Reception: September 17, 2014, 6–8pm
Ryerson Image Centre
33 Gould Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Free exhibition tours, daily at 2:30pm
T +416 979 5164
[email protected]
The Ryerson Image Centre marks the centennial of World War One with three exhibitions. Join us for a public reception to celebrate the opening of our fall exhibitions on Wednesday, September 17, 6–8pm.
DISPATCH: War Photographs in Print, 1854-2008
September 17–December 7
Curator: Thierry Gervais
From Roger Fenton’s collodion-plate Crimean War photographs (1853–1856) to Luc Delahaye’s images of recent conflicts in Afghanistan (2001–present), the photographic representation of war has evolved dramatically in the Western press over the past 150 years. By comparing original prints with their reproductions in magazines, and other modes through which visual news is disseminated, DISPATCH reveals that taking a shot is only one step in the process of illustrating war. Picture editors and art directors have always selected, cropped and sequenced war photographs to suit the particular needs of their publications and readership. This exhibition views these photographs not as windows to the world, but as representations determined by changing editorial figures, aesthetic priorities and historical contexts.
Related events:
October 1, 6:30pm: curator Thierry Gervais in conversation with featured photographer Louie Palu
November 26, 6pm: exhibition walk-through with Thierry Gervais
Harun Farocki: Serious Games I–IV
September 17–December 7
Curator: Gaëlle Morel
Also on view is film and video work by artist Harun Farocki, which The New York Times has called “almost too interesting to be art.” Since the late 1960s, Farocki has created subversive films and videos integrating his own material with footage appropriated from diverse sources, including mass media, security cameras and political propaganda. His critically lauded essay films, which often address war and technology, are said to promote critical paranoia and encourage the viewer to take a closer look at what the media represents as truth. Farocki’s Serious Games I–IV (2009–10) explores the use of virtual reality and gaming technology in US military recruitment, training and after-action therapy, revealing fundamental links between technology and violence in a time of war.
Related events:
November 11, 6:30pm: public talk with Antje Ehmann and Detlef Gericke-Schönhagen on the making of Labour in a Single Shot (2013–14), a project by Antje Ehmann and Harun Farocki.
Public Studio: Drone Wedding
September 17–December 19, 2014
Curator: Gaëlle Morel
Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall
In their ongoing investigation of the everyday impact of warfare, Toronto artist collective Public Studio (Elle Flanders and Tamira Sawatzky) uses drone technology to provoke conversations about surveillance and conflict. Mechanized apparatuses visually record millions of images every day, documenting people’s lives, often without their awareness or permission. While surveillance has existed for some time, improved technology has led to greater consequences: targeted killing, collateral damage and the death of privacy. A catastrophic sequence of events often begins with a single image.
Related events:
October 22, 6pm: exhibition walk-through with Public Studio
Also opening in the Student Gallery:
Sam Cotter: Spit And Image
September 17–October 26
Toronto-based artist and writer Sam Cotter works across photography, film, installation and sculpture to examine issues of visual representation.
Media contact:
Erin Warner, Ryerson Image Centre: [email protected] / T+416 979 5000 x7032.
