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Colonial India for a post-colonial world: A review of the ROM’s latest photography exhibition
The scores of photographs in the newest exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) are all the more revealing because we know what happened in the century after they were captured. Between Princely India & the British Raj: The Photography of Raja Deen Dayal records nineteenth-century colonial India but tells a story that continues long after Victoria’s imperial rule. Raja Deen…
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Revisiting ab-ex: the return of modern artist Milly Ristvedt
Art lovers of Toronto, take heed. You have only a few days left in which to witness the comeback of a storied Canadian artist. Milly Ristvedt was, in the 1960s and ’70s, a practitioner of abstract expressionism, in the vein of Mark Rothko. And while her work can be seen at the Art Gallery of…
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The philosophical thriller: A review of Simon Heath’s Doppelganger
Reviewed in this essay: Doppelganger, by Simon Heath. Self-published, 2012. Doppelganger will be of special interest to Toronto readers. Although our city is never expressly mentioned named as the setting, locals will recognize several distinctive details. Unmistakeable King Street office blocks, Rosedale doctor’s offices, packed Tim Horton’s and Timothy’s coffee shops, summertime escapes to the…
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Diplomacy in the doghouse: Dachshund UN
I am a fully grown adult. At 24 years of age, I read heavy books, pay taxes, drink whiskey and, when called upon, can grow a very serious beard. Even so, I have absolutely no immunity to wiener dogs. I find them highly adorable. In their presence, my insides go all fluttery. I make noises along…
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Canada Reads 2013: And the winner is…
It was the last day of Canada Reads 2013, the last chance for actor Jay Baruchel and comedian Trent McLellan to pitch their chosen books as the one all Canadians should have on their nightstands. And at 10:53 am, after a lively and sometimes venomous debate, the winner was declared: February, by Lisa Moore. “I…
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Canada Reads 2013: Debate Day 3
And we’re down to the last pair! After the third day of Canada Reads 2013, only Two Solitudes and February remain in contention for the big prize. Indian Horse, an audience darling and the early favourite to win, was voted out today, leaving Jay Baruchel and Trent McLellan to duke it out tomorrow in this…
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Canada Reads 2013: Debate Day 2
On Day 2 of the Canada Reads debates, Jane Urquart’s Away was banished to the dustbin of unsuccessful entrants, Indian Horse maintained its dominance in the public polls, and February began to look like the panelists’ favourite book. After a relatively staid first day of debates yesterday, the contest heated up today as panelists were…
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Canada Reads 2013: Debate Day 1
The stakes were high. It was only the first day of the Canada Reads 2013 debates but by the end of the first round, one of the five contending books would be eliminated by a panel vote. Between the presence of an Olympic wrestler, and Ron MacLean having shown up wearing Hell’s Angel-grade motorcycle boots, there…
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Hobo-inspired art, cartoons of the past, and the world’s prettiest libraries: Bookishness Jan. 28, 2013
Art in the time of the Hobo Code Inspired by the artwork left on train boxcars by rail riders of years past, Troy Lovegates, AKA Other, has been creating art in public spaces for over two decades. On Feb. 7, Other’s work will be on display at the AGO as part of the gallery’s First…
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Musical hockey, the dark side of kitsch, and classic Canadian TV: Bookishness, Jan. 21, 2013
MOCCA is alright Starting Feb. 1, Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art will be showing “ARE YOU ALRIGHT? New Art From Britain.” The exhibition’s works portray “allusions tothe grotesquely beautiful and explor[e] the darker side of kitsch… reveal[ing] a trend of disillusionment with contemporary British society.” Find out what all that means with a perusal…
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The AGO’s “Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting”: Something for everyone
Let’s face the obvious first. Surrealism isn’t everyone’s bag, especially in its more nightmarish forms. And if that’s true of you, if the darker Dalis make you cringe and the chilling Ernsts give you the sweats, taking in the work of Frida Kahlo may not be the optimal way to spend an afternoon. Kahlo’s art,…
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Ready, set, read: CBC launches Canada Reads 2013
The CBC Broadcast Centre’s cavernous atrium was filled to capacity Thursday as fans gathered for the official launch of Canada Reads 2013. Q’s Jian Gomeshi, who hosted the day’s events, introduced this year’s five panelists, conducting short, loose interviews with each of them.