Publications/Research

The Gallery's publication program presents new ideas for understanding the social, historical, political and aesthetic realms in which many of today's artworks exist. Intended for a contemporary art audience, these publications offer valuable interpretations of critical art theories. Many are published as Walter Phillips Gallery Editions by the Banff Centre Press.

To order a publication email wpg_books@banffcentre.ca

CAMPsites (2008)

Edited by Melanie Townsend
Essays by Bruce Barber, Candice Hopkins, Melanie Townsend.
Co-published with Museum London
CAMPsites showcases sculpture, photography, video, and installation by Rebecca Belmore, Robin Collyer, Kristina Jaugelis & Reece Terris, Donald Lawrence, Liz Magor, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Sandra Vida, and Paul Wong. Together the works confront notions of class, displacement, and the social and activist functions of contemporary art practice. Issues of survival, shelter, and the portability of home are central in this exploration of the varied notions of campsites. The catalogue for the exhibition, held at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff, Alberta; Museum London, Ontario; and the Confederation centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, P.E.I, includes essays by Bruce Barber, Candice Hopkins, and Melanie Townsend, along with descriptions and reproductions of the works.
ISBN: 978-1-897215-15-9
$20.00 paperback

Informal Architectures: Space and Contemporary Culture (2008)

Edited by Anthony Kiendl
Essays by Kim Adams, Paul Antick, Lance Blomgren, Sarah Bonnemaison and Christine Macy, Gregory Cowan, Jimmie Durham, Elle Flanders, Donald Goodes, Arni Haraldsson, Candice Hopkins, Patrick Keiller, Anthony Kiendl, Andrew King and Angela Silver, Knowles Eddy Knowles, Robert Kronenburg, Marie-Paule Macdonald, Aoife Mac Namara, Rita McKeough, Joel McKim, Bernie Miller, Andrea Phillips, Marjetica Potr?, Sara Raza, Sean Topham, Eyal Weizman
Co-published with Black Dog Publishing, London, UK, and Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg.

Informal Architectures: Space and Contemporary Culture is a compilation of new and classic writing and visual art on spatial culture in modernity post 9/11. Contributors include established figures in the fields of cultural studies, art theory, urbanism and design. Informal Architectures creates an alternative perspective on the built environment through contemporary culture by focusing on the works and writing of international artists such as Dan Graham, Marjetica Potrc, and Gordon Matta-Clark. Particular attention is paid to spaces that are in some way temporary, contingent, marginal, or fictional in order to critically analyze the meaning of art, and to provide a tenable counter-narrative to architecture's dominant ideologies concerning the monumental and technological imperatives. Diverse perspectives are mobilized in order to question paradigms of modernity and postmodernity, such as progress, irony, and rationalism.
ISBN: 978-1-906155-33-9
$65.00 hardcover

Living Utopia and Disaster: 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art (2007)

For the 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, exhibition curators Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert investigated the dual themes of Utopia and Disaster, within the context of Alberta and its relation to the world environment. The Biennial’s 6th incarnation featured two inter-connected exhibitions, a large group exhibition of the work of 22 Alberta artists produced by the Walter Phillips Gallery with the Art Gallery of Alberta, and a survey exhibition to celebrate the work of Alex Janvier organized by the Art Gallery of Calgary. This catalogue includes a short story reflecting on the central theme by filmmakers Donna Brunsdale and Gary Burns, and an essay on the paintings of Alex Janvier by curator Donna Wawzonek, as well as reproductions of the works and biographies of the artists included in the exhibition.

Edited by Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert
Essays by Donna Brunsdale and Gary Burns, and Donna Wawzonek
Co-published with the Art Gallery of Alberta.
ISBN: 978-0-88950-146-1
$15.00 paperback

Bungalow Blitz: Another History of Irish Architecture (2006)

Edited by Aoife MacNamara
Bungalow Blitz, the design and editing of this book brings together work developed over the course of four different exhibitions staged in Ireland, the U.K., Scotland, and Banff, Canada between 2001 and 2006. While the controversy that has arisen from the popularity of self-built, suburban-style bungalows in the west of Ireland acted as the research focus, the questions opened up by the project are far less local. Issues around the ownership of natural resources, about the relationship between land and property, and the place of individual rights in the context of national spatial strategies have shaped the work produced. Art, architecture, and curatorial practices were deployed as research strategies, focusing on understanding the strength of feeling incited when areas of outstanding natural beauty become marked as private property by the building of housing. Co-published with Middlesex University.

ISBN: 1-894773-20-9
$29.99

Lida Abdul: Performing Architectures (2006)

Edited by Anthony Kiendl
Over the course of five years Afghani artist Lida Abdul has created a body of work that has challenged conventional thinking about architecture. Through numerous film, video/performance and live performance works Abdul poses questions about place, community, and the meaning of our surroundings. In summer 2005, Lida Abdul produced three video works at The Banff Centre which were then presented at the 2005 Venice Biennale where she was the first official representative for Afghanistan in the Biennale’s 100 year history. These video works Clapping with Stones, the untitled (Tree), and White House are socially engaged reappraisals of the unbuilt, destroyed, and monumental.

ISBN: 1-894773-21-7
$15.00 CDN

The Second Particle Wave Theory (as performed on the banks of the River Wear, a stone’s throw from S’underland and the Durham Cathedral) (2005)

By Jimmie Durham
This artist book is companion to the exhibition Jimmie Durham: Knew Urk. The book is written in Durham’s unique style, complete with original illustrations.

Washington-born and Berlin-based Durham, of Cherokee heritage, was active in the American Indian Movement throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. His work has been exhibited widely at venues including the Venice Biennale; Whitney Biennial, Matt’s Gallery, London; Documenta; DAAD Gallery, Berlin, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London.

Co-published with the Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland, U.K.

ISBN: 1-894773-23-3
$29.95 CDN

Transference, Tradition, Technology: Native New Media Exploring Visual and Digital Culture (2005)

Edited by Dana Claxton, Stephen Loft, and Melanie Townsend
Transference, Tradition, Technology explores Canadian Aboriginal new media and references the work of artists within a political, cultural, and aesthetic milieu. The book constructs a Native art history relating to these disciplines, one that is grounded in the philosophical and cosmological foundations of Aboriginal concepts of community and identity within the rigour of contemporary arts discourse.

Approachable in nature but scholarly in content, the book is the first of its kind, a text book for students and teachers of Canadian Aboriginal history, visual and media art, and a source for writers, scholars and historians.

Produced in association with the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Indigenous Media Arts Group

WPG is sold out of this title.

To order contact: Art Gallery Of Hamilton or Indigenous Media Arts Group

ISBN 1-894773-09-8
$24.95 CAD

Making a Noise! Aboriginal Perspectives on Art, Art History, Critical Writing and Community (2005)

Edited by Lee-Ann Martin (2005)
Making a Noise! Aboriginal Perspectives on Art, Art History, Critical Writing and Community is a collection of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists. The fifth in a series of books about curating and contemporary art, this publication rethinks the role of Aboriginal art and curatorial practice in contemporary culture. This collection of writings explores the exhibition and display of Aboriginal art including issues of repatriation of culturally significant artifacts, the role of the curator, the institution, and community. This book features fourteen essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists including: Kathleen Ash-Milby, Marie Bouchard, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Nika Collison, Vincent Collison, Brenda L. Croft, Guy Sioui Durand, Richard Hill, Candice Hopkins, Jim Logan, Lee-Ann Martin, Catherine Mattes, Meagan Tamati-Quennell, and Jim Vivieaere.

ISBN: 1-894773-13-6
238 pages
57 b/w photos
15 x 22 cm
$21.95

Giddy-Up or a Darn Good Hat Act: A Project by Andrew Hunter with Special Guest William Eakin (2004)

Giddy-Up tells the tale of Andy, a young boy from Southern Ontario who yearns to visit Banff, ride the trails, sleep under the stars and be a "real" cowboy. The boy's fantasies are fuelled by a mysterious neighbor, a "cowboy" lost in the suburbs of 1960s Southern Ontario. Inspired by classic Westerns, country music, pulp fictions and cowboy kitsch, Giddy-Up weaves a tale of innocence lost with a sinister twist. This publication accompanies Andrew Hunter’s exhibition Giddy-Up, showcasing historical artworks, flea market finds and new artworks commissioned specifically for the exhibition, including William Eakin’s photographs.

$5.00 paperback
Walter Phillips Gallery Editions, The Banff Centre

Aural Cultures (2004)

Edited by Jim Drobnick
Sounds resonate in nearly every social activity – from symphonic concerts and ritual chants to cacophonous revelries and respectful silences. These acoustic situations do more than reflect cultural sensibility, they create it as a living presence. Aural Cultures is a timely and comprehensive collection of essays and artists’ projects that examines sound in art and contemporary culture. The authors come from diverse fields, including sound construction, communication, performance, anthropology, art history, cinema studies, literature, and philosophy. A CD of sound art recordings by renowned international and Canadian artists accompanies the publication.

Artists and Contributors: Philip Auslander, Robert Bean, Elmer Birkbeck, Jodi Brooks, Gabor Csepregi, Robert Desjarlais, Dave Dyment, Kevin Ei-ichi deForest, Daniel Fisher, Jennifer Fisher, Wes Folkerth, Raymond Gervais, Ann Hamilton, Susan Hiller, Charles Hirschkind, David Howes, Mary Horlock, Lewis Kaye, Martin Kersels, Georgina Kleege, Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, Komar and Melamid, Richard Leppert, Christian Marclay, Andra McCartney, William McClelland, Christof Migone, Shirin Neshat, Daniel Olson, Claire Savoie, Peter L. Schmunk, Santiago Sierra, Don Simmons, Sherry Simon, Kim Sooja, Su-Mei Tse

ISBN: 0-920397-80-8
$29.95 paperback

YYZ Books and Walter Philips Gallery Editions, The Banff Centre (special thanks to Charles Street Video)

Obsession, Compulsion, Collection (2004)

Art museums and public galleries amass collections in order to preserve, document, research and exhibit collective histories as a culture. Obsession, Compulsion, Collection is a compilation of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists who explore collecting as a cultural act. Examining the meaning of art objects in a broader context, the book seeks to uncover the human impulse to collect and the social context, rhetoric, politics and science associated with cultural collections.

Contributors: Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, Joan Borsa, Susan Cahan, Sarah Cook, Sigrid Dahle, Don Goodes, Reesa Greenberg, Jamelie Hassan, Edgar Heap of Birds, Richard Hill, Jens Hoffman, James Luna, Anthony Kiendl, Chris Kraus, Aoife MacNamara, Lee-Ann Martin, Sheila Petty, Jeanne Randolph, Nghauia Te Awekotuku, Melanie Townsend, Gloria Cranmer-Webster, and David Wilson

ISBN 1-894773-05-5
$29.95

Beyond the Box: Diverging Curatorial Practices (2003)

Beyond the Box: Diverging Curatorial Practices is a collection of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists that explores regions of art outside the gallery or museum. Delving into four main topics — publications, biennials, art museums today, and new media — the book documents contemporary curatorial work beyond the boundaries of traditional curatorial practice.

Contributors: Foreword, Jon Tupper; Introduction, Melanie Townsend with essays by
Jessica Bradley, Sarah Cook, Sara Diamond, Andrea Fraser, Bruce Grenville, Anjum Katyal, Susan Martin, Cuauhtémoc Medina, Ivo Mesquita, Stella Rollig, Gregory Sholette, and Peter White

ISBN 0-920159-99-0
208 pages
22 b/w photos
15cm X 23cm
$24.95

The Edge of Everything: Reflections on Curatorial Practice (2002)

Few public venues exist for the contemplation of curatorial research and development in Canada, and there are even fewer forums for reflection by Canadian curators within an international context. The Edge of Everything is the result of a book project designed by Catherine Thomas to provide such a space for curators. It is a surprising collection of political, personal, quirky, and humorous commentary by Canadian and international curators on their individual practices.

Contributors: Foreword, Melanie Townsend; Introduction, Catherine Thomas with essays by Nina Czedledy, Pip Day, Joshua Decter, Matthew Higgs, Ihor Holubizky, Andrew Hunter, Anthony Kiendl, Lee-Ann Martin, Adriano Pedrosa, Dorothee Richter, and Lilian Tone

ISBN 0-920159-92-3
144 pages
60 b/w photos
15cm X 23cm
$24.95

Mapping Our Territories (2002)

In the Mapping Our Territories catalogue, curator Lee-Ann Martin has defined “territory” not only as geography, but a collection of thoughts, histories, beliefs and memories. Four artists from Treaty areas 6, 7 and 8, map the landscape guiding us to a better understanding of one’s sense of place and history.

Contributors: Lee-Ann Martin, Anthony Kiendl, Delia Cross Child, Faye HeavyShield, Frederick MacDonald, Lionel Peyachew
Link to the exhibition

ISBN 1-894773-01-2
17 pages
4 color photos; 2 b/w photos
17cm X 20cm
$7.00

Sentient Circuitry (2002)

This catalogue documents the exhibition Sentient Circuitry in which the artists “challenge conventional definitions of robots and explore alternative modes of agency that question the idea of sentience personality, dysfunction and community.”
-- from the essay by curator Melanie Townsend

Contributors: Melanie Townsend, Reva Stove, Ken Rinaldo, Bill Vorn, Norman T. White
Link to the exhibition

4 pages
4 color photos
21cm X 21cm
FREE

Allyson Clay: Imaginary Standard Distance (2002)

This book documents a mid-career survey of the work of Vancouver-based artist Allyson Clay that brings together a diverse range of artworks made between 1988 and 2002. The work in Imaginary Standard Distance is concerned with issues of identity, gender, and the boundaries between public and private space and explores themes such as seduction, curiosity, and voyeurism.

Contributors: Karen Henry, Anthony Kiendl, Lisa Robertson, Allyson Clay
Link to the exhibition

ISBN 0-920159-95-8
46 pages
8 b/w photos; 17 color photos
18cm X 26cm
$20.00

Quoting Commercialism (2002)

This exhibition catalogue documents the Quoting Commercialism exhibition which undertook to reveal how, and to what extent, four artists from different cultural backgrounds construct their individual personas and exert their identities within a multicultural, consumerist society.

Contributors: Chris Reid, Melanie Townsend, Shinobu Akimoto, Greg A. Hill, Mitch Robertson, Jan Wade
Link to the exhibition

24 pages
2 color photos; 7 b/w photos
15cm X 18cm
$5.00

Computer Voices / Speaking Machines (2001)

"Computer Voices/Speaking Machines addresses and develops the idea of community — and dis-community — both in physical and technological terms."
— from the essay by Corinna Ghaznavi

This publication documents a Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition featuring the work of Canadian new media artists David Rokeby, Jocelyn Robert and Émile Morin.

Contributors: Sara Diamond, Corinna Ghaznavi, Émile Morin, Jocelyn Robert, David Rokeby
Link to the exhibition

ISBN 0-920159-91-5
20 pages
18 x 23 cm
$7.00

John & Lou's 1923 Voyage (2000)

In 1982, artist John Will acquired a box of photographic images at a Calgary garage sale. Among the images were a set of negatives of a journey from Vancouver to Yokohama made in 1923 by Louis W. Shulman, then a student at the University of Alberta. Intrigued by his find, Will began to learn more about the images and soon launched his own creative odyssey. This bookwork is both a document and extension of Will's photographic exhibition and includes a part-fictional, part-factual "retelling" of the journey by Will as well as interpretive essays on the work by Nancy Tousley and Melanie Townsend.

Contributors: Nancy Tousley, Melanie Townsend, John Will
L ink to the exhibition

ISBN 0-920159-79-6
48 pages
27 colour photos
24 x 16 cm
$15.00

yellow, no sleep at night (2000)

This bookwork accompanying Jake Moore’s site-specific installation for the Walter Phillips Gallery extends Moore's commentary on the celebrated and sordid history of Banff National Park. The publication winds together 12,000 years of human history at Banff spanning its use by First Nations as a ceremonial site to its modern day popularity as a tourist destination.

Contributors: Jake Moore, Melanie Townsend
Link to the exhibition

no ISBN
16 pages
2 b/w photos
16 x 18 cm
$5.00

First Descent. Art and Artifacts from Snowboard Culture (2000)

"No matter how much the 'mainstream' has come to snowboarding, the sport still presents, in most mountain towns in Canada and the US, an 'identity forming image.' The impetus behind organizing an exhibition about this image was a recognition that the look of snowboarding has been propelled by the input of the riders themselves."
— from the essay by Sarah Cook

The publication includes interpretative essays by Sarah Cook and sports writer George Covalla, and commentary by the artists involved in the exhibition.

Contributors: Sarah Cook, George Covella
Link to the exhibition (Flash)

no ISBN
24 pages
22 x 10 cm
$1.00

Iain Baxter: Landscape Works (1999)

Landscape has been, and continues to be, an important theme in the production of work by Canadian artists. This catalogue documents use of landscape over four decades of art production by the renowned Canadian artist Iain Baxter. An outgrowth of early West Coast conceptual art practice, Baxter's approach places a strong emphasis on satire and commentary about social, cultural and ecological concerns.

Contributors: Iain Baxter, Melanie Townsend, Jon Tupper

no ISBN
22 pages
1 b/w, 8 colour photos
21 x 14.5 cm
$5.00

Arousing Sensation: A Case Study of Controversy Surrounding Art and the Erotic (1999)

Edited by Sylvie Gilbert, this volume was developed following a controversial exhibit that appeared at the Walter Phillips Gallery in 1992. In Much Sense: Erotics and Life, the artists explored ideas about sexuality, expressing frank viewpoints on topics such as body image and gay and lesbian sexuality. In the months following the opening, politicians, the media, and coalitions of arts organizations engaged in a rancorous debate, alternately battering and boosting The Banff Centre and its support of the exhibition. Arousing Sensation offers a fascinating case study of a controversy concerning freedom of expression, funding for the arts, censorship, sexuality, political responsibility, and journalistic integrity. The book combines thoughtful analysis, critical discourse, and full text media clippings from the public debate.

The book received an Honorable Mention, Trade Title of the Year, from the Alberta Book Awards.

Contributors: Maureen Connor, Su Ditta, Robert Flack, Sylvie Gilbert, Thomas Allen Harris, Kiss & Tell, Myrna Kostash, Thomas Waugh

ISBN 0-920159-82-6
160 pages
36 b/w photos
14 x 22 cm
$26.95

Staking LAND Claims (1999)

Edited by Patricia Deadman and Paul Seesequasis, Staking LAND Claims, documents the work of Mary Anne Barkhouse, Michael Belmore, Kelly Greene and Anne Walk from their 1998 Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition. Incorporating traditional values and contemporary issues, Staking LAND Claims relates a centuries-old connection with the land to current environmental concerns. The book combines essays, artists' statements and photographs offering important insights into the integral role the land plays in Aboriginal self-perception and self-definition.

Contributors: Mary Anne Barkhouse, Michael Belmore, Catherine Crowston, Patricia Deadman, Kelly Greene, Lynn Hill, Marrie Mumford, Kelly Greene, Anne Walk

A Walter Phillips Gallery Edition produced in association with the Aboriginal Arts Program and The Banff Centre Press.

ISBN 0-920159-51-1
48 pages
14 b/w photos
22 x 16 cm
$12.95

Private Investigators: Undercover in Public Spaces (1999)

In July 1997, eight artists infiltrated the public spaces of one of Canada's most famous tourist destinations — Banff, Alberta. The performers explored Banff's role as both a symbol of the Canadian wilderness and a commercial centre for four million tourists a year. They also examined some of the roles people play conforming to society's expectations: heterosexual, tourist and consumer. Many of the artists drew curious observers into their masquerade. From a new twist on the dating game to a bar soap giveaway, the artists looked at their subjects with a fresh and sometimes humorous eye. Private Investigators documents the often surprising results when artists move their work into public spaces. No expectations, including those of the artists themselves, are left unchallenged.

Artists: Millie Chen, Evelyn Von Michalofsk, Shawna Dempse, Lorri Millan, Faye HeavyShield, Shelley Niro, Judy Radul

Contributors: Catherine Crowston, Kathy Kennedy, Kathryn Walter

A Walter Phillips Gallery Edition produced in association with The Banff Centre Press

ISBN 0-920159-61-3
96 pages
30 b/w photos
13 x 18 cm
$14.95

When Pain Strikes (1999)

Edited by Bill Burns, Cathy Busby and Kim Sawchuk, this collection of essays and images addresses pain and pain relief in North America, covering a wide spectrum of intellectual and political positions on what has been deemed "the puzzle of pain." The intellectual and experiential bases of the 30 contributing writers and artists traverse the boundaries of art criticism, literature, visual arts, activism, political economy, sociology, practicing midwifery, marketing and architecture.

Contributors: Charles R. Acland, Barbara McGill Balfour, Isabelle Brabant, Bill Burns, Cathy Busby, Stephen Busby, Millie Chen, Michael Fernandes, Bob Flanagen, Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, Marie-Paule MacDonald, Ronald Melzack, Margaret Morse, Celeste Olalquiaga, John O'Neill, Gerald Pas, Elsie Petch, D.L. Pughe, Kim Sawchuk, Julia Scher, Cathy Sisler, Joanne Sloan, Jana Sterbak, Fred Tomaselli, Patrick Wall, Theodore Wan, Gregory Whitehead, Fred Wilson

Co-Published by the Walter Phillips Gallery and the University of Minnesota Press.

ISBN 0-8166-2773-8
$25.00
15 x 22 cm
442 pages
45 b/w photos

Ken Lum: Photo-Mirrors (1998)

Edited by Lisa Gabrielle Mark. Produced in association with the XXIV Bienal de São Paulo, this trilingual publication features text in English, French and Portuguese documents the work of Vancouver-based artist Ken Lum. The publication includes an introduction by Jon Tupper and an interview with Lum that grounds his work within his larger practice.

Contributors: Ken Lum, Lisa Gabrielle Mark, Jon Tupper
ISBN 0-920159-63-X
26 pages
12 b/w photos
15 x 20 cm
$5.00


Search & Index	About The Banff Centre Events Programs Facilities Departments
WPG Home About The Gallery Exhibitions Upcoming Archives Touring Public Programs Publications/Research Collection News Work Study Opportunities Curatorial Residencies Banff International Curatorial Institute Visual Arts Contemporary Art Editions Partners/Sponsors Contact Hours and Location Facility Details	Publications/Research The Gallery's publication program presents new ideas for understanding the social, historical, political and aesthetic realms in which many of today's artworks exist. Intended for a contemporary art audience, these publications offer valuable interpretations of critical art theories. Many are published as Walter Phillips Gallery Editions by the Banff Centre Press. To order a publication email wpg_books@banffcentre.ca CAMPsites (2008) Edited by Melanie Townsend Essays by Bruce Barber, Candice Hopkins, Melanie Townsend. Co-published with Museum London CAMPsites showcases sculpture, photography, video, and installation by Rebecca Belmore, Robin Collyer, Kristina Jaugelis & Reece Terris, Donald Lawrence, Liz Magor, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Sandra Vida, and Paul Wong. Together the works confront notions of class, displacement, and the social and activist functions of contemporary art practice. Issues of survival, shelter, and the portability of home are central in this exploration of the varied notions of campsites. The catalogue for the exhibition, held at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff, Alberta; Museum London, Ontario; and the Confederation centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, P.E.I, includes essays by Bruce Barber, Candice Hopkins, and Melanie Townsend, along with descriptions and reproductions of the works. ISBN: 978-1-897215-15-9 $20.00 paperback Informal Architectures: Space and Contemporary Culture (2008) Edited by Anthony Kiendl Essays by Kim Adams, Paul Antick, Lance Blomgren, Sarah Bonnemaison and Christine Macy, Gregory Cowan, Jimmie Durham, Elle Flanders, Donald Goodes, Arni Haraldsson, Candice Hopkins, Patrick Keiller, Anthony Kiendl, Andrew King and Angela Silver, Knowles Eddy Knowles, Robert Kronenburg, Marie-Paule Macdonald, Aoife Mac Namara, Rita McKeough, Joel McKim, Bernie Miller, Andrea Phillips, Marjetica Potr?, Sara Raza, Sean Topham, Eyal Weizman Co-published with Black Dog Publishing, London, UK, and Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg. Informal Architectures: Space and Contemporary Culture is a compilation of new and classic writing and visual art on spatial culture in modernity post 9/11. Contributors include established figures in the fields of cultural studies, art theory, urbanism and design. Informal Architectures creates an alternative perspective on the built environment through contemporary culture by focusing on the works and writing of international artists such as Dan Graham, Marjetica Potrc, and Gordon Matta-Clark. Particular attention is paid to spaces that are in some way temporary, contingent, marginal, or fictional in order to critically analyze the meaning of art, and to provide a tenable counter-narrative to architecture's dominant ideologies concerning the monumental and technological imperatives. Diverse perspectives are mobilized in order to question paradigms of modernity and postmodernity, such as progress, irony, and rationalism. ISBN: 978-1-906155-33-9 $65.00 hardcover Living Utopia and Disaster: 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art (2007) For the 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, exhibition curators Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert investigated the dual themes of Utopia and Disaster, within the context of Alberta and its relation to the world environment. The Biennial’s 6th incarnation featured two inter-connected exhibitions, a large group exhibition of the work of 22 Alberta artists produced by the Walter Phillips Gallery with the Art Gallery of Alberta, and a survey exhibition to celebrate the work of Alex Janvier organized by the Art Gallery of Calgary. This catalogue includes a short story reflecting on the central theme by filmmakers Donna Brunsdale and Gary Burns, and an essay on the paintings of Alex Janvier by curator Donna Wawzonek, as well as reproductions of the works and biographies of the artists included in the exhibition. Edited by Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert Essays by Donna Brunsdale and Gary Burns, and Donna Wawzonek Co-published with the Art Gallery of Alberta. ISBN: 978-0-88950-146-1 $15.00 paperback Bungalow Blitz: Another History of Irish Architecture (2006) Edited by Aoife MacNamara Bungalow Blitz, the design and editing of this book brings together work developed over the course of four different exhibitions staged in Ireland, the U.K., Scotland, and Banff, Canada between 2001 and 2006. While the controversy that has arisen from the popularity of self-built, suburban-style bungalows in the west of Ireland acted as the research focus, the questions opened up by the project are far less local. Issues around the ownership of natural resources, about the relationship between land and property, and the place of individual rights in the context of national spatial strategies have shaped the work produced. Art, architecture, and curatorial practices were deployed as research strategies, focusing on understanding the strength of feeling incited when areas of outstanding natural beauty become marked as private property by the building of housing. Co-published with Middlesex University. ISBN: 1-894773-20-9 $29.99 Lida Abdul: Performing Architectures (2006) Edited by Anthony Kiendl Over the course of five years Afghani artist Lida Abdul has created a body of work that has challenged conventional thinking about architecture. Through numerous film, video/performance and live performance works Abdul poses questions about place, community, and the meaning of our surroundings. In summer 2005, Lida Abdul produced three video works at The Banff Centre which were then presented at the 2005 Venice Biennale where she was the first official representative for Afghanistan in the Biennale’s 100 year history. These video works Clapping with Stones, the untitled (Tree), and White House are socially engaged reappraisals of the unbuilt, destroyed, and monumental. ISBN: 1-894773-21-7 $15.00 CDN The Second Particle Wave Theory (as performed on the banks of the River Wear, a stone’s throw from S’underland and the Durham Cathedral) (2005) By Jimmie Durham This artist book is companion to the exhibition Jimmie Durham: Knew Urk. The book is written in Durham’s unique style, complete with original illustrations. Washington-born and Berlin-based Durham, of Cherokee heritage, was active in the American Indian Movement throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. His work has been exhibited widely at venues including the Venice Biennale; Whitney Biennial, Matt’s Gallery, London; Documenta; DAAD Gallery, Berlin, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London. Co-published with the Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland, U.K. ISBN: 1-894773-23-3 $29.95 CDN Transference, Tradition, Technology: Native New Media Exploring Visual and Digital Culture (2005) Edited by Dana Claxton, Stephen Loft, and Melanie Townsend Transference, Tradition, Technology explores Canadian Aboriginal new media and references the work of artists within a political, cultural, and aesthetic milieu. The book constructs a Native art history relating to these disciplines, one that is grounded in the philosophical and cosmological foundations of Aboriginal concepts of community and identity within the rigour of contemporary arts discourse. Approachable in nature but scholarly in content, the book is the first of its kind, a text book for students and teachers of Canadian Aboriginal history, visual and media art, and a source for writers, scholars and historians. Produced in association with the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Indigenous Media Arts Group WPG is sold out of this title. To order contact: Art Gallery Of Hamilton or Indigenous Media Arts Group ISBN 1-894773-09-8 $24.95 CAD Making a Noise! Aboriginal Perspectives on Art, Art History, Critical Writing and Community (2005) Edited by Lee-Ann Martin (2005) Making a Noise! Aboriginal Perspectives on Art, Art History, Critical Writing and Community is a collection of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists. The fifth in a series of books about curating and contemporary art, this publication rethinks the role of Aboriginal art and curatorial practice in contemporary culture. This collection of writings explores the exhibition and display of Aboriginal art including issues of repatriation of culturally significant artifacts, the role of the curator, the institution, and community. This book features fourteen essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists including: Kathleen Ash-Milby, Marie Bouchard, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Nika Collison, Vincent Collison, Brenda L. Croft, Guy Sioui Durand, Richard Hill, Candice Hopkins, Jim Logan, Lee-Ann Martin, Catherine Mattes, Meagan Tamati-Quennell, and Jim Vivieaere. ISBN: 1-894773-13-6 238 pages 57 b/w photos 15 x 22 cm $21.95 Giddy-Up or a Darn Good Hat Act: A Project by Andrew Hunter with Special Guest William Eakin (2004) Giddy-Up tells the tale of Andy, a young boy from Southern Ontario who yearns to visit Banff, ride the trails, sleep under the stars and be a "real" cowboy. The boy's fantasies are fuelled by a mysterious neighbor, a "cowboy" lost in the suburbs of 1960s Southern Ontario. Inspired by classic Westerns, country music, pulp fictions and cowboy kitsch, Giddy-Up weaves a tale of innocence lost with a sinister twist. This publication accompanies Andrew Hunter’s exhibition Giddy-Up, showcasing historical artworks, flea market finds and new artworks commissioned specifically for the exhibition, including William Eakin’s photographs. $5.00 paperback Walter Phillips Gallery Editions, The Banff Centre Aural Cultures (2004) Edited by Jim Drobnick Sounds resonate in nearly every social activity – from symphonic concerts and ritual chants to cacophonous revelries and respectful silences. These acoustic situations do more than reflect cultural sensibility, they create it as a living presence. Aural Cultures is a timely and comprehensive collection of essays and artists’ projects that examines sound in art and contemporary culture. The authors come from diverse fields, including sound construction, communication, performance, anthropology, art history, cinema studies, literature, and philosophy. A CD of sound art recordings by renowned international and Canadian artists accompanies the publication. Artists and Contributors: Philip Auslander, Robert Bean, Elmer Birkbeck, Jodi Brooks, Gabor Csepregi, Robert Desjarlais, Dave Dyment, Kevin Ei-ichi deForest, Daniel Fisher, Jennifer Fisher, Wes Folkerth, Raymond Gervais, Ann Hamilton, Susan Hiller, Charles Hirschkind, David Howes, Mary Horlock, Lewis Kaye, Martin Kersels, Georgina Kleege, Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, Komar and Melamid, Richard Leppert, Christian Marclay, Andra McCartney, William McClelland, Christof Migone, Shirin Neshat, Daniel Olson, Claire Savoie, Peter L. Schmunk, Santiago Sierra, Don Simmons, Sherry Simon, Kim Sooja, Su-Mei Tse ISBN: 0-920397-80-8 $29.95 paperback YYZ Books and Walter Philips Gallery Editions, The Banff Centre (special thanks to Charles Street Video) Obsession, Compulsion, Collection (2004) Art museums and public galleries amass collections in order to preserve, document, research and exhibit collective histories as a culture. Obsession, Compulsion, Collection is a compilation of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists who explore collecting as a cultural act. Examining the meaning of art objects in a broader context, the book seeks to uncover the human impulse to collect and the social context, rhetoric, politics and science associated with cultural collections. Contributors: Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, Joan Borsa, Susan Cahan, Sarah Cook, Sigrid Dahle, Don Goodes, Reesa Greenberg, Jamelie Hassan, Edgar Heap of Birds, Richard Hill, Jens Hoffman, James Luna, Anthony Kiendl, Chris Kraus, Aoife MacNamara, Lee-Ann Martin, Sheila Petty, Jeanne Randolph, Nghauia Te Awekotuku, Melanie Townsend, Gloria Cranmer-Webster, and David Wilson ISBN 1-894773-05-5 $29.95 Beyond the Box: Diverging Curatorial Practices (2003) Beyond the Box: Diverging Curatorial Practices is a collection of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists that explores regions of art outside the gallery or museum. Delving into four main topics — publications, biennials, art museums today, and new media — the book documents contemporary curatorial work beyond the boundaries of traditional curatorial practice. Contributors: Foreword, Jon Tupper; Introduction, Melanie Townsend with essays by Jessica Bradley, Sarah Cook, Sara Diamond, Andrea Fraser, Bruce Grenville, Anjum Katyal, Susan Martin, Cuauhtémoc Medina, Ivo Mesquita, Stella Rollig, Gregory Sholette, and Peter White ISBN 0-920159-99-0 208 pages 22 b/w photos 15cm X 23cm $24.95 The Edge of Everything: Reflections on Curatorial Practice (2002) Few public venues exist for the contemplation of curatorial research and development in Canada, and there are even fewer forums for reflection by Canadian curators within an international context. The Edge of Everything is the result of a book project designed by Catherine Thomas to provide such a space for curators. It is a surprising collection of political, personal, quirky, and humorous commentary by Canadian and international curators on their individual practices. Contributors: Foreword, Melanie Townsend; Introduction, Catherine Thomas with essays by Nina Czedledy, Pip Day, Joshua Decter, Matthew Higgs, Ihor Holubizky, Andrew Hunter, Anthony Kiendl, Lee-Ann Martin, Adriano Pedrosa, Dorothee Richter, and Lilian Tone ISBN 0-920159-92-3 144 pages 60 b/w photos 15cm X 23cm $24.95 Mapping Our Territories (2002) In the Mapping Our Territories catalogue, curator Lee-Ann Martin has defined “territory” not only as geography, but a collection of thoughts, histories, beliefs and memories. Four artists from Treaty areas 6, 7 and 8, map the landscape guiding us to a better understanding of one’s sense of place and history. Contributors: Lee-Ann Martin, Anthony Kiendl, Delia Cross Child, Faye HeavyShield, Frederick MacDonald, Lionel Peyachew Link to the exhibition ISBN 1-894773-01-2 17 pages 4 color photos; 2 b/w photos 17cm X 20cm $7.00 Sentient Circuitry (2002) This catalogue documents the exhibition Sentient Circuitry in which the artists “challenge conventional definitions of robots and explore alternative modes of agency that question the idea of sentience personality, dysfunction and community.” -- from the essay by curator Melanie Townsend Contributors: Melanie Townsend, Reva Stove, Ken Rinaldo, Bill Vorn, Norman T. White Link to the exhibition 4 pages 4 color photos 21cm X 21cm FREE Allyson Clay: Imaginary Standard Distance (2002) This book documents a mid-career survey of the work of Vancouver-based artist Allyson Clay that brings together a diverse range of artworks made between 1988 and 2002. The work in Imaginary Standard Distance is concerned with issues of identity, gender, and the boundaries between public and private space and explores themes such as seduction, curiosity, and voyeurism. Contributors: Karen Henry, Anthony Kiendl, Lisa Robertson, Allyson Clay Link to the exhibition ISBN 0-920159-95-8 46 pages 8 b/w photos; 17 color photos 18cm X 26cm $20.00 Quoting Commercialism (2002) This exhibition catalogue documents the Quoting Commercialism exhibition which undertook to reveal how, and to what extent, four artists from different cultural backgrounds construct their individual personas and exert their identities within a multicultural, consumerist society. Contributors: Chris Reid, Melanie Townsend, Shinobu Akimoto, Greg A. Hill, Mitch Robertson, Jan Wade Link to the exhibition 24 pages 2 color photos; 7 b/w photos 15cm X 18cm $5.00 Computer Voices / Speaking Machines (2001) "Computer Voices/Speaking Machines addresses and develops the idea of community — and dis-community — both in physical and technological terms." — from the essay by Corinna Ghaznavi This publication documents a Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition featuring the work of Canadian new media artists David Rokeby, Jocelyn Robert and Émile Morin. Contributors: Sara Diamond, Corinna Ghaznavi, Émile Morin, Jocelyn Robert, David Rokeby Link to the exhibition ISBN 0-920159-91-5 20 pages 18 x 23 cm $7.00 John & Lou's 1923 Voyage (2000) In 1982, artist John Will acquired a box of photographic images at a Calgary garage sale. Among the images were a set of negatives of a journey from Vancouver to Yokohama made in 1923 by Louis W. Shulman, then a student at the University of Alberta. Intrigued by his find, Will began to learn more about the images and soon launched his own creative odyssey. This bookwork is both a document and extension of Will's photographic exhibition and includes a part-fictional, part-factual "retelling" of the journey by Will as well as interpretive essays on the work by Nancy Tousley and Melanie Townsend. Contributors: Nancy Tousley, Melanie Townsend, John Will L ink to the exhibition ISBN 0-920159-79-6 48 pages 27 colour photos 24 x 16 cm $15.00 yellow, no sleep at night (2000) This bookwork accompanying Jake Moore’s site-specific installation for the Walter Phillips Gallery extends Moore's commentary on the celebrated and sordid history of Banff National Park. The publication winds together 12,000 years of human history at Banff spanning its use by First Nations as a ceremonial site to its modern day popularity as a tourist destination. Contributors: Jake Moore, Melanie Townsend Link to the exhibition no ISBN 16 pages 2 b/w photos 16 x 18 cm $5.00 First Descent. Art and Artifacts from Snowboard Culture (2000) "No matter how much the 'mainstream' has come to snowboarding, the sport still presents, in most mountain towns in Canada and the US, an 'identity forming image.' The impetus behind organizing an exhibition about this image was a recognition that the look of snowboarding has been propelled by the input of the riders themselves." — from the essay by Sarah Cook The publication includes interpretative essays by Sarah Cook and sports writer George Covalla, and commentary by the artists involved in the exhibition. Contributors: Sarah Cook, George Covella Link to the exhibition (Flash) no ISBN 24 pages 22 x 10 cm $1.00 Iain Baxter: Landscape Works (1999) Landscape has been, and continues to be, an important theme in the production of work by Canadian artists. This catalogue documents use of landscape over four decades of art production by the renowned Canadian artist Iain Baxter. An outgrowth of early West Coast conceptual art practice, Baxter's approach places a strong emphasis on satire and commentary about social, cultural and ecological concerns. Contributors: Iain Baxter, Melanie Townsend, Jon Tupper no ISBN 22 pages 1 b/w, 8 colour photos 21 x 14.5 cm $5.00 Arousing Sensation: A Case Study of Controversy Surrounding Art and the Erotic (1999) Edited by Sylvie Gilbert, this volume was developed following a controversial exhibit that appeared at the Walter Phillips Gallery in 1992. In Much Sense: Erotics and Life, the artists explored ideas about sexuality, expressing frank viewpoints on topics such as body image and gay and lesbian sexuality. In the months following the opening, politicians, the media, and coalitions of arts organizations engaged in a rancorous debate, alternately battering and boosting The Banff Centre and its support of the exhibition. Arousing Sensation offers a fascinating case study of a controversy concerning freedom of expression, funding for the arts, censorship, sexuality, political responsibility, and journalistic integrity. The book combines thoughtful analysis, critical discourse, and full text media clippings from the public debate. The book received an Honorable Mention, Trade Title of the Year, from the Alberta Book Awards. Contributors: Maureen Connor, Su Ditta, Robert Flack, Sylvie Gilbert, Thomas Allen Harris, Kiss & Tell, Myrna Kostash, Thomas Waugh ISBN 0-920159-82-6 160 pages 36 b/w photos 14 x 22 cm $26.95 Staking LAND Claims (1999) Edited by Patricia Deadman and Paul Seesequasis, Staking LAND Claims, documents the work of Mary Anne Barkhouse, Michael Belmore, Kelly Greene and Anne Walk from their 1998 Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition. Incorporating traditional values and contemporary issues, Staking LAND Claims relates a centuries-old connection with the land to current environmental concerns. The book combines essays, artists' statements and photographs offering important insights into the integral role the land plays in Aboriginal self-perception and self-definition. Contributors: Mary Anne Barkhouse, Michael Belmore, Catherine Crowston, Patricia Deadman, Kelly Greene, Lynn Hill, Marrie Mumford, Kelly Greene, Anne Walk A Walter Phillips Gallery Edition produced in association with the Aboriginal Arts Program and The Banff Centre Press. ISBN 0-920159-51-1 48 pages 14 b/w photos 22 x 16 cm $12.95 Private Investigators: Undercover in Public Spaces (1999) In July 1997, eight artists infiltrated the public spaces of one of Canada's most famous tourist destinations — Banff, Alberta. The performers explored Banff's role as both a symbol of the Canadian wilderness and a commercial centre for four million tourists a year. They also examined some of the roles people play conforming to society's expectations: heterosexual, tourist and consumer. Many of the artists drew curious observers into their masquerade. From a new twist on the dating game to a bar soap giveaway, the artists looked at their subjects with a fresh and sometimes humorous eye. Private Investigators documents the often surprising results when artists move their work into public spaces. No expectations, including those of the artists themselves, are left unchallenged. Artists: Millie Chen, Evelyn Von Michalofsk, Shawna Dempse, Lorri Millan, Faye HeavyShield, Shelley Niro, Judy Radul Contributors: Catherine Crowston, Kathy Kennedy, Kathryn Walter A Walter Phillips Gallery Edition produced in association with The Banff Centre Press ISBN 0-920159-61-3 96 pages 30 b/w photos 13 x 18 cm $14.95 When Pain Strikes (1999) Edited by Bill Burns, Cathy Busby and Kim Sawchuk, this collection of essays and images addresses pain and pain relief in North America, covering a wide spectrum of intellectual and political positions on what has been deemed "the puzzle of pain." The intellectual and experiential bases of the 30 contributing writers and artists traverse the boundaries of art criticism, literature, visual arts, activism, political economy, sociology, practicing midwifery, marketing and architecture. Contributors: Charles R. Acland, Barbara McGill Balfour, Isabelle Brabant, Bill Burns, Cathy Busby, Stephen Busby, Millie Chen, Michael Fernandes, Bob Flanagen, Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, Marie-Paule MacDonald, Ronald Melzack, Margaret Morse, Celeste Olalquiaga, John O'Neill, Gerald Pas, Elsie Petch, D.L. Pughe, Kim Sawchuk, Julia Scher, Cathy Sisler, Joanne Sloan, Jana Sterbak, Fred Tomaselli, Patrick Wall, Theodore Wan, Gregory Whitehead, Fred Wilson Co-Published by the Walter Phillips Gallery and the University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-2773-8 $25.00 15 x 22 cm 442 pages 45 b/w photos Ken Lum: Photo-Mirrors (1998) Edited by Lisa Gabrielle Mark. Produced in association with the XXIV Bienal de São Paulo, this trilingual publication features text in English, French and Portuguese documents the work of Vancouver-based artist Ken Lum. The publication includes an introduction by Jon Tupper and an interview with Lum that grounds his work within his larger practice. Contributors: Ken Lum, Lisa Gabrielle Mark, Jon Tupper ISBN 0-920159-63-X 26 pages 12 b/w photos 15 x 20 cm $5.00
Contact the Centre	© 2008 The Banff Centre Site Feedback Privacy Policy (FOIP)