The Gallery’s getting ready to launch our Fall exhibitions! As such, we’re seeing three popular shows closing soon. Now’s your chance to see them before they are gone –
This week I spent 3 days in New York City visiting
with the AGO Global Contemporary architect team as well as a few museum
directors. It is always energizing to see great art and talk to peers. Things
are proceeding well with the design process for our new expansion.
It was very HOT in NYC and we have been experiencing
hot temperatures here too. Frankly, some of our visitors come into the museum
to escape the heat. I am grateful to the Plant Operations
electricians and engineers who keep our building warm in the winter and cool in
the summer. We have a complex building and it’s a fine balancing act that they
manage. They are magicians, keeping us all comfortable.
It feels good to have the South Entrance, Weston Family Learning Centre and The Annex space activated again. Take a moment to pop down when you have a chance.
This long weekend – including Emancipation Day on Monday – is one of the best weekends of the year. There is a lot going on in our city! At the AGO on Sunday there will be a special program to celebrate Caribana, back in action this year. Check out https://ago.ca/events/caribana-afternoon-juiceman-jonathan-shaw featuring one of Toronto’s best-known DJs, “Juiceman Jonathan Shawn.”
Take care,
Stephan
P.S. The other week, I shared the news about anti-Semitic graffiti outside the AGO. The person who allegedly committed the act was apprehended quickly. This is a good moment to learn more about how to address Anti-Semitism. There will be some upcoming training for all of us, as part of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility learning program.
From 2021 Sobey Art Award-winner ᓛᒃᑯᓗᒃ Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory comes Naak silavit qeqqa?, a multimedia installation exploring the Inuit concept of sila – the life forces of the land (knowledge of the land, water, ice and environment).
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Jamie Griffiths. Silaup Putunga, 2018. Soundscape by Celina Kalluk and Laakkuluk, dual screen projection onto custom translucent screen, four channel sound (video, sound, 35 minutes).
The title of the exhibition, which translated to English from Kalaallisut (Greenlandic Inuktitut) means ‘Where is the middle of your sila?’ comes from an oft-repeated question in Laakkuluk’s family that describes, says Laakkuluk, “our open-ended spiritual understanding of our place in existence.”
At the heart of the exhibition is Silaup Putunga (2018), a double-sided video installation by Laakkuluk and her long-time collaborator, Jamie Griffiths, that takes viewers onto nuna (Inuit land). Commissioned in 2018 by the AGO and Mobilizing Inuit Cultural Heritage, York University, to accompany Tunirrusiangit, a retrospective exhibition for Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak, the video features Laakkuluk as she performs uaajeerneq, a Greenlandic mask dance. Filmed on location in Tikkuut, about 23 km from Iqaluit, viewers encounter an ever-changing landscape and mask-scape in which Laakkuluk chops ice, drives a Ski-Doo, aims a gun and walks. Using algorithms designed by Griffiths, the artwork’s striking images and sounds are projected in an ever-changing sequence to produce an evolving narrative. The soundscape was performed by Laakkuluk and Celina Kalluk.
Curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, the video installation is accompanied by a selection of soapstone carvings from the Williamson Collection at the AGO. Donated by Laakkuluk’s parents, British-born Dr. Robert G. Williamson and Greenland-born Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson, these small hand-carved objects, from the Kivalliq region of what is now Nunavut, reflect a lifetime of engagement with and searching for ‘sila’.
If you are here onsite today, be sure to head to the Signy Eaton Gallery and check out JÓNSI: HRAFNTINNA (OBSIDIAN).
AGO staff and volunteers can enjoy it right now through till 5pm, before it opens to our Members tonight and then to the public this weekend.
Xiaoyu Weng introduced this work to me
while on a trip with AGO supporters in New York. It is a wonderful
experiential installation that will open your senses – and mind – and transport
you into feeling you are inside a volcano.
Thank you to the Logistics and Art
Services team for making sure this extraordinarily complex work was installed
properly.
AGOinsider spoke to Matt Ryle, a project manager at Walla Walla Foundry, about the intricacies of casting artist Brian Jungen’s massive public artwork, Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill, in bronze.
Brian Jungen, Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill, 2022. Bronze, stainless steel. 378.5 × 332.7 × 557.5 cm, 4032.5 kg. Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Since its installation a month ago, renowned contemporary artist Brian Jungen’s massive public artwork – Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill – has dramatically changed the corner of Dundas and McCaul Streets. Every day, the impressive four-metre-tall bronze elephant sculpture becomes an object of interest and reflection for hundreds of passersby.
Jungen’s towering creation began as a full-size prototype made from salvaged couches and chairs. It was completed at his studio in British Columbia in March 2020 and then shipped to Walla Walla Foundry, a contemporary sculpture fabrication facility in Washington State, to be bronze cast – one week before the first Canada/U.S. COVID border closure! Over the following months, Jungen communicated virtually with staff at the Foundry to oversee the intricate casting process needed to create Couch Monster.
We recently connected with Matt Ryle, a project manager at Walla Walla Foundry, to learn more about the detailed work required to bronze cast a massive elephant made of sofas.
AGOinsider: Can you describe the range of services the Foundry offers contemporary artists?
Ryle: We work with artists to bring their vision to life from creative conception through installation. We make works of art using both traditional methods (lost wax casting) and cutting-edge technology (3-D scanning/3-D printing).
AGOinsider: Can you describe your collaborative process with Brian Jungen when working on Couch Monster? What was it like working on the project via remote communication with the artist during the pandemic?
Ryle: Brian and his studio team built the original using salvaged couches and chairs. The full-scale model was shipped to Walla Walla Foundry the week before the Canadian/American border was closed due to COVID. Brian had planned on visiting to finalize the model, but the border closure made this impossible. We communicated over the next months using photos and Brian’s sketches to manipulate the form, add the ball and finalize the trunk. It was a fun dialogue getting to the final form. The pandemic delay allowed for several possibilities to be explored.
AGOinsider: Can you walk us through the steps of bronze casting such a massive object?
Ryle: To create the Couch Monster, first a silicone rubber mold was made of the entire work. This negative mold was used to capture the detail of the original leather surfaces. Wax is then poured into the molds, cooled until solid and then pulled from the mold, producing a positive. These wax positives are then dipped in a ceramic material which hardens around the wax. Once this ceramic shell hardens the wax is melted out, leaving behind a negative, ceramic mold into which molten bronze can be poured. The resulting 175 cast bronze parts are then welded together around an engineered stainless steel armature. The welds are then tooled back to match the original continuous surface texture. Lastly, a patina is applied to the bronze and it is all sealed with wax.
AGOinsider: During your years at the Foundry, is there a project you worked on or a moment you experienced that sticks in your memory the most?
Ryle: The Couch Monster is certainly one of the most memorable projects I have worked on at Walla Walla Foundry. Molding something so soft without sacrificing the form posed some obstacles that had to be overcome. Achieving a realistic leather surface in bronze was also an exciting challenge.
Throughout the process, Brian’s interest, curiosity and appreciation of all aspects of the project was noted and felt.
On Friday, July 22 from 3 pm to 5 pm, AGO Staff and Volunteers are invited to preview Jónsi’s Hrafntinna (Obsidian) located on Level 2 in Signy Eaton Gallery.
Please make sure to bring your badge with you for access.
Hrafntinna (Obsidian) is the world premiere of Jónsi’s work in a museum.
Exhibition Overview
Icelandic artist Jónsi rose to international acclaim as a member of the band Sigur Rós, and he has since expanded his genre-breaking musical approach into the visual arts. Hrafntinna (Obsidian),(2021) is an experiential installation full of longing and appreciation for the Nordic landscape that powerfully demonstrates how non-visual senses can transport audiences to different places or trigger different memories.
Through sound, reverberation, smell and lighting, the artist evokes the sensation of being inside a volcano. Unable to witness the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland in spring 2021 due to the pandemic, Jónsi has imagined this unique event as a sixteen-channel composition, played across 195 speakers, accompanied by a sweet and smoky scent. Overhead, a single circular light alludes to the summit of the volcano, out of which sound and smell spill like lava, speaking to the intimate poetry of knowing or understanding a place through sense and memory.
About the Artist
Over the past two decades, Jónsi has collaborated with musicians, visual artists and filmmakers to create a robust body of work across disciplines. Working with such leading creative figures as Doug Aitken, Cameron Crowe, Merce Cunningham, Olafur Eliasson and Carl Michael von Hausswolf, Jónsi’s artistic collaborations have resulted in prestigious awards and critical acclaim.
Born in Iceland in 1975, Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson lives and works in Los Angeles.
Can’t make the preview? Not to worry – this exhibition opens to the public (including all AGO staff & volunteers), on Saturday July 23. This is just your chance to be an early bird!
I am sorry to send this message out over the weekend,
but you may have seen a news report about a hateful act of graffiti that took
place this week in front of the AGO. The graffiti was sprayed on the
pavement near the Jungen sculpture, not on it, and it was cleaned up quickly.
Hate has no place here and we are working with police as they investigate this
incident as a hate crime. Antisemitic graffiti is an attack on the Jewish
community and we condemn this act in the strongest possible terms. We
stand with our colleagues and communities.
This news is disturbing and traumatic, please take
care of yourselves and reach out to friends and family if you need to talk
about it.
Sincerely,
Stephan
Note: For more context, please see the article posted, here.
July 19 Update: A man was arrested in connection with this incident, read here.
I am hearing anecdotally that there are more tourists
visiting the AGO lately. It is clear that many people are travelling, which is
wonderful. This partly explains an increase in single ticket admission revenue.
What remains very clear – and is supported by
statistical data – is that our audience has shifted in a very significant way
in recent years. You have heard me say this over and over again. I can’t say it
enough – our audience is much younger and more diverse than 5 years ago. This
didn’t happen overnight. With the launch of our Annual Pass, changes to our
exhibitions and programs and other adjustments, we have significantly shifted
our audience. This is HUGE, and you all played a role in making this happen.
Currently, 35 percent of our visitors are in their 20s
or younger and 55 percent are visible minorities. Remember, our job is to serve
our public. Think about how these changes impact your work.
Volunteer Resources is away for the next couple of weeks. You can expect a return to volunteer blog updates the week of July 18.
As always, for exhibition and program listings – see AGOinsider(subscribe here to have AGOinsider emailed directly to you each week) or check the AGO.ca website.
