As Canada\u2019s representative at the 1984 Venice Biennale and having taught for many years at OCAD University in Toronto, Ian Carr-Harris is widely acknowledged as a leading artist and scholar. And now, with the launch of Tracings<\/em>, a collection of over fifty essays and articles written over forty-five years, he is also celebrated as a seasoned writer. This compilation includes an extraordinary output of texts originally published in Vanguard<\/em>, Artviews<\/em>, Canadian Art<\/em>, Parachute<\/em>, and other art magazines; contributions to exhibition catalogues for Harbourfront Centre, The Power Plant, and the Art Gallery of Ontario; monographs published by YYZ Books; transcripts of lectures delivered at various conferences and forums; and a previously self-published collection of artist interviews produced in collaboration with his partner, Yvonne Lammerich.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the formidable task of ploughing through an encyclopedia of art history, reading Carr-Harris\u2019s book is an uncommonly fresh and pleasurable experience. The accessibility of this impressive anthology of contemporary-art criticism, with pieces dating as far back as the mid-1970s, is enhanced by the preface; Dan Adler does a brilliant job of outlining the volume\u2019s insights. The texts are categorized as debates, discussions about specific artists, self-curated projects, and general notes, all of which can be read as stand-alone essays and in no particular order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet as we meander through Carr-Harris\u2019s articles and essays, patterns emerge to reveal the tracings suggested in the book\u2019s title. An obvious feature is his use of the first-person, which points out his personal engagement with the topics at hand. Nor does he mince his words when stating his position(s) on conceptual art, feminism, postmodernism, and other movements in vogue over the past four-plus decades; his incisive remarks cut through the decorum we expect of polite Canadian society. Indeed, he does not shy away from terms such as \u201cplatitude,\u201d \u201cWagnerian banality,\u201d and \u201cnarcissistic nihilism,\u201d along with generous touches of panache and erudition, to differentiate himself from his rhetorical adversaries. This approach appears justified in a comprehensive read, as he repeatedly notes that a shared cultural identity must be developed from situations of debate and pondering, and that occasional negative critiques among peers remain constructive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notable throughout the book is Carr-Harris\u2019s consistent chronicling of Canadian art produced and exhibited in Toronto. Referring to his native country as \u201can odd amalgam of local interests within a national debate,\u201d he uses his adopted city (he was born in Victoria) as the backdrop for many stories but refuses to pigeonhole it. Until he figures out another approach, he accurately depicts Toronto\u2019s art scene, and perhaps even its school of thought, through asymptotic means: over time and with much deliberation, he edges ever closer to drawing conclusions without quite disturbing the scene\u2019s delicate balance. In his 1984 review of New City Sculpture<\/em>, originally published in Parachute<\/em>, he likens Toronto to other art hubs that are ever-evolving attractors of talented creators recruited from their respective home bases. But true to form, he deliberately stops short of any compromising description of young Toronto sculptors, portraying them simply as \u201cvaried.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Concordia University Press<\/strong>
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