we have much more to offer than aboriginal art and gaudy 
landscapes? Such questions were recently put to Mark O´Neill, director of 
the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

O´Neill says that foreign interest in Canadian aboriginal art remains high 
but he would like to see other types of travelling exhibitions, such as 
shows on Canadian design and shows harvested from the
13,000 artworks in the collection of the Canadian War Museum.

Foreign visitors are often amazed at the size and quality of that war art 
collection, says O´Neill. Surely our allies from the two world wars would be 
interested in seeing how our artists depicted battles on their homelands. 
Has anyone ever tried to organize such a show?

The Dutch, for instance, see Canadian soldiers as their liberators.
They treat Canadian war veterans with great respect and affection.
Surely, they would also embrace our war art, including paintings by 
superstar Alex Colville done in The Netherlands.

O´Neill also says that all the national museums, including the National 
Gallery, should be co-operating in creating travelling exhibitions of art 
and artifacts in their respective collections.

"I think we can do more," says O´Neill. "I think we need to do more."
He is right. The National Gallery especially could do more to tour Canadian 
artists. A-list contemporary artists such as Janet Cardiff, Jeff Wall, David 
Altmejd, and Brian Jungen are frequently the subject of solo exhibitions 
abroad. But those tend to be organized by foreign institutions. Surely, the 
federal Foreign Affairs Department could do more to promote contemporary 
artists abroad. Instead, the department has decreased its aid over the 
years. Such retrenchment hobbles any attempts to rebrand Canada, so it is 
perceived as something more than a land where the only art worth viewing is 
aboriginal art.

--- 30 --- 

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