It's a full circle moment for art criticism in Canada..Montreal is ringing in summer with a new 90-ft art piece at the entrance to Montreal's downtown Place Ville Marie, reported CTV..And it's strikingly similar to a piece of public art that raised the ire of Calgarians years ago..The stainless steel structure weighs 23,000 kg and cost around $5 million, funding came from both taxpayer and private money..The art piece was commissioned by real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge and designed by architecture firm Claude Cormier..The lead architect says the design shows the marriage, or union, of the past, present and future of the city..The piece was put up on Saturday, but is not completed yet. When finished the ring will give off a soft light and even be illuminated at special events..“The goal is to really attract all kinds of people, everybody. We want to have a downtown area that is really alive and dynamic,” said Annik Desmarteau, vice-president of the Quebec office of Ivanhoe Cambridge..“The idea is actually trying to bring some meaning with this piece that would be floating between two buildings that we could not touch,” said Claude Cormier, of Claude Cormier and associates..Montrealers are comparing the art to a bagel, a camera lens, a portal and R-rated toys on Twitter.."$5m for a circle. What a waste of money. Just like the ones Calgary bought years ago. If I was a taxpayer there, I'd be pissed," said @PrairieVeteran on Twitter.."This is part of a $200 million private investment restoration of Place Ville-Marie. Art is never meant to be universal but to generate discussion, good and bad. Van Goth never sold a painting in his lifetime," said Claude Lamire on Twitter..The art piece may ring a bell with many Albertans, as in 2013 a similar controversial installation went up in Calgary. .Calgary's former mayor Naheed Nenshi called the $470,000 blue ring "awful" and clarified it was commissioned before he was elected, reported CBC..The Calgary project, titled "Traveling Light" was done by a Swedish art group called Inges Idee.."I think they received 55 submissions, of which three were from Calgary, and they managed to pick something they liked," said Nenshi.."80% of the work and the budget was spent in Calgary with Calgary businesses and this is what we got. Now I don't like it, but sometimes art is divisive.".Contributing artist Axel Lieber made comments on behalf of Inges Idee after the storm of criticism.."A kind of irritation seems even to derive from us being an artist group from abroad," said Lieber.."We are aware that changes to a familiar environment can be irritating to some people and spur issues of discussion and controversy."."Nevertheless, we hope that once the discussions have calmed down and people get more used to the sculpture, Calgarians might be able to enjoy the work.".The blue ring of Calgary has a Twitter page where the piece has made shoutouts to its Montreal cousin..As trolls online mock the new installation, the Giant Blue Ring Tweeted "Montrealers will grow to love this erection." .The account also keeps followers updated of similar art pieces around the world.
It's a full circle moment for art criticism in Canada..Montreal is ringing in summer with a new 90-ft art piece at the entrance to Montreal's downtown Place Ville Marie, reported CTV..And it's strikingly similar to a piece of public art that raised the ire of Calgarians years ago..The stainless steel structure weighs 23,000 kg and cost around $5 million, funding came from both taxpayer and private money..The art piece was commissioned by real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge and designed by architecture firm Claude Cormier..The lead architect says the design shows the marriage, or union, of the past, present and future of the city..The piece was put up on Saturday, but is not completed yet. When finished the ring will give off a soft light and even be illuminated at special events..“The goal is to really attract all kinds of people, everybody. We want to have a downtown area that is really alive and dynamic,” said Annik Desmarteau, vice-president of the Quebec office of Ivanhoe Cambridge..“The idea is actually trying to bring some meaning with this piece that would be floating between two buildings that we could not touch,” said Claude Cormier, of Claude Cormier and associates..Montrealers are comparing the art to a bagel, a camera lens, a portal and R-rated toys on Twitter.."$5m for a circle. What a waste of money. Just like the ones Calgary bought years ago. If I was a taxpayer there, I'd be pissed," said @PrairieVeteran on Twitter.."This is part of a $200 million private investment restoration of Place Ville-Marie. Art is never meant to be universal but to generate discussion, good and bad. Van Goth never sold a painting in his lifetime," said Claude Lamire on Twitter..The art piece may ring a bell with many Albertans, as in 2013 a similar controversial installation went up in Calgary. .Calgary's former mayor Naheed Nenshi called the $470,000 blue ring "awful" and clarified it was commissioned before he was elected, reported CBC..The Calgary project, titled "Traveling Light" was done by a Swedish art group called Inges Idee.."I think they received 55 submissions, of which three were from Calgary, and they managed to pick something they liked," said Nenshi.."80% of the work and the budget was spent in Calgary with Calgary businesses and this is what we got. Now I don't like it, but sometimes art is divisive.".Contributing artist Axel Lieber made comments on behalf of Inges Idee after the storm of criticism.."A kind of irritation seems even to derive from us being an artist group from abroad," said Lieber.."We are aware that changes to a familiar environment can be irritating to some people and spur issues of discussion and controversy."."Nevertheless, we hope that once the discussions have calmed down and people get more used to the sculpture, Calgarians might be able to enjoy the work.".The blue ring of Calgary has a Twitter page where the piece has made shoutouts to its Montreal cousin..As trolls online mock the new installation, the Giant Blue Ring Tweeted "Montrealers will grow to love this erection." .The account also keeps followers updated of similar art pieces around the world.
