CONTACT Wrap-up: Rebounding, and Taking it to the Streets

One of the highlights (and one that the fest started well before the current craze for urban intervention) is a commitment to public installation. Though the festival’s usual strategy of putting artworks in subway stations and transit shelters was thrown for a loop last year by a massive ad rate increase, CONTACT rebounded admirably this year, sourcing alternate locations for a strong roster of public works.

Among these public works, Anthony Koutras’s bike-rack trompe d’oeil on Queen West’s sidewalks was especially delightful, as was Raffaella Mariniello’s installation of tourist kitsch pics at the Italian consulate. On a more serious note, Eamon MacMahon’s show of striking large-scale images of disappearing glaciers and emptying northern towns gave travellers pause at Pearson Airport.

Overall, though, CONTACT has much to be proud of, with a level of access and programming that rivals events with many times its gov-funding draw, such as the upcoming $22-mil Luminato fest.On the downside, the installation of Rodney Graham’s iconic upside-down tree images on the pillars of the Gardiner Expressway, though popular, proved relatively inaccessible to pedestrians, who had to navigate busy traffic to get up close. Also, Suzy Lake’s installation on the AGO’s hoardings struck a unwanted mixed message; Lake insisted her self-portraits of sweeping away construction-like debris were hopeful, but they were also easily read as criticism of Toronto’s current architectural-reno frenzy.

Another strength was the Magnum Workshop held from May 5 to 9. Though the workshop itself was expensive, free panels and talks gave locals the opportunity to chat with shooters from the famous cooperative agency that spawned Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson. At these, Bruce Gilden, who joined the agency in middle age, proved to be just as dry and in-your-face as his famous New York street photographs. Also, veteran Larry Towell and newcomer Alessandra Sanguinetti advanced the oft-overlooked idea that text still holds more power than the image in mainstream culture.

Finally, the primary exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art stood up to the hype, assembling some fine international-caliber photographers for Torontonians to view—again, free of charge. The Nan Goldin and Martin Parr works were especially well received.

It’s undeniable, of course, that some culturati are sick of shutterbugs after four weeks of photo-oriented cover stories in the press. Others cogently question the need for a photo-only festival in this interdisciplinary age. Still, CONTACT remains one of Canada’s largest-participation international art events, with enough quality programming that it is, yes, worth anticipating next year’s round. Those who feel similarly may want to check out the closing party Thursday, May 29 at the Drake Hotel.