The fact that Canada has a vibrant contemporary art scene is no secret to Canadians,but in other parts of the world, including the United States, this is not as recognized as itdeserves to be. This wide-ranging, comprehensive survey of contemporary Canadian art, showcasing thework of artists from all across the country, will change that. These artists include those who haverisen to international prominence--Michael Snow, Garry Neill Kennedy, and Marcel Dzama, among others-- as well as many artists who have yet to be discovered outside Canada. Oh,Canada (and the exhibition it accompanies at MASS MoCA) surveys nearly every province andterritory, grouping artists by region, offering a new kind of travel guide with art as the mainattraction. The result is not art that defines itself by national identity but rather someremarkable contemporary art that happens to be Canadian. Each section--from British Columbia and theYukon to the Prairies and North, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the Ex-Pats--includes a texton the art of the region, interviews between artists, and examples of their work. Oh, Canada alsoincludes a detailed exploration of today's Canadian art scene by the editor and whimsical shorterpieces in a variety of forms (travelogues, poems, even fiction) by other writers, among them DouglasCoupland and Jane Urquhart. An appendix offers two lists of Canadians you didn't know wereCanadian--one compiled by an American and the other by a Canadian. Oh, Canada isan unprecedented, near-encyclopedic guide to Canadian contemporary art, and to Canadaitself.
