We are surrounded by copies. Every day we encounter fakes, doppelgängers, simulations, likenesses, facsimiles. Copies enclose us and liberate us; we follow them and deviate from them. Copies are embodied in store-front mannequins, Warhol's soup cans, the "lagoon" at the West Edmonton Mall. Copies of steel and concrete shape Las Vegas, Dubai, Shenzhen. There are the iconic copies of the Statue of Liberty, the comic copies of cos-play, the ironic copies of Duchamp's readymades. In short, the political and the poetic collide in the copy. So what happens when copies become singular, imitation a performance, and the facsimile an image for thought?
Quotationalism is a call for visual work to question, meditate on and rework the problem of visual quotation. It will provide a forum for response to and redefinition of the objects that will be on view in the first exhibition of the China's Imperial Modern series -- itself an exploration of the place of the copy in the painter's practice in imperial China. Both shows will run concurrently at the University of Alberta during The Works.
The objects for copy, study, motivation, inspiration are paintings from imperial China, but this is a call for a range of visual work in response, from video installation to painting, prints, sculpture, and performance art. Objects in the Mactaggart Art Collection will be accessible in Telus Centre storage during the fall term to interested visual artists and designers. To make a viewing appointment, contact Lisa Claypool, curator of the Mactaggart collection (claylisa@ualberta.ca or 780-492-9474). Please note: the objects will not be accessible from December 12-January 8.
Important dates
All submissions must be emailed to Lisa Claypool (claylisa@ualberta.ca) by February 1, 2012.
Submissions must include the following information :
- · Brief statement and/or proposal including artist contact information (email and phone number)
- · Digital images of up to 7 art works (jpeg 1024 x 768 at 72 dpi, clearly labeled as "artist name 01.jpg.")
- · Accompanying list of works including title, date, media, and size of works
The selection of works will be made by a jury of full time continuing staff from the Department of Art and Design.
Artists will be informed if their work has been accepted by February 28.
The work must be delivered display-ready to the FAB Gallery on June 11, 2012.
Please discuss any special display requirements in advance with FAB Gallery Manager Blair Brennan, bbrennan@ualberta.ca, 780-492-2081