Toronto’s annual photography festival, CONTACT, has begun and I thought I’d take a minute to recommend some shows that I’ll be checking out between now and the end of the month. This year’s incarnation is built upon the subtitle, “Between Memory & History”, which I must admit is sort of an obvious theme. I mean, [...]
Having explained why I think art education is effective, I suppose I should also note what I think art education is sorely lacking. Currenly, aspiring artists can attend a post-secondary institution and have access to studio education, history, and networking. However, one of the most critical aspects of achieving and maintaining success as an artist [...]
Art education has always been a kind of paradox in my mind. Without qualifying my own thoughts, it never made sense to me to “teach” artists–I believed artistic talent was innate (and still do, though I’ve modified my position on art education itself.) It is actually comical that I not only go to art school, [...]
401 Richmond is a century-old building in downtown Toronto whose history has allowed the building’s ownership to change hands several times before settling down as a “mixed-use building with a focus on the arts” almost 15 years ago. The building is home to artist studios, offices and galleries. I’ll make it clear upfront that I [...]
Walter Benjamin, the icon of any good art education, and the bane of many an art student’s existence, wrote a seminal essay in 1936 entitled “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” The essay deals primarily with how authorship, authenticity and accuracy figure in a world where things can be easily mutliplied [...]
Art in public spaces is one of my areas of interest in studying critical theory. Catching people off guard with an impromptu performance is clever, immediate and impactful. In one of the best public-space/improv performaces I’ve seen in a long time, Improv Everywhere freezes Grand Central Station for five minutes. Watch the video. I could [...]
Some time ago I attended a lecture by Karim Rashid at OCAD. There’s no denying the innovation in Rashid’s work, and I was interested in hearing more about the philosophies behind his design. I found some contradictions in his beliefs and practices, and ultimately, listening to an optimist talk about the future of design when [...]
I am exploring the subject of arpilleras for two assignments at school. The first is a virtual exhibition and the second is a critical examination of a subculture. For my virtual exhibition, I was first interested in using the work of exiled Chilean artists who were active during the time of the Pinochet regime. I [...]
I’d like to start by posting an article I wrote for Inside Mississauga, the magazine I used to co-publish between 2003 and 2005. It’s a couple of years old, but it’s a good summation of my interest in improving awareness of and access to art in Mississauga. In working with art in the suburbs, I [...]
