Brian Jungen Shapeshifter 2000 Purchased 2001

The contemporary period has witnessed an explosion of the traditional categories of art -- painting and sculpture might borrow from one another, for example, or from other disciplines such as photography or music. Much of this challenging and innovative work issues from artists' intense questioning of both the materials and subject matter possible in visual art.

The always-changing permanent collection displays utilize a variety of exhibition types. Some are organized thematically, while others are devoted to a single artist whose work has been acquired in depth. Occasionally, works are arranged chronologically. These displays often incorporate newly acquired pieces as well as works by major Aboriginal artists.

The permanent collection of contemporary art is continually evolving, and an effort is made to concentrate on the acquisition of recent work, either by purchase or by gift. Particular attention is paid to Canadian art, but the practice of adding significant works of international origin is continued in order to complement and contextualize the Canadian holdings.

Janet Cardiff 40 Part Motet Purchased 2001

Janet Cardiff  40 Part Motet (detail) Purchased 2001

Media Arts

Since the late 1970s, the National Gallery of Canada has been collecting media art, that is, art based in film, video, audio-recording, the computer, or other electronic media. The holdings of films are concentrated on experimental and avant-garde work. Acquisitions of films by Canadian artists such as Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, Jack Chambers and Nancy Graves began in the 1960s and continued through the 1970s with works by experimental filmmakers like Barbara Sternberg, David Rimmer and Al Razutis. Holdings from the National Gallery’s Education Division of European and American avant-garde films by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Maya Deren and others were transferred to the Media Arts collection. In the 1980s there was a major addition to the collection with the acquisition of the Flux Films Anthology, which included films by such artists as Yoko Ono, Dick Higgins and Paul Sharrits.

The Media Arts collection also comprises single-channel videos and multimedia installations. Up until 2000 collecting in the Media Arts area had generally been closely linked to the Media Arts exhibition program. In recent years, the Department of Contemporary Art has opted for a more inclusive approach, featuring Media Arts in its programming of the permanent collection. Some recent acquisitions include Douglas Gordon’s video installation Play Dead: Real Time (2003), and Janet Cardiff and Georges Bures Miller’s The Paradise Institute (2001). 

		Douglas Gordon "Play Dead: Real Time", 2003 © Courtesy Lisson Gallery and Douglas Gordon Purchased 2003

For access to high-quality reproduction, artists' biographies, video interviews and information on the entire collection of the National Gallery of Canada visit http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/