On 7 March 1990 the National Gallery of Canada issued a press release announcing its purchase of a large abstract painting by the American artist Barnett Newman for $1.8 million. Within 72 hours the gallery was under attack both for its selection of Voice of Fire and for the price tag attached to it. Objections came from across Canada and from all quarters.
The Voice of Fire controversy was the most extensive and heated debate over visual art ever to have taken place in Canada. This anthology can be seen as a case-study, providing both a historical account of the outcome of the National Gallery`s purchase of the painting and an understanding of why the gallery`s actions provoked such strong opinions and feelings. In this volume the editors also address the peculiar and paradoxical character of abstract art in general and the problems it consistently poses for viewers. Newman`s work is presented as the focus of these concerns.
The attack on the gallery by the press, the general public, Canadian artists, and politicians is documented in the first section by a broad selection of cartoons satirizing the painting, press photographs, news releases, editorials, letters to the editor, and public exchanges. In the second section three essays offer contrasting accounts of the controversy and its significance. The first considers the social processes by which art becomes art, the second focuses on the role of the media in shaping public opinion about art, and the third compares the reception of Voice of Fire in two distinctive frameworks, first at Expo `67 in Montreal and then in Ottawa in 1990. In the final part four papers given at a symposium on Voice of Fire organized by the gallery in October 1990 (a combined effort at damage control and art criticism) are presented, as well as a transcription of the public dialogue between speakers and audience which followed.
Authors
John O'Brian John, Bruce Barber, Serge Guilbaut, John O`Brian
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 759.13
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 0802007546 9781442683167
- LCCN
- ND237.N475
- LCCN Item number
- A77 1996eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOTU
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xiv, 210 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00600862 (OCoLC)288092297 (CaOOCEL)417658
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOTU
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- Preface 10
- Acknowledgments 14
- Credits 16
- Introduction: Bruising the Public Eye 20
- Documents 40
- Chronology 42
- Graphic Satires 50
- Texts 70
- Essays 96
- Vox Ignis Vox Populi 98
- Thalia Meets Melpomene: The Higher Meaning of the Voice of Fire and Flesh Dress Controversies 113
- Who's Afraid of Barnett Newman? 138
- Symposium 154
- Voicing the Fire of the Fierce Father 156
- Tightrope Metaphysics 170
- The Sculpture of Barnett Newman 182
- Specific Thoughts about the Making and Meaning of Voice of Fire 190
- General Discussion 198
- Notes 210
- Contributors 220
- Index 222
- A 222
- B 222
- C 222
- D 223
- E 223
- F 223
- G 223
- H 224
- I 224
- J 224
- K 224
- L 224
- M 224
- N 225
- O 225
- P 226
- Q 226
- R 226
- S 226
- T 227
- U 227
- V 227
- W 227
- Y 227
- Z 227
