medievalpoc
origamiduck submitted: Hello! I had a very Medieval POC moment at the Art Gallery of Ontario this week. The first photo is a writeup of their Art and Power mini-exhibit in the European gallery. At the other end of the gallery is a huge painting by the con
origamiduck submitted: Hello! I had a very Medieval POC moment at the Art Gallery of Ontario this week. The first photo is a writeup of their Art and Power mini-exhibit in the European gallery. At the other end of the gallery is a huge painting by the contemporary artist Kent Monkman, a two-spirited First Nations (Cree) artist. This painting is called “The Academy” and it’s breathtaking. I don’t pretend to understand all the symbolism but it looks to me like a traditional European school of art re-imagined as a longhouse, the models posing in a campy send up of Laocoon And His Sons (the pinnacle of Greek sculpture, according to the Renaissance). The winged children at the front look exactly like the children in “After the Bath,” a sappy sentimental Victorian favorite by Paul Peel - and that painting is in the same gallery! www.ago.net/paul-peel-after-the-bath. It seems to me that “The Academy” is totally in line with what you’re trying to accomplish here - showing the structures of power that shape what we think of culture and art. That idea was reinforced when I turned from “The Academy” and found two portraits that are clearly of the bride and well-dressed man on the left of Monkman’s painting. They’re the Boultons, the wealthy and influential Torontonians whose money essentially founded the Art Gallery of Ontario. I was thrilled to see Monkman’s painting juxtaposed with these older works. He’s very active now and his online portfolio is huge. Perhaps you might find him an interesting addition to your next Contemporary Week! www.kentmonkman.com/
origamiduck submitted: Hello! I had a very Medieval POC moment at the Art Gallery of Ontario this week. The first photo is a writeup of their Art and Power mini-exhibit in the European gallery. At the other end of the gallery is a huge painting by the con
origamiduck submitted: Hello! I had a very Medieval POC moment at the Art Gallery of Ontario this week. The first photo is a writeup of their Art and Power mini-exhibit in the European gallery. At the other end of the gallery is a huge painting by the contemporary artist Kent Monkman, a two-spirited First Nations (Cree) artist. This painting is called “The Academy” and it’s breathtaking. I don’t pretend to understand all the symbolism but it looks to me like a traditional European school of art re-imagined as a longhouse, the models posing in a campy send up of Laocoon And His Sons (the pinnacle of Greek sculpture, according to the Renaissance). The winged children at the front look exactly like the children in “After the Bath,” a sappy sentimental Victorian favorite by Paul Peel - and that painting is in the same gallery! www.ago.net/paul-peel-after-the-bath. It seems to me that “The Academy” is totally in line with what you’re trying to accomplish here - showing the structures of power that shape what we think of culture and art. That idea was reinforced when I turned from “The Academy” and found two portraits that are clearly of the bride and well-dressed man on the left of Monkman’s painting. They’re the Boultons, the wealthy and influential Torontonians whose money essentially founded the Art Gallery of Ontario. I was thrilled to see Monkman’s painting juxtaposed with these older works. He’s very active now and his online portfolio is huge. Perhaps you might find him an interesting addition to your next Contemporary Week! www.kentmonkman.com/