Recently I had a couple of hours between appointments so I decided to pay a visit to the Art Gallery of Sudbury.
I am not an art expert, more of an art appreciator. I have been to galleries in Ottawa, Toronto and the McMichael collection of the Group of Seven in Kleinburg.
While I did not expect to see anything by Monet or Rembrandt, I did expect to see paintings of some evocative scenes of rural life in Quebec by Kreighoff or others or maybe a group of Seven lesser-known works or paintings by local artists like Ivan Wheale.
First of all, I missed the entrance to the gallery but’s Ok. Easy to do. I went around the block. I went up to the entrance and was confronted by what looked like the entrance door with a No Entry sign on it, followed by fine print underneath, which I didn’t read, taking the No Entry sign to heart.
After searching for another entrance, I returned and read the whole message on the door, which turned out to be a COVID warning. Anyway, upon entry, I paid my $5 donation.
The gallery is on two levels. Entering the first level I was confronted by what appeared to be altered monocolour photographs of stuff, one of which featured side profiles of Einstein’s head, which prompted no emotional response.
The other 10 pictures on that level were of the same mundane character.
The second level was a bit different in that it included pictures by an Indigenous artist, but I wasn’t particularly swayed by the way the environmental themes were presented.
That was my reaction. To each their own.
The bottom line is that the Art Gallery of Sudbury is a farce. It only has 20 or so pictures on display. ( I have twice that many in my home, including originals, Indigenous art, signed and numbered prints, prints, lithographs and framed photographs). If that is the quality of the art that is to be displayed in the new gallery, then whatever portion of the $100 million is devoted to it, it will be a waste of money, as was my $5.
What I would suggest to the citizens of Sudbury and, especially to the members of city council, is visit the gallery and make up your mind to either support or not support the tens of millions of dollars on the project.
It would be interesting to know how many councillors and even city staff who are either supporting or voting on this plan have ever visited the gallery to know what it will eventually include in its exhibits.
I realize there are paintings in storage, but as it is, a tourist attraction it is not and, in fact, is an embarrassment to the city.
Arne Suutari
Levack
