Videoscape: An Exhibition of Video Art

Marty Dunn, Peggy Gale, Gary Neill Kennedy

Videoscape: An Exhibition of Video Art

Toronto, Canada: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1974

[74] pp, 26 x 22 cm., spiral-bound

Edition size unknown

Exhibition catalogue for an early presentation of Artists’ Video works at the AGO in Toronto, from November 20th, 1974 to April 1st, 1975. 

The artists include David Askevold, Dana W. Atchley, Jill Bellos, Charles Binamé, Jean-Pierre Boyer, Eric Cameron, Colin Campbell, Doug Carbert, Barbara Cochrane, Stephen Cruise, Don Druick, Marty Dunn, Ed Fitzgerald, General Idea, Gerry Gilbert, Carole Itter, Goddamatch (Max M. Anderson, Bob Wilcox, Bruce Green, Gordon Reed, Robert Montgomery), Michael Goldberg, Timothy A. Hanson, Noel Harding, Michael Hayden, Les Levine, Douglas MacLean, Richard Martin, Anne McMillan, Winston G. McNamee, Graham Metson, Robert Morris, Ian Murray, Bruce Parsons, John Pope, Al Razutis, Alex Salter, Richard Serra, Jeffrey Spalding, Lisa Steele, David Tipe, Brad Townsend, Visus Foundation, Vortex Intermedia, Doug Waterman, John Watt, William Wegman, Walter Wright, and John Young. 

The volume includes brief biographical notes on the participating artists, some of whom provide statements of their own. Marty Dunn’s text describes the conceptual, performance, synaesthetic and experiential elements of video, while Peggy Gale highlights the differences between television and video, traditional art forms and video and various centres for video production within Canada. Gary Neill Kennedy defines cybernetic, synaesthetic and synergistic aspects of video artworks. 

Garry Neill Kennedy | E

Garry Neill Kennedy

E

Halifax, Canada: self-published, 2012

[unpaginated], 27 x 21.2 cm., softcover

Edition of 12 signed and numbered copies

For his June to July, 1980 exhibition at Eye Level Gallery in Halifax, Garry Kennedy modified the gallery's IBM electric typewriter by removing the bottom of its lower case “e”. Over the course of the show, all the correspondence sent by gallery staff was copied and placed in the exhibition space. 

It’s possible that the choice of the letter ‘e’ is a reference to American poet e.e. cummings, or to French author Georges Perec, who famously wrote the 300-page novel La disparition (1969) using only words that did not contain the letter ‘e’. 

The work predates Kennedy’s later interventions - such as CORRECTIONS (Anna Leonowens Gallery, 2012) and HORIZONS (Vancouver Art Gallery, 1980/2024) - and seemingly straddles Concrete Poetry and Institutional Critique. I’m reminded of the Michael Fernandez rubber stamp “The roll of the artist run centre is to bring down the government”, which went out on every letter from Struts for a month, presumably including their communication with the government agencies that funded them [see below]. 

*Printed Matter lists the date as 2012 and Eye Level Gallery as the publisher. Peter Trepanier’s comprehensive book Garry Neill Kennedy Printed Matter 1971 - 2009 lists the work as self-published, and from 2006. However, Trepanier’s book doesn’t extend to 2012, so I’ll leave the date as 2012. However,  Eye Level makes no reference to the publication on their site so I’m going to assume that it was self-published also. 

 

Julian Opie | Gallery Staff Vase

Julian Opie

Gallery Staff Vase

London, UK: Cristea Roberts Gallery, 2011

14 3/4 x 11 1/4 x 11 1/4"

Unlimited edition

An open edition ceramic vase packaged in a cardboard box. The vase depicts scenes from Opie’s Gallery Staff silhouette series (the screenprint on glass work, above) and vinyl window work (see quote below). 

The work brings to mind an excellent wallpaper project that Art Metropole published, shortly before I began working there. Titled Siezures, by Garry Neill Kennedy, the work consisted of appropriated silhouette images of employers admonishing employees, taken from corporate conflict management training sessions brochures [see below].

"The first window vinyl is called Gallery Staff and depicts 5 members of a London gallery in changing poses (there are two other sets). Like an animated black and white film they take up alternate poses that tell different stories. They will be seen again once inside the museum.”

- Julian Opie

Coasters

 

Owens Art Gallery

Last month the Owens Art Gallery launched a new section of their website, detailing all of the publications produced or available from the gallery. 

Mount Alison University’s sole imprint, the Owens’ publishing program has been active since the 1960s.

Available titles include works by or about Anna Torma, Derek Sullivan, Leah Garnett, Rita McKeough,Erik Edson, Ray Fenwick, Daniel Barrow, Andrea Morton, Garry Neill Kennedy, David Hoffos, Diane Borsato, Thaddeus Holownia, George Bures Miller, Jim Dine, Alex Coville, and myself. 

Alongside numerous monographs, the Owens has also published group exhibition catalogues, including the fascinating Warps, Heddles, Shuttles and Sheds: The Art and History of Weaving at Mount Allison University, which I reviewed here, and The Closer Things Are, here. For the latter, I collaborated with Micah Lexier on newspaper interventions that were published locally on the day the exhibition opened in the various towns it traveled to. 

The online catalogue was made  possible thanks to the work of J.E.A. Crake ArtsWork Publications Archive and Distribution Assistant Caitlin Gallant (2025), and 2023 Bourne Internship Community Engagement and Access Assistants Ranz Bontogon (2024) and Sophie Giese (2023).

View the publications here:

https://owensartgallery.com/publications/

This afternoon, the gallery launches a new publication by Thaddeus Holownia and Harry Thurston, 

 at 4:00 pm. Of A Feather is the their third collaborative book project, featuring twenty-one photographs of birds by Holownia, and poetry by Thurston. 

Garry Neill Kennedy

When Garry Neill Kennedy died on August 8th I was kind of at a loss for words, and found myself waiting for the obituaries to pour in before posting. Surprisingly, this didn't really happen. There were one or two local things, but given his importance as an artist, as an educator, and to the history of NSCAD and conceptual art in this country, it was shocking how little attention was paid. Hopefully some longer pieces are in the works. 

Tomorrow, Art Metropole - who have a long, rich history with Kennedy - will host a celebration of his life, both in their brand new location, and as a Zoom Webinar. 

Due to limited space, particularly due to COVID19, the store is now at capacity. 

Register in advance to join the Zoom call, here: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_omZxmi7NRJGnWmARWNAsaQ

The event takes place Saturday, November 27th at 2PM EST. 

Art Metropole Retail Catalogue #19

Garry Neill Kennedy

Art Metropole Retail Catalogue #19

Toronto, Canada: Art Metropole, 1997

64 pp., 27.5 x 21.5 cm., staple-bound

Edition size unknown

Art Metropole's 19th retail catalogue, with a cover design by Garry Neill Kennedy featuring bosses admonishing employees, sourced from corporate conflict resolution manuals. The work was later made into a wallpaper edition published by the NSCAD press, titled Seizures. 

The work can be purchased from Jonathan Hill, Booksellers, here, for $125 US. Both Jonathan Hill and Art Metropole can be visited virtually this weekend, as part of the Printed Matter Virtual Art Book Fair.