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Grad intersects art and design at the MMFA

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Concordia alumnus tests assumptions about art in Impressions residency

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) boasts a varied collection, with pieces originating from around the world. Comprised of paintings, reliefs, sculptures and everything in between, the MMFA features a vast treasure trove of artistically and culturally-significant artefacts.

Like most museums, the MMFA’s collection makes assumptions about what art is and isn’t based on Western perspectives and definitions of “good” art. These assumptions are exactly what Ari Bayuaji—the MMFA’s new Impressions artist in residence—wants to challenge.

“We live in a very interesting and dynamic time at the moment,” said Bayuaji. “Art has been a great archive that reflects different times and changes in the history of human beings. [Challenging assumptions in art] is very important because our world is always changing.”

Bayuaji was a product and interior designer in Bali, Indonesia, before he came to Montreal to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Concordia in 2005. He said he is interested in the relationship between art and design, and uses ready-made objects—manufactured items modified by the artist—to question assumptions about art.

His works, featuring painted pieces of driftwood, painted stone statues and countless painted wooden pieces dangling from hidden wire, aim to blur the line between noble, fine arts and everyday objects. He said he wants to accomplish the same thing at the MMFA.

While a student at Concordia, Bayuaji frequently made use of ready-made objects for his assignments.

“I found that blank paper or plain white canvas was too boring to work on. When I moved from Indonesia to Canada in 2005, I brought with me many of old objects I collected when I was younger,” Bayuaji said. “For my studio classes, I could paint or draw over solid teak wood panels, old photographic works I did years before, and make sculptures by cutting and pasting them together. As an art student, it was a good way for me to deal with my expenses and also to be different compared to other fellow students.”

The MMFA’s Impressions residency, supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, is an opportunity to showcase emerging artists from a cultural community, visible minority or aboriginal community. The goal of this residency is for an artist to produce a work inspired by the MMFA’s vast collection of 42,000 items—of which only 4,500 are on display. Bayuaji will be given six weeks to research and study the museum’s collection—the largest in Canada—and produce an original perspective piece to be displayed in an exhibition in the mezzanine of the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal.

“I would like to create some artworks using old objects that either might never have been found by Western museum curators, or might not be of significant importance or uniqueness to warrant a place at the museum,” said Bayuaji, who said he believes that design and art work together, rather than apart.

“I think that design should be very basic knowledge in the study of art history. When we think about the ancient Greeks and Romans, artefacts from that period were something that shaped their culture and traditions,” said Bayuaji. “The ancient Greek art at that time was mostly created or designed for daily life or religious purposes. I don’t think we can separate art from design.”

Through his work, Bayuaji hopes to challenge the Western lens through which we often look at art and by which collections such as that of the MMFA are typically organized.

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Montreal in Love: Embracing Diversity takes a look at love

New exhibition part of 375th anniversary celebrations highlights love in all forms

Uplifting is the word that comes to mind when walking into the Montreal in Love: Embracing Diversity exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). The walls are covered with pictures of happy couples and families smiling, laughing and spending time together.

Aside from the feelings of happiness and love that come through the portraits, the other common element between all of these different couples and families is that they are all interracial.

During her inauguration speech, Marie-Christine Ladouceur, the project manager for Montreal In Love, said she wanted to represent the city’s diversity in the most authentic way—and what better way than with the people who embody this diversity. “Talking about diversity through love is a language that everyone can understand,” said Ladouceur.

The exhibition is part of a series of year-long festivities currently taking place to celebrate Montreal’s 375th anniversary. The goal of the exhibition is to showcase the unique social diversity present in Montreal.

The exhibition features 30 couples and families who were photographed in locations they thought represented them well, such as at home or outside. Some video installations also offer a more in-depth look at their relationships. Very short written excerpts from interviews accompany the photos to give a snapshot into life for these interracial and interreligious couples, exploring the challenges they face and how they overcome these challenges.

New series of photographic works highlight the diversity of love in the city.

For one couple, Youssef Shoufan and Manu Alix, being part of this project gave them a chance to look at their relationship through a different lens. When initially approached for the project, Shoufan did not see the relevance of showcasing interracial love, as it was part of everyday life for him. Only after being involved in the project and encountering other interracial couples did he come to understand the importance of talking about this unique type of relationship.

For Alix, who was born in South Korea and adopted by a Québécois family, the interview portion of the project allowed her to rethink what being in an intercultural relationship means to her, as well as rethink her ties to her own culture. “It allowed me to crystallize my identity in the sense that, I grew up outside of Montreal and I thought I was white when I was younger… Arriving to Montreal meant for me to reconcile myself with another part of my identity… one that is being part of a visible minority, of diversity,” says Alix.

Montreal in Love also allowed Montreal photographers Jacques Nadeau and Mikaël Theimer to get up close and personal with the featured couples and families. The two photographers witnessed intimate moments shared between people, and, according to Theimer, that’s what he loves about photography. “It’s not photography that I love, it’s the places where my camera allows me to enter that I love—in the intimacy of a couple, in private events, behind the curtains at a show, in the hospital,” said Theimer.

While the exhibition shines a light on the everyday life of many Montrealers, Alix said, “I dream of the day where we won’t need projects like these to underline the importance or the beauty of diversity.”

Montreal in Love runs at the MMFA until Feb. 19.

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Arts

Fences: A wonderful work of adaptation

Denzel Washington stars as flawed father Troy Maxson

Denzel Washington stars in and produces one of this year’s best films

Oscar season is in full bloom and moviegoers have been spoiled this year with an extensive list of great films. Among such movies are runaway successes like La La Land and Moonlight. However, some of the other great Academy Award contenders can easily be overlooked. Naturally, one can’t watch every single nominated movie in theaters as it would be a time-consuming and, let’s face it, expensive endeavor.

However, Fences, an adaptation of the play of the same name, is one movie worth the time and money. The script was originally written by the American playwright August Wilson and won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) is a hard-working African-American man living in 1950s Pittsburgh. His aspirations of becoming a professional baseball player were dashed due to his age and ethnicity. To cope with his unfulfilled dreams, he drinks excessively. Troy is married to his loving wife, Rose (Viola Davis) whom he has a son with. Troy often becomes distant and aggressive for seemingly no justifiable reason. He also has a complicated relationship with his son, Cory (Jovan Adepo), and often belittles him and his goals. Washington portrays this character as an authoritative figure with an unpredictable nature. As well, Davis gives one of the best performances of her career.

The dialogue between Troy and Cory is dry and conveys the disconnect in their relationship and the different outlooks they have. Cory is being scouted by college football recruiters, and has a chance at playing in the NFL. Troy is dismissive of this, as he believes the barriers that prevented him from playing major-league baseball are still rampant, and will hamper his son’s success. The audience becomes increasingly aware of this unsolved dispute throughout the film, as the tension between the characters reaches a culminant point that leaves the audience bewildered.

Even though Troy has the traits of the perfect antagonistic character, Washington’s on-screen charisma makes him compelling, and the viewer can’t help but feel sorry for his circumstances. It is made apparent as the film progresses that he has had a difficult life. Moreover, he is unaware of his abusive behaviour or his drinking problem.

Fences is a character-driven movie with a musical score that makes the action on screen seem more realistic. The first 30 minutes might seem slow for the average moviegoer, however, it builds up to a climatic ending which is more than worth the wait. Fences is a wonderful adaption of the original play and remains loyal to the difficult subject matter of addiction and abuse.

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Arts

Explore art in a Futuristic Future

Lauren Pelc-McArthur's acrylic paintings blur the lines between digital and physical.

New exhibition achieves digital aesthetic through manual technique

From Jan. 14 to Feb. 18, Galerie Projet Pangée is hosting a collaborative exhibition featuring the works of Lauren Pelc-McArthur, Amy Brener and Cat Bluemke.

Curator Joani Tremblay said Pelc-McArthur, a masters student in Concordia’s fine arts program, inspired her to explore the relationship between art and the digital age.

Tremblay said she had been following Lauren’s work for a while, when her collection of futuristic and digitally-inspired pieces using acrylic paint caught Tremblay’s attention. “[I] was trying to figure out a way to create something that looks completely like it’s from [a digital sphere]… but existing within here, like right now,” Pelc-McArthur said.

Although Pelc-McArthur recognizes that she is not the only artist experimenting with this technique of acrylic painting, she said she has worked to develop a unique way of layering color and texture in order to create the appearance of a digital screen on canvas.

Tremblay also expressed her fascination with achieving a digital and technological aesthetic using physical materials. Artists such as Pelc-McArthur are able to explore the concept of digital art, not only through digital means, but also through its tangible, physical form. “The perfect example is Lauren’s paintings—they are paintings made of paint, but they are treating the subject of the digital. For me, there’s something very interesting there,” Tremblay said.

After establishing that this was an idea worth exploring, Tremblay searched for other pieces that could complement and add to Pelc-McArthur’s. She soon found Amy Brener, an artist from New York, whose work includes large sheets of silicone and plastic encasing small objects like dried flowers, pills and buttons. The sheets are shaped to resemble the human figure, with circles imprinted on the chest, large shoulder pads and a narrow waist and neck.

Cat Bluemke, an artist from Chicago, contributed her intricately-etched portraits of classic figures from Western art history—such as Michelangelo’s David and Saint Lucia—on panes of glass and acrylic sheets.

All three of the artists’ works give unique insight into how art is influenced by digital prevalence. Not only does the exhibition evoke a conversation about technology and artistry, but it also demands a level of engagement with the pieces themselves. Pelc-McArthur’s paintings, for example, appear as digital art would on a screen but, upon a closer inspection, layers of paint and brushstrokes become visible. As a sort of trick of the mind, the line between digital and physical begins to blur.

Pelc-Arthur’s paintings take on various colours and light, depending on the angle from which they are viewed. From one side, they might seem pink, from another blue and another yellow. When looked at face-on, Pelc-McArthur said the layers of texture and color “create a certain amount of depth and space” that evoke feelings of both confusion and intrigue.

Galerie Projet Pangée is on the fourth floor of the Belgo Building, which is open from noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday. Entrance is free.

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Arts

Student spotlight: I’m eating a doughnut

Michael Lottner is a Montreal native in his second year at Concordia University, completing an honours degree in creative writing. This column was put together with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom.

for Meredith

in the park, missing you quite a bit. A woman comes up

to me and asks for directions to the nearest

water fountain. “Twenty paces north-east,” I say.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she says. “Would you

do me the honor of looking at my photographs?”

After flipping through pictures of her grandkids

and china sets, a shot of a tiny bird catches my eye.

“If you give me the rest of that delicious-looking doughnut,”

she says, “I’ll tell you the bird’s name.”

This is my third doughnut of the morning, so I accept

her offer. “Thank you,” she says. “This is my Bethina.

She’s a real Curious Finch.”  Discovering a new specimen

is exactly what I need right now. I picture

the inquisitive little birds perched on people’s shoulders,

chirping their life’s stories and planting seeds of curiosity.

I spend the rest of the day eavesdropping on

conversations. When someone asks someone else,

“Do you think Doug will be alright?” I see wings

flutter out the corner of my eye. But that’s the closest

I come to spotting a Curious Finch. Disappointed,

I wonder if maybe Curious Finches

have no interest in getting to know us, and only use us

for our big brains. I can hear your voice in my head

saying you bet they don’t even know a Doug.

What if I were to tell you Doug is their benevolent leader

and lover, and he’s recently gone missing? Do you know

where Doug is? No one expects life to be a single

vast expedition, true. But—er, if you see Doug,

tell him I miss him. That’s all. I’m heading to sleep now.

A purple bed awaits your return, Doug. Yes, I’ve known

you were Doug all along. I just needed a little something

to throw myself for a loop. The doughnuts were

a good deal, but didn’t keep me company for long,

and once I got going, I couldn’t stop. “What

happens if I start missing Doug too much?” I asked

myself. “You’ll see. It’s all up the world’s sleeve,”

I responded. “Everything gets sorted out up there.”

The moon glimmers off my Krispy Kreme coupons,

expressing some strange chirps.

I turn to your side of the bed. Then I turn again,

and again. Yet no matter how many sides I turn toward,

yours is somehow always the other side.

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Arts

How to unleash your inner artist

Here are some ways you can tap into your creative energy in the city

Are you feeling academically unmotivated? Creatively unfulfilled? Well we have the solution for you! No really, there are ways to deal with the feeling of wanting to quit school and join a garage rock band.

Many students can relate to feeling creatively or artistically stunted while trying to manage an academic workload. In a world of requirements, GPAs and memorization, it’s easy to neglect your artistic side.

There are always those who seem to effortlessly find time for “fun” activities while juggling other responsibilities—but for the most part, striking a balance between work requirements, social activity and downtime is a serious struggle. Putting time aside to find activities that are creatively stimulating becomes increasingly difficult, especially when you’re not sure where to start. If you find yourself sinking behind the shadow of impending assignments, take a breath, find something creative to do—either with friends or by yourself—and schedule it in as if it were an appointment. Here are a few suggestions to get you going.

  1. Le Milieu

Le Milieu Co-op is an “open and inclusive creative art studio and exhibition space,” according to their website, as well as a vegetarian café. The studio and café offer a variety of workshops and free studio space which are open to the public, whether you’re an amateur artist or a skilled professional. A large variety of second-hand materials, such as paint, clay, and fabric are available upon donation. Studio space is free, and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 to 5. Some of Le Milieu’s events include a knitting circle, kombucha making, silkscreening, and a clothing swap.

  1. Ceramic Café Studio

This café offers cheap ceramic painting for adults and children. It may seem like a juvenile activity, but it can be really relaxing and fun. The process is simple: choose a ceramic object from their selection, go to town on your mug or lamp or piggybank, leave it with them to bake, pick it up later and put your masterpiece on the mantle for all of your friends to admire. The café is open late most nights, doesn’t require any reservations, and is a great activity, whether you bring a large group of friends or a few close buds.

  1. Le Gym

If you’re looking for more of a commitment, Concordia’s Le Gym offers a wide selection of weekly dance and fitness classes. This may not be what immediately comes to mind when discussing creativity, but a dance class can be challenging both physically and artistically. Le Gym hosts classes that range from belly dance and hip-hop to swing and salsa. You can try out your first class for free and then sign up for the semester if you find something you enjoy. The schedule and more information is available on the Concordia website.

  1. The FOFA Gallery

Visiting one of the finest galleries in the city has never been easier. Located in the EV building on the Sir George Williams campus, the Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery not only displays the work of Concordia fine arts students, but that of alumni and faculty as well. The quality of the FOFA exhibitions is known to be of high caliber, which always makes it a pleasure to visit. Making Spaces, an undergraduate student exhibition, opened at the gallery on Jan. 16. If you’d like to branch out of the university community, Arsenal Montreal ($8 for students) and DHC/ART (free admission) are both known for the quality of their exhibitions. From January 13 to March 11, Arsenal Montreal is displaying the work of Marc Seguin, a Canadian multidisciplinary artist. At DHC/ART, Wim Delvoye’s exhibition runs until March 19. His work breaches the subjects of economy, globalization, and technology through a multidisciplinary approach.

  1. Create an art studio at home

When trying to implement artistic practices into your routine, having an accessible space to create and express yourself makes all the difference. Some easy and affordable ideas to start off with are sculpting, painting, sketching, collage and embroidery. DeSerres stores have a wide variety of supplies at various prices, so you are bound to find what you are looking for. If you were particularly inspired by—let’s say—an exhibit at the FOFA Gallery, but don’t know where or how to start, start at home! Grab some basic clay, a set of watercolors, thread or yarn and old magazines and you’ll be good to go. If you need some advice or extra help to complete your vision, stop by Le Milieu. Their volunteers would be happy to help.

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Arts

Syria from the point of view of Syrian art

Photo by Mouzaffar Salman. The pieces featured in the exhibition show Syria from the point of view of artists, and offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be at the epicenter of a civil war.

New exhibition at Skol showcases Syria through a different lens

In a small white room near Place des Arts, the work of five Syrian artists portrays what they perceive as the reality of living in and being from Syria during the current civil war. The multidisciplinary exhibition, featuring photography, film and ink drawings, shows a different view of war-torn Syria than what we’ve seen in Western media.

The exhibition is called Internal Landscape, a title that references both the geographical landscape of Syria and the internal landscape of the artists’ minds and memories, according to the exhibition’s curator, Delphine Leccas.

The goal of the exhibition is to capture “the impression we have of a country that we have left and the image we have of this country in the back of our brains, the emotions we continue to hold of this country,”according to Leccas.

The main themes that come through the various art pieces are nostalgia and a will to return to a normal life, yet these seemingly clash with the courage, strength and pride that emanate from the works of art. “People continue to live in Damascus. They have dreams, and they want to have a future like [everyone] else in the world,” said Alma Salem, cultural advisor. The exasperation and defiance of the Syrian people comes across in the exhibition—both emotions blend together in the featured works.

Leccas is the co-founder of the non-profit organization AIN, which supports young Syrian artists. She lived in Syria from 1998 to 2011 and worked with many artists, showcasing them in exhibitions organized by the association. She said that, before the revolution, the artistic scene in Syria was mostly underground.

“The majority of foreign artistic directors who came to Damascus came face to face with the official art scene that didn’t interest them at all, and they would leave saying, ‘Syrian art is very academic. It’s not very interesting,’” Leccas said. “But they didn’t have access to all the workshops where artists were working in the shadows.”

She said that the revolution and war pushed many artists to different parts of the world and social media helped to propagate Syrian art and make it known. Leccas said there was “a need, a vital necessity” for the artists to produce art and share it in light of what was happening in their homeland.

“There is a real danger in creating art, and we forget that because we have a tendency in Europe and in the Western world of seeing the artist as someone who entertains themself,” Leccas said. “We forget that the artistic act can be a strong political act and that it can put lives in danger.”

The four artists featured in the exhibition are Aiham Dib, Muzaffar Salman, Randa Maddah and Monif Ajaj. All of their works were created when they still lived in Syria during the civil war and three of the artists still live and produce art in Syria.

Internal Landscape runs until Feb. 25 at the Centre des arts actuels Skol.

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Swept under the red carpet

Graphic by Florence Yee

When it comes to scandals and sexual assaults, mum’s the word at the Academy Awards

Awards season is well underway, but critics and fans alike are already predicting who will take home the golden statuettes in February when the 2017 Academy Awards airs.

From Damien Chazelle’s La La Land to Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, the films and performances being considered for Oscar nominations this year are quite diverse. However, the controversies surrounding some of the potential nominees are being ignored by the Academy, as well as the media.

The Oscars are not new to scandal—just last year, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite dominated social media platforms after the Academy neglected to nominate any actors of colour, prompting many to boycott the show. This year’s debacle? Two potential nominees have been accused of sex crimes and no one seems to be talking about them.

Casey Affleck—brother of Ben Affleck and frontrunner for the Best Actor award for his role in Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea—has two separate sexual harassment allegations against him, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In addition to Affleck, director of the critically-acclaimed drama The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker and his longtime co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin were accused of rape back in 1999. According to entertainment website Vulture, Parker was acquitted of all charges, while Celestin was sentenced to two to four years in prison. He ended up only serving a little over a year, according to Vulture. Last summer, entertainment magazine Variety was the first to report on the allegations, just as they started promoting their film, which features—SPOILER ALERT—a scene in which a female character is raped.

Critics and moviegoers are questioning how they can watch the film knowing the director has been accused of rape and frankly, so am I.

If news of these allegations seems shocking, you’ll be sad to learn that the ignorance of sex crime allegations against male actors has been going on in Hollywood for decades.

According to the New York Times, in 1992 actress Mia Farrow, who was then married to revered director Woody Allen, alleged that their daughter, Dylan, told her she had been sexually assaulted by Allen. That same year, it was revealed that Allen was in a relationship with his step-daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, who was just 19 at the time. They married several years later.

The claims haven’t hurt Allen’s career, though—at 81, he has written and directed nearly 100 films and has worked with some of the best actors in Hollywood.

Last month, a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter with director Bernardo Bertolucci resurfaced in which he confirmed that the use of a butter stick in the rape scene in his film Last Tango in Paris, starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider was not consensual. Schneider, who was a teenager at the time, was not made aware of the fact that Brando would be using a stick of butter to simulate the rape, and Bertolucci admitted in the interview that he conspired with Brando to keep that information from her, saying: “I wanted her to react as a girl, not as an actress. I wanted her to react humiliated.”

In a 2007 interview with the Daily Mail, Schneider said she “felt a little raped” after filming the scene and did not receive apologies from her director or her co-star.

Schneider went on to work steadily until her death from cancer in 2011, but she certainly did not have the same career as her co-star Brando, who won his second Best Actor award for his work in The Godfather the year after they filmed Last Tango in Paris.

While Schneider did not reveal her true feelings regarding the rape scene until 2007, Brando has been accused of sexual assault by several other women, including actress Jackie Collins, who said Brando pursued a relationship with her when she was still a teenager, according to The Telegraph.

The allegations against Affleck, Allen and Brando speak to a greater issue. When a man—predominantly a white man—is accused or convicted of a sex crime, he can still get work. He can still be on the cover of magazines, he can still be on every late-night talk show. He can still be a movie star. He can still be elected President of the United States.

Parker, on the other hand, has not been able to escape the backlash and it has affected his film’s box-office success. Not only are his chances of winning an Oscar now slim to none, The Hollywood Reporter predicted that the film will lose an estimated $10 million for its production company, Fox Searchlight.

Meanwhile, Manchester by the Sea is not poised to lose any money due to the allegations against its main star.

But let’s be blunt—Manchester by the Sea, a film that has been described as an “all-American family drama,” is much more appealing to audiences than Parker’s film, a historical account of slavery and racism in America, written and directed by an African-American director.

There may not be an #OscarsSoWhite hashtag this year and #OscarsSoFullOfMenAccusedOfSexCrimes might be too long for Twitter’s word limit, but it is important, as the consumer, to be conscious of where your money goes.

Your dollars speak volumes. Use them wisely.

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Arts

What to do in Montreal this winter

A quick look at what’s happening in the city this semester

Winter might have its cold, cold claws firmly clamped down on the city, but that doesn’t mean Montreal’s vibrant arts and culture scene is any less interesting. With winter festivals and activities taking place both inside and outdoors, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s tastes and preferences. Here’s a quick look at some of the things you can look forward to this semester.

Montreal en lumière

Back for its 18th year, the Montréal en lumière festival will once again offer a unique program, consisting of outdoor activities, performing arts and gastronomic discoveries. The festival runs from Feb. 18 to March 11, and is one of the largest winter festivals in the world. You won’t want to miss the festival’s biggest event: Nuit blanche on March 4. With more than 200 activities spread out over 100 sites, this Montreal staple will be sure to warm up even the coldest of nights with its eclectic mix of musical and artistic performances. Mother Mother, Regina Spektor and Matt Holubowski are some of the artists set to perform. Not to mention, the metro is open all night, so you can enjoy all manner of activities until the break of dawn.

The FOFA Gallery

As Concordia students, we are lucky to have our very own in-house exhibition space. The Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery, located in the EV building, routinely displays pieces from Concordia students and faculty. Admission is free. The gallery has an interesting line-up of exhibitions for the winter semester, starting with Making Spaces, the annual undergraduate student exhibition running from Jan. 16 to Feb. 17. The exhibition, featuring works by Faculty of Fine Arts students, will include performances from Concordia’s department of contemporary dance.

Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery

Sovereign Acts II, an examination of indigenous cultural dances, will be presented at the gallery from Jan. 21 to April 1. This work delves into the way indigenous dances and practices were performed for international and colonial audiences. It looks at how these performers were faced with the conundrum of maintaining their traditional cultural practices, while also using them as performances intended to please the colonial gaze.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

If the winter blues have got you down, then the next exhibition opening at the MMFA will cheer you up. Chagall: Colour and Music will be on display from Jan. 28 to June 11. Four hundred of Marc Chagall’s paintings, stained glass works, illustrations, photographs and maquettes will be on display. The exhibition will not only show the Russian-French artist’s legacy, but will also examine the role music played in Chagall’s art, acting as his inspiration and muse for his modernist works.

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A look back at some 2016 silver screen successes

La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, is a revival of the musical genre.

Despite some rough seas for the film industry, there were some hidden gems

The year 2016 came and went like a hurricane, leaving many dumbstruck film fans from the unusually high list of casualties within the film industry. But, as hurricanes do, the year also washed ashore hidden gems and treasures—let’s look at the ones to be most thankful for.

  1. Paterson

Who, other than Jim Jarmusch, could have made a film this quiet, profound, ironic and heartfelt about a bus driver whose uneventful existence is enriched only by his poetry writing, which, perhaps, no one will ever read? Adam Driver nails the part, making a return to independent filmmaking after becoming a household name for his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This one is about as far from intergalactic warfare as you can get. So if you’re currently feeling any Jedi and superhero fatigue—hop right in.

  1. 10 Cloverfield Lane

This is a loosely-connected sequel to the 2008 found-footage film, Cloverfield. No one saw it coming and few wanted it until it was here, yet what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. A tense and claustrophobic mystery-drama, it improves upon the marketing-savvy original on every possible level. It plays out like a feature-length version of a Twilight Zone episode. You walk into it lost and wide-eyed, much like the film’s heroine, and even when you think you have the story figured out, you don’t. You never want to blink as you watch John Goodman’s sublimely ambiguous and terrifying character lead you through the rat maze.

  1. Finding Dory

Now here’s a sequel that few saw coming but everyone wanted. So did it live up to the original? Maybe not, but, like Monsters University in 2013, it offers a sweet reunion with characters we grew up loving. It’s not so much a continuation as it is a side story, told with the usual winning ingredients of a Pixar film: as-yet-unsurpassed animation and uproarious humour and emotion that creeps up on you before you know it.

  1. Hail, Caesar!

This is a Coen brothers film, so you can expect things to be more complicated than they appear. Senselessly over-complicated even, to the continued incredulity of the characters. Whether you want to contemplate the philosophical questions buried within the texture of the film or simply enjoy it as a zany period comedy is entirely up to you. Either way, it is great fun—a loving look at 50s Hollywood in which the Coens contemplate cinema as something of a religion. The cast is simply phenomenal, with George Clooney and Alden Ehrenreich as world-class idiots.

  1. Midnight Special

Many of last year’s most interesting films are united by a deep-seated nostalgia for cinema’s past. Some take their inspiration from the 50s and 60s. Others, like this one, are a clear throwback to the early Spielberg blockbusters of the late 70s. In other words, the people who are used to saying “They don’t make them like that anymore” must have rested relatively easy. Midnight Special is a smart sci-fi film, one that focuses on human drama instead of becoming a special effects extravaganza. Just the way it should be.

  1. The Student

A Russian film that hasn’t been seen much yet outside of the festival circuit, The Student offers a brutally honest look at religion in a once-atheist country. Filmed as a simple, if bleak tale of radicalization spreading uncontrollably in a society suspicious of rational thought, the film remains cool-headed and close to life even in its most surreal passages.

  1. American Honey

Speaking of cinematic experiences, few were as intensely engrossing and immersive as this one. A nearly three-hour epic road trip shared with a group of young outcasts, American Honey feels unscripted, with one choice leading naturally to another. Here’s a world of vibrant colours and infinite possibilities, with freedom-seeking characters who inspire in us a mix of hopelessness and awe. It’s an unusual film, a journey of discovery, a search for belonging in the vast, diverse and strange land that is the United States.

  1. The Handmaiden

The Korean film industry is one of the most creative, risk-taking and fun-loving in the world, and director Park Chan-wook is rightfully the leader of the flock. This might be the most purely entertaining film he has done, taking devilish pleasure in unraveling the story’s mysteries and deceiving expectations right until the end. Park continues to take inspiration from Hitchcock, while upping the level of violence and sexuality to something rarely seen in Western cinema—almost never gratuitously, of course.

  1. Nocturnal Animals

It appears Tom Ford was always meant to be a filmmaker. This second work confirms him as a master of style, a romantic visionary who knows how to imbue stories with his own sensibilities. It’s a haunting and dreamlike drama, bursting with symbolism and meaningful colours—the work of a perfectionist, who leaves nothing up to chance. At times terrifying and ultimately tragic, it is amplified by a large cast of performers at the height of their power, leaving an indelible impression.

  1. La La Land

This one’s going to be for the ages. It takes everything we—and director Damien Chazelle—appreciate about classic musicals, and rewires it as a bittersweet, old-fashioned story of idealized love and outlandish dreams in modern L.A. The music is stupendous—fantastically joyful at times while deeply melancholic at others—and the visuals are on par. The film conjures the kind of magic we stopped expecting from movies a long time ago. If La La Land doesn’t make you fall in love with movies—and someone dear to you—all over again, perhaps it’s just not meant to be.

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Arts

A whole new virtual reality world

Eagle Flight, created by Montreal video game company Ubisoft, lets participants soar over Paris

Five new VR works at the Phi Centre offer viewers a window into another world

Virtual reality takes on a whole new dimension at the Phi Centre’s Virtual Reality Garden. From now until March 2017, five works bring a whole new perspective to virtual reality by exploring a new way of storytelling: animation.

The Phi Centre, which has presented several award-winning immersive works in its Virtual Reality (VR) Garden, presents another round of short films and immersive works to captivate audiences and pull them into the story.

While past virtual reality works at the Phi Centre mainly featured actual filmed footage taken with 360-degree cameras, the works currently on display were built from the ground up, featuring animated works and fully composed soundtracks and scores.

One of the most captivating of these works is Eagle Flight, a video game demo created by the Montreal-based video game company Ubisoft. In the game, you are an eagle soaring high above Paris, completing basic quests, such as catching fish and fending off vultures from your nest. While wearing the headset, you can use your body’s movements as well as commands on an Xbox controller to navigate and control your flight path. The eagle will bank either left or right depending on how you tilt your body.

As if the wonder of flight weren’t enough, the graphics and layout of the game are also well thought out, making it interesting to navigate around the city. The version of Paris in the game is not the one we are familiar with. This Paris is one reclaimed by nature, with trees, moss and animals having retaken the city.

The game is fun, and you really do feel as if you are soaring through clear skies. However, for those who easily succumb to motion sickness, be warned. Playing the game can make you feel ill, with the motion and movement. Still, it is worth trying the demo, which can be stopped at any time.

While Eagle Flight is the most interactive of the works presented in the VR Garden, the other four are much more story-oriented.

Henry, an animated short created by Oculus Story Studio, tells the tale of Henry the Hedgehog. Henry likes to give hugs, but because of his spikes, everyone he tries to become friends with runs away. On his birthday, he makes a wish to have at least one friend. The aftermath of his wish will make you feel everything from sadness to joy.

In The Rose and I by Penrose Studios, the viewer is transported to another solar system, where are suspended around you and zoom by. On one particular planet, the sole inhabitant discovers a lonely, sick rose. The short film tells the story of what happens after this rose is discovered and is inspired by The Little Prince.

Inspired by The Iron Giant (1999) and produced by Oculus Story Studio, Lost uses the VR medium exceptionally well by situating the viewer in the middle of a forest at night, surrounded by towering trees. This short uses sound in an interesting way to guide the viewer into looking in a specific direction. Somewhere in the dense undergrowth, a large creature roams in the bushes. The film allows the viewer’s attention to wander and observe their surroundings for a short amount of time before using sound to direct the viewer’s attention to the creature—a giant mechanic hand scuttling around.

Minotaur can best be described as an experimental work. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Minotaur is a visual and auditory journey through seven stages, including birth, childhood and death/rebirth. Don’t expect anything ordinary. This is the kind of work where each viewer takes away their own meaning from the film. The beautiful score will guide you through the story, easing you from one stage to the next.

Admission to the Phi Centre’s VR Garden is free, and the exhibits are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.  For those who wear glasses, perhaps opt for contact lenses for the day. If contact lenses aren’t your thing, make sure to adjust the headset so you can wear it comfortably, as being able to see the image properly does make a difference as to the experience of the piece.

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Arts

Superhero Fatigue: The fine line between innovation and saturation

Superhero movies might be all the rage now, with several more movies planned for the next few years. But how long will this golden age of superhero movie last?

Superhero films are all the rage with audiences, but how long can this golden age last?

Superheroes have flooded our screens, be it in record-setting, box-office blockbusters like The Avengers or beloved Netflix original series, such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones.

But why did comic book characters become so omnipresent? There has been a paradigm shift in the entertainment industry, and this trend seems here to stay, as Doctor Strange’s success has hinted at.  Despite their continuous popularity, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and tired of the sheer amount of superhero-related content being produced on a regular basis. How did Hollywood become so obsessed with caped crusaders?

According to Lance Ulanoff, editor-at-large and chief correspondent at Mashable, an entertainment company, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002) was the first film to catapult the superhero genre into mainstream entertainment. Despite being incredibly popular upon its release, the film has aged poorly, as the visuals and storyline that were so revolutionary at the time now feel cliché and outdated.

However, in 2008, The Dark Knight and Iron Man gave the superhero genre the momentum it needed to become the next big thing in Hollywood. Both movies impressed fans and critics alike—Heath Ledger was even awarded a postmortem Academy Award for his portrayal of the Joker.

The incredible success of both films gave their production companies, DC and Marvel, the indication that a cinematic universe featuring their iconic characters would be well-received by audiences. Fast forward a few years and several films later, and the drawback of these expanding universes is that they are becoming increasingly hard to keep up with. What with the series offered on Netflix and the constant introduction of new heroes, it is no longer feasible to see only one superhero movie a year and still be in the loop when it comes to the superhero genre.

With the growth of the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, the concern is that the extensive story connecting cities, countries and worlds in these universes will collapse under its own weight. With each addition to the franchises, the studios will have to jump through more and more hoops and push the boundaries of creativity in order to keep audiences interested.

According to Business Insider, Marvel and DC are projected to release 24 superhero films within the next five years. It might prove impossible to sustain a high-quality output within such extreme production conditions. It will be interesting to see how the studios reinvigorate the genre while sticking to the source content, and whether fans will cling to the franchise or gradually flock to the next big thing. Just like westerns, musicals and film noir, all of these genres had their golden ages followed by a slow decline—so, too, will the superhero genre.

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