FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN ART
AND TIFF COLLABORATE ON THE CRONENBERG PROJECT
David Cronenberg: Transformation, September 5 – December 29
Camille Henrot: Grosse Fatigue, September 5-15
Maya Hayuk: P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude), August 27, 2013 – April 6, 2014
OPENING RECEPTION, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 8-10PM
TORONTO, Ontario, September 4, 2013 – The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is pleased to announce the launch of our Fall 2013 programming season with David Cronenberg: Transformation in our Main Space, and the North American premier of Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner Camille Henrot’s Grosse Fatigue in our Project Space. The opening reception will take place on Wednesday, September 4, from 8-10pm. Join us at MOCCA on Saturday, September 7 at 3:30pm when two of the internationally renowned artists featured in David Cronenberg: Transformation, will be in conversation with David Liss.
David Cronenberg: Transformation features six new, TIFF-commissioned artworks from leading Canadian and international contemporary artists who share Cronenberg’s inspirations from literature and philosophy—writers such as McLuhan, Burroughs and Ballard—and his fascination with biological horror, the human psyche and the merging of humans and media. Artists featured: Candice Breitz, James Coupe, Marcel Dzama, Jeremy Shaw, Jamie Shovlin, and Laurel Woodcock. David Cronenberg: Transformation is co-curated by David Liss, Artistic Director & Curator, MOCCA, and Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox; presented and organized in partnership with TIFF; and supported by the Government of Ontario, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Hal Jackman Foundation.
Multidisciplinary artist Camille Henrot won the Silver Lion for best young promising artist at this year’s Venice Biennale for her heady “encyclopedic” video Grosse Fatigue, which mixes slam poetry-style narration with a percussive soundtrack as it describes an increasingly breathless excursion through the history of the universe. Camille Henrot’s Grosse Fatigue is curated by Andréa Picard, TIFF, and presented in collaboration with TIFF Future Projections, with support from the Hal Jackman Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.
MOCCA courtyard features Maya Hayuk’s P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude), 2013. As is typical in her practice, Hayuk’s mural P.M.A. is a unique painting created entirely on and for the site. The artist works wholly by hand and vision. Improvised in response to the surface and location, Hayuk has incorporated the existing features of the wall into the mural – giving a clever nod to the milieu. P.M.A.(Positive Mental Attitude) will be on view until April 6, 2014. Maya Hayuk’s mural has been supported in part by Urbancorp and Cooper Cole Gallery.
FREE ADMISSION to David Cronenberg: Transformation and Camille Henrot | Grosse Fatigue at MOCCA is made possible by the generous support of the RBC Foundation.
Quotes
- David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, MOCCA
“Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, David Cronenberg has been influenced by contemporary art and he has been influential for many contemporary artists. We’re very excited to be collaborating with TIFF on this very special project celebrating one of Canada’s most important contemporary film artists with an exhibition of Canadian and International artworks that share thematic affinities with David Cronenberg’s films and ideas.
- Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox
“Our inspiring long-term relationship with the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art has paved the way for David Cronenberg: Transformation, a highly ambitious, unprecedented commissioning programme related to The Cronenberg Project. Six artists, from international leaders to emerging talents, have created work challenging and championing Cronenberg, as influential a force in the global visual arts culture as any filmmaker alive today.”
Tags / Keywords
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA, Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF, TIFF Future Projections, The Cronenberg Project, David Cronenberg, Transformation, Candice Breitz, James Coupe, Marcel Dzama, Jeremy Shaw, Jamie Shovlin, Laurel Woodcock, Camille Henrot,Maya Hayuk.
About MOCCA
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was born on the cusp of the millennium and has exploded onto the Toronto and Canadian art scene with ambitious local-to-global programming. Showcasing the work of 1,000 Canadian and international artists since re-locating to Queen Street West in 2005, MOCCA functions as a hub for cultural production and creative exchange. With a pioneering approach to partnership, MOCCA actively collaborates with like-minded organizations, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the National Gallery of Canada. For ongoing news visit mocca.ca/media-centre.
Supporters
All programs and activities at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art are supported by Toronto Culture, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, BMO Financial Group, Cisco, individual memberships, and private donations.
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Media Contacts
For more information on MOCCA or to interview a MOCCA spokesperson, please contact:
Fayiaz Chunara | Head, Communications & Marketing | 416.395.7490 | fchunara@mocca.ca