| Re: "Visual stimulation," by Wes Lafortune, Visual Arts, August 10-16, 2006.
It is too bad The New Gallery’s recent exhibition, The Mechanics of an Image has ended, it would have given Mr. Lafortune the opportunity to view Joe Kelly’s Yawning Trout" …(in) all of its glory." I am not sure if you saw the bright red , menacing button, but in order to activate Joe Kelly's work you have to press it. There are no explicit directions of what to do – this was the intention of the artist and to be honest not many visitors had a problem figuring it out. The gallery’s invite states: "Tyrachoscope is Joe Kelly’s latest clever media device. When activated by the viewer (it) creates a motion study of a trout yawning…." The work beckons one to think and act upon a decision about interacting with a piece in a "conventional" setting — even when it is obvious that the artwork warrants to be touched. Many contemporary, experimental artists have been tackling this issue for years.
Perhaps if you weren’t so concerned with taking a cheap petty shot at the staff, "…the staff of the gallery simply failing to plug in the contraption," Fast Forward’s readership would have had the opportunity to get a good sense of critical contemporary arts writing — seems they missed out. Next time just ask if you are not sure about a mechanical device in a contemporary artist-run centre.
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