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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
Digital Media Tree this blog's archive OVVLvverk Lorna Mills: Artworks / Persona Volare / contact Sally McKay: GIFS / cv and contact |
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Sara Diamond is coming from Banff to take on the position of President of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Seems like a good time to re-read Morris Wolfe's hilarious little history book, OCA 1967-1972: Five Turbulent Years. Wolfe tells a bizarre tale of a Canadian school in which the administration attempts to get with the times, bringing in more experimental artists and practices and opening up classes, to the outrage of the staid student body. The story climaxes when Roy Ascott (a favourite teacher of Brian Eno at Ipswich school of art) is brought in and promptly cancels classes. Chaos ensues. Morris, who saw it all, has a dry sharp wit and doesn't shy away from painful details. An exemplary quote:
OCA students had always been rather docile when it came to protests. Although the story may well be apocryphal, I'm told that during J.E.H. MacDonald's tenure as Principal [1928-32], the students walked out, protesting some real or imagined slight, and congregated in Grange Park. At tea time, MacDonald came out with an offering of milk and cookies. The protest was over.