This week’s blog discusses my visit to the McMichael Art Gallery and my reactions to the Marcel Dzama exhibit.
As I mentioned in the blog, I first saw Dzama’s art around 1999 or 2000 on Queen’s Street (Toronto). At the time, Dzama was already famous in Canada, and it was a real shock to see how small his works were and how expensive (I remember the prices being around $125 or $250). I found it extremely depressing that someone from a faraway place like Winnipeg was already making it big in Toronto while I saw no opportunity for advancement (either in Hamilton or Toronto).
How did this kid do it?
Twenty years later, I am still amazed by his success. There are many talented artists out there, but only a few make it big, and even fewer go on to have long art careers.
I spent the day doing some research (the wonders of the internet, just imagine trying to do this back in 1998); I think the key to his early success was the formation of a collective in art school called the Royal Art Lodge (1996).
This small group of artists focused on drawings, working together to promote their hand-drawn, quirky, and fantastical characters that seemed to suggest some sort of narrative. The core group of six BFA students, all born around 1975, were as follows: Jonathan Pylypuk, Adrian Williams, Drue Langlois, Neil Farber, Michael Dumontier Marcel Dzama Hollie Dzama and Myles Langlois were more informally associated with the group as well. I think what gave this group more unity and drive for the tight presentation of their art was the family ties. Hollie and Marcel were sisters and brothers. Neil was Marcel’s uncle despite being younger than Marcel. Drue and Myles were brothers.
So, five of the eight students were related to each other. I believe that their ability to come together allowed them to escape the limitations of being students and put themselves out into the art world that would get them noticed. While I don’t know if they did this, they certainly had the potential to approach galleries and present themselves as package group shows. Finally, they had a good story to tell, and there was enough meat to their work to offer a curator an interesting project to stage. All this would have made the leap from Winnipeg to Toronto much easier. Once in Toronto, the group could have picked up extra energy from the rise of several International Artists.
William Kentridge (b.1955) made his breakthrough in 1994 with his animated film Felix in Exile.
David Shrigley (b.1968) had his breakout moment with his inclusion in the 2000 Royal Academy of Arts (London) exhibit entitled: “Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art. Meanwhile,
Raymond Pettibon (b.1957) fame had been building throughout the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the International Art Market was primed for artists who focused on drawing as their practice. Somehow, the David Zwirner Gallery became aware of Marcel Dzama’s art and was impressed enough to offer him a solo show in 1998 (only one year after graduating from university).
In 2003, the Royal Art Lodge achieved the next level of success with a major show at the New York Drawing Center entitled “The Royal Art Lodge: Ask The Dust,” which must have really established their standing in the art world. After 2003, the group started going their separate ways, and Dzama was firmly established as an international artist.
While success would never have happened without talent, I am not sure if talent alone would have ensured success. Today, it is not uncommon to hear advice to socialize with other artists and get the word out about what you are doing. However, forming a group with a tight focus on a particular type of art is likely the key. After this, you need luck, like arriving on the art scene when the art world is interested in what you have to offer. Twenty years later, Dzama is still going strong, and I still stand in awe. Cheers
FCSD Studio 