Blog # 64…December 2016

Sometimes life seems to be about nothing but losses and this year has been unrelenting … mourning the deaths of our own loved ones here at home and, far too many of our fellow citizens in the middle east. Now horrors in a Christmas market and an art gallery

We.ve had some pinpoints of light shine through though. Gord Downie touched us all when he pushed indigenous issues into the spotlight by honouring the memory of Chanie Wenjak, the young boy who died attempting to escape from a residential school in the sixties. Gord’s beautiful tribute album Secret Path was followed by Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel The Secret Path which then was turned into the animated film that aired on CBC in October. It’s still viewable at cbc.ca/secretpath. 

“This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were….aboriginal children need to know that history includes them, this is not an aboriginal problem, it’s a Canadian problem” words from Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He and Gord Downie both have a place in my personal Hall of Heroes.

I’ve been blogging for five years now about how art in its various and wondrous forms can help us make sense of the world.  I still cling to that notion but its powers are being tested pretty sharply at the moment. Maybe like me, you need to take a break from worrying ocasionally… about how we’re losing respect for the value of work and of liberal democracy and most distressing - our environment. We need to avoid looking at the world outside sometimes, take a breath and relish what we have. A couple of new books may help you feel less "out to pasture"…Tom Friedman’s Thanks for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving and The Revenge of Analog : Real Things and why they Matter by David Sax.

So, enjoy the holidays, be happy and safe, hold close the ones you love.  We’ll pick up the worry beads again in the New Year and discover some art and artists to delight us all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Blog # 63…November 2016

November, that cruelest of months, seemed to ramp up with vehemence last week in spite of sunny, eat-out- on- patios weather .  The election result – what will happen to the environment scares the crap out of me - while it’s far from the end of the story, mustn’t make us think this is the new normal.

We were still shocked and mourning Leonard Cohen’s death as we listened to his voice delivering In Flanders Fields on Remembrance Day. Then Sting performed at the Bataclan on the first anniversary of the murders there and elsewhere in Paris.

So many ways that art and artists bring us some consolation that we’re not alone either in individual or collective despair.  The current Syrian art at the Aga Khan Museum doesn’t make us forget the horrors of Aleppo but it does put us in communion with the culture and, I hope helps us and some of the newcomers  feel  less alone.

We watched Hillary’s avatar Kate McKinnon singing Hallelujah on Saturday night with an eerie feeling of counterpoint and coincidence, ends and beginnings.  As she said at the end, “I’m not giving up and neither should you.”

I hope the brightness of last night’s Super Moon brings in some light…the crack seems pretty wide right now. 

Blog # 62…October, 2016

More anniversaries - 400 years of Shakespeare, 50 years of Star Trek and This Magazine, wonder what will survive from 2016 to remember in half a century or four???

Art and social justice were discussed recently at Massey Hall, by four Canadians whose lives and work reflect their commitment to speaking out in their medium about violence, cruelty and unfairness in our world.

 

Film maker Deepa Mehta’s newest film Anatomy of Violence   looks at the brutal rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012. She takes the controversial approach of seeking to understand the young men involved and positioning them in the culture that produced them.  “It was too convenient for them just to be evil,” says Mehta, “we don’t become who we are in isolation.”

Buffy Ste Marie has dazzled us with her music and political activism since the 60’s when her voice joined many others (and how about Bob Dylan ‘s Nobel prize!) raised in protest about human rights, particularly speaking out for her aboriginal people.  Although her voice was silenced for many years, she continued to travel the world, finding songs in her head, “Life is precious and diverse and worth protecting.”   Back in full force, she won the Polaris Prize in 2015 for her moving composition Power in the Blood

Rebecca Belmore was the first aboriginal woman to represent Canada at the 2005 Venice biennale with her work Fountain.  The piece features water in its many forms as a symbol for one of the elements that gives us life and explores how women are involved in its provision. In this, as in installations that have followed, Belmore brings forward the complex association of people, places and things with a sensitivity to history and place and the way aboriginal people (women in particular) are treated as “other”. 

Andre Alexi won the Giller Prize for fiction in 2015 for Fifteen Dogs.   In this look at time, consciousness, belonging, mortality, art and love, he uses the device of imagining a wager between the gods Hermes and Apollo about whether dogs if they were given language would be happier that humans.  Hmmmm, I like the notion of running across a field, not to mention curling up for a nap in the sun, maybe dogs are happier even without talking.

Four Canadian artists to make us proud, revealing through film, music, visual art and fiction some of the deeper, sometimes darker, sides of life.

Then there’s the irrepressible Ai Weiwei who both tickles us and makes us think. His current installation at the Palazzo Strozzi  in Florence is a collection of red rubber dinghies, representing the thousands of refugees arriving in Europe from Africa and the middle east…. both a political statement and a brilliant contemporary contrast to what usually appears in this beautiful renaissance gallery.      

Speaking of refugees, we’re still waiting for our Iraqi family to complete their jump through the hoops of immigration                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Blog # 61…September 2016

How great to hear that the Paralympics are getting such attention in Rio. I loved the opening ceremonies, especially the piece by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz.that was assembled at the end of the athlete’s parade - 500 plates shaped like jig saw pieces were carried in by the different delegations and placed to form a giant mosaic in the centre of Maracana Stadium.

Muniz first caught my attention with the 2010 film Wasteland. He visited Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill just outside Rio de Janiero where he spent time getting to know the catadores - the men and women who pick through the refuse.  They spend their days sorting it to be sold for recycling.  Muniz took individual photos and guided them in creating portraits of themselves out of recycled materials. The result was a series of pieces that were exhibited in a Rio gallery with the catadores proudly in attendance.

He spoke movingly in the film about how carefully he’d considered the experience of being subjects of an art piece and how it would affect the participants, conscious that the attention could set unrealistic expectations. Changes in their lives were generally positive, especially for one woman who chose to return to the dump to cook for the gang, realizing that she had some choices but it was important to be with her friends. Vik’s sensibility was a perfect match for the spirit of the Paralympics…as was Priscila Uppal’s when she was named Canadian poet laureate of the Games in BC and in London.  See Blog # 7.

The Paralympics themselves are incredible. I first heard about sports for people with disabilities in England when a colleague told me about the Stoke Mandeville Games (a UK centre for the treatment of spinal cord injuries) which were held first in1948 at the Olympics in London. The athletes participating were16 injured service men and women in wheelchairs competing in archery. The movement grew to the international event we recognize today...

Blog # 60…August, 2016

It seems to be time to think about marking anniversaries - 50 years since we first heard The Beach Boys, ABBA and The Monkees and visited the McMichael Gallery.  Next year, 50 years since EXPO 67 and 150 years since Canada’s confederation.  Many celebrations are in order, small and intimate, large and lavish, at home and abroad.

Getting in ahead of the curve, the Canada Council for the Arts has mounted Punctured Landscape, “a meditation on the Canadian social landscape of living memory”, a series of artworks from their ArtBank. that present an abridged history lesson.

Collectively, the seventeen works ask – How do we learn?  Who decides what merits remembrance?  What role does trauma play in Canada’s history?  They also suggest that we need more ways to interpret our past, more voices in discussion and more art.

The pieces are highly symbolic and thought provoking rather than directly representational, getting the viewer (well, me anyway) to work a bit to get it.

Shane (Mini) Davis’ piece shows a simple house with no windows, wondering - When does a house stop being a home and become a signal of confinement? – evoking the internment of Japanese citizens between 1941 and 1949.

Trevor Gould uses images of shoes to remind us of the horrendous treatment by the City of Halifax of the residents of Africville – representing the journey taken a century earlier by thousands of individuals (mostly on foot) to Nova Scotia to escape slavery in the southern US.

One of the treats of this show was that most of the artists were new discoveries for me…not so Rececca Belmore, who I saw first at the National Art Centre as part of Sakahan and who has become a favourite.  In this show, her piece (she always works large which suits her substantial themes) To Rest and To Dream,  references murdered and disappeared aboriginal women and girls.  A woman rests in bed covered in satin and fur, dreaming and expressing hope for a peaceful outcome to a dreadful situation that’s been ignored for far too long… but it is a restless dream.

The celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial will no doubt bring its share of self congratulation, joy and expressions of gratitude for the luck we share in calling this country home. Punctured Landscape,  rather than raining on the parade, reminds us of the inequalities and injustices both past and present, balancing the picture  and subtly encouraging us to try and do a bit better in the future.

And coming up early in September, it’ll be 80 years since I was born (and Edward VIII was getting ready to abdicate).  I know, I know, how could that be… well, Elizabeth II is doing well so far - me too.

Blog # 59...July 2016

We're all increasingly aware of people being displaced from their homes by war. We've welcomed a great number here and I'm particularly interested in discovering the different ways that we're attempting to make them feel at home. It's challenging to get them housed, fed and working but beyond those instrumental tasks, helping them make cultural adjustments is trickier. We're familiar with our own ways of thinking, believing and doing things, based on our surroundings, background and experience.  And maybe subconsciously we think it's the best way and we should encourage the newcomers to learn and adjust to us, after all they've chosen to join us...haven't they?

Balancing fitting in and getting along, with keeping in touch with their customs and culture is a delicate equipoise, for them to achieve and for us to witness.

 For my money, cooking is one of the greatest art forms and things we have in common.  I love the way a west end restaurant called Depanneur uses noon hour, when it’s usually closed, to welcome immigrant women from the neighbourhood in to cook.  The owner  supplies space, utensils and some ingredients that are available here...many women have brought spices in their luggage (shows how important those familiar tastes are). The lunches have become popular with local residents as well, possibly giving some of the women a direction for future employment, or at least a connection with their environment.

 The Gardiner Museum, although devoted primarily to displaying ceramics, has branched out in its Community Art Space with a recent program.   Muslim women in the South Riverdale Community Centre have been invited there to decorate their distinctive clothing -  head scarves, hijabs or burkas. Sharing their stories while they work helps them transform their individual experiences into forms of artistic expressions. Their pieces were displayed in the public gallery from July 19 to 24 (I missed it) as a means of sparking dialogue and promoting acceptance within the broader community.

The Aga Khan Museum, as well as introducing us to an amazing collection of art works, is a subtle but important exercise in human relations. Their recent installation by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (missed this too) Doors Without Keys is a series of still photos showing doors, all closed, many padlocked, chained or bolted. These old. mostly wooden doors are attached to uninhabited homes in his country and others in the region. 
He also composed haikus to accompany the photos:  

“The key falls

 silently

 from her neck in the rice field.

 In the kitchen

 The boiling kettle on the stove.”

Abbas Kiarostami died on July 4th at 76. leaving. us a cinematic treasure chest

Lots of material here to deepen our understanding and get a feeling for the complex and layered lives these people are bringing here to share with us.  We’re still waiting for our family of Iraqis. 

Blog # 58…June 2016

 Art Nouveau (sometimes called art moderne) that lovely curvaceous form that emerged at the end of the 19th century, reflects in many ways  the elements of softening and changing that were beginning to appear in society. It was an early example of globalization too, originating in Brussels and appearing in slightly different forms in France, Germany, Spain, Scotland and Japan. People were as tired of the traditional landscapes and portraits as they were of the ruling monarchies and the rigid layers of class.

                                                                                                                                
New materials and techniques allowed the creation of new forms, allowing artists to capture some of the human agency that had been lost during the industrial revolution.  The ability to bend wood and metal led to beautiful staircases and luminous stained glass windows and their representation on posters (another new form) that still decorate our  bedrooms and offices.          

Full disclosure here, I’ve never had a clear sense of the difference between the arts – nouveau and deco - so this is a personal voyage of discovery for me, maybe for you too.  

Charles Rennie Macintosh desk

There are some similarities in the origins of Art Deco which first attracted notice in 1925 at an exposition of decorative arts in Paris.  The style (as with Art Nouveau) was a reaction to major world events.  The horrors of World War 2 had created a mood of cynicism and a shift in sensibility.  The decorative and romantic images of Art Nouveau were replaced by sleeker, more sophisticated forms, extending from architecture to fashion, art and furniture.

Toronto Stock Exchange

If you live in Toronto, take a look at some of the remaining examples of  Art Deco buildings, and keep your eyes open, maybe there are some near where you live too... or furniture, or dishes.

Still no sign of our Iraqi family…they’re safe and continue to learn English and we’re prepared for their arrival in case it happens quickly. We met recently to re-invigorate our enthusiasm and heard of some good work by a couple of the committee members to ensure housing that will welcome them whenever the machinery turns in their direction.  Stay tuned.

 Blogspot has a mind of its own and sometimes decides to switch the font size mid stream without consulting me.

Blog # 57…May 2016

Accessible physical spaces have been with us for many years and I’ve found an amazing range of art forms developing innovative ways for artists to express themselves in spaces where we all go….important here to recognize the groups who have worked for years with special galleries and theatres, but this leap to the main stage is wonderful progress.

Artists Without Barriers “aim to create fully sustainable and creative environments that are accessible to people with dis/Abilities and that celebrate

and nurture a diversity of abilities and approaches to communication”.  A recent opening at a Queen West bar (fully accessible) featured musicians as well as painting, sounded like a great evening.

Tangledart a gallery at 401 Richmond West in Toronto opened on May 4 and is “boldly redefining how the world experiences art and those who create it…helping  untap potential and transform the expected into the unexpected”.

I recently heard about Scribes for Disabled Artists, a group who act with visual artists to transform their visions and sensibilities onto paper or canvas if they lack the physical capability themselves. Expressing  their creative spirit, they’re seen  as artists rather than disabled people and gain access to a community in mainstream venues.  Once again, art has a subtle but powerful ability to change perceptions.

Last night I was at Ultrasound, a theatre production written and performed by deaf individuals with a theme relating to issues deaf people face. This is a breakthrough event, co -produced by Cahoots Theatre  and Theatre Passe Muraille.  To celebrate their 30^th anniversary, Cahoots is launching the Deaf Artists & Theatres Toolkit to promote the productions of deaf artists for deaf (and hearing) audiences.  Last September, Deaf West Theatre mounted a new version of the Tony winning Spring Awakening on Broadway with deaf and hearing actors ... applause was huge for this new way of listening.

The Deaf Cultural Centre, located in the Distillery District, promotes participation in dance, music (yup, it’s seen as math rather than just sound and transformed into a visual form, I know, that’s a blog in itself) and encourages participation in conventional spaces.

And, Passe Muraille has started an interesting initiative called relaxed performances, attracting an audience of folks who may find their tolerance for sitting or their attention span challenged by regular performances…an opportunity for mothers with babies to get out and enjoy themselves too.

I’m writing a piece “What’s Normal Anyway?” for Moods, a great Canadian publication aimed at people who are interested in mental health.  Strikes me this fits in to the theme of acceptance. 
And speaking of mothers…we all have that in common, think of yours on Sunday…give her a break, it’s a tough job.

Blog # 56…April 2016

I'm early off the mark with this post, wanted to give everyone a heads-up about my favourite holiday... so think up a joke to play on someone tomorrow, nothing mean is the only rule..

I heard the five finalists for the Charles Taylor prize introduce their work recently and decided it was worth another look at our national treasures. The prize, in honour of  the respected Canadian historian and writer (not to be confused with the former leader of Liberia or a flock of other Charles Taylors) was established in 2000 and has been awarded annually since 2004 to a Canadian writer of non- fiction judged to be the best in their field.   Ben McNally hosts the event every year, he and his bookstore are national treasures too.

This year’s bunch made the choice particularly difficult and the five finalists should all be considered winners. According to Taylor’s widow Noreen, who is the force behind the prize, the field has shifted greatly since the award’s inception…when most of the entries were books of history by university professors. Gradually non-fiction has become less academic, more popular and accessible to the general public. Winners over the years have included Wayne Johnston (the first) Carol Shields, and Richard Gwynn.

This year’s finalists (from a list of over 100 submissions) were:

Ian Brown confronted his 60^th birthday with the decision to document what the year brought.  Sixty is a candid and touching look at ageing - semi gracefully (as he puts it). As a person confronting a large birthday this year, I appreciate the prevailing stereotypes of old people being shifted to a broader sense of what we’re really like.
Roger Angell, who writes about baseball, and other things, has also done a good job of it in This Old Man. He’s neither Canadian, nor a contestant for the Taylor prize, just saying.

Camilla Gibb’s world was turned upside down when the partner with whom she was looking forward to the birth of their first child suddenly decided to leave. In This is Happy, Camilla searches for stability with a constructed support network.  In our age of unconventional families, happiness is defined as having loving people around, not always relatives, not always having a smooth time either, but surviving day to day with grace (sometimes) and humour.

David Halton is the son of Mathew, a well known war correspondent during WW2.  In Dispatches from the Front,   David, also a journalist, presents us with a warts and all portrait of his father who met and interviewed most of the key political figures of the era - Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and FDR. His love and respect for his dad and the work he did is a tribute both to his father and to David’s ability to write as a balanced journalist.

Wab Kinew reconciled with his father a year before his death. A survivor of the residential school system, his father had brought the lessons learned there into his own family - a lack of love and nurturing that is passed on through generations, The Reason We Walk is Wab’s account of caring for his father, coming to an understanding of how he’d become the man he was as well as realizing how his own parenting has been influenced by his childhood experiences.

Rosemary Sullivan has given us a glimpse into the lives of Canadian literary figures Gwendolyn MacEwan, Elizabeth Smart and Margaret Atwood.  Her latest biography Stalin’s Daughter takes her, and us, into a totally different realm. Svetlana Alliluyeva, born in 1926, was Joseph Stalin’s youngest child and only daughter. To know the fascinating story of her early life in Russia and India, her defection to the US and renunciation of her father’s regime and her flirtations with a range of religions, you’ll need to read the book. Although as I said at the beginning, all five writers are winners, Rosemary was awarded the RBC Taylor prize on March 7^th.  

Still waiting for the refugee family...and I hope some of the frustration people feel about delays in welcoming Syrian families can be directed towards the people of Pikangjikum and other northern settlements who live in brutal situations too.

Blog # 55… March 2016

“Art is not a luxury, it is a necessity”…both words to live by and the title of a book by artist and art therapist Diorbhail (Gaelic for Dorothy) Cameron.

I have a great respect for art therapy, although, when I was working in psychiatry I preferred to involve artists in a different way - giving people a chance to explore, experiment and have a rest from therapy.  But, about five years ago I met Diorbhail, who lives and practices art therapy in New York City and discovered a kindred spirit.

                                                                                                                                                                     

An Geurran,
Path leading to where her family members are buried

As an artist herself, as well as a person who has experience with mental illness, Diorbhail has spent most of her life painting and contributing to the lives of marginalized people in NYC. A strong influence on both aspects of her work is her Gaelic heritage...her sensibility formed by the mystical landscape of the Western Highlands of Scotland where she grew up. She sees a strong resemblance between the revival of interest in the cultures of North American Natives and the Gaels…both cultures live outside the mainstream and offer expanded perspectives on the land, art and spirit. My Campbellness resonates with that too.

Seannir's Passing
Song of the passing soul
(Grandfather's death)

Encouraged to paint while going through her own therapy, Diorbhail started to take courses in psychology and began involving herself in social issues. She began with domestic violence, establishing Abused Women ‘s Aid in Crisis and encouraging city officials to establish protected housing. She went into one of the first shelters intending to use art to work with children and found that the mothers wanted to join too… and the staff. This beginning led to innovative programmes in senior centres. work in homeless shelters and the establishment of Broadway Community Inc. a drug and alcohol rehabilitation agency serving a downtown area for twenty years.

 “I have never heard of  retired artists” she said in a recent interview  and Diorbhail continues to take an active interest in using art to help people find better ways of dealing with life…something dear to my heart too.

Now that the magic number of Syrian refugees has been reached, our Iraqi family may get their chance to come and join us….hope so.

Blog # 54…February 2016

We’re so lucky in Canada to have a number of national treasures…natural resources that aren’t found in the ground, growing in the forests or under the sea. Everything from pop stars to comics, novelists and actors - we see their names in the news, smile to ourselves and whisper to the person next to us “they’re Canadian you know”. When George Elliott Clarke was recently named Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate, it seemed a good time to celebrate some of my favourite treasures, he's first up... 

 I was introduced to  George's folk opera Beatrice Chancy in Dartmouth in the 90’s and have followed the journey from his native Nova Scotia to Toronto, where he just completed a 3 year term as our poet laureate….”imagining words of beauty and  emotion to mirror and echo the cultural mosaic that is Toronto”.  His Influences range from Miles Davis to Ezra Pound, with Irving Layton, Malcolm X and Pierre Elliot Trudeau thrown in for good measure.  Moving to the national level will give him a chance to bring his fresh voice to our government and our identity…I can hardly wait.

Sophie Milman was a nineteen year old business student at University of Toronto when she began to have success as a jazz vocalist and decided to switch careers. Born in Russia and raised in Israel, she makes use of her rich exposure to the languages and cultures of many countries to bring depth and variety to her performances.  The intangible cultural property that is her voice can be sampled online in her 2007 Make Someone Happy or 2009 Take life Easy. (couldn't resist that delicious phrase).

The Gardiner Museum of Ceramics took off in an intriguing direction when it invited Kent Monkman to mount an exhibition. He was prompted by the bone china in the collection to centre his undertaking on the source of the bones…the buffaloes that had roamed the plains of his native Manitoba. Themes in his art often explore the way indigenous history has been presented (or misrepresented) by19^th and 20^th century artists.. The Rise and Fall of Civilization that appeared at the Gardiner late last year gave us a whole new look at the connection between the harvesting of buffalo to make fine china and the dwindling resources available to native people.  

Too late to see that show, but watch for his work elsewhere.

No news of the family we’re supporting but they appear to be safe and are taking advantage of the waiting time to learn English - we correspond with them regularly through our Arabic speaking member. In the meantime we are benefitting from the experiences of the groups who have welcomed their families already, honing our sensitivities to their situations and learning how to be supportive in ways that are helpful and not smothering.  More to come.

Blog# 53…January 2016

One Christmas is so much like the others that I can never remember whether the year the cat knocked over the tree in the middle of the night was before or after the year the raccoon licked the whipped cream off the trifle, outside the back door because the frig was full.   The warmth of people we love, the melancholy of missing the ones, alas no longer with us, everything glittery and buttery and excessive, Scrooge and Bing Crosby, it all gives us a sense of permanence.

Now it’s over and we’re back to old clothes and porridge (as my Scottish great grandmother apparently used to say).   I’m always tempted to go small - eat and drink less and appreciate some subtle and simple things around me so here goes…

We always make devilled eggs for Christmas Eve in memory of our dear friend Natalie who used to arrive with a platter of them in tow - no matter how many she brought, they all disappeared in a wink. This year we opened one of our boiled egg to find twins…seemed they were probably a lucky omen of some sort, maybe from Natalie.   Before anyone else had a chance, with a smirk, Julia and I  et them.  That’s not a typo btw, I listened many times to A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Dylan Thomas’s language has crept into mine.

Having a good book to read over the holidays is always important to me, and this year it’s A Strangeness in my Mind by Orhan Pamuk. Set in modern Turkey, it follows a young boy from the hills of Anatolia into the bustle of Istanbul. Pamuk’s style is precise and descriptive (I sometimes feel as if I’m watching paint dry) but right now I find the detail somehow comforting and relaxing.

Other small things further from home…customers at a coffee shop in Austin Texas have their mornings brightened by the designs created in the frothy milk by  barista John Ingham. He has a large repertoire and often performs to order.

                                                

Lauren Rapp, in Washington DC makes tiny chairs out of found objects (like ice cream sandwiches!).  She's part of a 365 project where people make or do something different each day of the year.

A love of vintage furniture led her to make her first chair and she's never looked back.

I’ve consciously kept my blog from descending into personal trivia - you’re not interested in the latest concoction I’ve made from leftover turkey - but I’ve indulged myself a bit in this one, feeling the need to lighten the mood as we enter the new year.  There’s lots to be serious about and I’ll be going there d’rectly (as they say in Cornwall).

No sign of our Iraqi family yet.  We’re very lucky to have an Arab speaker in our group so we're getting to know each other through telephone conversations, reassuring them that we're here to support them when they arrive.  As for the family, they’re preparing by learning English and being alert for the government interviews that will precede their approval to come to Canada. Stay tuned.