Jul. 27, 2011 - Issue #823: The Naked Truth

Revue

Conceptual bombardment

Comprehensive Traffic examines Canadian contributions to conceptual art

The Art Gallery of Alberta's Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada 1965  – 1980 is less a feast for the eyes than a bombardment. This comprehensive exhibition examines the oft-ignored contributions of Canadian artists and exhibition spaces to the conceptual art movement. As described by the exhibit curatorial statement, conceptual art was the "most transformative art movement of the late twentieth century," and the sprawling exhibit certainly does its job in showing the width and breadth of the Canadian contributions to the paradigm-shifting artistic genre. This exhibit is not worth one visit—it is worth at least a couple in order to successfully sift through this art that has the singular focus on ideas.

The exhibit conveys how conceptual art strips away esthetic concerns, individual expression and the mastery of skill so gesture and statement can take centre stage. Calgary-based artist Paul Woodraw's "Bureau of Imaginary Exchange" adopts the idea of a bureaucratic, institutional operation. The red questionnaire poster on the wall requests name and personal information, as any standard form would. Less conventionally, the middle of the form reads, "What are the five things on which you place the most value?" and then provides the requisite five spaces to respond, as well as room for date and signature. In the accompanying display case, you can see examples of completed forms, showing the significance of public participation—the sharing of ideas—to many conceptual works. Woodraw's work and many others in the show, such as those by Iain and Ingrid Baxter's group, NE Thing Co, illustrate how conceptual art is often politicized ideas, critiquing institutions and bureaucracy through mimicry.

Some of the selected video art in the exhibition shows this critical element of political engagement to the art movement, particularly notable in the video explorations of the body. For example, the exhibition provides excellent examples of feminist art engagements in the '60s and '70s, through what was a new medium for artists. In Lisa Steele's video, "Birthday Suit with Scars and Defects," the artist removes all her clothes and recounts the year and the circumstances around which each indelible mark was made on her body. With each story the artist presents the scar to the camera, slowly rubbing each with her index finger. This work is shown in a loop with videos by Suzy Lake and Martha Rosler, and it is definitely worth sitting through the 20-plus-minute cycle. These are very important works to include in the exhibit because they speak to the potent messages about women's bodies and their social interrogation, acknowledging the significant contribution of social movements such as feminism to conceptual art practices.

It may seem quite overwhelming to begin an exploration of this exhibition because of the sheer quantity of work. This coupled with the amount of documentation and document-driven work can make the show feel challenging to navigate on first glance. Do not let this deter you: the art will give you a positive return on your investment of time. These conceptual works will not hook you because of their esthetic merit, but the ideas presented have a beauty worthy of admiration.
 

Until Sep 25
Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada 1965 – 1980
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