In 1975, a small group of enterprising, discontented members of the international art community in the Canadian province of Quebec posed the following question: "What do we know of contemporary art outside of Quebec, in Canada or abroad? Do we even know what contemporary art exists in Montreal? How does information about art circulate?" By way of an answer, the artistically unconventional and theoretically cutting-edge magazine "Parachute" was launched, founded by Chantal Pontbriand and France Morin. Artists such as Jeff Wall, Bill Viola, Stan Douglas, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, and many others, had the first significant critical reception of their work in "Parachute." Similarly, figures such as Douglas Crimp, Thomas Crow, Thierry de Duve, Georges Didi-Huberman, Hal Foster, Reesa Greenberg, Serge Guilbaut, and Laura Mulvey, all of whom have helped define the parameters of art history, theory, and practice, published rigorous, highly pertinent essays in the journal early on in their careers.
The essays collected in this volume have been selected from the first 25 years of "Parachute"´s publication history and are dealing with museums, art history, and theory. A second volume will gather together texts around "Performance and Performativity," while a third will be dedicated to photography, film, video, and new media, and the last to texts about painting, sculpture, installation, and architecture.
These texts represent important trends and transformations in contemporary art practices and theory in the late 20th century. The anthology is an invaluable document of the changes and transformations in both art practice and writing from 1975 to 2000.