Call for Submissions - Jean Berger Project

In 1704, the painter Jean Berger was tried and convicted of forgery, assault and robbery. The legal documents from the trial paint a picture of an accomplished artist with a shady past of drunken nights and debauchery. Over three hundred years later, Dr. François-Marc Gagnon has written Jean Berger, peintre et complice? a book that attempts to re-create Berger's life and art while offering a unique look at life in Montreal in the 18th century. But even Dr. Gagnon's book cannot replicate the absent works of this artist. The graduate students in the Department of Art History are therefore calling on artists in all media to imagine the kinds of works that Berger might have produced, and to conjure up the experience of living in Montreal in the 18th century: a city of bored soldiers, secret affairs, crime and robbery... nothing like the ecclesiastical images of Montreal presented in narratives of Canada's official history. These works will be part of an exhibition on the life and work of Jean Berger, to be held in the FOFA Gallery vitrine in spring 2012.

Rather than seeking to recreate historical images of Montreal at that time, this project aims to use the gaps in historical knowledge as unique spaces for interpretation and creation. Of particular interest are the intersections between art historical research, artistic practices and curatorial strategies; allowing us to ask the question: How can contemporary art navigate the past?

To help you with this, selected artists will have access to the publication by Dr. François-Marc Gagnon as well as the curatorial team. Selected artists will be included in an exhibition in the FOFA Gallery vitrine in April 2012. Their work will also appear on the Project's website and in a publication.

See Call for Submissions [this document is no longer available for download].
 
Submission packages must include, in a .zip folder:
-CV (no more than 3 pages) and Artist statement (1 page)
-Detailed project description of the work you plan to create (include as much detail about technical/spatial requirements as possible)
-A portfolio of up to 5 numbered digital images in .jpg format, and corresponding image list with artist name, title, date, medium, and dimensions.
-10 minutes (maximum) of audio or video material, if relevant
-Up to 2 other items of relevant support material (i.e. diagrams, articles, reviews, press clippings)

Send submissions by email, no later than November 26th, 2011 to jean.berger.project@gmail.com

www.jeanbergerproject.tumblr.com

In collaboration with the Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art, the Department of Art History and the FOFA Gallery.