Ian Wallace wins the big $50K Molson Prize

You're probably with me in not knowing what this Molson Prize is (turns out it's a Canada Council thing, for arts and humanities; Wayne Sumner, a philosophy prof at U of T, won the humanities side of things).

But you'll surely know who Ian Wallace is. You know that notion that Vancouver is at the very least the Canadian capitol of contemporary art, and among such cities on a global basis? It can trace that distinction back to Wallace, who, as both an artist and educator, helped seed that dynamic scene; his students include such international luminaries as Jeff Wall. As long ago as the 70s, Wallace was making large-scale conceptual photos -- the kind of work that has put the city on the global art map; he's moved through photography, collage, text, painting and film, seeing them as a holistic pictorial continuum. As builders of our contemporary art language go, Wallace is a titan -- and a vital one, too, still actively making new work. Congrats to him.