henry moore

I have always disliked Henry Moore's sculpture with what you might call a passion. His big holey ladies creep me out. But I can't help feeling a soft-spot for this one outside the Art Gallery of Ontario because lots of people, some of them adults, really do enjoy smacking it to make sounds and clambering on it. The AGO has a ton of Henry Moore's indoors too.

where the cat's at
John Marriott, Where the cat's at, video projection and colour photograph, 1999. (taken from here)
This image is from artist John Marriott's video, Where the cat's at, in which a cat wanders about the AGO and seems to have a particularly intense time (slinking around low to the ground with it's mouth open) in the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre. There's an old shotgun review by Reid Diamond online here.

While on the subject of the AGO's permanent collection, I think Richard Hill's curation Speaking about Landscape, Speaking to the Land is well worth seeing. The room highlights Rebecca Belmore's big megaphone, with iconic Canadian landscape paintings from (roughly) 120 years of history hung on all the walls around it. Nice to see N.E. Thing next to Emily Carr! And that great big Jack Chambers painting of the 401 has always been a favourite of mine.

landscape show
Speaking about Landscape, Speaking to the Land, installation view
(taken from here)
jack chambers
Jack Chambers 401 Towards London No. 1, 1968-1969
(taken from here)


- sally mckay 2-02-2005 1:31 am

Back in 2002 Japanese artist Risa Sato came to Toronto and hooked up with Mr. Nobody for a tour of Toronto. After getting turfed out of the AGO (security said the head on Risa's costume was too big and Mr. Nobody, well he was just a nobody), Risa and Mr. Nobody decided to hang out with the Moore sculpture. check out the photo here http://www.mrnobody.org/henry%20moore%20and%20co.html
Also a nice description of the afternoon at Risa's site here http://www.studio.co.jp/risacan/toronto/p1_e.html
- mnobody (guest) 2-02-2005 3:59 am


Risa Sato is very cool. Catherine Osborne brought her to Toronto as part of her Big in Japan show at Cambridge Galleries. I got to participate in the SATOGO-SHIGAN project where various people document their time hosting a cute little tricycle-based creature in their home.

- sally mckay 2-02-2005 5:46 pm


At the AGO's 100th B-day party, there was a terrific video installation by Luis Jacob using the Moore sculpture room. It involved the filming of Tom Dean's kids enclosed in 'sacks' of jersey fabric forming various abstract and complementary poses and shapes that seemed to mimic the sculptures looming around them. I think its one of my favorite rooms at the AGO.
- thom (guest) 2-02-2005 7:20 pm