{"id":54940,"date":"2025-01-26T12:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=54940"},"modified":"2025-01-26T12:54:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:54:41","slug":"light-years-the-phil-lind-gift-at-the-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=54940","title":{"rendered":"Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift at the AGO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The late Phil Lind (1943-2023) leaves behind a legacy in business, philanthropy, and art, all of which have contributed to a revitalization of Canadian culture. The AGO showcases Lind’s innovative legacy as a significant figure in the media business and art world through Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift<\/em>. In all, the exhibition allows Canadians to explore the intersection of Lind\u2019s passions in technology, politics and art through his collection. The exhibition showcases 37 pieces from the Phil Lind Gift, along with various artworks previously donated to the AGO by the former board trustee. This exhibition displays a variety of mediums, from the photographs of the Vancouver School and General Idea to the paintings and sculptures of Philip Guston, Thomas Demand, Ai Weiwei, Antony Gormley, Laurie Simmons, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift <\/em>engages with the question of where man exists in the reality of our merging digital and physical worlds, serving as a reflection of Lind\u2019s career, art collection and life.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Installation view with Ron Terada, City of Vancouver,2002, 3m reflective highway vinyl, extruded aluminum, industrial lights, galvanized steel, and wood (right). Photo: Antonella Pecora Ruiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lind began collecting due to his personal and familiar connection to British Columbia. An homage to Lind\u2019s connection to BC is made through the imposing Ron Terada sculpture \u201cCity of Vancouver\u201d which has been placed at the heart of this exhibition. Moreover, some of Lind\u2019s first acquisitions were those of the Vancouver School artists such as Stan Douglas, Ron Terada, Rodney Graham, and Jeff Wall. The convergence of media and art is first explored in Rodney Graham’s \u201cMedia Studies ’77\u201d <\/em>(2016).<\/em> This work captures the passage of time by including obsolete technology in a setting reminiscent of the past. Graham himself is disguised as a 70s-era professor, a period that aligns closely with the technological evolution Lind experienced throughout his career at Rogers and in television. Graham\u2019s reflection on the past emphasizes the technological advancements that have influenced the shift in artistic mediums. An example that Lind, a long-time collector, would likely recognize is the way photographs from the Vancouver School are now displayed in their signature and modern lightboxes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rodney Graham,\u00a0Media Studies ’77<\/em>, 2016. Two painted aluminum lightboxes with transmounted chromogenic transparencies, each panel: 232.2 \u00d7 182 \u00d7 17.8 cm; installed: 232.2 \u00d7 376 \u00d7 17.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of the Estate of Philip B. Lind, 2024. 2024\/48. \u00a9 Estate of Rodney Graham. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Jeff Wall’s photographs reflect the history of technology. The works in Lind\u2019s collection showcase a combination of modern and ancient societal elements. \u201c<\/em>Basin in Rome 1\u201d (2004) focuses on capturing an ancient Roman water basin and part of a car in the same scene.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Jeff Wall, Basin in Rome I, 2004, photography, transparency in lightbox, 16 5\/8 x 16 5\/8 x 5 3\/8 inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>Steves Farm, Stevenson\u201d (1980) depicts rows of modern housing next to a dilapidated farm where goats roam freely.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Jeff Wall, <\/em>Steves Farm, Steveston, 1980. Photography, transparency in lightbox, 22 7\/8 \u00d7 90 inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both artists raise important questions about man\u2019s and nature’s place in the modern world through their inclusion of undeveloped greenspaces and outdated technology which has guided us toward development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political commentary of William Eggleston, Thomas Demand, Philip Guston, and William Kentridge offers insights into crucial global issues that have shaped the liberal world we live in. Eggleston\u2019s photograph \u201cUntitled (Sumner, Mississippi, Cassidy Bayou in Background)\u201d,<\/em> taken around 1970, features two men\u2014 one black and one white\u2014 with the former shadowing the latter. This tableau-like scene highlights its historical context, taking place shortly after the repeal of Jim Crow laws in the state. However, upon reflecting on Eggleston\u2019s portrayal, we are compelled to confront the ongoing challenges of racism and anti-Black violence that persist today and require further development to eliminate.<\/p>\n\n\n

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William Eggleston, Untitled (Sumner, Mississippi, Cassidy Bayou in Background), 1971, printed 1999, dye transfer print, image: 14 1\/2 x 21 7\/8 in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Kentridge\u2019s \u201cDrawing for Another Country (Flooded Streets)\u201d (1994) provides commentary on apartheid South Africa. Kentridge made this charcoal and pastel drawing shortly after the end of apartheid, a system of racial segregation which lasted from 1948 to 1994. The artwork features a city street partially submerged, with an immersed slave bell which has been used to control enslaved Africans in the Cape Colony. However, its deteriorated condition signifies the impact which the spread of modern values, such as equality, has had in shaping today\u2019s world. The drawing\u2019s commentary is elevated by Kentridge’s signature style of smudges and erasures, reflecting a sense of restlessness and the need for revision. Both works attest to the fact that revolutions and protests are means for development and that they continue into the present time, making for another perspective on the question Lind\u2019s collection explores.<\/p>\n\n\n

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William Kentridge, Drawing for Another Country (Flooded Streets), <\/em>1994, charcoal and pastel on paper.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Thomas Ruff’s chromogenic print, \u201c<\/em>jpeg gs02\u201d (2007) attracted the most attention; many gathered around it, trying to understand the pixelated appearance of the shore landscape. To create such works, Ruff finds low-resolution images on the internet, seeking to comment on those digital images that animate our everyday lives. In observing Ruff\u2019s \u201cjpeg gs02\u201d,<\/em> Phil Lind’s meticulous artistic collector\u2019s vision becomes clear, as each of his acquisitions convey both individual and shared perspectives exploring the relationship between the digital and physical worlds that construct the modern day. Light<\/em> Years: The Phil Lind Gift<\/em> highlights how Phil Lind’s life, interests, and career have significantly influenced this exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Thomas Ruff, jpeg jpeg gs02, <\/em>2007, chromogenic print with Diasec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antonella Pecora Ruiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Exhibition information: Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift,<\/em> November 5, 2024 – <\/em>November 2, <\/em>2025, <\/em>Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Museum hours: Tue, Thurs 10: 30 am – 5 pm, Wed \u2013 Fri 10:30 am \u2013 9 pm, Sat, Sun 10:30 am \u2013 5:30 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Antonella Pecora Ruiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exhibition allows viewers to explore the intersection of Lind\u2019s passions in technology, politics and art through his collection.<\/p>\n

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