Well, the lovely month of May is around the corner and surely every two-bit cafe in the city is readying its walls for a local’s travel snaps from Cuba. All snippiness aside (it comes from years of trucking my enthusiastic ass across the city for the promise of what would turn out to be a woefully misrepresented navel-gazing series involving Barbie dolls or some such… if only there was a forum to find out what to see and what to miss…) there is always some fantastic work to see at CONTACT.
This year’s theme is Between Memory and History. Normally I find these theme statements obscure and vague at the same time. It’s like hearing your horoscope and bending it to fit whatever’s particular to your life at that moment. In fact, let’s do a little experiment to prove this point; I’ll be right back…
OK, so this is perfect. I just got this horoscope reading at Astrology.com:
No matter how many voices have been raised on the subject, add yours to the mix today.
The subject in question could be the Show Your Ontario debacle or it could be the ongoing debate about whether it’s warm enough to run around the backyard with no shoes (believe me, there are many many loud voices weighing in on this one too).
I need something more specific. Something in the vein of:
Just order in pizza tonight because the kids won’t like the new recipe you’re planning.
OK, let’s settle down. I actually like this year’s theme, monstrously vague as it is (and I’m sure it has to be that way). Derek Shapton’s work that I profiled here is a perfect fit and I’ll be excited to see the real prints in his feature exhibit at the Gladstone.
From the CONTACT website, regarding the theme:
CONTACT 2008 examines how photography shapes our understanding of the world around us and the enduring role it plays in the preservation of individual and collective memories. A wide range of images – from the epic to the everyday – look beyond the headlines to explore private and social histories.
I am also most excited to see Alessandra Sanguinetti’s work at MOCCA as part of a keynote exhibit on the theme.
Our primary exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), Between Memory and History: From the Epic to the Everyday, probes relationships that exist between the intimate and the public, between moments of personal significance to events of global resonance that affect each one of us. Ten artists from nine countries exhibit a wide range of images – from the epic to the everyday – and look beyond the headlines to explore private and social histories.
Raymonde April (Canada) Robert Burley (Canada) Luc Delahaye (France) Nan Goldin (USA) Adi Nes (Israel) Martin Parr (UK) Chi Peng (China) Thomas Ruff (Germany) Alessandra Sanguinetti (Argentina/USA) Bert Teunissen (The Netherlands)
Alessandra is all over this festival. She will be part of a lecture series at MOCCA on May 4th at 3pm:
Alessandra Sanguinetti has been documenting the dream-like adventures of two pre-adolescent Argentinean cousins since 1998. Focusing on their desires, fantasies and imaginations, her images are both staged and spontaneous. Sanguinetti will discuss this ongoing project, The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams, within the context of the exhibition at MOCCA.
And she will be part of the portfolio reviews. As you may remember, I will be participating in the portfolio reviews too and the deadline to apply is next Monday. Most particularly if your interest is pursuing a fine art path, this is a fantastic place to have your work seen by curators, photo editors and gallery directors from all over the world. For more info, reviewer bios etc. go here.
New this year, CONTACT is teaming up with Magnum to offer an intensive series of workshops with Magnum photographers, including Larry Towell who I profiled, here and, yes, Alessandra too. Deadline to apply is today although they will consider you after today’s deadline, space permitting. Regardless, go check it out if you’re interested here.
The Magnum Workshop Toronto at CONTACT
May 5th – 9th, 2008
Toronto, CanadaThe Magnum Workshop Toronto is a five day intensive, practice oriented workshop that seeks to provide personal photographic growth in an intimate and intensive environment. Each of the 6 five-day workshops will be led by an accomplished Magnum Photographer, each with their distinctive style and approach to photography.
Students will select one of the following Magnum photographers as a workshop leader: Christopher Anderson, Chien-Chi Chang, Bruce Gilden, David Hurn, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Larry Towell.
So, the party starts on May 2nd. Be sure to comb the website and the guide and report back to me on what looks good to you- I’ll try to do the same.
