Howdy!
At first I was kinda pleased to see some writing about the visual arts in the Montreal Gazette last weekend. But then I went and read the 302 words that John Pohl wrote about the Kent Monkman show at "Concordia's Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery" (seven words, right there, 2% of the entire article). Since newspapers are constantly complaining about not having enough money, I have one suggestion for the Gazette on how to save money.
Instead of pretending to care about the visual arts in town, and publishing what effectively is a reprint of a press release from the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery and then having to pay for it. I'm fairly certain that the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery would not mind one bit if the Montreal Gazette just went and reprinted the press release.
Instead of lines like "This striking show is buttressed by 19th-century paintings, photographs and artifacts borrowed from the collections of the McCord Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts." The Gazette could publish lines like "The exhibition brings together new paintings and objects... and a new video by Monkman presented alongside a selection of 19th century European, North American and aboriginal artifacts and paintings borrowed from the collections of the McCord Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts."
Or "Monkman appropriates the style of history paintings and adds sexual content, sometimes in the form of pornography, on beautifully painted canvases. But the mood stays sombre as the revisionist history sinks in." Could be replaced by "Monkman revisits North American historical events and cultural representations proposing alternative narratives and possibilities that mine the discourse of civilization and the ethos of foundational myths."
OK, perhaps "the discourse of civilization and the ethos of foundational myths" is a little bit much for the Gazette, but you get the picture.
The press release is 275 words and is free, the "review" is 302 words and costs good cash money. Which one would you prefer to read over your morning coffee?
