AGO

This is the second time I've visited AGO (the first was during the construction of the new extension). This time I wasn't able to see all of the galleries due to a lot of time being wasted figuring out the locations. We spent most of our time on the second floor. The flow of the place was confusing, and we had to constantly double back, or walk through the same galleries repeatedly to figure out our own location and where we should head to next. Of the artworks I had seen, I wasn't too impressed, especially the paintings. Most of them were landscapes, and many had large snowscapes with tiny people badly drawing in. The affect was the feeling of stinginess instead of grandeur, especially when the paintings themselves are the size of a small book. Some of the Group of Seven art works where wonderful, however. They featured large landscapes with simple detailings that emphasized the size and gave a feeling of awe. The European art works also were great, they were what was typically seen in their periods, but their weight and mood is no less significant.

AGO - Lawren Harris

This was my first time visiting the Art Gallery of Ontario and I was excited to see the artworks by the Group of Seven, something that I have only heard of and seen in books, but embodies so much of Canada's history and culture. I was fascinated by the works of Lawren Harris, who was dubbed as the unofficial leader of the group. His works looked so simple yet at the same time very refined and elegant. He's able to capture the breathtaking effect of seeing something so grand and astonishing.

In addition, those unique chairs made up of pressed layers of wood were quite the attraction for most of the students. It was a such a surprise that the chairs were soft and actually quite comfortable to sit on!

AGO

This is my first time going to the AGO. I've passed by the AGO while underconstruction numerous times, so I presumed it was only and explansion on the exterior front that was renovated. Just as I was walking by the front, passing the AGO shop I saw the Frank Gehry Wiggle Chair, I already knew I was in for something. Walking in the first sight of this wiggling pathway leading to the ticket booth already impressed me. As we enter the building instantly greeted by another really aspiring staircase extruding out of the side of the interior wall was absolutely stunning. Entering the back room, I realize there was a lot of incorporation of wooden beams and wooden flooring in the new renovated areas, in fact much of the newly renovated area are incorporated with wood. The wood created a really beautiful, warmth and organic ambient. It definitely suggested the feel of Canada. 

I must admit I was more impressed by the architecture than the actual gallery itself, although the contemporary had some quite interesting things. The warhol stuff looked pretty interesting. There was a massive cube which looked like fur from afar, but until I step closer than I realize they were steel fillings and the cube was a magnet, creating these really interesting organic pattern, which resembled furlike behavior. Another really cool piece was a sculptur of a man's face stretched vertically like how you can distort images in photoshop. The amazing thign was the artist was able to replicate this with extreme detail, and three dimensionally. I could see each strand of hair and each strand of facial hair. The result was visually stunning, I definitely had my jaw dropped.

My Exploration of the AGO

Our class had the opportunity to visit the AGO last week and I was quite curious to see what they had done inside. As a 'newbie' to Toronto, this was my first time to see the interior and exhibitions of the AGO. From our classroom, we can see the backside of the AGO and I can't say that I was impressed with how the new building was integrated into the old structures. I kept thinking that they would be peeling off the 'blue film' and revealing some amazing finish but the final finish is the blue finish. Also as a design student, I found that the exterior staircase to be an odd shape and didn't integrate well into the building...it looked like someone just stuck it on the side of the building.

I'm a big fan of contemporary art and have visited many museums in North America and Europe to see many different exhibitions. The AGO has their collection of contemporary art on the 4th and 5th floor. I have to say that the collection was under-whelming. I found the gallery space to be quite small relative to other museums that I've been to.

My favorite piece would have to be the piece by Attila Richard Lukacs who is a Canadian artist and a graduate of Emily Carr. I'm a big fan of his work due to the provocative nature of his works. He first appeared on the art scene with his large scale images of homosexuality and skinheads. The AGO has a policy of no photography and I was unable to 'sneak' an image of the actual work...the security guy kept hovering around me. Instead I've chosen to post another piece of Lukacs work to give everyone an idea as to what his work is like.