Rodney Graham

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Rodney Graham is an artist and musician most often associated with the Vancouver School.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Graham was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

[edit] Work

Coming out of Vancouver’s 1970s photoconceptual tradition, Rodney Graham’s work is at once imbricated within a history of postconceptual art while at the same time informed by historical literary, musical, philosophical and popular references. Despite his idiosyncratic practice, he is most often associated with other West-coast Canadian artists, including Jeff Wall, Stan Douglas, Roy Arden and Ken Lum. He was taught by fellow Vancouver school artist Ian Wallace while at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, from 1979-80. Around this time, he played in the band UJ3RK5 with fellow artist Jeff Wall. His wide-ranging and often unclassifiable work has frequently engaged with technologies of the past: literary, psychological and musical texts, optical devices, and a distinctive use of film as historical medium.

Among his earliest works is Camera Obscura (1979; destroyed 1981) a site-specific apparatus that consisted of a shed-sized optical device situated on his family’s farm field near Abbotsford. Entering the apparatus, the observer was confronted with an inverted image of a solitary tree.[1] Both prior to this (with Rome Ruins [1978])[2] and throughout the 1980s and 90s, Graham employed the technique of the camera obscura in his work.

Beginning in the early 1980s, Graham took existing texts as the basis for his bookworks—at once conceptual and material—inserting bookmarks with additional pages, integrating textual loops or incorporating books into optical devices in works such as Dr. No* (1991), Lenz (1983) and Reading Machine for Lenz (1993), respectively; many of these were carried out with the esteemed Belgian publisher Yves Gevaert and/or the gallerist Christine Burgin. His extensive body of works related to Sigmund Freud (beginning in 1983) in a sense develops out of this text-based practice, though later found books would be integrated unmodified into Donald Judd-like “specific objects,” as with The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud (1987).

In 1994, Graham began a series of films and videos in which he himself appears as the principal character: Halcion Sleep (1994), Vexation Island (1997) (shown at Canadian pavilion of the 1997 Venice Biennale), How I Became a Ramblin’ Man (1999), and The Phonokinetoscope (2002), for instance. It is in this last work that evidence of Graham’s engagement both with the origins of cinema and its eventual demise surface, a work where Graham takes up a prototype by Thomas Edison and puts forward an argument for the relation between sound and image in film. Later, in Rheinmetall/Victoria 8 (2003), two increasingly-obsolete technologies, the typewriter and film projector, face off against one another—with the latter projecting a film of the former.[3]

In 2003, Graham turned to drawing and painting for the first time. Adopting a persona in a host of related photographic, installation and painted works, The Gifted Amateur, November 10th, 1962[4], 2007, indicates both continuing performative and art historical directions in his work.

Presently, Graham is working on a series of film installations with Harun Farocki, called "HF/RG," slated to open at the Jeu de Paume, Paris in Spring 2009.[5] Recent work will also be the subject of a survey at the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona in January 2010, which will travel.[6] Graham lives and works in Vancouver, and is currently represented by 303 Gallery, New York; Christine Burgin Gallery, New York; Donald Young Gallery, Chicago; Lisson Gallery, London; Hauser and Wirth, Zurich and London; and Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne.

[edit] Selected works in public collections

[edit] National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

  • Stanley Park Cedar, No. 7, dye coupler print, printed from b/w negative on paper, 1991
  • Coruscating Cinnamon Granules, 16 mm b/w silent film loop, 4:00 minutes, projector, screen, cinema seats, kitchen-sized enclosure, 1996
  • The Gifted Amateur, November 10th, 1962, Duratrans transparency in fluorescent lightbox, 2007
  • The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, lacquered wood with hardcover bound book, 1987

[edit] Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia

  • Camera Obscura, architectural model, Cibachrome photograph of inverted tree, chromogenic photograph of installation, and text, 1979
  • Reading Machine for Parsifal. One Signature, rotating brass display unit on a stand for reading, Plexiglas, and glass
  • Halcion Sleep, b/w video loop transferred to DVD, 1994

[edit] Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

  • Two Generators, 35 mm b/w film, film canister, artist-designed label, 1984
  • Camera Obscura Mobile, scale architectural model with framed photograph: wood, MDF, fabric, paint, metal, and chromogenic photograph, 1989

[edit] Museum of Modern Art, New York

  • Rheinmetall/Victoria 8, 35 mm colour silent film loop, 10:50 minutes, Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 projector, 2003

[edit] Generali Foundation, Vienna

  • Continuous Transformation of the Form of a Child’s Sled into that of Another, 35 mm colour slide, dia-projector, wooden winter sled, fabric covered, with iron runners, 2000.

[edit] Selected writings

  • Lenz (Vancouver: Rodney Graham, 1983)
  • Die Gattung Cyclamen (Münster: Westfälischer Landesmuseum, 1987)
  • The System of Landor’s Cottage (Brussels: Yves Gevaert; Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1987)
  • “Freud Supplement (170a-170d)” in Parachute 50:March-May 1998, 30-31
  • Dr. No (New York: Printed Matter; Toronto: Art Metropole, 1991-93)
  • Shorter Notice (Vancouver: Or Gallery, 1990)
  • “The Piazza” in Some Detached Houses (Vancouver: Contemporary A.G., 1990)
  • Freud et le cas Katharina (Brussels: Yves Gevaert, 1991)
  • “Appendix I – Artist’s Notes” in Rodney Graham: Works from 1976 to 1994 (Toronto: Art Gallery of York University, et al., 1994)
  • “Smithson’s Brain” in Robert Smithson: Operations on Nature (Toronto: A.G. of Ontario, 1995)
  • Oeuvres Freudiennes/Oeuvres Wagnériennes (Brussels: Yves Gevaert, et al., 1996)
  • “A Path of Association Not Followed in Freud’s Analysis of His Own ‘Dream of the Botanical Monograph’” Collapse, Vancouver, Dec. 1996(2)63-70
  • “Siting Vexation Island” in Island Thought: Canada XLVII Biennale di Venezia (Brussels: Yves Gevaert, et al., 1997)
  • “Project” in art/text Nov. 1997-Jan. 1998(59)54-59
  • What is Happy, Baby? (London: Lisson Gallery, 2000)
  • “A Thousand Words: Rodney Graham Talks About The Phonokinetoscope” Artforum 40: Nov. 2001(3)116-17
  • This is the Only Living I’ve Got (Don’t Take it Away from Me): The Rodney Graham Songbook: All the Words and Most of the Songs and Some Covers (Vacouver: Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr Institute Press; Zurich: JRP Ringier, 2006)

[edit] Selected monographic exhibitions

  • Abbotsford, British Columbia, Camera Obscura, 1979
  • campus of Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Illuminated Ravine, 1979
  • Johnen & Schöttle Gallery, Cologne, Rodney Graham, 1986
  • Sculptur Projekte, Münster, 1987
  • Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, The System of Landor’s Cottage, 1987
  • Ydessa Gallery, Toronto, Rodney Graham, 1987
  • Christine Burgin Gallery, New York, Rodney Graham, 1988
  • Vancouver Art Gallery, Rodney Graham, 1988
  • Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp, Rodney Graham, 1989
  • Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Rodney Graham, 1989
  • Lisson Gallery, London, Rodney Graham: Books, 1990
  • Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Rodney Graham, 1994, travelled to: The Renaissance Society, Chicago, 1995, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver, 1996, et al.
  • 303 Gallery, New York, Rodney Graham, 1995
  • Musée départemental d’art contemporain, Rochechouart, France, Rodney Graham: Oeuvres Freudiennes/Oeuvres Wagnériennes, 1995
  • FRAC Haute-Normandie, installed at Château d’Harcourt, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France, Camera Obscura Mobile: Rodney Graham, 1996
  • Canadian Pavilion, XLVII Venice Biennale, Rodney Graham: Vexation Island, 1997
  • Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Rodney Graham, 1998
  • Kunsthalle, Vienna, Rodney Graham: Cinema, Music, Video, 1999
  • Kunstverein, Munich, Some Works with Sound Waves, Some Works with Light Waves, and Some Other Experimental Works, 2000
  • San Francisco, Fraenkel Gallery, Rodney Graham, 2000
  • 303 Gallery, New York, Rodney Graham: The Phonokinetoscope, 2001
  • Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Rodney Graham, 2001
  • Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, Rodney Graham, 2002
  • Kunsthalle, Zürich, Rodney Graham: Music and Noise, 2002
  • K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen im Ständehaus, Düsseldorf and MAC-Galleries contemporaines des Musées de Marseille, France, Rodney Graham, 2003
  • Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Rodney Graham: A Little Thought, 2004, travelled to: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2004, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2005, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, 2005
  • Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Rodney Graham, Renaissance Man, Works 1400-1977, 2006
  • Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal, Rodney Graham, 2006-2007
  • 303 Gallery, New York, Rodney Graham, 2008

[edit] Selected bibliography

[edit] Dictionaries

  • Grove Dictionary of Art; E. Benezit

[edit] Theses

  • A. Welch, On Machinic Logic: Rodney Graham’s Book, Camera and Film Works, MA Thesis, (New York: Columbia University, 2008)

[edit] Exhibition catalogues

  • Rodney Graham (Vancouver: Vancouver A.G., 1988)
  • Rodney Graham (Eindhoven: Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, 1989)
  • Rodney Graham: Parsifal (Cologne: Johnen & Schöttle Galerie, 1990)
  • Rodney Graham: Works from 1976 to 1994 (Toronto: Art Gallery of York University, et al., 1994)
  • Island Thought: Canada XLVII Biennale di Venezia (Brussels: Yves Gevaert, 1997)
  • Rodney Graham: Vexation Island and Other Works (Toronto: Art Gallery of York University, 1998)
  • Rodney Graham: Cinema Music Video (Brussels: Yves Gevaert; Vienna: Kunsthalle Wien, 1999)
  • Rodney Graham and Vera Lutter: Time Traced (New York: Dia Center for the Arts, 2000)
  • Rodney Graham (London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 2002)
  • Rodney Graham: A Little Thought (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, et al., 2004)
  • Rodney Graham (Cologne: DuMont, 2004)
  • Rodney Graham (Montréal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 2006)

[edit] Periodicals

  • R. Keziere, Vanguard 8:Nov. 1979(9)29
  • A.R. Haraldsson, C Magazine Spr. 1985(5)34-38
  • J.B. Mays, Globe and Mail, Toronto, Dec. 5, 1987, C5
  • G. Lebredt, Vanguard 17:Apr./May 1988(2)45-46
  • R. Kleyn, C Magazine June 1989(22)38-45
  • J. Swartz, Lapiz Apr. 1990(67)30-7
  • A. Grundberg, New York Times, Dec. 21, 1990, 34
  • P. Gale, Canadian Art 14:Summer 1997(2)54-59
  • S. Guilbaut, Parachute Jul.-Sept. 1997(87)12-21
  • A. Alberro, Artforum 36:Feb. 1998(6)72-75, 108
  • P. Hudson, Mix, Toronto 24:Winter 1998-99(3)28-29
  • J. Liang, Parachute Jul.-Sept. 1999(95)12-19
  • B. Schwabsky, Art on Paper 5:Sept.-Oct. 2000(1)64-69
  • L. Cooke, Parkett 64:2002, 96-104
  • M. Hale, Parkett 64:2002, 116-29
  • S. Milroy, Globe and Mail, Toronto, Apr. 3, 2004, R1, R18
  • K. Gordon, Bomb Fall 2004(89)22-29
  • S. Steiner, Modern Painters 19: March 2007(2)64-67

[edit] Other

  • J. Tumlir, “Rodney Graham’s Black Box Treatment” in Robert Lehman Lectures on Contemporary Art: No. 3 (New York: Dia Art Foundation, 2004)
  • J. Wall, “Into the Forest: Two Sketches for Studies of Rodney Graham’s Work” in Jeff Wall: Selected Writings and Interviews (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2007)

[edit] Artist Files

  • Vancouver Art Gallery
  • National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
  • Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
  • Toronto Reference Library
  • Artexte Information Centre
  • Winnipeg Art Gallery

[edit] Online sources

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wall, "Into the Forest: Two Sketches for Studies of Rodney Graham's Work," 21.
  2. ^ Graham, "Artist's Notes," in Rodney Graham: Works from 1976 to 1994. Toronto; Brussels; Chicago: Art Gallery of York University; Yves Gevaert; The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 1994. 83.
  3. ^ "Rheinmetall/Victoria 8". The Collection. The Museum of Modern Art. http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=100073. Retrieved on 2009-04-06. 
  4. ^ "Rodney Graham". 303Gallery. http://www.303gallery.com/artists/rodney_graham/index.php?exh_id=56. Retrieved on 2009-04-06. 
  5. ^ "HF | RG" (in French). Jeu de paume. http://www.jeudepaume.org/?page=article&sousmenu=11&idArt=827&lieu=1. Retrieved on 2009-04-06. 
  6. ^ "Contributors," Artforum March 2009, 10.
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