The Structurist

Founded by Eli Bornstein at the University of Saskatchewan in 1960, The Structurist went on to become the longest-running Canadian art periodical ever. Its final issue appeared in 2019. While focusing on the writings of Eli Bornstein and his students (including Liz Willmott, in particular), throughout its run Bornstein foregounded subjects related to art, science, technology and the natural environment. Indeed, it was the first Canadian art journal to publish environmentalist articles, and Bornstein was allied with both the Vancouver journal Adbusters and the early Canadian environmentalist movement. Bornstein published much material related to historical modernism on the pages of his journal, including extensive content on the Bauhaus and those related to it such as László and Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, Josef Albers, and György Kepes. Upper register, left to right: The Structurist 1965, open to reproductions of works by Elizabeth Willmott, including Structurist Relief (Maquette for Relief #4, on display on wall opposite, #126); The Structurist, no. 1 (1960-61): cover. Lower register: The Structurist 1973-74, open to György Kepes, “Light Art on a New Scale”; Letter from Eli Bornstein to Elizabeth Willmott, 1 May 1968, including a discussion of Moholy-Nagy (University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections) (Unless otherwise indicated, items are from a private collection)