AGO Art Matters

People are talking about Sin and Salvation…

February 24th, 2009

"Their Jesus had gorgeous rock star charisma"
- Peter Goddard, Toronto Star

"The colours are vividly romantic"
-Robert Fulford, National Post

"Both seductive and disturbing"
-Sarah Milroy, The Globe and Mail

"You can’t help but enjoy [it]"
-Robert Fulford, National Post

Read more of what’s been said about Sin and Salvation: Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision:
His Vision, Our Culture- Sarah Milroy

Casting light on an obscure culture- Adam McDowell

Sex, stunners and rock-star hair- Peter Goddard

Lessons learned, history remade- Robert Fulford

Image:
John Everett Millais (1829-1896),
Peace Concluded,1856,
oil on canvas, 116.8 x 91.4 cm.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Putnam Dana McMillan Fund.

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Frank Gehry’s AGO on Rocketboom.com

November 26th, 2008

Check out this great video about the new AGO on www.rocketboom.com, a daily international news program based in New York City.

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Weekend news roundup

November 23rd, 2008

More and continued coverage of Transformation AGO from the past few days, by Shawn Micallef:

Frankly, it was the soiree of the year (Globe and Mail)

What makes the AGO familiar is that, once again, it’s such a happening place (Globe and Mail)

A Glint from under Gehry’s shadow (Globe and Mail)

For Ellis Don, failure was “not an option”on Transformation AGO project (Daily Commercial News)

Ken Thomson’s AGO legacy (Martini Boys)

Gehry revamps AGO, ads ears, python stairs (bloomberg.com)

Dazzling Dundas (Now Magazine)

Photo by jbcurio.

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More AGO in the news

November 17th, 2008

Since the grand opening last week, there as been a flurry of press and blog coverage. Here’s an incomplete list (note some of these articles contain extensive multimedia coverage):

The Art Gallery of Ontario has extra money. Our suggestion: Build an AGO Modern (The National Post)

Frank Gehry says revamped AGO will make Canada Proud (CP)

The new AGO: Part One (VOCA)

The new AGO: Part Two (VOCA)

A first look at the new AGO (BlogTO)

In Photos: The New AGO (BlogTO)

Transforming the AGO (Torontoist)

Welcome Home, Frank (National Post)

Gehry’s AGO so good it even smells nice (National Post)

Millions more given to AGO campaign (Toronto Star)

Gallery joins global wave of renos (Toronto Star)

Revamped AGO a modest masterpiece (Toronto Star)

AGO opens with Gehry’s Stamp (CBC)

The AGO’s backyard is getting its groove back (Globe and Mail)

Finally a world class museum to call our own (Toronto Star)

We see ourselves in the AGO and we like it (Toronto Star)

AGO: Not a shopping mall (Eye Weekly)

Standing (ren)ovation (Toronto Star)

In broad strokes; public loves AGO (Toronto Star)

Transformed AGO about to open its doors to public (Citynews)

Their New Perch (National Post)

Photo by OCAD 123.

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The view from New York

November 15th, 2008

By: Shawn Micallef

In Toronto — and Canada in general — we’re often accused of constantly looking to the outside for approval and validation of what we do. If the New York Times writes about something Canadian, well, then, everybody pays attention. I’ve often thought this is an overly cynical view to take and overlooks the value of an outside opinion that isn’t as close the matter at hand. Yesterday architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff did indeed write about the new AGO in the Times and it’s worth reading along with the extensive coverage in the Canadian press. Ouroussoff hasn’t lived with the constructions fences or seen the building go up in daily increments and, one would assume, isn’t emotionally invested in this renovation the way a local is (press or civilian alike). He’s seeing it as any visitor would — all at once — and it would seem his thoughts aren’t so different from what our own writers and journalists are saying. Some excerpts:

Given that this is Mr. Gehry’s first commission in his native city,
you might expect the building to be a surreal kind of self-reckoning, a
voyage through the architect’s subconscious.

 

 

 

 

So the new Art Gallery of Ontario, which opened to the public on Friday, may catch
some fans of the architect off guard. Rather than a tumultuous
creation, this may be one of Mr. Gehry’s most gentle and self-possessed
designs. It is not a perfect building, yet its billowing glass facade,
which evokes a crystal ship drifting through the city, is a masterly
example of how to breathe life into a staid old structure.

 

 

 

And its interiors underscore one of the most underrated dimensions of Mr.
Gehry’s immense talent: a supple feel for context and an ability to
balance exuberance with delicious moments of restraint.

 

 

Ouroussoff also address the old and new collision that we’re so used to in Toronto:

As you travel deeper into the building, you experience a delightful
tension between old and new. From the lobby you enter a court framed on
four sides by the original museum’s classical arcades. A glass roof
supported on steel trusses has been cleaned up, and on a sunny day a
heavenly light pours into the space from two stories above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the far end of the court, a spectacular new spiraling wood
staircase rises from the second floor, punching through the glass roof
and connecting to the contemporary gallery floors in the rear of the
building. The staircase leans drunkenly to one side as it rises, and
the tilt of the form sets the whole room in motion. When you reach the
first landing, the stair rail keeps rising rather than becoming level
with the floor, so that your view back across the court temporarily
disappears and then returns. It’s as if you were riding a wave.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a textbook example of how architecture can be respectful of the past
without being docile. All the old spaces and the memories they house
are brought lovingly back to life.

Read the rest here.

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The New AGO in the news

November 13th, 2008

There has been a lot of great media and blog coverage leading up to the public opening of the new AGO.

Here are some links to a selection of articles:

A new look, a new bond with residents – Globe and Mail
He just hopes Ken would approve – Toronto Star
A splendid gift – Globe and Mail
AGO bullish on attendance – Globe and Mail
AGO facelift – a new city gem? – Posted Toronto Podcast
Art Gallery of Ontario reopens with Gehry’s stamp – CBCnews.ca
Frank Gehry’s first Canadian building, Art Gallery of Ontario … – Los Angeles Times Blogs
Finishing Touches on a Masterpiece – Torontoist
With His AGO Revamp, Gehry Proves That He Is Both Architect And Artist – Canada.com
Why Gehry’s new AGO already feels like home – National Post
Don’t forget us, local artists say – Toronto Star
Gallery at heart of revival – Toronto Star
Prized collection unveiled after AGO privately canvassed donors – Globe and Mail
Details, Details – Torontoist
Frank Gehry: Artist and architect – National Post
Over, under, around and through the new AGO – Toronto Star
Artists voice mixed feelings about AGO – Toronto Star
A monumental moment – Globe and Mail
New stories for a new age – Globe and Mail
The AGO Readies Re-Introduction – Martiniboys.com
The AGO’s new promise – Toronto Star
AGO’s Frank admiration – Toronto Star
AGO remixed – Daily Dose of Imagery
Let the AGO, Gehry Love-In Begin – blogTO

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Transformation AGO: Twittering and TVO’s The Agenda

November 13th, 2008

By: Shawn Micallef

Twitter by day…

Today (Thursday) is the press preview of the new AGO. Architect Frank Gehry along with the AGO’s Matthew Teitelbaum will be hosting a news conference followed by various press-sorts-of-things. I will be Twittering the events of the morning and early afternoon — either check this page and follow along via RSS feed, or if you Twitter yourself, follow me the “traditional” way (you know what to do). As with all live-Twittering events, it may be a terribly boring exercise, but I will try and report on interesting moments and quotes. There may also be occasions when I ask for input from fellow Twitterers.

TVO by night…

In the evening Transformation AGO — and Toronto architecture in general — will be the subject of an entire episode of the TVO program The Agenda with Steve Paikin from 8-9pm. Guests include Architecture critics Lisa Rochon and Christopher Hume, Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae, and myself. We will be talking about how new and old architecture can exist together in Toronto. They are encouraging folks to go to their website and email in questions — if there is time during the broadcast they will be used on air.

Photo “AGO Remixed” taken by amazing Toronto photoblogger Sam Javanrouh.

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Transformation AGO news round up

November 10th, 2008

By: Shawn Micallef

As the opening nears, there is lots being written about the AGO building and the collection within. Here’s quick round-up of a few more articles published over the last few days.-In the Globe and Mail, James Bradshaw writes about a new private collection of 40 works of art donated by individuals and families, as did Martin Knelman in the Star.

-Robert Fulford wrote a long piece in Saturday’s National Post describing Frank Gehry as both architect and artist.

-Today Martin Knelman has a quick opinion piece on how the AGO has transformed, borrowing the “Yes We Can” phrase from Barack Obama.

-Over, under, around and through the new AGO, an overview of the building and how the architecture, programming and organization is all going to work.-Over at BlogTO, Tim wonders if journalists will use the opening of the new AGO to take a few shots at the ROM.

Photo by Bitpicture.

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