Melania Trump at the Republican National Convention, where she delivered a speech remarkably similar to a 2008 talk by Michelle Obama. Photo: Twitter.
It’s not just Melania.
Following the June 1 release of the Sobey Art Award shortlist, a reader approached Canadian Art with the observation that one of Kunsthalle Wien artistic director Nicolaus Schafhausen’s jury statements in the Sobey Art Award shortlist press material closely resembled a statement previously made in a presentation by ex–Museum of Contemporary Art_Toronto_Canada CEO Chantal Pontbriand.
Here is the statement by Schafhausen in the original Sobey Art Award shortlist press material:
“The true challenge that artists face today, given the multiplicity and complexity of art production in the digital age, is how to be different, not for the sake of difference itself, but to be pertinent.”
Here is the statement previously given by Pontbriand in her Demo-Graphics presentation, which she has worked on for some years:
“The challenge that faces us today, given the multiplicity of international events across the globe, is how to be different, not for the sake of difference itself but to be pertinent.”
On June 8, Canadian Art contacted both the Sobey Art Award and the MOCA, where Pontbriand was then employed, for comment.
On June 9, the Museum of Contemporary Art responded with the following statement: “Nicolaus is familiar with Chantal’s text outlining the event, DEMO-GRAPHICS, and she welcomes Nicolaus’ synchronicity with her ideas.”
On July 19, in response to a July 18 follow-up email from Canadian Art, a Sobey Art Award press representative stated that “Mr. Schafhausen has been engaged in this topic for a number of years, most notably for the Attention Economy exhibition and publication (Sternberg Press, 2014). He has been involved in discussions on this very issue with Ms. Pontbriand, most recently on May 30 during a public Skype event. When we brought Ms. Pontbriand’s statement to his attention, Mr. Schafhausen felt that it would be most appropriate to provide a new statement, which the NGC has made available on its website.”
The new statement by Schafhausen, available on the Sobey Art Award website, reads as follows:
“In the attention economy of today, artists share the same problems. In a sea of ‘sameness,’ the task is not only to master an alternative form of aesthetics, but to talk in a relevant contemporary language. What does this mean? This is the challenge for artists and all of us today.”
