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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTo paraphrase Philip Larkin\u2019s poem Here<\/em>: the visitors \u2018push through plate-glass swing doors to their desires\u2019. Not the cheap suits, red kitchen-ware etc. that Larkin lists, but to expensive objects. As in upscale shopping malls \u2013 for this is at bottom a shopping mall \u2013 most visitors are here to ogle, to covet what they cannot afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, given the relatively pricey entrance fee our tourist expects to get some reward from her visit. At least she gets to see plenty of art \u2013 a veritable orgy of it, in fact. There are nearly ninety galleries represented, as well as several artists collectives, major collections and museums across the country. About ten percent of the galleries are from overseas, e.g., from Germany, the USA and the UK. So the emphasis is on homegrown talent, including well-known names such as Ken Lum, Kent Monkman and Edward Burtynsky. It is a who\u2019s who of the local art establishment, though the Art Gallery of Ontario is conspicuously absent. Occasionally the booths aim mostly to entertain. For example, the booth of the Portrait Gallery of Canada is displaying a set of eccentric costume hats from which the public can pick one and get their photo taken wearing it.<\/p>\n\n\n Portrait Gallery of Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n The art on display throughout the hall is simply all over the map. There is artisanal or decorative art such as Sami Tsang\u2019s large-scale ceramics (Cooper Cole Gallery). <\/p>\n\n\n Sami Tsang\u2019s large-scale ceramics, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the other end of the spectrum there is art with very lofty goals, e.g., Nep Sidhu\u2019s conceptually inspired sculpture She in Gold Form<\/em> (Patel Brown Gallery). Sidhu, it is explained, sees the role of contemporary art as \u2018to attempt to mobilize instances of connection to ameliorate damages caused by colonial histories…\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n Nep Sidhu, She in Gold Form<\/em>, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the work is quiet, e.g., Isabel Yellin\u2019s exquisite wall pieces (Towards Gallery). <\/p>\n\n\n Isabel Yellin\u2019s wall pieces, Towards Gallery, Toronto <\/p>\n\n\n\n Others are brash, e.g., Haitian artist Clovis Alexandre Desvarieux\u2019s painting C.V. (Galerie Hugues Charbonneau).<\/p>\n\n\n Clovis Alexandre Desvarieux\u2019s painting C.V., Galerie Hugues Charbonneau, Montreal<\/p>\n\n\n\n The quantity of merchandise is overwhelming. There is so much competing for the visitor\u2019s attention that galleries are tempted to display the closest things they have to eye-candy. The strategy does not lend itself to the contemplation of art, that is, slowly taking it in. Consequently, much of the art selected, though not all, is not intended to be experienced deeply \u2013 what you see is all there is. Yes, there is good art to be found and the dealers are happy to talk to visitors, but the whole ambience is not conducive to experiencing art in any authentic sense. Fast and glitzy best describes the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For me this issue raises the question of what the role of art is. The question is difficult as there is no one answer, given that art is open to be experienced in countless ways. But here is one instance that points to my concern: on display at Monte Clarke Gallery\u2019s booth are masks crafted by West Coast \u2018St\u00f3:l\u014d\u2019 master carver Claude \u2018Rocky\u2019 LaRock. Such imposing masks, we are told, were originally used ceremonially as spiritual figures. But according to the description affixed to the booth\u2019s wall: \u2018LaRock departs from the ceremonial form to create an altogether different kind of mask intended not to transform the identity of a wearer but to transform the condition of the viewer.\u2019 In other words, LaRock is making these masks to be seen on gallery walls. The original meaning behind such masks is stripped away, and the artefacts become instead indigenous-styled objects that are alluring. This illustrates contrasting roles of art. One might describe it as the distinction between substance and spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n