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Clive Robertson, Explaining Pictures to Dead Air (1978), performance still [The New Gallery, Calgary AB, Jan 6-Feb 5] © Clive Robertson
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Clive Robertson, The Butler and The Secretary (with Germaine Koh) (2003), photograph [The New Gallery, Calgary AB, Jan 6-Feb 5] © Clive Robertson
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Then + Then Again – Practices within an artist-run culture, 1969-2006 is a retrospective exhibition of archives curated by Kingston media artist Clive Robertson. Previously shown at AKA Gallery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the show consists of 5 DVDs, 6 CDs and a series of 24 photo-texts that combine a history of Robertson's own performances, videos and audio works alongside his curatorial and publishing collaborations.
Robertson worked with various members of the1960s Fluxus movement, including Robert Filliou, Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles, and Joseph Beuys. Since 1971, he has collaborated with artist-run centres in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Kingston and Calgary and currently teaches contemporary art history, cultural policy and performance studies at Queen's University.
Then + Then Again examines artist collectives as an alternative culture and emphasizes the productivity of intergenerational exchanges. Highlights include the archives of W.O.R.K.S., a Calgary-based performance and publishing collective formed during the 1970s; the history of Centerfold/FUSE magazine; and re-editioned CDs from the indie cassette and vinyl Voicespondence label. The exhibit material, which also has a collectibles display of rubber stamps, artists books and other ephemera, was selected from 600 images, 40 hours of videotape and 60 hours of audio archives.
Robertson is a founding editor and publisher of Centerfold and FUSE magazines, a member of the Independent Artists Union, and a National Spokesperson for ANNPAC/RACA. His writings have appeared in artscanada, Art and Artists, High Performance, Parachute and C Magazine.
www.thenewgallery.org
