The Italian Cultural Institute and the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures-Italian Studies di McGill University are pleased to present the conference “The elusive fox or the elusive aspect of contemporary art” by Vittorio Canta.
Tuesday January 14th 2020, 4.30pm
McGill University
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures-Italian Studies, Room 1825
688 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal
Conference in English
The presentation concerns the state of contemporary art as perceived by the general public and the objective consists addressing the misconceptions related to the meaning of contemporary “art”. Having observed how the “mediatic” language controlling our cultural environment has deformed the perception of many issues, Vittorio Canta thought appropriate to expose what happens in the world we call ART. Using his own work as a point of reference (and without the purpose of promoting it), the dialogue will be supported by historic references intended to define certain paradoxes that are being taken for granted. The closest explanation Vittorio Canta can offer it would be the “de-myticizing” of white canvases under the title “The snowy field”. While a voice over will provide explanations, visual material will be projected on a screen.
Vittorio Canta, born in Milan in 1941, studied at Milan’s “Accademia di Brera” before entering a highly sought-after graphic designer in Italy’s dynamic advertising industry. In 1966, after eight years of service in the major advertising agencies in Milan, he moved to Montreal continuing his career dedicating creativity, competence and intuition to the patrons of the advertising industry. In the role of art director and creative director, he designed and produced visual communications for many of leading corporations and institutions. After forty years of commercial art, he settled in the picturesque town of Sutton, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. Chronology: 1956-1958, Artist Lyceum of Brera in Milan; 1958-1959, Studio Piaggi; 1959-1966, Assistant art director at the Italo-British advertising agency Radar & Benson, Art director at the Italo-French agency A.T.A., Art director at the Italo-American agency BBDO, Creative director at the Italo-USA agency Milan & Grey; 1967-1973, Art director at Avenue Advertising Art & Marcil/Caron/Barks in Montreal; 1973-2001, freelance creative director for a multitude of direct clients and advertising agencies; 2002, fully devoted to painting, writing and dreaming.