Detour: Ottawa

The way that objects are displayed, and the information that accompanies them, can both enhance and detract from a visitor's experience. Having studied museums it can be easy to focus on display, curatorial decisions, and didactics at the expense of the objects. Yet while my museum side wants to focus on the whole, I very much enjoy those moments when an artwork grabs my attention. That moment where I spot something that makes my eyes widen can happen because I recognize the artist but haven't seen that particular work, because I've always wanted to see it in person, or because I appreciate the message the artist is conveying. Those are the nerdy reasons. Sometimes its just because I like it. Like the colours, the shapes, the composition, the subject matter... I have been known to gasp "oooh sheep!" while making a beeline for a canvas full of furry subjects. Okay that actually happens fairly often. But my recent museum experiences have mostly been historical and I've been missing that feeling of seeing something that momentarily takes my breath away. The solution? A trip to Ottawa. This past weekend a friend graciously provided me with a couch to crash on for five days of gallery hopping and general art nerdiness. While I have friends and family in Montreal whom I can convince to accompany me on various museum expeditions, none share my academic or professional interests in quite the same way as Sheena, a Montreal friend currently in Ottawa working on her PhD. So while everyone else in the city was gearing up for Grand Prix weekend and a slew of local festivals, I escaped.

On Friday we toured the largely unremarkable Ottawa Art Gallery (save for an exhibition that highlighted student artwork next to the objects from the collection that inspired them) before heading over to the Carleton University Art Gallery. The CUAG's current exhibition cycle is cause for wonderment, appreciation and exclamation. Frank Shebageget's subtle use of familiar objects in unexpected ways was strikingly beautiful. Diana Thornycroft's large scale photographs of dioramas that place figures into the Group of Seven's iconic landscapes or expose uncomfortable truths in Canadian history were witty, disturbing, intelligent, and unforgettable. Into the Hands of Women: Inuit Uluiit and Qulliit was smart and intriguing and A Leap of Imagination: The Barwick Gift reminded me that I really do enjoy David Milne.

En route to Carleton

On Sunday we saw Pop Life: Art in a Material World, the National Gallery of Canada's big summer show. The show opens with Andy Warhol's critically panned late-career move into the cult of celebrity as a catalyst and influence for subsequent artists. "Like Warhol," the curators tell us "the artists in Pop Life have found that marketing and publicity provide a means of engaging modern life on its own terms, beyond the confines of the studio, the gallery and the museum." To support their thesis the curators recreate Keith Haring's Pop Shop and Damien Hirst's record breaking 2008 auction, they illustrate how artists branded themselves to sell their art, and they displayed how artists cross the boundaries between fine art and commercial output. The show was adapted to a Canadian context and Canada loves a chronological mode of display. In this instance I think it did the curators a disservice as the show's themes became broken up by time periods, which didn't do much for the subject matter. From an academic standpoint I think the show may almost be more interesting as a book (for me the text was the most intriguing element) but it does have worthwhile moments.

Make Your Mark, a blackboard room that visitors can tag in the spirit of Pop Art

Monday I made an exhausted trip to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Their summer blockbuster The Horse offers a family friendly option for those not wanting to see Jeff Koon's pornographic photos over at the NGC. I found it unremarkable but the simple, straightforward text, hands-on elements, and mix of aesthetic and educational displays will probably be successful. I was there on a Monday and it was packed.

Now I'm home and taking a bit of a break. Although I have 20 Montreal museums still to see, and I'd like to get that done by the end of the summer. Fingers crossed.

www.dianathorneycroft.com
www.cuag.carleton.ca
www.gallery.ca
www.civilization.ca