Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
13 December 2022 Vol 7 No 25 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2022
Portia Priegert
From the Editor
Welcome to our sixth-annual art books issue with its comprehensive centrepiece, a roundup of the top Canadian art books published in 2022, along with a peek at what to expect next year. If there’s an art lover on your holiday list, it’s the place to go – there’s no other resource like this in Canada.
This issue also features reviews of four books – and a love letter. The latter comes via Sarah Swan, who penned her billet-doux to American critic Jerry Saltz after reading his latest book, Art is Life. Sarah confesses to loving his “deep dive into the subjective powers of art.” But her affection is not blind: “You can be obnoxious,” she writes. “You’re the Gordon Ramsay of art criticism – a popularizer, a potty-mouth, a personality.”
A few days later, we heard from Jerry. “I admit you are right about me veering into obnoxiousness,” he told Sarah – and some 548,400 followers on Twitter. “A terrible tendency I so try to keep in check. And then fail at it even as I think I have licked it.”
And the four reviews? Check out Paul Gessell’s take on Shadows and Light: A Physician’s Lens on COVID, a moving behind-the-scenes photographic look at how hospitals coped with the pandemic. Moni Brar tackles the fascinating Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces, while I was entranced by both Wetland Project and Yield: The Journal of an Artist.
Meanwhile, our news coverage of the ongoing strife at the National Gallery of Canada continues. Last week, the former chair of the gallery’s board, Michael Tims, offered a conciliatory voice, advocating for the “prompt appointment” of the gallery’s next director, someone able to “warmly and enthusiastically” bring factions together within a “big-tent approach.” Meanwhile, Françoise Lyon, the current chair of the gallery’s board, broke her silence to express support for interim director Angela Cassie, even as a former director, Marc Mayer, publicly described the situation as a “coup-d’état.”
For his part, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is amassing a growing stack of letters from the Crown corporation’s worried stakeholders. They include a group of prominent donors and art collectors; an association that speaks for the country’s leading contemporary art galleries; unions representing most of the gallery’s workers; and seven former senior staff concerned about risks to the gallery’s collection.
Our coverage is clearly filling a need – last month’s unique website visits topped 30,000, a 70-per-cent increase over the previous month. We are grateful to everyone who has sent notes of appreciation. Your obvious appetite for news has convinced us to post news more prominently on the Galleries West home page. You'll now find it immediately under our main features.
Looking ahead, we are preparing six year-end features for our final issue of 2022. They include Paul Gessell’s roundup of great shows to check out next year, Sarah Swan’s engaging essay about making art with AI, and Zainub Verjee’s look at the complex challenges facing the arts sector. We’ll also remember artists we lost in 2022, look at how the Canadian art world is responding to the crisis in Ukraine, and reflect on craft, service and communities of care.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Moni Brar, Paul Gessell, Sarah Swan
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
