Canadian Architect magazine critical of choice, display of Venice Biennale exhibit

A commentary in Canadian Architect magazine is sharply critical of Canada's contribution this year to the Venice Biennale of Architecture. Writer Rodney LaTourelle is critical of the way the Canadian pavillion installation was displayed and the way in which this particular entry was chosen.

(Called 41° to 66°: Architecture in Canada--Region, Culture, Tectonics, curated by Marco Polo and John McMinn and created in collaboration with the Cambridge Galleries, the exhibit has just closed.)

Employing a variety of media including interactive video, graphic panels that also incorporate models, a landscape diorama, and other projections, the curators also reconfigure the existing exhibition by including four new projects. Yet in the Biennale context, 41° to 66° does not stand out as innovative, and its mandate to portray the links between sustainable technology and references to local culture and building tradition is not facilitated by its crowded and confusing installation....

While it is certainly debatable whether or not 41° to 66° was the best choice for the Canadian pavilion, it was selected by the Canada Council only after the two initial proposals formally submitted to the jury were passed over, and it is rather unique with respect to the contemporary Canadian architectural scene. Exploring the breadth and diversity of the country, the curatorial approach also reinforces the connection between regional strategies and sustainability. This regional approach points out the characteristic multiplicity in Canada necessitated by the vast geography, but in terms of Canadian culture, the fact that there are so few exhibitions such as this one reveals our characteristic lack of communication between regions and an ongoing provincialism. Moreover, the surprising dearth of entries to represent Canada in Venice may indicate the underfunding provided to this initiative, but also seems to point out a seriously deficient vitality at this level.