Road Runners: The Road as Artistic Chronotope at VOX, Montreal

The exhibition "Road Runners" at VOX – Centre de l'image contemporaine in Montreal, running from March 11 to April 26, 2009, curated by Marie-Josée Jean, explores the road as a major chronotope in 20th-century art. It features works from the 20th and early 21st centuries that engage with the road as subject, spectacle, and territory. Artists such as Stephen Shore, Ian Wallace, and Bill Vazan documented roads in the 1970s with archival precision. Jeff Wall's conceptual "Landscape Manual" (1969) meticulously describes highway landscapes. Ant Farm's "World's Longest Bridge" (1970) films the uniform spectacle of a bridge through a car windshield. Peter Gnass photographed his progression via a car's side mirror in "Progression 3 temps" (1977). Chris Burden's B-Car (1977), an ultra-light vehicle prototype, was driven only once in Paris due to lack of certification. Roman Signer was towed by a car while sitting in a kayak in "Kayak" (2000). Ed Ruscha, Patrick Blackwell, and Mason Williams' "Royal Road Test" (1967) documents the destruction of a Royal typewriter thrown from a speeding car. The exhibition emphasizes journey over destination, presenting the road as a site of discovery, psychogeographic experience, and aesthetic exploration.