Voices of Fire: Art, Rage, Power, and the State

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

The focus for this book is the public furor that erupted in the spring
of 1990 when the National Gallery of Canada announced its purchase of
the $1.8-million Voice of Fire, a large abstract painting by American
artist Barnett Newman. Within hours, Canadians had a new target for
controversy and indignation.

This anthology is a case study of the public debate that followed and
of Canadian attitudes toward abstract art. The first section consists of
cartoons, editorials, and letters to the editor attacking the Gallery
for its choice and its use of taxpayers’ money. In the second section,
three essays provide contrasting accounts of the affair by analyzing the
social processes by which art becomes art and the role of the media in
shaping public perceptions. Finally, four papers from a 1990 symposium
on the painting hosted by the National Gallery represent criticism as
damage control and a continuation of the public dialogue.

A single painting makes an unusual focus for a book, but this case
study of “a particularly notorious explosion” works well to reveal
Canadian attitudes, both popular and professional, toward abstract art.
The anthology, like the controversy it records, makes an excellent start
for debate.