The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art Presents Winter Exhibitions

Written by Craig Donaldson Tuesday, 29 November 2011 23:41

Toronto, Ontario.- The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is pleased to launch its winter exhibition season with two spectacular projects; "Ineffable Plasticity: the experience of being human" and "Human / Nature" through December 31st. Taking shape according to the most current work within each artist’s practice, "Ineffable Plasticity: the experience of being human" considers the idea that all human attributes and activity are an expression of nature. The exhibition looks at nature as an unstoppable force that governs and defines us, challenging the notion that anything could be construed as unnatural, whether psychological or physical. The apocalypse on people’s minds these days, regardless of culture or creed, is the notion of an eco-apocalypse. What’s striking is that the end of humanity is not the end of the world, but it is another extinction. The world, the universe, the nature that we are an incarnation of, won’t come to a halt. It’s revealing of a faulty sense of protuberance in nature to think that we are capable of destroying anything.

Everything in us and around us will continue in another form. Physical laws contend that everything we know of is either matter or energy. Nothing is created or destroyed it just changes state. In this case, nature is not being defined as the absence of human influence but rather as the force that causes and regulates matter and energy, and of which we are constituent. It’s interesting to consider what it is to be human. If we take matter and energy to be our component parts its not difficult to see our bodies as matter, while the energy part is perhaps less evident. The life force that animates us, and the thoughts and emotions that shape our experiences are our energetic aspects. The exhibition explores the idea that our physical and non-physical attributes are equally governed by nature. The experience of being human is the experience of being energy incarnate. We reflect our form in the mental and physical structures we inhabit, seeing ourselves as discrete bodies disconnected from the energy that animates and finds expression in us. Certainly this has implications on the way values, attitudes and behaviours are formed. Is it ever possible to step outside of yourself, to achieve an objective view of what you are? In relationship to "Ineffable Plasticity", the National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art program presents "Human / Nature", which features a selection of sculptures, drawings and textiles by Arnaqurk Ashevak, Ed Pien, Marion Tuu'luq, and Ah Xian. Drawn from the National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collections of contemporary Canadian, international and indigenous art, each work presents an example of symbiosis between humanity and nature, artistically explored through mythology, cultural history and oral traditions.



The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999, and exists as a not-for-profit, arms-length agency of the City of Toronto. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to the West Queen West Art + Design District in downtown Toronto, in the heart of one of North America’s most dynamic arts communities. Our facility is modest in scale, impressive in design, and functions effectively as a nucleus of energies for cultural production and exchange. The mandate of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is to exhibit, research, collect, and promote innovative art by Canadian and international artists whose works engage and address challenging issues and themes relevant to our times. MOCCA is committed to providing a forum for emerging artists that show particular promise and to established artists whose works are considered to be ground-breaking or influential. Featuring two primary exhibition spaces, the 5,000 sq, ft. Main Space and the 1,000 sq. ft. Project Room, MOCCA presents a variety of original and thought provoking exhibitions. Since 2005, over 800 artists have been featured in more than 80 exhibitions and projects. In addition MOCCA includes work by non-Canadian artists, in group exhibitions, to foster a global context for the Canadian cultural voice. It is MOCCA’s objective to forge a network of contacts and partnerships locally, nationally and internationally as a catalyst for local-to-global connectivity and engagement. Since 2001 MOCCA has presented exhibitions and projects in 7 countries outside of Canada, including the United States, China, Taiwan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.mocca.ca

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