"In every community that manages to sustain or revive itself over time, there are cultural factors that contribute to the vitality and robustness of the people living there. These factors are shared and creative, which is to say they are cultural and they are assets that make life valuable, that make life worth living. These cultural assets can be material, immaterial, emotional, or even spiritual. "
Professor Ross Gibson, Sydney College of the Arts
Foreground - Old Enemy, New Victim, Tony Matelli 2006, latex resin and yak hair
Back L to R - Mercenaries II, Leon Golub 1979, Acrylic on Canvas ; The Start of the Lion Hunt, A. R. Penck 1982, synthetic resin on canvas ; The Throne Room, Queluz National Palace, Sintra , Portugal, Dorian FitzGerald 2009, acrylic paint and caulking on canvas ; Life's Illusions - Horserider, Folkert DeJong 2003, polystyrene, expanded polyurethane foam, synthetic resin, wood
L to R - I Learned the Hard Way, Mickalene Thomas 2010, rhinestones acrylic and enamel on panel ; Eye in Mouth, Paul Rebeyrolle 1988, grog clay and porcelain ; Sculpture - artist date not confirmed ; Sunset Nude, Floral Blanket, Tom Wesselmann 2003, Oil on Canvas ; Seascape, Jean Michel Basquiat 1983, acrylic and oil pastel on paper mounted on canvas ; A Panel of Experts, Jean-Michel Basquiat 1982, acrylic and oil pastel on paper mounted on canvas
L to R - AB Mediation, Gerhard Richter 1986, Oil on Canvas ; Sculpture, Artist and date not confirmed ; Deutschland Cafe XIII, Jorg Immendorff 1982, Oil on canvas ; Getting Ahead, Rachel Harrison 2005, wood, polystyrene, cement, acrylic, rubber, aluminum ladder
Above are images of part of two of the four rooms, within the sprawling Musee des Beaux Arts in Montreal, hosting the current exhibition of the permanent collection of contemporary art at the Musee. Also within this complex of four rooms are major works by Albers, Calder, Beuys, Erro, Nevelson, Vasarely, Avery, Schulnik, Arp, Delvoye, Balkenhol, Horn, Currin, Los Carpinteros and Boltanski. This does not include separate rooms that feature acquisitions from contemporary artists around Canada - Joanne Tod, BGL, Sanchez Brothers, Genevieve Cadieux, Harold Klunder, Angela Grauerholz, Eric Cameron, Kim Dorland, Kent Monkman, Damien Moppett and Pascal Grandmaison.
The works currently showing in these exhibitions inhabit less than one tenth of the museum area, and are a combination of donations from artists and gifts from private collections and, importantly, acquisitions from artists studios and galleries. All of the artworks mentioned, and hundreds of others are collected annually through these means and become the cultural property of the people of Montreal and Quebec. Montreal collectors directly support the museum through donations and collections, frequently bringing the works into collection within a couple of years from the creation date - the wonderful large Mark Tansey canvas below, Action Painting II created in 1984 was entered into the Museum inventory as a gift by Nahum Gelber Q.C. the same year! The Musee is active at getting the work as close to the date of creation as possible.
Recently, The National Gallery of Canada has closed its exhibition Builders, billed as a Canadian biennial exhibition. This curated group of works by artists across all of Canada's provinces, Territories and First Nations included more than 100 drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations, films, videos and other documents by 40 artists all brought into the Nations collection between April 2010 and March 2012. Remarkably, the show did NOT include at least 177 other collection entries (including a portfolio of 294 separate Royal Art Lodge drawings collages and other ephemera) ALSO collected by the departments of Contemporary Art, Indigenous Art, and Photography during that period! While the National Gallery has come under criticism for the money spent on acquiring specific pieces, notably Voice of Fire by Barnet Newman ($1.8 Million) in1988, Maman by Louise Bourgeois ($3.2 Million) in 2004 and 100 Foot Line by Roxy Paine in 2010 for "under a million", I would argue that their purchases have been prescient and greatly enhance not only the country's visibility and tourism draw, but the coffers as well.
Voice of Fire is an immense (5.4m x 2.4m, 212" x 94") work from 1967. Characteristic of Newman's work, it has a direct connection to Canadian history, having been created on request from Buckminster Fuller for the US pavillion at Montreal's Expo '67. A comparison on the open market is very difficult to make, as nothing this size has ever been sold as far as I can find. Sothebys sold White Fire I from 1954, a 48 x 60" oil on canvas, at a hammer price of $3.3 million US. Another monstrous work, in size and to some in content, Bourgeois' Maman is the largest example of some of her most well-known works. One of an edition of 6, this piece has been placed in institutional collections and with important private collectors. The closest public sale I have found is of a slightly smaller piece, Spider (1996), which is devoid of some of the important details that set Maman apart such as the hanging egg sacs and spinners integral to the metaphoric nature of the piece. Spider (1996) sold at Christies NY in 2011 for a hammer price of $9.5 million. Disregarding the incredible draw these works are to the hosting institution, these are significant capital gains that I am certain would dwarf many of the questionable and sometimes grossly negligent "investments" made by all levels of government.
More recently the National Gallery of Canada has become the co-owner of one of only 5 copies of Christian Marclay's The Clock, along with Boston Museum of Fine Arts, through the incredible generosity of Jay Smith, Laura Rapp and Carol and Morton Rapp. This durational video piece, awarded the Golden Lion at the 2011 Venice Bienniale, has had continuous showings at several Canadian institutions to huge crowds and great delight. and is an important driver for gallery visits wherever it has been shown.
Gallery visits and dollar value are not the only reasons for bringing works into collections, but in a world as subjective and intangible as the world of art, they are a quantifiable measurement for those who would judge. I prefer to think of the value to my kids, my grandkids, and further on, of being able to look on these assets as part of their world. The cultural inventory of a society is what is left when all else is gone. The chefs and painters in Pompeii are long forgotten but the frescoes and ceramics remain for us to learn from and reflect on. Details of the exploits of specific gladiators, or the lives of the architects in Rome would be unlikely to hold our attentions but standing inside or in front of the edifice of the Coliseum will make most think about the passage of time, our insignificance and the achievements of past ages. Cultural assets are the means for the future to learn about the past.
Edmonton's AGA had suspended all acquisitions during the time they were in transitional space and moving locations and have recently re-initiated a collecting process. The 2011 Annual Report of the Art Gallery of Alberta, the province's only major dedicated art gallery and the 2011/12 Annual Report of Calgary's Glenbow Museum are available online. Together these documents detail the addition, to their art collections, of a sum of 17 individual works from 5 different artists in Edmonton and 133 works from 17 different donations or purchase events in Calgary. Of items added to inventory, all of the works in Edmonton were donated by artists or donors. There were three purchased acquisitions to the Glenbow consisting of 31 artworks totalling just over $90,000.
The cities of Calgary and Edmonton have both stepped up the programming of public art. Very successful pieces by international artists Jaume Plensa, commissioned by Encana and Cenovus, and Julian Opie (a four sided LED installation commissioned by Calgary Municipal Land Development Corporation) have launched in Calgary recently. Edmonton Arts Council has been busy adding to Edmonton's public art through the percent for art program. Craig Leblanc's Henri, a sleeping cat nestled above the running track at Terwilligar Rec Centre and Ingres Idee, a European collective's Running Track outside are quite successful in form and placement. The much discussed Talus Dome aside the Whitemud Freeway is, to my mind, a nice piece placed suboptimally. Surrounded by Edmonton's luxurious greenspace, a snow field or water I think the sculpture by Ball Nogues studio could be a lovely reflective and entertaining work. Other works include those Jesse Sherburne and Vancouver collective Instant Coffee and are welcome additions to our civic collection.
Edmonton has a thriving creative community, an arts friendly administration, a quiet but significant base of wealth, philanthropy and patronage, and a provincial government that speaks of recognizing the importance of diversifying industry and revenues. All levels of government seem to, at least in part, understand the value of culture in enhancing the livability of our communities and the viability of other business types. Are collections being formed in Edmonton and slated for donation to the public trust? Are our artists being nurtured and supported, presented for collection by individuals and institutions elsewhere? Are our institutions provided with the resources necessary to collect assets that will fuel future growth in creativity and social discourse? Where is evidence that backs Edmonton's commitment to a healthy creative community and to a global conversation about art and it's role in our present and future world?
I've been asking these questions for a while, to myself and others. I have found answers offered by other cities. I'm waiting for answers at home.
