By Sanita Fejzic

All the anticipation, the build-up, the controversy, the he-said-she-said and the excitement made for an electrifying atmosphere at the National Art Gallery’s vernissage for Pop Life: Art in a Material World this Thursday, June 10.

I could not keep my cool waiting for the speeches to be over. Moments later I realized the door to the exhibition was at last open and I didn’t have to listen any more! As we entered, I could smell the adrenalin of the art beasts around me, all of us competing for space. Mission: get in and get a load of great art while finding room to breathe and just the right angle to view the work through all the clamouring bodies!

These moments are rare ones in Ottawa. And pop! goes my opinion of Marc Mayer, the director of the Gallery. A true visionary, he has revived the gallery and made it roar with this show. He gave me a night of pure magic: Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Damian Hirst, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami and other artist superstars

The theme of the exhibition: examine the relationship between pop art, marketing and mass media. Is the art kitsch or is it avant-garde? That is the question–and one that’s been on the media’s mind lately. I guess celebrity appeal plus commerce plus art equals recipe for controversy. How could a visual explosion, a sensory orgasm, not create controversy? This show will stimulate you in more ways than one—and thank God for that. I am tired of having to go to New York or Europe for something to blow my mind.

Of course all the talk of sex and Nazis will catch headlines. But does that really bother anyone other than politicians? It’s part of the deal. It’s part of life and history. Artists can tackle these subjects critically and with aesthetic. And as Andy put it so well, “good business is the best art.” So what if artists are capitalizing on the commercial model for expression that brings them glory and money? How dare they!

The other day an acquaintance said to me “It’s not for children, it’s just porn.” My response are: 1) Obviously this person hadn’t seen the show; and 2) I wish I could have replied with what I overheard a lady say at the sweaty vernisage: “We show children paintings of war and they see violence every day—so what’s wrong with sex?” Case closed! Make love, not war and go see Pop Life.

But yikes, think carefully before you bring your children! Not because of the show’s content but because there are scary warning signs everywhere that read:

The following room contains artworks with sexually explicit content. Adult accompaniment required.

The rooms in question should not shock you unless you are uncomfortable with sex, have never watched TV, or never been online. If you find fellatio appalling or naked women playing with paint and each other disturbing, then read the warning sign and stay away.

In my opinion, this show is for everyone because pop art is for everyone. It’s a movement that sought to redefine art and expand boundaries; it’s art that began in the NYC subway; it’s art that behaved like humans: beautiful, free, adventurous and greedy, material, provocative.

And a material note: I spent some $90 at the show, something I had never done before. The recreation of a Keith Haring’s Pop Shop in the exhibition features a little window where you can buy pins, t-shirts and other things you don’t need but must have in the moment. It’s all part of the consumptive mood that overcomes you. Warhol’s factory and Murakami’s KaiKai Kiki merchandize creep over you like an aphrodisiac, almost unnoticed. Beware of the material girl/boy within you!

I think I’ve come to terms with the idea of art and commerce being blended—they always have been—except contemporary artists are taking control and affirming their roles in the financial aspect, no longer content to leave museums, collectors, auction houses and others take the lion’s share of the payoff.

I’m still giddy with materialism as I write this. This exhibition has popped my art cherry and I’ll be back for more, thank you very much.

Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, 1975. Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas. Private collection. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / ARS (New York) / SODRAC (Montreal). Photo: Tate Photography




Keith Haring, Pop Shop, 1986. Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation. Photo: Charles Dolfi-Michels






Damien Hirst, Memories of / Moments with You (detail), 2008. Gold-plated steel with glass manufactured diamonds, diptych. Private collection, courtesy Sotheby’s, London. © Damien Hirst, courtesy Science Ltd., London