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We’re Looking For You – The Centennial Armory Show report Pt.1

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Homage to Marcel Duchamp. Installation view at DODGEgallery, New York (Armory Focus: USA) Photo by M-KOS

As always since 1913, Armory held this year an impressive show at Piers 92 & 94 in New York City, on the extended weekend of 7-10 March. The world’s oldest art fair surprisingly made little fanfare of its centennial edition, other than to boast historical landmarks on its website. Hardly any educational effort was exerted outside of VIP conferences, for example to nod at the initial 69th Armory Regiment venue, which the fair got its name from. Some exhibitors such as DODGEgallery and Francis M. Naumann Fine Art (both New York based) did theme their booth on iconic works by Marcel Duchamp, recalling his impact at the inaugural show, one hundred years ago.
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Re-writing art history – in conversation with Marie-Josée Jean, artistic director of VOX


Exhibition view from “Art Hisotires” at VOX. Courtesy of VOX.

VOX is a Montreal-based artist-run centre founded in 1985. After relocating many times within different areas over the years, VOX settled in March 2012 to its permanent home, in the brand new culture complex building 2-22, situated at the heart of downtown Montreal. The inaugural exhibition of their new space entitled “Art Histories” was curated by VOX artistic director Marie-Josée Jean and showcases a total of 16 international artists which all in their own way attempt to deconstruct art history and challenge this great institution. Jean talked to M-KOS of the history of VOX and their inaugural exhibition.

M-KOS [MKOS]: Can you start by introducing VOX, its mandate and its decision to move to the most central location of Montréal?

Marie-Josée Jean [MJJ]: The history of VOX is quite long because this is a group that was formed in 1985, and it’s interesting to know that at the onset the original name was Vox Populi. It was a communications collective predominantly using photography as one of many means of communications, but also radio. The origins of VOX were socially quite active, notably to the extent that VOX gave itself the mandate to defend the rights of youths. Over the years the group specialized into an exhibition space for photography. Nonetheless, our origins are clearly associated with social activism. In fact, the son of the founders of VOX, Marcel Blouin and Lucie Bureau, is now one of the key leaders of Québec’s current student protest (Leo Bureau-Blouin) [laugh].
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