Bio: Carol Conde + Karl Beveridge are Toronto-based artists whose practice has impacted the arts ecology here and elsewhere, in ways that could not easily be overstated. Their work consistently takes up themes of labour, social justice, representation, and the power and possibility of art to make meaningful change. They have worked closely with workers, unions, activists, and a range of social justice oriented arts collectives and community organizations. Their work appropriates figures of Western Canonical art and weaves together staged photographic images of actual artists, activists, actors, and workers to expose issues including: gender inequality in the home, the workplace and in the artist’s studio, the global water crisis, the 2008 crash, and Canada’s shameful relationship to resource extraction and indigenous rights. Apart from this, they’ve helped to organize artist unions, to establish the Worker’s Heritage and Arts Centre in Hamilton and they were founding members of Mayworks, the festival where this podcast began its life.

Recording Notes: This interview was recorded at the dinner table in the artists’ home, not so far from Factory Theatre in downtown Toronto. You can at points hear their pets and the jangle of Carol’s several silver bracelets. The much despised Toronto air show. Along the walls hung cases of buttons and ribbons bearing union and activist slogans and insignias, and in Karl’s modest living room studio they showed me some of the coming projects they are at work on.

Elements of this episode's sound design were contributed by Cale Weir. Check out his work here: https://taxhaven.bandcamp.com/

Links:

Artist:Official Website: http://condebeveridge.ca/

References:Donald Judd: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-judd-donald.htmCarl Andre: http://www.artnet.com/artists/carl-andre/Art & Language: https://www.flashartonline.com/article/art-language/NSCAD in the 70s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSCAD_conceptual_artAmiri Baraka: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/amiri-barakaPaula Cooper Gallery: https://www.paulacoopergallery.com/Lucy Lippard: https://exhibits.stanford.edu/women-art-revolution/feature/lucy-lippardJudy Chicago: http://www.judychicago.com/The Fox Magazine: https://www.guggenheim.org/blogs/findings/this-short-lived-70s-magazine-shaped-conceptual-artUnited Steelworkers: https://www.usw.ca/Radio Shack Strike: http://www.virtualreferencelibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMDC-TSPA_0017040F&R=DC-TSPA_0017040F&searchPageType=vrlD’Arcy Martin: http://aurora.icaap.org/index.php/aurora/article/view/24/35Ian Burn: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/09/obituaries/ian-burn-53-artist-writer-and-founder-of-an-artists-union.htmlCARFAC: http://www.carfac.ca/A Space: http://www.aspacegallery.org/General Idea: https://canadianart.ca/reviews/general-idea-ago/Workers Arts and Heritage Centre: http://wahc-museum.ca/Florencia Berinstein: http://www.aspacegallery.org/index.php?m=programdetails&id=59Plug In: https://plugin.org/Fuse Magazine: https://canadianart.ca/news/fuse-magazine-folds-after-38-years/Jack Pollacks Gallery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_PollockCarmen Lamanna Gallery: https://canadianart.ca/features/carmen-lamanna/Young Lords: https://libcom.org/library/palante-brief-history-young-lordsDavid Fennario: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/david-fennario-the-good-fight-takes-an-artistic-look-at-playwright-s-life-1.2836551CAW Freelancer Local: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Freelance_UnionAi WeiWei: http://www.moonmoonmoonmoon.com/Francis Alÿs: http://francisalys.com/Theaster Gates: https://art21.org/artist/theaster-gates/