City laments what it doesn't have, overlooks what it has
World-class distinction measure by how well an institution reflects and defines its community
I was pleased to see Marc Boutin's mug on the cover of the August 22nd issue of Fast Forward, as I was to read Tom Jonsson's article inside. The award of the prestigious Prix de Rome prize to Boutin is a significant occasion and worthy of the kind of thoughtful coverage that it received. However, in reading the article I found reason to take issue with some of Boutin's observations that appeared near the end.
Since the 1980s there has been no shortage of discussion about the need for Calgary to develop and support a so-called "world-class" public art institution that is dedicated to presenting contemporary art. This "world-class" distinction is bandied about in Calgary's art world quite freely. What exactly does the term mean and who defines it? Great Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye provides a way to get at something of an answer when he states, "Culture is inevitably local." The local is the starting point. World-class distinction is not a universal standard but one that is measured by how successfully an institution reflects and defines (within local and global contexts) the community in which it operates. This world-class institution goes to support the needs and interests of the community and fosters an awareness of its place in the world from the background of local experience. I propose that Calgary already possesses such institutions, but that "world-class" just does not look like what people expected it to.
Boutin's hope that Calgary will someday see the development of a major public art institution project is indicative of a troubling personality trait of this city's residents. A great number of people expend an inordinate amount of time and energy looking around Calgary for things that the city does not have. Those that participate in this ongoing lamentation (I do not count Boutin as one who does) overlook the distinctive cultural assets that are, in fact, here and that contribute to the cultural life of the city. The assets – too many to list – are being drowned in the hyperbolic ink that is spilled by the naysayers and the do-nothings. Boutin is right when he says that Calgary could build a world-recognized contemporary art institution "without any problem at all." It already has. A major public art institution does exist in Calgary. In fact, a number of such institutions do.
Boutin sees the development of a major contemporary art institution as a "$3 million to $4 million proposition." During his Prix de Rome presentation, Boutin was standing inside just such a proposition. With the Art Gallery of Calgary's move into its new home (a $3 million to $4 million project) in 2000, it became the largest non-collecting contemporary art institution in Canada – approximately 275 square metres larger than Toronto's highly regarded Power Plant gallery at Harbourfront. Calgary is actually home to two "Kunsthalles" with the AGC and the Triangle Gallery fitting the distinction as public gallery venues that produce exhibitions without maintaining collections.
Worthwhile and relevant cultural institutions are more than bricks and mortar. They are great because of what they do best: present the work of artists to audiences in intelligent and compelling ways. Again, Calgary has no shortage of institutions that fit this bill. The quantity and diversity of our cultural institutions is one of the city's great strengths and one that has created cultural conditions that are remarkably distinct from other metropolitan centres in Canada. But the strengths are threatened by those people in Calgary trapped by old-fashioned notions of "world-class" and the desire for a fictitious (and uninspired) cultural meritocracy. They have lost sight of the fact that culture is a process, not a thing. I think that some great donors reading Fast Forward should look at what is here and invest and reinvest in the cultural process.
Boutin's comments touched a nerve that was already close to the surface, and my observations are directed towards a greater cultural issue. I highly respect Boutin and I am genuine in my congratulations to him on his deserving award of the Prix de Rome prize. I am pleased that Boutin will exhibit the fruits of his Roman labours in the AGC's inaugural Prix de Rome architecture exhibition in 2004.
Gregory Elgstrand is director-curator of the Art Gallery of Calgary. |
