{"id":27208,"date":"2015-02-17T19:44:04","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T00:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=27208"},"modified":"2015-03-24T21:16:21","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T01:16:21","slug":"everywhere-is-anywhere-is-anything-is-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=27208","title":{"rendered":"everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Entrance to Douglas Coupland\u2019s show at the ROM<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>David Liss, MOCCA artistic director and curator, discusses Douglas Coupland\u2019s artworks at the members\u2019 preview of the show<\/p>\n

Much has been written about the importance of Douglas Coupland\u2019s show everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything<\/em>, so large an exhibition that it had to be split between two venues in Toronto: the MOCCA and the ROM. A mesmerizing collection of thought-provoking and stunningly beautiful artworks, the show is a must-see both as a tour-de-force in contemporary Canadian art and as a means to explore the politics of display in a museum.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Installation view of the ROM portion of the Douglas Coupland\u2019s show<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Douglas Coupland, \u201cBrick Wall\u201d (2013) at MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Visitors at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

While seeing the Coupland show in a single venue would certainly constitute a unique and powerful experience \u2013 just imagine a space filled with all these works, similarly to how some of Coupland\u2019s installations are filled with objects, \u2013 the choice to split the exhibition between two iconic Toronto venues adds a dimension fitting to the overarching theme of the show, which focuses on the inner workings of modernity and its North American and, in particular, Canadian institutions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Douglas Coupland, \u201cPop Heads\u201d (2012), ROM<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Douglas Coupland, \u201cTowers\u201d (2014) at MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Douglas Coupland, \u201cThe National Pantry\u201d (detail, 2014) at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

The strong aesthetic consistency of the artworks in the show virtualizes the distances between the two venues, rendering them complementary to each other. Although the show itself is not disjointed by the physical separation, the little differences between the ROM and the MOCCA become all the more apparent and are of great interest for they are revelatory of the character of each institution.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Visitor in front of Douglas Coupland\u2019s \u201cWord Clouds\u201d and \u201cTokyo Harbour\u201d at the ROM<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Douglas Coupland, \u201cDreamcatcher Blanket\u201d (detail, 2003) at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Douglas Coupland, \u201cFLQ Hutch\u201d (right, 2013) at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

A most striking difference is in the labels. The ROM supplements the exhibition with prominent and detailed explanations concerning series of works or specific sections of the exhibition, highlighting relevant biographic information or quoting the artist. The MOCCA, by contrast, mostly provides only summary archival information regarding title, date and materials used, with occasionally a phrase regarding the assembly process for a particular work, without giving any interpretative account or biographical background. Either approach is justifiable, with the former grounding the artworks in factual information \u2013 historical or biographical, \u2013 and the latter granting the viewer greater freedom of interpretation of what the installations are evoking. The two venues can be visited in either order, with lay visitors who first went to the MOCCA being able to validate their impressions at the ROM, or visitors first guided by the ROM\u2019s interpretation being able to critically reevaluate that assessment at the MOCCA.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A ROM museum surveillance camera blends into the custom wallpaper “Aubusson” (2010-2013) designed by Douglas Coupland.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Douglas Coupland, \u201cThe World\u201d (detail, 2013-2014) at the ROM<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view, ROM<\/p>\n

While it may be tempting to link the choice of supplying the viewer with more factual data to a more traditional outlook, the ROM does in fact embrace modernity, with tablets distributed throughout the space offering additional resources to visitors and with artworks benefiting from the futuristic architecture of the Crystal, in contrast to the more austere setting at the MOCCA. The ROM even playfully integrates its surveillance cameras into the exhibition, reminding the viewer of surveillance cameras part of \u201cThe World\u201d installation. Together, the two venues put each other\u2019s modes of display in perspective, opening a discussion regarding the contemporary museum experience and permitting a more engaged approach to the show as a whole.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Visitors at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Douglas Coupland, \u201c345 Modern House\u201d (detail, 2014) at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Visitor at the ROM (photography encouraged)<\/p>\n

A concern with the museum experience is most apparent in activities directed at the social media. The show stands out for its catchy \u201cphotography encouraged\u201d notice, which came as a surprise to some ROM workers used to the old-fashioned prohibition of photography in temporary expositions. In fact, the ROM institutionalized this imperative with a meticulous hoarding of visitors\u2019 photographs, similarly to how Douglas Coupland himself hoarded objects for his installations. The entire collection of images posted under the #CouplandTO hashtag can be seen in a dedicated online gallery http:\/\/gallery.couplandto.ca\/. The MOCCA offers an even more creative counterpart with the \u201cGrowing up Utopian Family Photo Album\u201d project soliciting childhood photographs from the public to make a photo album that will be presented to Douglas Coupland at the end of the exhibition. What to know more? Come down to the MOCCA! There is still time to contribute to either initiative.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of \u201cThe Ice Storm\u201d (2014) at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Detail of the Archives section at the ROM<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pop-up gift shop at the MOCCA<\/p>\n

Text and photo: Elena Iourtaeva<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: MOCCA: January 31 \u2013 April 19, 2015, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto.\u00a0Gallery hours: Tue \u2013 Sun: 11 a.m. \u2013 6 p.m. ROM: January 31 \u2013 April 26, 2015, 100 Queen\u2019s Park, Toronto. Gallery hours: Mon \u2013 Thur & Sat \u2013 Sun: 10 a.m. \u2013 5:30 p.m., Fri: 10 a.m \u2013 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Elena Iourtaeva<\/strong><\/p>\n

Together, the two venues put each other\u2019s modes of display in perspective, opening a discussion regarding the contemporary museum experience and permitting a more engaged approach to the show as a whole.<\/p>\n

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