Canadian Contemporary Art
Encyclopedia
Canadian Contemporary Art can refer simply to any visual art made in Canada currently or by living Canadian artists. However, it is a term that more accurately refers to Canadian visual, media, performance, video, and other artistic and/or conceptual practices that are critically and intellectually engaged and that deliberately address both a local and global context. One might further define it by the intended audience and expected venues for its exhibition and display: public galleries, art museums, artist-run centres, certain commercial galleries, etc.
There has been much debate over whether such a national style, philosophical outlook, or unified and cohesive culture exists or ever has existed within Canada. It is large geographically, with many distinct regions, and its population is diverse and is made up of varying national and ethnic backgrounds. Also, as traditional distinctions between "high art" and "low" and "popular" art seem to be becoming less clear, the task of locating one or even a few common characteristics of Canadian art or culture becomes difficult.
There are, however, a few notable moments when Canadian contemporary artists – as individuals or groups – have distinguished themselves through commonality, international recognition, collaboration, or zeitgeist:
There has been much debate over whether such a national style, philosophical outlook, or unified and cohesive culture exists or ever has existed within Canada. It is large geographically, with many distinct regions, and its population is diverse and is made up of varying national and ethnic backgrounds. Also, as traditional distinctions between "high art" and "low" and "popular" art seem to be becoming less clear, the task of locating one or even a few common characteristics of Canadian art or culture becomes difficult.
There are, however, a few notable moments when Canadian contemporary artists – as individuals or groups – have distinguished themselves through commonality, international recognition, collaboration, or zeitgeist:
- The Vancouver SchoolVancouver SchoolThe Vancouver School of conceptual or post-conceptual photography is a loose term applied to a grouping of artists from Vancouver starting in the 1980s...
of Photo-Conceptualism (artists include Jeff WallJeff WallJeffrey "Jeff" Wall, OC, RSA is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit cibachrome photographs and art-historical writing. Wall has been a key figure in Vancouver's art scene since the early-1970s...
, Rodney GrahamRodney GrahamRodney Graham is an artist and musician born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He is most often associated with the Vancouver School...
, Stan DouglasStan DouglasStan Douglas is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has exhibited internationally, including Documenta IX, 1992, Documenta X, 1997, Documenta XI, 2002 and the Venice Biennale in 1990, 2001 and 2005...
, Iain Baxter&) - The Royal Art LodgeThe Royal Art LodgeThe Royal Art Lodge is a collaborative group of artists based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that was founded in 1996 by Michael Dumontier, Marcel Dzama, Neil Farber, Drue Langlois, Jonathan Pylypchuk, and Adrian Williams. Hollie Dzama and Myles Langlois also worked with the group...
(including member is Marcel DzamaMarcel DzamaMarcel Dzama is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York. His work has been exhibited internationally, in particular his ink and watercolor drawings.-Range of practice:...
, centred in Winnipeg, Manitoba) - Nova Scotia College of Art and Design UniversityNova Scotia College of Art and Design UniversityNSCAD University also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, is a post-secondary art school located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada....
(NSCAD University). In 1967 the artist Garry KennedyGarry KennedyGarry Neill Kennedy, CM is a Canadian conceptual artist living in Halifax, Nova Scotia.Kennedy studied at the Ontario College of Art, the University at Buffalo and the University of Ohio. In 1967, at the age of 32, he was appointed president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, the...
was appointed President, remaking the College into an international centre for artistic activity and inviting notable artists to come to NSCAD as visiting artists, particularly those involved in conceptual artConceptual artConceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
. Artists who made significant contributions during this period include Vito AcconciVito AcconciVito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
, Sol LeWittSol LeWittSolomon "Sol" LeWitt was an American artist linked to various movements, including Conceptual art and Minimalism....
, Dan GrahamDan GrahamDan Graham , is a conceptual artist now working out of New York City. He is an influential figure in the field of contemporary art, both a practitioner of conceptual art and an art critic and theorist. His art career began in 1964 when he moved to New York and opened the John Daniels Gallery....
, Eric FischlEric FischlEric Fischl is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker.-Early life:Fischl was born in New York City and grew up on suburban Long Island; his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1967...
, Lawrence WeinerLawrence WeinerLawrence Weiner was a central figure in the formation of conceptual art in the 1960s His work often takes the form of typographic texts.- Life and career :...
, Joseph BeuysJoseph BeuysJoseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
and Claes OldenburgClaes OldenburgClaes Oldenburg is a Swedish sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects...
. - The success of the career of Janet CardiffJanet CardiffJanet Cardiff is a Canadian installation artist. Born in Brussels, Ontario in 1957 Cardiff studied at Queen's University where she graduated in 1980. She also studied at the University of Alberta and graduated in 1983. She works in collaboration with her partner George Bures Miller. Cardiff and...
and George Bures MillerGeorge Bures MillerGeorge Bures Miller is a Canadian artist noted for his collaborative works with wife Janet Cardiff. Miller and Cardiff represented Canada at the 2001 Venice Biennale...
, who represented Canada at the 49th Venice Biennial in 2001 - The conceptually-based artistic practice of Michael SnowMichael SnowMichael Snow, CC is a Canadian artist working in painting, sculpture, video, films, photography, holography, drawing, books and music.-Life:...