NOMINATOR'S STATEMENT
When I received the invitation to participate in the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award, the name Stan Douglas came immediately to mind. The extensive scope and accomplishment of this artist is truly astonishing. But this is not my primary reason for nominating Mr. Douglas. As a contemporary Canadian artist, educator and writer I hold his work in the highest esteem. Every encounter with the work of Stan Douglas alters and renews my commitment to images, narrative, photography and art. This is not merely an academic exercise. Something much deeper has affected me. What is it? What have I experienced? This is exactly what the artwork of Stan Douglas desires.
In every historical era there are artists who, in addition to maintaining a visible and professional practice, invent, influence and redefine the cultural understanding and reception of art in ways that will endure. Notable examples from the history of 20th century photography would be Walker Evans, Man Ray, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman and Jeff Wall. I believe that Stan Douglas shares this distinction.
During the creative career of Stan Douglas (1981-present) the creation and reception of art and photography has been mediated and remediated by technological change. The advent of personal and mobile computing, the Internet, digital imaging and social media has shaped the mediascape of ubiquitous computing. In this context, we now ponder what photography is. Although we have lived this transition, few of us can successfully explain or describe the profound effect that this occurrence has had on our daily lives, our sense of historical time, or the imminent horizon that anticipates us. How has this period of image mediation transformed the traditions and criteria of documentary practice that were so vital and precious to modernist photographers and filmmakers? I would contend that the art of Stan Douglas informs these questions in the most thoughtful and meaningful ways.
Stan Douglas works with popular media: photography, film, story telling, public spectacle, and soon, mobile apps. His work is immediately familiar. The stories and events that he represents are populist, literate and timely. Often, they are the overlooked histories of cultural identity, displacement and injustice that retain an uncanny resemblance to contemporary events. As Douglas states:
"It is not always necessary for the viewer of my work to be aware of every source and every reference. If a work cannot be understood on any level by just experiencing and having everyday knowledge of television and film, then the work is not successful".
The work of Stan Douglas is collected and exhibited by the most prestigious international museums in the world (Tate Gallery, London; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; National Gallery of Canada; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York are some of the public collections cited in his CV). The prestigious discourse and publications that continue to document his work flourish. The world archive has received and welcomed his contribution with great admiration.
Stan Douglas is tenacious. When we least expect it, he revives the "Teleplays" of Samuel Beckett to international critical acclaim. At the very moment when the "death of photography" is proclaimed in a fog of technological nostalgia, Stan Douglas reinvents the validity and importance of the medium. His international stature as a photographer has recently been affirmed in his being awarded the 2012 Infinity Award by the International Center of Photography, New York.
As Canadians, we are often late to recognize and celebrate those among us who have made momentous international contributions to the world of art, culture and ideas. I sincerely believe that Stan Douglas should not have to wait for this acclaim.
Robert Bean