Canadian National Visual Art Awards Announced
ABOVE: Claude Gosselin, founder of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, is one of seven recipients of Canada’s Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts in Canada never provoke the kind of outrage or unctuous disgust that other national visual arts prizes get; The GG’s are all so respectful and friendly and thoroughly Canadian. Seven prizes were announced yesterday, and the winners are: mixed-media painter Carl Beam; photograhper Lynne Cohen; sculptor Roland Poulin; video collaborators Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak; photographer/sculptor/painter Françoise Sullivan; video artist Paul Wong; and gallery founder Claude Gosselin.
The awards aren’t dull, exactly—the artists are worthy, many of them being rewarded after decades of solid work. But that’s the problem: there’s really nothing to disagree about here. The ones who have caused controversy, or actually driven public debate about art, mostly did it in the 70s and 80s and are being safely recognized now for those contributions, without ruffling taxpayer feathers. But couldn’t a few of the CA$15,000 prizes (about $12,000 in Disney dollars) go to some younger upstart Canadian artists who desperately need the exposure? It might mean some genuine engagement between contemporary artists and the general public.
Anyway, the Canada Council for the Arts website has biograhpies of the winners, essays on their work, online galleries, and videos to see.