Anyone who thinks contemporary art relentlessly masters technology (and, perhaps, no one thinks this), should consider how long it has taken us to figure out photography and the challenges that remain when we look through the camera. There are two very different exhibitions currently on view on Queen West that both explore this legacy, and in doing so, remind us that in our pursuit of the new, the past, even as it inevitably slips from our minds, should not be forgotten.
Vivian Maier, Highland Park, IL (Self-Portrait, Bedroom Mirror), January 1965, gelatin silver print
The story of Vivian Maier's photographs, now on display at Stephen Bulger Gallery, is well known (here's a good précis if you don't have the full scoop). The initial and enduring appeal of her work is the romance of undiscovered artistic genius. To have worked one's entire life without an audience is something both to admire and to mourn. We idealize the purity of her intentions – she definitely never "sold out", but we also wonder what might have been. As the proverbial tree falling in the forest that no one hears, Maier raises questions about the nature of art and what it means to be an artist (for example, do you need an audience?). Because so little is known about her, the standard critical tide is reversed and we look to her pictures for clues as to who she was and what she was thinking with each snap of the shutter. Her self-portraits in particular focus our attention on her eyes and expression; while the street scenes and still lives reflect an awareness of any number of celebrated 20th Century photographers, the photos of her face – always in mirrors or caught in reflections – are inscrutable. Despite the wonder of mechanical reproduction, the camera still only leaves us fragments to sift through for meaning.
Dorian FitzGerald, Drummond Castle Gardens, 2103, installation view
Even though it consists of just one really big painting, Dorian FitzGerald's exhibition at Clint Roenisch Gallery ends up eliciting its own reflection on seeing and reproducing through mechanical means with the inclusion of one simple device: a mirror. Due to the size of the canvas and the space of the gallery, the artist's studio mirror has been included to provide a means of regarding the work from a distance. This, a local artist explained to me, is standard practice, but given the type of painting FitzGerald does – a large-scale paint-by-numbers realism that is both technically and visually overwhelming – leaves one with two different experiences of the same image. Trapped in front of the looming painting, one sees the detail and abstraction of poured pigment on a symmetrical field. Stepping back from the reflection one is surprised by the trompe l'oeil depth of an image that could easily be mistaken for a photograph, if not a window. Truth be told, it's not just cameras that confuse us; it's our own eyes.
Stephen Bulger Gallery: http://www.bulgergallery.com/
Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows continues until September 14.
Clint Roenisch Gallery: http://www.clintroenisch.com/
Dorian FitzGerald: Drummond Castle Gardens continues until August 31.
Terence Dick is a freelance writer living in Toronto. His art criticism has appeared in Canadian Art, BorderCrossings, Prefix Photo, Camera Austria, Fuse, Mix, C Magazine, Azure, and The Globe and Mail. He is the editor of Akimblog. You can follow his quickie reviews and art news announcements on Twitter @TerenceDick.
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Vivian Maier at Stephen Bulger | Dorian FitzGerald at Clint Roenisch
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