VAV gallery’s student-run exhibit focuses on the things we wear
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Worn explores a moveable artistic medium
Author: Lindsay Richardson
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Daydreams of Angels is an enlightening read
Heather O’Neill’s short story collection is a whimsical assemblage
Level of Confidence compares spectators to the 43 student victims of the Iguala, Mexico tragedy
Author’s guest reading brought inspiration to graduate students
Concordia student Karina Licursi’s first documentary streams online in the midst of new protests
March 2012: Students gather in solidarity to protest a proposed hike in tuition fees. At times, protests turn violent and riot police use pepper spray, rubber bullets and tear gas to subdue the masses united in civil disobedience.
March 2015: Masses gather in solidarity to protest government-implemented austerity measures. At times, protests turn violent and riot police use pepper spray, rubber bullets and tear gas to subdue the masses united in civil disobedience.
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Error 404: Sexual minorities not found
Documentary explores the censorship of Russia’s LGBTQ population
Back in 2013, Russian president Vladimir Putin passed a bill prohibiting the promotion or “propaganda” of non-traditional sexual unions to minors. Under the law, the young LGBTQ population is told, on a regular basis, that their sexual preferences make them sick, abnormal, and abhorrent to Russian society.
Lena Klimova, a Russian journalist well versed in the social struggle of LGBTQ teens, set up two networking and support groups with the title “Children 404”—a reference to the internet error message “Error 404: Page not found.” Almost immediately, teens took to the page to express their struggles with homophobia and the government’s censorship of their sexuality.
“As soon as I come to school, people start ramming it into our heads that people like me have no right to live,” one 17-year-old wrote. Another 16-year-old described missing two weeks of school in order to plan her own suicide. The project, on a whole, gave a glimpse into the harrowing lives of sexual minorities in a society that promotes intolerance.
When documentary filmmakers Askold Kurov and Pavel Loparev saw the action in the online forums and read the testimonies of Russia’s suffering LGBTQ youth, they decided to produce a film to relay their struggles to an international audience. However, not only would the pair face preliminary financial roadblocks, but to produce a film of this nature—regarding “alternative” sexual conduct—was, under Russian law, illegal.
After reaching out to queer filmmakers and activists worldwide, the pair launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund Children 404 in conjunction with four Montreal-based gay rights activists. On a shoestring budget, and under the watchful eye of the Russian government, Kurov and Loparev succeeded in their production of a one-off film that recounts the struggle of LGBTQ youth in Russia—as seen and experienced by Russians.
The film’s main subject is 18-year-old Pasha, who experiences sexual discrimination on a daily basis at school. He recounts having coins thrown at him while walking in the school’s hallways, and a hidden camera in the school’s cafeteria reveals his fellow students calling out “faggot” and stating loudly that “this is how [Pasha] is greeted in his school.” With a population of nearly 2.5 million LGBTQ children in Russia, Pasha is the face of a considerable population of teenagers who face torment and the threat of violence on a daily basis. He considers leaving his homeland if only to find stability, love, and acceptance somewhere else in the world.
The film includes anonymous interviews with young people, parents and psychologists, and pulls heart-wrenching quotes from the initial Facebook posts on the “Children 404” page. Altogether, the film aims to promote a sense of empathy, understanding and tolerance in a state of government-endorsed discrimination.
Directors Askold Kurov and Pavel Loparev will be in attendance at Cinema Politica’s screening of Children 404 on Monday March 23 at 7:00 p.m.
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Concordia’s Art Matters to take off March 7
Festival showcases colourful and innovative submissions from our students
The artistic genius of Concordia’s undergraduate community is set to be featured in the 15th edition of the university’s Art Matters festival. The student-run festival embraces diversity and showcases the talent of our students through a variety of media, including painting, photography, sculpture, dance, video, design and creative writing.
In addition to promoting and galvanizing budding artists, the festival also provides them with some “real life” experience, as they work closely with curators and other art community figures to assemble and display their work.
The expansive and all-encompassing festival takes place over the course of two weeks in March, displaying work at venues scattered around the city. Not only are there vernissages and live performances to attend, the festival boasts a number of lecture series and workshops that are open to the public.
The full calendar of events and their descriptions is available on the Art Matters website (artmattersfestival.org) though here is a preview of some of the events that the Concordia community can expect as the festival unfolds.
Opening Party @ Theatre Plaza (March 6)
A number of electro/funk/garage rock musical acts are expected to perform at the opening party, as well as an appearance by the intriguing “League of Lady Wrestlers of Montreal.” More performers and details TBA.
Intimacy: Limits and Consequences @ Galerie Yellow Fish Art (March 7)
This exhibition will examine how interaction and sentiment have changed with the development of technology and a digital sense of distance. The gallery’s description says that “working with themes varying from HIV to representation to religion, the artists showcased illustrate the limits and consequences of intimacy in our day and age.”
Oppression Aesthetics @ Galerie VAV (March 9)
Using powerful, engaged images, this exhibit “addresses questions of social issues, feminism and gender, cultural identity, propaganda, environmentalism, and historical conflicts through a variety of approaches and mediums.” It is meant to incite reactions in the viewing public, and inspire action.
An Evening of Alchemy @ Loyola Chapel (March 19)
This seems to be the wildcard event, with an ambiguous description that states the event will test the boundaries between artist and audience, working with time as a constraint. No idea what to expect—take a chance.
Comedic and feminist trailblazers Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson solidify their stance against sexual norms in a recent episode of their show Broad City. When Abbi finally gets the chance to hook up with her archetypal rugged male neighbour Jeremy, she suggests that they “switch” positions. An excited Jeremy presses an expensive “Shinjo” dildo into her hand and tells her where he wants in—right in the butt.
After some not-so-gentle chiding from the uninhibited Ilana, Abbi decides (wisely) to carpe-dat ass and ride the hunky quarter-Latino all the way home. Women everywhere were riveted. I myself swallowed hard on a sip of wine, and felt the first rustlings of new sexual curiosity. It was so taboo, so seemingly empowering that it was hard to bypass the thought of bringing “pegging” into my own sexual repertoire.
Only problem is—and I don’t apologize for the pun—most men out there are being tight-assed about the idea.
The basis of the practice is the penetration of a man by a woman, normally using a sex toy or strap-on. Sexual pleasure is derived from the stimulation of the prostate, which can lead to ejaculation and orgasm. Some men enjoy manually stimulating themselves as they are being pegged. Sex columnist Dan Savage said that it’s an activity that “all men should try at least once.”
A former flame of mine accused me of being “all talk” after not submitting to his suggestions of anal play. When I had previously suggested to him the possibility of pegging, this guy (with considerable penile girth and a voracious sexual appetite) brought the proverbial guillotine down on the idea. Apparently, fingers are a permissible “not-so-gay” form of male ass play, but full-on fucking a guy with a dildo is out of the question.
Men should—need—to acknowledge that we live in a sexually egalitarian society. As the pithy Ilana put it in an earlier episode of the show: it’s 2015, and “anal is on the menu.” What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If you want to lube up and explore the intimate inner workings of my ass, at least consider letting me bend you over and return the favor.
In all honesty, where does this fear or hesitation stem from? Is it purely physical, with men afraid they’ll be shitting sideways for weeks or walking bow-legged into work? Or is it a more deeply rooted psycho-social barrier that keeps men at a six inch latex-coated distance? The innate fear of being dominated or of compromising the concept of “masculinity” could be reason enough. However, any kind of anal play calls trust (and adequate lubrication) to the fore. If anything, pegging is an activity that could strengthen the bond between partners, introducing a sense of empathy and understanding. I mean, my ass is not the location to act out a live rendition of a heavy metal guitar riff. If I don’t want to be anally drilled, do you?
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Revolution is not a universal language
Dawson’s Daughters of the Revolution is a complex, political play
Theatre reviews should be easy to read, easy to process, and not riddled with complex terminology and jargon. That said, it is very difficult to write a comprehensive, all-inclusive review of a production that was written in the almost impenetrable language of “revolution.”
Let me preface this review by saying that the professional theatre students of Dawson College faced a multitude of obstacles in their staging of David Edgar’s politically-charged opus Daughters of the Revolution, and managed to proceed with relative success.
The play, written by Edgar in 2003 as the second of a two play series about American politics, follows community college professor and former ‘60s activist Michael Bern (played by Jean-Michel Chartier). During a surprise birthday party thrown by his girlfriend Abby (Keren Roberts), he is presented with a copy of his FBI file, discovering that one member of a group of activists he was involved with was, at the same time, an FBI informant.
Following this alarming realization, Bern sets out to track down the seven other members of his former anti-government group and uncover the traitor. The journey takes him from the ghetto to the throes of a political campaign, a gated community, and the depths of a sacred redwood forest.
The play is easy enough to synopsize on paper, but is entirely a different beast when executed in front of a live audience. Each scene was weighed down by long-winded, disjointed speeches and antiquated turn-of-phrase that was very difficult to understand. Without a prior understanding of the 1960s political landscape, or the overall “speak” of that era’s anarchists and revolutionaries, the average audience member would be lost.
Even our protagonist seemed confused, and at some points bored, in the tedious delivery of his lines. The two most striking performances belonged to secondary characters. Jack Sand (Nils Svennsson-Carell) appears only for a handful of lines in flashback segments, yet Svennsson-Carell remarkably portrays a renegade, anti-authoritarian hippie with an understated finesse. His dirty, drawly, Matthew McConaughey-esque Southern accent was razor-sharp and completely convincing. Nicky Fournier was also commendable in her turn as crooked, phony politician Rebecca McKeene, a former activist who renounces her views in hopes of pulling ahead in her campaign run.
Though the vocabulary aspect certainly muddled the experience, the rest of the undertaking was admirable. The use of popular ‘60s songs to transition between scenes kept the audience in good spirits, and the set design, while minimal, facilitated the many changes needed to follow the plot’s trajectory.
The costuming was also one of the more memorable aspects of the production, and was no doubt difficult to bring about. Not only was there a need for semi-authentic hippie costumes, but costume and makeup designer Pierre Lafontaine had to convincingly age quite a few members of the young cast. These two aspects combined actually produced a roster of believably middle-aged characters.
Overall, Director Doug Buchanan managed to put forth a production whose value extends far beyond the reach of a typical college student. A few technical glitches and acting unease did not slow the show’s pace. However, audiences are still left with one fundamental and still unanswered question in mind, which does impact the overall comprehension: who exactly ARE the “daughters of the revolution?”
Accidental social media poets gaining credibility in the arts scene
Social media: the beast without a conscience, a filter, or any real artistic relevance. In fact, its use normally invokes a sense of mindlessness, of inane commentaries or agenda-pushing statuses. But for 22-year-old Los Angelean and creative prodigy Mira Gonzalez, Twitter became a creative vehicle, a prompt to produce a collection of succinct, self-aware poems that would become part of a movement that I’ll refer to as “Twitterature.”
In her own words: “hell hath no fury like a woman on social media.”
Gonzalez writes with a bald, almost vile honesty about topics like drugs, sex, loneliness, self-loathing and recklessness. Most are anecdotal, based off of her own experiments with prescription drugs, loneliness and sexual trysts with unconventional men. Her Twitter feed is a collection of pithy and darkly humorous updates, which she amassed into an anthology, i will never be beautiful enough to make us beautiful together, published by Sorry House in 2013. However, after Lena Dunham instagrammed a photo of the book earlier this year, Gonzalez became more visible—and distinguishable—among her literary peers.
Her publisher’s description of her work states that she is “brutally honest to the point of appearing unhinged or wildly fantastic,” and a who’s-who of readers have come forward to acclaim her brazen and nervy approach to daily activities and thoughts. Blake Butler, writer and editor of HTML Giant, said it straight in his review of the anthology: “It’s messed up and feels honest, open, like lying naked on the floor with your arms chopped off.”
More established poets denounce this form of self-expression, claiming that it glorifies and beautifies depression and self-damaging, self-deprecating habits. They are also ruffled by the non-exclusivity of this type of movement. Twitterature, for the most part, threatens those people who write heavily veiled, heavily nuanced pieces of work. The simplicity of Gonzalez’s poems cause some to question their depth. Her lack of formal education also brings her talent and understanding of literature into question.
Also, they’re readily available to reject stanzas like “he said ‘I’m gonna come on your stomach’ 15 to 20 times while/ breathing heavily and putting his penis on different parts of my stomach/ every time I attempted to touch his penis he moved my hand away/eventually I gave up on trying to interact with his penis/ he never came on my stomach/also he was afraid of elevators.”
But aside from style and overall pretension, Gonzalez and other Twitterature figures are distinguished by their openness and honesty. In an interview with Vice, she stated that hiding the truth about her drug use would be hiding a part of who she is. Twitterature is less involved, less focused on the overall impact or analysis of the work, rather than putting the poetry into the public domain in a non-exclusive, somewhat ubiquitous way. The “club” or “venture” itself isn’t discriminatory. Gonzalez tweeted, quite candidly, that “being a poet is cool if you like being poor and unhappy.” The emphasis of her work is honesty and impact.
Gonzalez also warns us, and her publishers, to look out for her next manuscript: “a piece of paper that says ‘can i have money’ written in my own blood.”
Sia’s newest avant-garde offering stirs controversy
The briefest, most understated summary would include the following: a 12-year-old dance prodigy, a 28-year-old actor-cum-delinquent-cum-performance artist, skintight flesh-toned suits, a birdcage, and about five minutes of interpretive, contemporary dance. Or are they spontaneous convulsions? This, and all other aspects of the video, are hard to clearly and confidently define.
After the release of the music video for “Chandelier” earlier in 2014, Sia solidified herself as an ambiguous, faceless performer with a taste for envelope-pushing music videos. Featuring Maddie Zeigler (the “face” of the operation) and Shia LaBoeuf, the video boasts not only a remarkable physical display, but a stirring emotional one as well.
Comments arose with a fervor as the video was shared over social media and aired on mainstream networks. Scores of restless and confused viewers claimed that the video implied “pedophilia,” citing the age difference and the obscure or “creepy” movements between the two performers.
In response, Sia came forward and made a public apology for the video, although she had previously stated on Twitter that the video represented the inner struggle between her “2 warring ‘Sia’ self states.”
Since the apology, the video has undergone a number of lengthy and analytical responses by “experts,” both certified and self-appointed. With interpretations exploring concepts like “inner struggle” and “father-daughter conflict,” there is still a resounding sense of confusion and suspicion surrounding the singer’s opus.
However, pausing for a moment to un-clutch our pearls and untwist our knickers, we have to consider why everyone is so unsettled. In fact, there is ample evidence that Sia is bringing artistry and integrity back into the music video medium, but viewers are very likely turned off by things they can’t wrap their head around. Shia LaBoeuf and a reality show wonderchild embroiled in an emotional onscreen “body battle” are no exception.
Are they a little closer than what’s deemed “acceptable” by social norms? Probably. Is LaBoeuf still trying to compensate for his public missteps? Possibly. Is the video implicitly sexual or perverse? Maybe in some people’s eyes. Do some extremists insist on reading it as Illuminati propaganda? Yes, in the perfect example of how to waste both time and energy.
But the negative reactions to the video have less to do with its content and/or contributors, so much as the fact that it tests people. Music videos, especially as of late, are three to five minutes worth of illustrative, complimentary images that don’t usually require much attention. Women, cars, blatant displays of luxury and hedonism consume the airwaves. Whether you watch intently or passively, the message remains the same: materialism is paramount.
Sia’s video is the opposite; stark, confrontational, and riveting, it challenges viewers to dig deep and accept a sort of visual or artistic “chaos.” Like most forms of modern and/or performance art, the video requires a lot of introspection and questioning. Unlike most other music videos, it doesn’t offer a fantastical or outlandish escape from “reality.”
It is raw, and like life coach Diane Passage wrote in a piece for The Huffington Post: “the cage, the fight, the moments of peace, the emotions, the inability to control, the desire for control, the highs, the lows, and more are feelings, ideas and states that most of us can relate to in our everyday lives.”
The Centre for Gender Advocacy invites you to take part in their thought-provoking series.
Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy is aiming to open eyes, challenge perceptions, and inspire activism at their event series “Another Word for Gender,” which kicks off this week.
Entering its fourth year, the centre organizes a week-long stretch of thought-provoking lectures and expert-led seminars that cover a range of controversial themes relating to gender and sexuality. All lectures are free, open to the public, and take place at Concordia’s downtown campus or at specified locations nearby.
Despite a wide range of topics, the centre believes that there is resonance for every demographic of the student body and community in general.
“Even if a presenter’s particular experience is completely removed from your own life, there are ways of learning from the experiences of others and applying that insight to our own lives and our own communities,” said Julie Michaud, coordinator at the Centre for Gender Advocacy.
“Everyone has decisions to make in their life about sexuality, reproduction, being true to yourself, [and] fighting for justice,” said Michaud.
The events and workshops provide what Michaud refers to as a cross section of the types of issues that the Centre for Gender Advocacy handles daily. An open house event on Sept. 29 will allow students to interact with employees and volunteers at the centre, who will be dispensing information on the many ways to get involved.
“The great news is that the centre offers opportunities for those who do feel inspired by these events to get involved in a related campaign whether that’s with the Reproductive Justice League, Missing Justice, A Safer Concordia, or becoming a peer support volunteer,” said Michaud.
“Another Word for Gender” runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4.
Further details and locations of events can be found at genderadvocacy.org.
SEPT. 29—
The Porn Event (Talk and Q&A)
6:00-8:30 p.m.
Featuring trans, gender queer, Two Spirit, Black Boricua Taino filmmaker and activist Ignacio Rivera, AKA Papi Coxx, and Sarah Beall of MakeLoveNotPorn.tv. Together, they’ll discuss the topics of feminist porn, consent and porn culture, among others.
SEPT 30—
Gender, Disability and Sexuality: Real Talk with Accessibilize Montreal
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Taking a look at how people with disabilities or diverse ways of being are being short-changed in society, and how they operate outside the constraints of “normal” intimate and sexual relationships.
OCT 1—
Natural Cycles and Rhythms with Sonia Osorio
6:00-8:30 p.m.
An informative seminar about The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM)—a natural, cyclic form of birth control that prohibits the use of drugs or devices.
OCT 2—
Reproductive Justice Without Borders: Choice and Accessibility
6:00-8:30 p.m.
A panel discussion among a diverse group of experts about access—or lack of access—to abortion services, breastfeeding support, or basic reproductive health services.
OCT 3—
An Evening with Janet Mock: Gender, Race & Realness
6:00-8:30 p.m.
The keynote event of this year’s series, featuring New York Times’ bestselling author and trans activist Janet Mock, sharing her thoughts on topics of gender, race, and reproduction.
OCT 4—
9th Annual Memorial March and Vigil for Missing and Murdered Native Women
6:00-9:00 p.m.