In 1975, a small group of enterprising, discontented members of Quebec's art community posed the question: "What do we know about contemporary art outside of Quebec, in Canada or abroad? Do we 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 published 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, from 1975 to 2000.