Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/144909
in as an outsider without any politics about who I had to include in the show. In the end it was work I really loved." Among the artists she met up with in Saskatchewan were Amalie Atkins and Clint Neufeld, both of whom are featured in the show. Neufeld is a young sculptor based in Saskatoon who does conceptual ceramic transformations of engines. "I think it's nice that someone from outside the country is doing a show," he says. "That will help remove some of the geographic politics that exist in Canadian art. I think Denise did a good job of including emerging artists like myself with more established artists such as [Winnipeg native] Marcel Dzama, [Vancouver's] Douglas Coupland and [Ontario-born, Vancouver-based] Rebecca Belmore." Neufeld hopes the show will open the eyes of both Canadian artists and American art fans. "The border is this invisible barrier that I think really infiltrates the Canadian artist's mind. We tend to think east to west and not north/south, and I'm not sure why that is. I think Americans will get an idea of what is going on up here, too." massive outdoor work by Montreal's Michel de Broin uses full-sized picnic tables as its basic building element. While Oh, Canada will definitely be a source of pride for Canada, the artists and curators alike understand that being part of art roundup shows can be tricky, especially when they "package" works that aren't of a particular school but only a native homeland. Markonish makes a point of calling her show "art that is made in Canada" rather than Canadian art. Still, she found defining elements in the vastness of the Canadian art scene. "One of the things I noticed that was really strong across the country was a reliance on process and making – this can range from the conceptual to craft-based. I also found a rigorous kind of studio practice within the Canadian art community. I found that really fascinating. Another interesting vein of Canadian art is identity. I saw that in First Nations artists like Rebecca Belmore and Kent Monkman, and other artists like Douglas Coupland, who creates interesting ways of asking questions about Canadian cultural identity." "I just want it to be an eye-opener to the great art coming out of Canada." Another characteristic that makes MASS MoCA rare – besides its massive space and absence of standard museum white walls – is that it is a commissioning museum acquiring work for its own collection. As a result, the museum will debut 15 new works for Oh, Canada. Notable among them is Toronto-based artist Kim Adams's Optic Nerve, a car that has been altered to glow from within like a giant lamp. Quebec art collective BGL is designing and building crowd-control barriers that snake up the side of MASS MoCA's iconic clock tower. And a 30 W E S T W O R L D p28-33_Oh_Canada.indd 30 >> SUMMER 2012 She adds: "Of course, Americans will be looking for humour, especially selfdeprecating humour, as that is a stereotypical Canadian quality, as is landscapes. It's true that both of these were prevalent in a lot of the art I saw. But I didn't want humour to be at the forefront. I didn't want Americans to come and expect funny landscapes. I just want it to be an eye-opener to the great art coming out of Canada now, and to start a conversation between Americans and the art from right next door, which is too under the radar." OH, CANADA WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT ATTRACtion in the Berkshires this summer, fall and winter, to be sure, but it's just one among many in an area bursting with other cultural highlights. Foodies will enjoy the local farmto-table dining scene. And antique hunters will delight in the possibility of scoring rare pieces of Shaker furniture and other vintage Americana at the many charming antique shops scattered throughout the region. A favourite home base for visitors in North Adams is Porches Inn, mere steps from MASS MoCA. Like the museum, the (car and ceramic engine) Courtesy MASS MoCA, (gallery) Vespasian/All Canada Photos 4/13/12 2:18:27 PM