Stuff Seen - and then i sat down

Howdy!



B

It has been a while, but back in November I went to see the exhibit at FOFA on the Stern collection (more on that later) however, in front of the FOFA Gallery, there was this benefit exhibtion in order to get some theatre design students from Concordia Unviversity over to Prague in 2007.

It was arresting enough to stop us dead in our tracks (because neither of us was expecting to see it) and I noted the names of Jean Frederic Noel, Mike Czyla, Audrey Annr Bouchard, Anahita Dhbonehie, Jerome Jacquin, Lara Kaluza, Amy Keith, Marie Christine Meunier, and Katie Jean Wall.

I don't remember exactly why I wrote them down (some have '+'s, some of them have a checkmark, some have large dots, and some I just wrote down but I would imagine that I was looking to try to remember which were the one's I thought were good. (I'm not big on taking notes on bad art).

It is a pity that the FOFA Gallery website doesn't have any pictures, images or details, because it turns what was a very nice exhibit into something more akin to performance art of a very ephemeral nature. I hope that they raised enough money to get to Prague.

Then to explain why I completely and thoroughly was disgusted with the Auktion 392 exhibit in the FOFA Gallery itself, was that it was very prominently and in large letters, and very in my face sponsored by Christies and Sothebys.

Or more succinctly, two multi-billion dollar and multinational corporations that profit on the sale of art have decided to 'help' a university gallery that probably has an attendance of less than 5,000/year. My eye! The only thing I can see has Concordia getting from Christies and Sothebys is lighter in pocketbook, ie 'we'll give you a discount on our prices' if you put a logo up and thank us publically.'

I can understand (but still don't like too much) if Concordia University makes a deal with Pepsi that excludes Coca Cola from the campus. But if Pepsi signed a deal with Concordia Health Services to sponsor their clinic, I'm certain there would be other people besides myself raising a stink. Unfortunately this is art, so no one else cares but me.

And then if you want more details, start here, if you couldn't guess, I'm on the side of the ailing, elderly German baroness in Providence.