Closing: Yhe Canadian Museum of Contemporay Phototography

[russyoung]

"Government funding creates bad art..." hmmmm, no wonder all of those c. 1930 Farm Security Administration photographs have no value, either aesthetic or historic... or the first government funded photographic project, Mission Héliographique from 1851 and all of those trash salted paper prints of old buildings...

Nope, clearly government funding has a negative impact on art.

Russ

[jeroldharter]

Government funding creates good art.
Government funding creates bad art.

None of this matters or makes any sense. Artists make art. Others judge its merits. Legitimate reasons for governments to confiscate money from its citizens do not include art, my photography, you favorite issue, etc.

[walter23]

None of this matters or makes any sense. Artists make art. Others judge its merits. Legitimate reasons for governments to confiscate money from its citizens do not include art, my photography, you favorite issue, etc.

I think people often forget the enormous scale of a county and the enormous potential for a government to make a difference in the quality of life of its people. A bit of public funding here and there for arts, public projects, etc, costs each individual almost nothing, but has the potential to add a lot. I mean what's a couple million dollars to a whole country? It's absolute peanuts. You don't see me whining about government projects my taxes pay for that I disagree with because I understand that there are a lot of people with a lot of different desires in this country, and it's a give & take situation.

Too many selfish people around these days. Maybe it's indicative of a general unhappiness or something.

[Photomagica]

To get the formal perspective on this closing I recommend reading the April 9 press release at:

http://www.gallery.ca/english/540_2691.htm

In part it says:

"The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada has instructed the Museum staff to undertake a consultation with the photographic community across Canada on the long-term future of its affiliate the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.

The Board approved in March 2009 the permanent move of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) to the main Gallery facility situated at 380 Sussex Drive from its leased facility at 1 Rideau Canal.

“The Gallery decided that the CMCP should not return to its sub-grade leased space for environmental reasons” said NGC Director, Marc Mayer."

As a frequent visitor to the CMCP, I note that in its space almost hidden under the Chateau Laurier, it was a bit of an orphan on the Canadian and International cultural scene. Provided the collection is well presented at the National Gallery, photography will no longer be isolated from the other main stream arts as it was at the existing facility.

I urge Canadian and international photographers to participate in the consultation process. As the former President and CEO of a major Canadian museum I know senior people in the Government of Canada who appreciate the arts and are truly willing to listen. The government's support of the museum I was associated with, which in part addresses the arts, has been significant and generous.

I can attest that such support is only forthcoming if community makes a compelling case to government. There is work to be done by the photographic community to ensure the photographic collection has an appropriately prominent place in the National Gallery collection.