Luminato Festival 2012

Luminato 2012

The enlightening festival Luminato 2012    ,www.luminato.com , didn't disappoint this sixth year .It had it all to excite our senses, from listening, and seeing ,to smelling  and tasting .

An incredible artistic spectrum of events from film, music, visual art, architecture, light shows, ballet , literature, TV, magic and culinary art were organized here in Toronto and " battle" for our attention for ten days.

This year the participants span from authors like Michael Ondaatje and Annie Prolx, to musicians like Montrealer pianist Tom Memier or Ernest Ranglin ( the father of ska) , from opera to film  , from ballet by Israeli dance company Batsheva to classical music by Shostakovich .

The Distillery Historic District , where I have my studio, was the hub of a tasty food festival called 1000 Tastes of Toronto. The city 's best chefs( Susur Lee, Tom Fillippou,..) assembled treasured recipes from their childhoods , each culinary delight priced at just $5. The long array of distillery chefs and restaurants included  Boiler House, Cafe Uno, Oyster House, A Taste of Quebec, Dufflet Pastries and of course drinks from our own Mill Street Brewery , well known for organic  and fragrant beers .

Austrian artist Rainer Prohaska presented an installation/ performance which explored our relationship with food , using large and colourful  sculptures  made of food charts transformed into  mobile kitchens.

The distillery area had also a book signing event,  with two well known food writers , Calvin Trillin ( 40 Years of Funny Stuff)and the Montrealer Adam Gopnik( The Table Comes First: The Family, France and The Meaning of Food).

 Luminato 2012  saluted the bicentennial of the War of 1812  with a temporal village of 200 tents at the York Fort and the signing of Alan Taylor book " The Civil War of 1812 : American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels and Indian Allies".

                                                   "Dreams 100" Acrylic on W/C paper , Framed (22"x30")

When so  many good intentions , from the part of the sponsors and volunteers, and so  much talent , from the part of the artists involved , are mixed , only good things can emerge .I know I am grateful to live in such a lively ,artsy epicenter like Toronto !

SpeakEasy Spring Art Fair : The 10% Percent

SPEAK EASY SPRING ART FAIR : THE  10% PERCENT

Last night  I  attended  the opening for the 16^th  SpeakEasy Spring art Show at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West, Toronto, on the second floor  .The one night gathering started in 1996 and  transformed into a one week long juried show open to emerging and established artists.

The opening  ,Thursday night ,was well attended  and I had to meet old and new artists friends  I knew from other shows,  some of them  my neighbours in Case Goods Warehouse, in The Distillery District.

This year 37 independent artists were juried in and they came from all the creative backgrounds: photography, illustration, installation, painting, crafts.

Here is the 10% that caught my eye:

1.Pavel   Zablocski, etching, www.vilk.net/zablocki

2.David Brown, encaustic,  www.encausticollage.com  

3.Bill  Philipovick, painting, http://www.philipovich.com/GALLERY_1.html

4.Kimberley Lillyhite , illustrator, www.kimberleylillyhite.co

                                                  The Gladstone Hotel, on Queen West  in Toronto

On my way out, a summery rain spelled the magic that is certainly worth checking this week, between 5th to 12th of June 2012 . SpeakEasy , a show not to be missed, Toronto  !

Jury Duty : Call Me Not !

Jury Duty: Call  Me Not!

Once in a while, local art groups call me to be "the one" or  one of the usually , two or three person jury committee , for their juried shows , anniversary or  annual /seasonal ( spring, fall) .It's thrilling to be called an " expert" but it's not an easy task.

There are many factors to be taken into consideration when a juror.One being you have to really blend in taste with the  other members do the jury , and to create the " consensus" atmosphere.

Each society/group has it's own criteria( following the theme of the shows, selection of original work only, number of paintings selected conform the gallery wall space, prizes to be offered...).Some are represented national , other internationally, and first you have to understand the group intentions with the show, their credo and reasoning in order to make a final decision.

After many years of curating my own shows and being the show chairman for different artist's  groups around GTA , I have  issues with the selection. First and foremost  I am rooting for high  quality of work , secondly I am looking for originality of  subject matter and then, of course, I am limited by the  number of works to be selected, which is a given.

Usually there is a limited number of spaces in a gallery, a certain number of pieces , of a certain range size. My issue when selecting ,is that ,no mater the number of potential works probably to be accepted in a show ,there is always a very limited/ finite number of good ones presented to the jury , so your hand gets " forced" into accepting less valuable pieces, for the sake of filling the space .I prefer quality to quantity, but somehow every time, I am finding  myself in a situation when I need to explain that this is not an " elitist" issue, and even if I  want to be " inclusive " of as many possible participants( for bigger crowds at the openings, more visitors ...) in order to spark lots of interest , a very good show has to be the  most important  goal.

When I chose I have in mind great technique , but when two works are equal in good technique  , I prefer the most original one.

Of course I  have an issue with the "winner of the 7th place " , like in the comedy  "Meet The Fockers"  . Why not have only a winner and two honorable mentions for all?

Why is that , that there is always a need to have best , second, third...in show, then best, second....acrylic, best, second...watercolor...., Oy ! Everybody needs to win something , the family members are going to be all happy, pictures taken,then  the monthly group's  newsletters filled with pages upon pages of " people's first, people's second ....third awards" .

Then , first thing you know, your name is attached to these awards , and local newspapers are called to report  at the opening, and , of course , you are invited too, asked to give away all the awards for works you didn't in fact ,even wanted to accept into the show , and your photo is ending  up in all the family albums .

                                                 "Nebulae 113" Acrylic on Canvas , 10"x10"

Last and not least ,after the show is taken down ,  there are the "angry " phone calls or e-mails  , from the people who were not accepted into the show , or didn't won any awards, yes, believe it or not I got these asking " Why not? Why our works were not accepted ?" - some people have some nerve , and this is " the glamor" of being a juror !

Narrow Alleys

Narrow Alleys

 

I am afraid sometimes to walk the alley up to my studio , I have to confess.

 In February , Max the widower pigeon, was mourning the loss of his wife , Martha, on the sideway   .She was nesting  before that, under my window, and I could feel the sadness when cold weather sank in again ,and the egg was abandoned.

Later in March , two small black-cap chickadees were fighting on the pavement for a juicy worm so hard , that I was almost sure they will kill each other.

And what's up with the phony " sounds of birds" that are so " cleverly" put up on speakers , too loud to be credible ? They are so fake and annoying that all the suit cladded hipsters in The Distillery, are looking up in disbelief .

Everybody is  acting funny around the alley. The riders on  bicycles are using  places where there is not enough space even for kids to get through , SEGWAY freaks are almost run you down , unleashed huge dogs jump on small kids in pampers , rude cafes  owners block the alleys with their ever extending outdoor patios , furious teenage students ,in visiting groups, are a constnt remindiner of the  Italian " furbo".

Am I getting old and tired of this circus ? Did I lose my sense of humor and  cannot see the half full glass anymore ? I don't know, on the way to the studio I am looking for some innocence, benevolence and genuine beauty -passed the manicured bed flowers in wooden barrels, that  the CityScape corporation planted around.

I will have to look harder around me , in order to find inspiration .

                                              

                           "Dead Languages" 2011 Series Acrylic on Paper (30"x22"

Lately I  recall why I  started in the first place to invent it , rather than observe it !

Doors Open Toronto

DOORS OPEN TORONTO

This  past weekend , May 26-27 2012, I was participating into the 13^th Annual Doors Open Toronto. The event is commemorating the bicentennial of the war of 1812( 1812-2012)at Fort York  .As somebody wrote in one local newspaper   “ in 1812 people around here were most likely closing doors than opening them”.(Christopher Hume –Toronto Star, May 24^th 2012)

As usual new, insignificant countries on the world map, such it was  Canada  200 years ago, was caught up in yet another European conflict - everything bad starting  there most of the time - this one between France and Great Britain. Our part of the conflict began when Americans declared war to the British , which over here then meant, British North America. “American forces invaded Canada. English forces raided the US, and so it went , back and forth .Even today no one’s sure who won “ The story of all wars , I presume.

Regardless of the  war in 1812, now long forgotten, the military outpost, Fort York,  started to build up. From 1450 people in 1812, to 9250 people in 1834 ,when was incorporated to Toronto. The settlers poured and that young community grew into a conglomerate of over  6 million people(census 2011) who live now in Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Doors Open Toronto is a popular weekend event ,when hundreds of buildings  throw out the welcome mat and reveal themselves to the visitors. A citywide celebration of Toronto’s spaces and places showcasing important historical, cultural, social venues, 135 to be precise  .

This year’s event presented a number of locations with unique happenings including photographic exhibitions, re-enactments, landscape painting classes and crochet instructions.

On the visitors map The Distillery District  was site  #37,and was open from 10am to 5pm.We had organized tours , every hour , and we, the artists who have had chosen to be a part of the event,  interacted with many people who came to get inspired  by the old buildings and artsy atmosphere.

I had conversations about book binding, calligraphy, art history, the past royal visit, architecture, food and drink industry, politics, farming, global warming, music…the clashes of the generations…everything you can think about (sigh).Families with kids in search of cultural adventures, or lone photographers looking for the perfect shot, young artists looking for future studios, collectors, art lovers, tour guides, tourists from abroad, all poured in and brought me their stories. It was all  life  experience   exchange  time  , that enriched both sides- I know I felt” richer “after the weekend !

The Painting Prince

For the Diamond Jubilee (1952-2012) of the Queen Elizabeth , her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall visited Canada .On  the second  day, May 22^nd 2012, when  they came to  Toronto , one of the stops was in The Distillery Historic District where I have my studio/gallery.

Gold teaspoon in mouth at birth -no we don’t share that-, but we have  some things in common, like for example: the fact that we were both married in the early 80’s ,we both  have a son as a first born in 1982 ( Will is older than my Alex by six months) and we both …. love watercolour painting!! 

Yes , Prince Charles is the honorary patron of the  Canadian Society of Painters  in Watercolour (CSPWC) ,where I am an elected member , and there are some 60  Canadian watercolour paintings in his castle.

This past  Tuesday I met him and his wife, and I was pleasantly surprized by their accessibility and joviality with us “commoners”. It was a beautiful spring  day , with flowers in bloom and other royal decorations, to celebrate the  visit , but clearly ,they both were the rightful  “stars”.

 Many Torontonians came to greet them, and with them ,my friend, Jo Baumann, an artist from Willowdale Group of Artists (WGA)  and her daughter Camilla (  Jo has another   daughter, her name is Catherine) . In a bold move, when Prince Charles passed close to us, Jo  flew toward him ,and shook   his hand. He was very gracious ,asked her if she was working in the distillery and I took a picture of them. Her daughter taped the conversation with her phone  . All happened in a few seconds. It was unexpected , but he acted very natural, and wasn’t scared by us. We  were probably looking very benign, with our pearls and soft attire. The security people ,surrounding him ,were also unfazed by Jo’s courage. She was happy, she followed his visit in Toronto and knew the details of his hourly trip in the city.

I am still in owe by the royals  modest presence. She looked   like a real woman, showed her age(no facial  surgical interventions , extra-tanning…) , and  was much prettier than the media tries  to  portray her  .The meeting with the royal couple was a great  memory , worth to be cherished  for years to come.

And,  of course , iI  was very nice  to meet  my  fellow watercolour  painter, from UK ,  Prince Charles !!!

FACING THE CROWDS / THE ART SHOW OPENINGS

FACING THE CROWDS

 The Art Show Openings

It doesn’t end with you working on  your pieces, each and every day, sharpening your “craft”( I so much dislike this word when it comes to art), swimming in thick layers of knowledge, shedding some -acquiring others, forming the bud  taste for uniqueness…At the end   ,you have to face the crowds. Are they walking alongside, are they ahead of you or way behind? You need to face them all, wearing your own face , or wearing a grimace , the  adjusted self , to match their level. Smile.

Why should you panic, the ½ hour before the show opens and ½ before the first guests arrive? You did your share , now it’s time to wait for guests and their reactions. Who is going to be there for you and your efforts ? Who cares enough ?

Most of the times it’s family and true friends, the ones who loved and encouraged you all your life,  even when you didn’t know much about what  you did as an artist , many ,many  years  ago. They are your rock, they love you unconditionally, even if you will tell them that tomorrow you are done with art, tired off all of it, and decided to move on, let’s say you want to start to play tennis. They will come to the tennis court, cheering for you, you being the worst  ever tennis player.They don't care , they are there for you.They love you too much to see it right, so their art opinion  in art doesn’t count . It’ is awful to say it, but it’s  true, and you love them too much to tell them that either.

Then there are your students and clients, your peers , the people who understand your work, genuinely love it, and you are grateful for their steady reassurance, their benevolent coming and chatting , and they really are the salt and grain of any show.

There are also the new visitors, new clients who came in by chance, being there  at the right moment at the right  place , uninvited, and as happy to discover you as you are to find them-the stars  finally aligned

And , yes, there are these rare moments when a well known art critic or a great artist you really love and respect,  comes in,  goes around  once, then second time and they look at you and smile, they don’t have to say a thing, you know- they know, and you are on cloud nine.

"Nebulae" Series ,Acrylic on Unstretched Canvas

This is one of the reasons you get up each morning and go to your studio, you know, and they know !!!!