The National Gallery of Canada

For me, a trip to Ottawa could never be complete without a trip to the National Gallery of Canada. Situated as it is, on a bluff adjacent to Parliament and overlooking the Ottawa river, it is a picturesque and inviting building whose modern architectural surfaces of reflective steel and glass bathe its interior with gorgeous natural light. This trip featured to special exhibitions, and unfortunately not enough time for the permanent collection. The first special exhibit was a display of French drawings spanning four centuries. Mostly preliminary sketches and preparatory work, the drawings really gave you a visceral feel for what lay underneath, the structure and foundation of many artist's work. I think that the simplicity of a drawing often leads to a more direct appreciation of the artistry, especially when it captures a look, or gesture that seems raw, or unaffected by the often "finished" nature of the subsequent painting. Delacroix's gestural cartoons for his larger work were very telling in this manner. The second special exhibit was a broad and inclusive collection of images, contexts, and theories of clowns, fools, and freaks throughout the history of art. Ranging from medieval depictions of classic "town idiot" entertainers, to more modern conceptions of art as performance. I much prefered the depictions of clowns as reflections of society's fears, illusions, or phobias as opposed to the more leud, intentionally self-agrandising and pretentious shock-factor shenanigans of some of todays performance based art. They seem to illuminate more of what is really going on in people's minds as to why the clown is such an enduring creation, a necessary character in our society. The broad nature of the work was a bit daunting at times, but the truly great works, really shone through and I enjoyed it immensely.