Editorial 6 Editorial Primer On Writing 8 The Parrot 11 The Window by Maryse Larivière May be Open Features 12 Being in a State of Pure Belief: On the Work of Etel Adnan by Corrine Fitzpatrick 18 Willow, Weep for Me: Noa Giniger, Marian Penner Bancroft, and the Intricacies of Melancholy by Kimberly Phillips 24 Renzo Martens and the Institute for Human Activities by Nicholas Brown 30 Both Here and There: Canadian Artists and the Berlin Experience by Alexandra Phillips Artist Project 36 Stopover by Alexis Bhagat & Stephanie Loveless cmagazine 122 Summer 2014 Exhibition Reviews Book Reviews 48 Rabih Mroué: The Pixelated Revolution 67 Self-Organised by Zoë Chan edited by Stine Hebert and Anne Szefer Karlsen 49 Sarah Cale: Petrified Review by Amber Landgraff by Maeve Hanna 68 The Lake 51 Chris Curreri: Medusa edited by Maggie Groat by Sam Cotter Review by Jonathan Lockyer 52 Glam North: Doris McCarthy and Her New Contemporaries by Bill Clarke 54 Akram Zaatari: All Is Well by Amber Berson Inventory 55 Sharon Hayes: Loudspeakers and Other Forms of Listening 71 Place, Language and Landscape by Jaclyn Meloche by Jonathan Lockyer 57 A Problem So Big It Needs Other People Artefact by Kari Cwynar 72 On Printed Matter 58 Chiharu Shiota: Trace of Memory by Josh Thorpe and David Court by Daniella E. Sanader 60 Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950 by Joseph Henry 62 Graeme Patterson: Secret Citadel by Jane Affleck 63 Neil Beloufa, Julie Born Schwartz, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, Timur Si-Qin, Lewis Teague Wright, and Tyra Tingleff:Fulfilment Centre by Dan Munn Cover c ↳school C School online study Noa Giniger, Paper palm tree and a guides are available for Willow, fan (stage 3), 2008 Weep for Me: Noa Giniger, Marian IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Penner Bancroft, and the Intricacies of Melancholy, by Kimberly Phillips, and Renzo Martens and the Institute for Human Activities, by Nicholas Brown, plus additional readings and links are available at www.cmagazine.com. cmagazine 122 2 Table of Contents KELLY URSULA LYCAN MAYER AUTOBIOGRAPHY NOT A CURSE, FOR NO ONE NOR A BARGAIN, May 10 – August 1, 2014 BUT A HYMN SFU Gallery June 12 – August 2, 2014 AQ 3004, 8888 University Drive Burnaby BC Audain Gallery 149 West Hastings Street Vancouver BC SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY sfugalleries.ca Feature : Contemporary Art Fair October 23–26 Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre 227 Front St E, Toronto Presenting Sponsor Battat Contemporary Galerie Division Laroche / Joncas Galerie Simon Blais Birch Contemporary Galerie Donald Browne Macaulay & Co. Fine Art Susan Hobbs Gallery Clint Roenisch Erin Stump Projects Monte Clark Gallery Galerie Trois Points Equinox Gallery Galerie Graff Galerie Nicolas Robert Georgia Scherman Projects galerie antoine ertaskiran Galerie Hugues Charbonneau Patrick Mikhail Gallery Republic Gallery Stephen Bulger Gallery Jessica Bradley Gallery Galerie René Blouin Feature is produced by the Contemporary Art Galleries Association – AGAC featureartfair.com 4 Masthead Editor Amish Morrell C is published by Publisher Kate Monro C The Visual Arts Foundation Design Raf Rennie Board of Katie Bethune Leamen, Bernard Doucet, Colour management Richard Redditt Directors Joanne Hames, Jessica Knox, Kathleen Advertising sales Leah Turner McLean, Robert Mitchell, Gabrielle Moser, Leila Timmins, P erry Tung, Michael Copy editor Holland Gidney Prokopow, Johnson Ngo Proofreader Jovana Jankovic National Ken Aucoin, David Birkenshaw, Academic editorial intern Jonathan Lockyer Advisory Michel Blondeau, Nicholas Brown, Academic publishing interns Jessica Baldanza Board Jim Drobnick, Barbara Fischer, Kim F ullerton, Brian Pel, Francine Amy Luo Perinét, Paul Petro Tori Maas Editorial Jen Hutton Los Angeles Accountant David Burkes C.A. 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Please contact us to be excluded from these mailings. cmagazine 122 Summer 2014 6 Editorial Location In this issue, which is about “location” in all Loveless and Alexis Bhagat, fellow artists national daily, The Globe and Mail, announced its complex geographic and social mean- are asked what they think about the Grey- that Graeme Patterson and Chris Curreri, ings, contributors discuss the work of a hound terminal in Albany, NY, an inevi- both of whom are featured in the reviews number of artists whose work explores the table stopping point for those travelling section, have been shortlisted for the Sobey relationship between place, language and between their respective home cities of Art Award, one of Canada’s most presti- images. Among the essays in this issue, Montreal and New York. gious prizes for artists. We’re proud of all Corrine Fitzpatrick writes about the work While we typically use the features sec- the artists in this issue for the quality and of Etel Adnan, a Lebanese-American poet, tion of the magazine to explore a theme importance of their work, as well as for essayist and painter, whose practice moves to which we’ve asked writers to respond, the recognition they have received. back and forth between visual and written such as Walking (the theme of our previous C Magazine is in itself an expression modes of working, evocatively describing issue), or Wet (the theme of our next issue), of “location.” Perhaps this issue is an op- the political and physical landscapes the our theme for this issue emerged from portunity to think of it as a map of global artist has inhabited throughout her 90 proposals that we received from writers. contemporary art practice with Canada years of life. Kimberly Phillips decribes Reviews, on the other hand, are not expli- at its centre. two recent exhibitions by Canadian artist citly connected to any given issue theme. Marian Penner Bancroft and Israeli artist They do, however, innately express and Noa Giniger, presenting a meditation on produce location, positioning artists’ work the melancholic character of the image, within national and international matri- and how these two artists offer images as ces of contemporary art practice. And ways of enacting relationships to places while reviews serve a similar function as and times that can no longer be accessed. features, in providing critical discussion Nicholas Brown examines Dutch artist of an artist’s work, the review format aims Renzo Martens’ Institute for Human Ac- for a higher degree of stylistic consistency tivities (iha), a project where Martens and geographical breadth, making connect- established an institution for research, ions between work happening all across therapy and creative production on a former the globe. plantation in the Democratic Republic of The review also offers both writers and Congo. Simultaneously critiquing and en- readers a consistent and predictable for- acting many of the problems associated mat. Over the past few years we’ve found with international foreign aid, the iha that the 1,000-word review is the optimal reveals deeply entrenched global dispari- length for a sustained discussion of an ties in the production and consumption exhibition. Writers have engaged the re- of images. Also in this issue, Alexandra view format with eloquent and illuminating Phillips looks at why Berlin has become interpretations of the projects they cover, the destination of choice for Canadian enriching the experiences of both viewers artists, and what this says about the in- and readers. We’re especially proud of the fluence of transnational travel on artistic quality of the writing in this section of the production. And, more pragmatically, in magazine, and of the work being review- Stopover, an artist project by Stephanie ed.