AGO

Going into this field trip I expected that the Art Gallery of Ontario would be like every other trip I have taken to a museum or gallery throughout my life. I expected to be counting down the minutes until lunch, and to be very under whelmed by old oil paintings and portraits.

However, this is in no way what I experienced at the AGO and my views of this building have transformed drastically after my visit on my monday. The architecture alone of this monumental builiding is unlike any other structure in Toronto. Immediately when you approach the building you are exposed to a kind of design and style very different from typical architecture in this city, which mostly consists of old Victorian and new industrial type structures.

And all this before even entering the building.

We began our day at the AGO with a guided tour of some of the highlights of the gallery. We recieved some background information on the artists as well as deep insight into some of the more abstract pieces. A few of my favourites include:

This piece is called "TV Works" and was painted by Iain Baxter from 1996-2006. Although it doesnt seem like much in the photo above, when it is seen at the gallery it is truly spectactular. There are approximatly 12 televisions, all which are slightly vintage and ranging in sizes. All of the TV's are painted with a different landscape. All the televisions are turned on but on the setting of the shifting gray fuzzy screen. There are then lines scratched out in the painting which allows the TV's image to shine through creating the effect of movement.

This was a form of art that I have never seen or experienced before and it truly caught my attention. The classic paintings on the usual surface of a television screen is what makes this piece spectacular. 

This piece was another one of my favourites from the AGO. It is a chromogenic print (mounted on acrylic) entitled "Blue Fear" by Genevieve Cadieux. The artist is from Montreal, Quebec and it was done in 1990. 

This piece stood out to me as I feel as though it can have many percieved meanings. Firstly, I see the body of the man as a "nose" for the face looking back at him. I see this piece as a representation of how critical we are on ourselves, even at his age. The look of dissapointment and unhappiness in the eyes of the man when looking at himself proves that we put too much worth in outward appearances. This piece of art shows us that we must accept ourselves for what god gave us and appreciate all that we have in life.

This piece was entilted "Gravel Mirror Corner Piece" and was created by Robert Smithson. The artist is from Passaic, New Jersey, USA. He was born in 1938 and died in 1973, at the young age of 35. 

The piece involves 3 mirrors set up in a corner formation. Gravel stones are then piled ontop creating the illusion of a full round pile of gravel. The reason i chose this piece as one of my favourites is because I love the simplicity of it. The piece looks different from every angle. 

Robert Smithson's other pieces are also very similar to this in their use of mirrors as well as natural materials such as gravel, rocks, red sandstone and other substances of the earth.

"Stretch #1" by Evan Penny is artwork truly unlike anything I have ever seen before. The piece is made of silicon, pigment, hair and fabric. It was created in 2003, and the artist is from Elim, South Africa. The elongated scuplture is so fascinating because it is a completly fictitious character and it was sculpted in this stretched form from the beginning. 

This piece is so unusual and always had a crowd of people around it because of this. It was extremly life-like from the t-shirt to his hair. It made its audience stop and think as it plays a trick on your eyes, and it puts a great emphasis on the features of this man. 

Finally, one of the pieces that had the greatest impact on me was entitled "Base of the World" by Mona Hatoum. It was created in 1992 to 1993 and it is a wooden structure covered in steel plates. Within it are magnets which then attract the metal shavings that are visible to the viewers. 

This piece stood out to me primarily because of the texture that is created from the metal shavings. It gives me a feeling of gloom and despair as in my eyes the shavings represent bugs and worms. This piece is very real and I enjoyed it so much because it takes art and science and brings them together in a creative and new way.