"PUFF PIECE, NOT JOURNALISM"
By Marilyn S. Mylrea

I was deeply disappointed to read the article in the Vancouver Sun on March 26th, 2011 by Shelley Fralic covering the Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. This was a pleasant puff piece which lacked any serious journalistic research and objectivity. I would trust that if Kathleen Bartels was a politician that a more serious and in-depth report would have been done. Yet, in actuality the Director of the VAG is a public servant hired to represent the public as the Director of a major public gallery which we all pay for in our taxes, and is accountable to the public. And, therefore the lack of hard questions, research and one sided glowing simplicity of this article is detrimental to all serious journalism.

The article starts off with the lead, "Kathleen Bartels eyes the big picture" which is in fact true if by the big picture one means the elite, the international and the ambitious ego. Yet, it is by far not the "whole" picture. It refers to her Chicago roots as the VAG has a history of hiring American Directors. It seems that we cannot ever find good Canadian art administrators. It also mentions her plans to return to her native land and retire to Hawaii. It states that in her early years she did not have the patience for painting yet "found photography". And, unfortunately for Vancouver painters, we have also only "found photography" for the past 10 years as this medium has exclusively dominated the VAG's exhibition walls. It is my understanding that this Director's only completed degree was a B.A. in (guess what) Photography. She does admit to her lack of formal training which leads to the obvious question as to why the Board would hire a Director with a lack of formal Fine Arts training, and one who had also never even been to Canada (despite her mentoring programs in American galleries).

It states that she spoke to everyone including the Board and artists. Yet this is not entirely true as many important local artists have never even met this Director, and it is my understanding that she has not even visited many of the local galleries in Vancouver, not even once over a period of 10 long years to learn about all of the local artists (not just the acclaimed photographers). We only have approximately 30 galleries. Other American Directors such as Mr. J. Brooks Joyner took a very active role within his first six months to visit many local artists' studios including my own where we chatted for over two hours. Would it not be obvious as a newcomer to try and learn everything about the local Arts community and is it not their responsibility to do so?

This article's comments regarding the VAG attracting a younger audience neglects the fact that art teachers have always taken students on gallery tours as part of their curriculum. Youth in galleries is not new. One should also understand that the most popular shows like Rembrandt and Dali are not usually curated by the VAG as they are pre-packaged by other museums, yet we appreciate that the VAG does attain them. In terms of the higher numbers during the Olympics' Leonardo da Vinci show, this article neglects to mention that there was Free Admission at that time. So, of course the numbers would be higher when it's free. There have also been allegations that the VAG has had a deficit for the past 2 years (so perhaps we should have charged admission) yet none of that was questioned or clarified.

It does mention some criticism which is an understatement regarding building a very expensive new building as the current one is insufficient which has been hotly debated by our most powerful players. Yet, City Hall has now agreed and it looks like a done deal from Heather Deal who also grew up in the U.S.A. The only reason for my American comments is because both Ms. Bartels and Ms. Deal (whose education is in Science) are in very powerful positions making important decisions on Canadian Culture and they may not truly understand it. Would Americans like Canadians deciding their Cultural future? Or would any nationality have another nationality do this? Other areas of criticism come from the VAG's own union and staff who have also raised a great amount of dissent (which was not questioned) regarding staff lay-offs at the VAG. Ms. Bartels allusions that we need a world class gallery as we are a world class city seem confusing when she still calls us a "town".

It refers to her charming personality which is a wonderful quality, and I respect Mr. Michael Audain's compliments and knowledge in this regard. Yet, surely one would naturally expect any VAG Director to be the most charming to our major patrons who generously donate vast sums graciously to the VAG. However, this does seem to be her greatest strength, courting the wealthy, the influential, and the international which I agree is an important attribute. We do need a Director who can gain the attention and good will of the powerful and international art scene. She has increased donations to the VAG and this is very commendable. Yet, we also need one who supports Canadian local artists, not just the internationally famous ones. Perhaps, if her origins were Canadian she would understand this.

I have never met Ms. Bartels and my comments are not personal as I presume that she is a very nice person, however as far a being one of our best Directors I would sadly disagree. Ambition is important yet not at the price of humility. There has been sexism, racism and extreme elitism. I believe that it is the Director's ethical responsibility to represent and serve all of the public. There has been sexism as many contemporary women artists have not been taken seriously nor had fair and equal opportunity to showcase their styles of art which is often seen as "sentimental" under patriarchal intellectualism, yet women perceive the world differently which is clearly evident in the sensual flowers by Georgia O'Keefe. The contemporary male artists which this Director has profiled and purchased with public dollars, and has exclusively shown to the highest degree of patronage are commonly referred to in our Arts community as the international "boy's club". It is impressive that many of our male artists have reached the heights of international acclaim. Yet, contemporary women artists have been sadly neglected and have not had the same equal opportunities.

There has been racism because there has been very limited representation of art by our exceptional First Nation artists who have not been given due recognition. Yes, Brian Jungen, an international star has been shown because he is already famous. The Bill Reid Gallery was founded partly due to the VAG's lack of interest in First Nations art. Even, Mr. Michael Audain who generously donated to the Bill Reid Gallery has acknowledged that the VAG has been very weak in this area as he emailed me stating, "But I have to agree with you that the Gallery's holdings of indigenous art seems to be very modest, something which hopefully can be corrected in the new building." I do not think that the building is the problem, yet rather that the duty to responsibly represent First Nation artists has not been implemented. After all, 10 years is a long time to acquire holdings and the VAG has had an annual budget set aside each year just for this purpose. They've managed to acquire very expensive photography and plan on spending $79,000 on one piece of non-Native art.

And, most notably there has been elitism which the current Director has consistently shown by primarily courting only the famous and powerful. This shallowness and lack of ethical integrity to represent all of the community negates the public responsibilities of this position. The VAG rarely, if ever, supports local artists from the ground up. Canadians are used to this self-esteem problem which tends to negate our own talents until applause comes from elsewhere. Yet, it is customary for our regional galleries such as the Burnaby or Richmond to support their local artists. This neglect is a well known fact that many local artists have been complaining about for the past 10 years. This is why local artists have been forced to create their own shows such as the Artropolis shows, Artists in Our Midst, the East Side Cultural Crawl, etc. The only exception is the VAG's Art Rental program which rents and sells local art yet does not provide the respect of actual exhibitions. Another sad reality during this recession is that many very important galleries have closed or are closing including Diane Farris, Buschlen Mowatt and the Atelier which may not have happened if the VAG had supported them. However I do not presume the reasons for these closures yet I do know that the local galleries need the support of our community.

There has also been extreme exclusivity in the exhibitions which have focused on photography, photo-conceptualism, installation and video art. It is even rare to see contemporary painting or sculpture. If local painters are shown, it tends to be the very senior artists such as Gordon Smith or dead artists such as Onley and Shadbolt, or they are from one major commercial gallery which the Chief Curator Daina Augaitis is very closely aligned with. Is this not a conflict of interest? Yet, any accountability in the art world is apparently unnecessary even when it involves public funding. It is understandable that this Director only focuses on photography as that is her limited knowledge, yet this public position has the obligation to showcase all of the various styles and mediums, not just one's own personal preference.

I sincerely hope that this Director, the Board and the Curators of the VAG will open their eyes to see all of the artists of Vancouver and British Columbia. I invite them to visit all of the galleries and all of the artists' studios to truly learn about Canadian artists. Many local artists have simply given up on the VAG. Ten years of neglect has left apathy and cynicism. Yet, I believe we can have a vibrant, exciting art scene here as we have many magnificent artists. I personally am more than happy to meet this Director whom we have invited to every Opening Reception for the past six years. At least Heather Deal with Mayor Gregor Robertson have visited. We are listed in the Top Ten Art Galleries on the www.vancouverbc.com website which also includes the VAG. It is not about taste in art, it's about respect for the community and the ethical responsibilities of this position so every gallery should be visited.

I feel somewhat like David taking on the giant Goliath by writing this expose, yet even in a courthouse which the VAG is still in, one is supposed to say the truth, the "whole truth". I believe we need a Director who looks at the whole picture, not just the big one. The final comments in this article are not very comforting with plans in the future for a Pop art show (presumably American) and photography from the Dusseldorf School of Photography as well as photography by Diane Arbus. No surprises here yet at least it includes one woman. I personally love Diane Arbus, yet can we see anything else besides photography? How about women painters, contemporary British Columbian artists and First Nation artists?

I would like to try and bridge this pervasive gap of elitist activity as I believe more in harmony than in confrontation. So, please visit as I am open to hearing other points of view and will gladly discuss these issues. The VAG and the Vancouver art scene does not need another 10 years of polarization in its fractured community and to be lead by academic narcissism. We can all work together to create a full tapestry of beauty with the richness of diversity, plurality and inclusivity for all, especially if we are to grow into a major city with a brand new Art Gallery. The artists and citizens of Vancouver deserve the very best that we can all offer.

Marilyn S. Mylrea
Marilyn S. Mylrea Art Gallery