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Neon lights and wonder: art in the city

Photo by Paige McNeely.

Montreal artist Five Eight’s mural makes us wonder what the character is wondering

The Montreal 2016 Mural Festival brought lots of new colours, textures and an artistic flair to the city’s streets this past summer. One of those pieces was a large, brightly-coloured painting of a woman gazing upwards. Her features are illuminated by the painted neon light. Found on the corner of St. Cuthbert and Clark Street, this larger-than-life mural is my new personal favourite.

Created by Montreal artist Five Eight, this mural contains all the things I love about Montreal: lots of colour, a brick background and bright neon lights. The asymmetrical architecture of the building gives the mural depth and breaks up what would have otherwise been a plain, rectangular painting. The ensuing negative space, somewhat filled by the neon elements, makes for interesting contrast to the subject’s features and hair, which take up a large portion of the mural.

Five Eight is a Montreal-based artist and mural painter who, according to his Facebook page, is currently experimenting with neon signage. Five Eight’s Instagram is full of his mysterious and elusive graffiti art found all over Montreal. He is known for his work with murals, as well as on canvas.

The detailing on the girl’s face is captivating to look at. The artist uses shadows and expertly-crafted shading to give the character life-like facial contours and a thoughtful expression. The mysterious blue light shining onto her face makes me wonder where she is and where she is going. Is she leaving the club that is beside her? Is she waiting to meet her friends before going out on St. Laurent? Or maybe she’s just admiring our city. Either way, this mural has a story to tell.

Like so many people this past week, maybe she just arrived in Montreal and is exploring the surrounding nightlife. By having her look up at the sky, the artist makes me wonder what is going through her mind, what she might be thinking, and what inspired the artist to give her such a thoughtful expression.

Five Eight is a member of the En Masse Collective, a Montreal-based, multi-artist collaborative project. His En Masse portfolio shows the work he has done work at the Under Pressure Graffiti Festival here in Montreal, as well as at Manifesto Toronto—one of the largest hip-hop festivals in the world.

To check out more of his work, you can find Five Eight on Facebook or Instagram @five8art.

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Old and used packaging inspires new art exhibit

That pretty packaging you can’t seem to throw away: time to make into an art piece

Sometimes the packaging is just as important as the product. In the case of The Perfume and the Bottle, the packaging has captivated artists in a peculiar way and inspired an entire exhibition, which opened at the Parisian Laundry art gallery on Sept. 7. The exhibition was inspired by those treasured glass bottles, which still hold sentimental value even after the perfume has been used to the last drop, something that a lot of other packaging doesn’t have.

Ever walked through the perfume aisle at your local pharmacy, seen a beautiful crystal perfume bottle— its elegant silhouette illuminated by the fluorescent lights, spritzed yourself with the tester and realized you’d found your match made in heaven? The perfume becomes your signature scent—the bottle is proudly displayed on your desk or vanity. Then, the dreadful day comes when all the precious aroma is gone. You buy another and fall in love with that scent, but unlike your old deodorant or lipstick tube, that old perfume bottle still sits on your vanity, because it’s just too pretty to throw away.

That beautiful perfume bottle you were seduced by is what inspired The Perfume and the Bottle. The exhibition features work by five different artists: Gabriele Beveridge, Andy Coolquitt, Owen Kydd, Kate Steciw and Anne Hall. Each artist’s unique style comes together, allowing the viewer to become nostalgic through the use of recognizable visuals.

When you first enter the exhibition, you are greeted by a small screen mounted on the wall. The image of a turning ring appears on the screen, and draws you in as you stand watching it rotate. Shadows bounce off the silver edges of the ring, as it spins away from the light. This screen, called Split Ring 2015, is the work of Los Angeles-based artist Owen Kydd along with another piece called, Mirror Still Life which is found on the opposite wall. According to Kydd’s bio, he  works with durational photographs— where objects on display are featured in an endless loop— through which he aims to create a feeling of fascination and unease.

As you continue along, you pass several other topsy-turvy pieces. One, called Pacific Dream, features four blue frames—the pictures inside them alternate between two images. The first looks like a makeup advertisement, featuring a woman with blonde hair and red lipstick. The other is a picture of a feather. Each image is cropped or angled slightly differently. Sitting on the edge of the frames are two glass crystal balls. This piece is the work of Gabriele Beveridge of London, England. She collects old hair salon and beauty shop posters, and looks for duplicates of the ads in order to skew or crop them differently in her art pieces. Most of her artwork consists of artist-made frames, hand-blown glass elements, and crystal balls. Her work is meant to explore tropes of eternity, beauty, and mystique.

My personal favourite piece was titled Neo Deo: Open Market, Open Vitrine, & Deo Liberal Potentialities, 2013, by Andy Coolquitt.  It is a long, plastic case filled with various old deodorant containers—they almost look like they’ve turned to stone. According to its description, it is a vitrine of washed-up deodorant sticks naturally roughened by the passage of time. These previously-unwanted and unused materials are now reinterpreted as art.

You can find The Perfume and the Bottle exhibition at Parisian Laundry until Oct. 10. 

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The Long Shadow of a small thing

Graphic by Florence Yee.

A poem describing the start of a new academic year, and the beauty to be found in it

A new school year often inspires students to be better, do better and become better. But personal growth doesn’t need a calendar event in order to happen, as it can always take place if we let it. Ally Turner’s poem reminds us of the revelations that can be found in even the most mundane of moments. Turner is in her third year of creative writing at Concordia.

The Long Shadow of a Small Thing

Ally Turner

Chewing bubblegum like there is some kind of answer at the core of it. Standing on the side of the big road and feeling the energy of each driver as they go by you. There is no point in asking, we are just suspended in it. The blue, the stretching pink, the colour that comes through you in a way that is non-physical.

You walk into your apartment and say to your roommate that you transcended gravity tonight – that the sky lived inside of you. You go into your room and cry because every time you try to tell what is happening to you it sounds empty.

In September there is a heat wave that lasts two weeks. It is hotter than the dead of August; the pool is busy, the bodies like crystal embroidery. There is only one way to feel safe in this world and it happens when you can forget what you are. At the belly of the pool, you sit for as long as you can until there are fizzy dots behind your eyes. You fall asleep poolside while your friends talk about some drummer.

  You eat the dinner that you made together in the kitchen and don’t look at each other. You eat three noodles with each bite. You pace your fork back and forth over the plate as if action will trigger result. It doesn’t matter what is happening around you because it is all in your head. One minute you are real, the next you are just staring at the wall with shiny eyes. I don’t know why it happens like this but it does and that is the important part.

When will it settle? I search the treetops for an overwhelming sense of beauty. I close my eyes and try to focus on the breeze on my face. Every moment feels like the build up to something terrible. I am awaiting the pinnacle that never arrives. My hair is falling out in chunks.

In my dream I am trapped in a cell that is shaped like my body except the skin is rubbery and pallid. I open my eyes and I am in the park and there is a great emptiness. I swallow nothing into the pit of nothing. I look up at the blue through the leaves and it is brimming.

This creative writing piece was brought to you with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom. 

Graphic by Florence Yee

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Timelessness never looked so good

Photo by Marilyn Aitken

Eleganza exhibit makes fashion history a page in everyone’s book

Displaying beautifully crafted clothing and accessories is easy—the real challenge is telling a story that resonates with everyone, regardless of their interest in fashion.

Eleganza: Italian Fashion from 1945 to Today, presented by the McCord Museum, is an inspiring journey that transports viewers from the post-World War II birth of Italian fashion to the nation’s contemporary haute couture. Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Eleganza demonstrates every component of Italy’s multi-faceted fashion history. Milanese silk, Florentine leather, Biella wool and diverse sewing techniques passed down from dressmaker to apprentice come together in fantastically constructed garments, shoes and accessories.

The exhibit also documents the pivotal moments in which the work of Italian dressmakers, textile workers and designers made waves around the world. Dresses displayed at the country’s first international fashion atelier, held in Florence’s Salla Bianca (White Hall) at Palazzo Pitti in July of 1952, are nothing short of a vintage fashion dream. Their hand-constructed full skirts and expertly cinched waists embody the 1950s, but they are still wearable—even in today’s age of crop tops and boyfriend jeans.

Eleganza pays tribute to the Hollywood films shot on location in Rome’s Cinecittà studios during the 1960s, featuring garments from movies like War and Peace. Other pieces from the fashion industry’s major events, including the 1967 New York Black and White Ball, are exactly as elegant as you would imagine: flowy, floor-length ensembles covered in stylish beading and precious diamanté.

The Italy-meets-America space also exhibits a noticeable shift from costume to casual, or better yet, from couture to ready-to-wear. Minimalist, sporty pieces like a 1969 black and white jumpsuit as well as a bold-patterned legging and tunic combo capture modern elements of Italian fashion that are still seen on today’s runways.

Ambling from room to room, admiring the variety of clothing from the feminine silhouettes of the 1950s to the wild, shoulder-padded 1980s and the familiar haute couture of the 2000s, it’s easy to picture yourself wearing the garments out of the exhibit to your next party. That’s the ultimate allure of Eleganza and its story of Italian fashion— nothing is truly ‘out of style,’ especially when it’s been handcrafted. The timelessness of each article, along with the sheer time and effort put into constructing the garment, entices everyone from fashionistas who adore making a statement, to minimalists who prefer a simple, clean-cut look. 

The final room features a runway packed with couture ensembles. A fantastically embroidered floral gown by Giambattista Valli is poised beside a luminous Sicilian mosaic-like midi dress by Dolce & Gabbana. Viewers are surrounded by opulence, but can appreciate the various ways in which the craftsmanship of the earliest Italian dressmakers has continued to influence the country’s contemporary brands.  

 There is a looming issue that the exhibition rightly addresses. As the globalized world continues to outsource work, the fashion industry finds itself doing the same. Soon, ‘Made in Italy’ labels will be a rarity. Amidst the rooms of gorgeous gown, shoes and accessories, viewers are forced to consider the future of Italian fashion as its roots in handmade craftsmanship slowly disappear.  

Eleganza: Italian Fashion from 1945 to Today is open to the public until Sept. 25, 2016. For more information visit the McCord Museum website.

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Operas, film festivals, exhibitions, oh my!

Graphic by Thom Bell

A quick guide to what’s coming up in Montreal this fall

It should come as no surprise that Montreal is a lively and eclectic city with a host of different activities one can take part in. Igloofest, Poutinefest, Osheaga… in Montreal, every season is festival season. From performance art to film festivals,  photography exhibitions to musicals, it’s impossible to be bored in a city so full of entertainment and cultural activities. The hardest part about living in Montreal is staying in the loop on what’s coming up. Here are some things to keep an eye out for this season. This is by no means an extensive or all-encompassing list—it is merely the tip of the cultural iceberg that is available for Montrealers to explore.

The Montreal Opera

The 2016-17 Montreal opera season will soon be underway, opening with Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida on Sept. 17. Set in ancient Egypt, Aida tells the story of a young slave torn between her love for an enemy and the love for her country, at a time when Ethiopia and Egypt were poised for war.

If this love story doesn’t catch your eye, maybe Mozart’s Don Giovanni will. A story of love, seduction and revenge, this opera, which takes place in 18th century Seville, is sure to entertain both the opera enthusiast and the casual observer. Opening night is Nov. 12.

Focus: Perfection

Robert Mapplethorpe’s black and white photographs are renowned for their controversial, erotic nature. In a Canadian premiere, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will display works spanning the entirety of the notorious photographer’s career: from the early 1970s until his death in 1989. The exhibition will run from September 10 until Jan. 22, 2017.

Gardens of light

As of Sept. 2, step into an enchanted world of lanterns and lights at the Montreal Botanical Garden. Recounting the life of the Son of Heaven, the Chinese Emperor, lanterns in the Chinese garden serve as a testament to some of the key events of the sovereign’s life, such as his enthronement and wedding. In the Japanese garden, luminous bamboo lights the path in a soft glow.

Film festivals

Interested in film? Keep an eye out for several film festivals that will be starting shortly. The Montreal International Documentary Festival, which runs from November 10 to 20, will present over 100 documentary films from Canada and abroad.

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New age children’s theatre comes home

The puppet show was filmed on small box sized sets. Photo by Jessica Kinnari

Not just for kids: Nufonia Must Fall will teach you all about how films are made

Nufonia Must Fall provides an interactive look at how children’s films are made—a great example of new age children’s theatre. Complete with cameras, a DJ, a live four string quartet and lots of little puppets, the show kept the children’s interest and mine for the entire 90 minutes.

Created by turntablist Kid Koala, the story revolves around a robot and his love interest, Malorie. The show was directed by Oscar nominee K.K. Barrett (Her, 2016), and is based on the graphic novel by Kid Koala of the same name.

Kid Koala, who has toured alongside Arcade Fire and the Beastie Boys, hails from Montreal, along with most of the show’s production team, including the director of photography and Concordia alumnus AJ Korkidakis.  Due to their Montreal ties, a lot of the scenes take place in the city’s well-known locations such as Mount Royal, where the robot and Malorie go on their first date, or Moog Audio, a music store on St-Laurent, where the robot gets a job. These small references make it exciting, and create a nice sense of familiarity for local viewers.

While this was marketed as a children’s show, the production and underlying themes are definitely of interest to an adult audience. In the auditorium, there were four cameras in place, along with various miniature sets built on top of tables and laid out along the floor. Each scene had a different miniature set, and the varied sizes of puppets were controlled from underneath the tables by strings or magnets. The puppets were made out of white pieces of fiberglass, and other bits of material. I think the creators were going for more of a modern look—the puppets faces seemed robotic and unmoving.  It was fascinating to see where the cameras were set up during different scenes—it peaked my curiosity. Throughout the show, I tried to figure out how long the delay was between the camera and the screen.

The unique use of lighting really brought the story to life. For example, a car’s headlights were mimicked by the waving beam of a flashlight. The angles of the puppets combined with the backgrounds created various scenarios—a puppet that was angled backwards with a moving background gave the illusion that it was running very fast. Watching the story that the cameras were filming on the sets unfold from the sets to the big screen gave me an insight into how stop motion movies such the Wallace and Gromit series are created.

The story’s underlying themes of fear and love are relatable to viewers of all ages.  Twice during the show, the robot gets fired from his job and begins to feel like a failure, but his love for Malorie later makes him realize that those jobs are not everything. While children cannot relate to losing a job, they do learn that work isn’t everything. With both the quintessential love story and a relatable plot, Nufonia Must Fall is a great show to see if you are studying intermedia, film production or you just enjoy seeing what goes on behind the scenes of stop motion films.

The show ran from September 2 to 5 at Place des Arts, but you can find the trailer on Kid Koala’s website.

The graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall, as well Kid Koala’s other works can also be found on his website.

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World Press Photo exhibition opens in Montreal

3—Gumda, Nepal. Saturday, May 09, 2015: Nepalese villagers look on as they watch a helicopter picking up a medical team, dropping aid at the edge of a makeshift landing zone on May 9, 2015 in the village of Gumda, Nepal. On the 25th of April, just before noon local time, as farmers were out in fields and people at home or work, a devastating earthquake struck Nepal, killing over 8,000 people and injuring more than 21,000 according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Homes, buildings and temples in Kathmandu were destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake, which left over 2.8 million people homeless, but it was the mountainous districts away from the capital that were the hardest hit. Villagers pulled the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble by hand and the wails of grieving families echoed through the mountains, as mothers were left to bury their own children. Over the following weeks and months, villagers picked through ruins desperate to recover whatever personal possessions they could find and salvage any building materials that could be reused. Despite relief teams arriving from all over the world in the days after the quake hit, thousands of residents living in remote hillside villages were left to fend for themselves, as rescuers struggled to reach all those affected. Multiple aftershocks, widespread damage and fear kept tourists away from the country known for its searing Himalayan peaks, damaging a vital climbing and trekking industry and compounding the recovery effort in the face of a disaster from which the people of Nepal continue to battle to recover.

Displaying the best photos of the year, the World Press Photo exhibit returns for its 11th edition

Open since August 31, the World Press Photo exhibition captures the most remarkable major events of 2015. The 11th edition of the exhibition displays photos of events such as the November Paris terrorist attacks and the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

The exhibition of award-winning photos is showcased across 100 cities in 45 countries reaching a global audience of four million people each year, according to the World Press Photo website.

“The Montreal edition is one of the most popular amongst the hundred presented around the world,” said Matthieu Rytz, president of the Montreal event, during the media opening on August 30. “Our privileged relationship with our visitors speaks volumes about the Montreal community’s curiosity and level of involvement in the evolution of our societies.”

The image Hope for a New Life won the 2016 World Press Photo of the Year. The black and white photo of a Syrian man passing a baby through the sharp razor wire frontier between Serbia and Hungary was taken by Australian photographer Warren Richardson.“The jury chose this image for its simplicity, power and symbolism,” said Francis Kohn, Agence France-Presse (AFP) Photography Director and Jury President. “[AFP] believe[s] it contains almost all the components that define the refugee situation. At once somber and timeless, it defines reality classically, in the most noble terms. This photo speaks to us of anguish, vulnerability and hope.”

Like all images, it tells a story. It was taken at night, the only time the group of refugees could attempt the dangerous crossing into the next country—this is the story behind the blurriness of the photo, Kohn explained.“He couldn’t use the flash,” said Kohn. “He did what any professional would do. Indeed, technique is also adapting to the circumstances.” Kohn said the photograph was never sold or published. The full story of the man or the baby is not known, however, Kohn said Warren Richardson was still in contact with the group and had been informed that they had made it safely to Germany.

The World Press Photo exhibit features photos of protests in Paris. Photo by Corentin Fohlen.

A picture that truly stopped me in my tracks was the image of a young girl, gripping the cold metal bars of a fence in a Serbian refugee camp, her face covered by a thin film of floating plastic, staring into space. Another child in the background stares unapologetically at the camera, at us, and then, we are confronted with the truth behind the gaze of both children. This photograph was taken by freelance Slovenian photojournalist Matic Zorman and won the first prize single in the people category. It made me think of a child playing and making the best of her situation. Over the course of their dangerous journey towards an uncertain future, they have seen, felt and experienced everlasting traumas. I was captured by this image, struggling to define it between comedy and tragedy. The story behind the image left me hoping for the family’s safe passage to a better home, but fearing that as news coverage of the refugee crisis decreased, so do the chances of a better life for these children.

The eight categories of the World Press Photo exhibition are spot news, general news, contemporary issues, daily life, nature, people, sports and long-term projects. Depending on the category, entries could be single shots or multi-image projects.

On the upper level of the venue four complementary exhibits reveal diverse stories, some of which have unique ties to our city.  I am not from outer space tells the stories of newly-arrived Syrian families in Montreal, while In Search of Billions Lost, Oxfam-Québec addresses the issue of tax havens. Viewers can witness daily work of foreign correspondents, detailed by the ICI RDI – Quoi qu’il arrive. The Festival du Nouveau Cinéma’s Cartes blanches series supports six to eight film directors in the free expression of a topic of their choice.

Founded in 1955, World Press Photo is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Amsterdam. According to their website, the foundation is committed to developing and encouraging the highest standards in photojournalism and documentaries worldwide.

The World Press Photo exhibit will be showcased at Marché Bonsecours until Oct. 2, 2016. For more information visit their website.

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Canadian identity resonates in new film

The Northlander features an all Canadian cast.

Renowned Métis director Benjamin Ross Hayden brings his distinctly Canadian film home to Canada

After a few hurdles and a lot of phone calls, the all-Canadian film The Northlander made its North American debut on September 2 at the Outremont Theatre in Montreal. The Northlander was entered in this year’s Cannes Film Festival as a part of the Perspective Canada category.

Set in the year 2961 after nature has reclaimed the land, a hunter named Cygnus must journey through a desert valley to protect his people from a band of invaders. Along the way he must find the key to his people’s existence, and return from the journey with a purpose that he finds along the way.

The Northlander was written, directed and produced by Benjamin Ross Hayden, the youngest Canadian filmmaker to be accepted into the Telefilm Canada Micro-Budget Production Program as a director, writer, and producer.  The film is a futuristic epic that features an all-First Nations cast, something Hayden cared deeply about.

“It was very important to have a cast who are representative of the characters in the story,” he said. Seemingly by “coincidence based on serendipity,” Hayden added, all of the actors had previously worked together on the Canadian television series Blackstone, and therefore already had chemistry. Lead actor Corey Sevier worked alongside executive producer Adam Beach on the film Path of Souls, written and directed by another Canadian,  The Northlander’s executive producer Jeremy Torrie.

Even the inspiration for the film comes from Canada. “The film is inspired by a distinctly Canadian event, the 1885 Battle of Batoche, … where Louis Riel challenged the colonial ways of life,” Hayden said. “This same struggle is reflected in the film.” Principal cinematography took place in the Alberta Badlands near Montana, where Riel took refuge before returning to lead the Métis rebellion of the 1880s.  

An unmistakably  Canadian story, the film explores the theme of identity, something that Hayden said he believes is important to Canadian cinema. “Canadian cinema is unique in the fact that it has three strong sectors of cultural cinema: Anglophone, French Canadian and Aboriginal cinema,” said Hayden. According to Hayden, Canadian cinema has the ability to strike a unique chord on an international level. “We can connect to Hollywood because we have a commercial and cultural film industry,” he said. “Images are worth a thousand words, and films help to explore what makes Canada distinct, in the sense of Canada’s own identity.”

One of the reasons that Hayden chose Montreal for The Northlander’s North American premiere also ties back to Louis Riel. Hayden said due to Riel’s significant impact on Montreal’s history and culture, the film will resonate with those who see it. Just like how Riel fought to protect the Métis people’s identity, the lead character, Cygnus, fights to discover his own people’s identity and keep it alive.

“It makes sense to have the North American premiere in Montreal because it is one of the oldest cities in Canada, and it was all a part [of a] journey,” Hayden said. The journey that he’s referring to reflects the basis behind the film which is the, “Metis identity, exploring the journey that is part of the legacy of that culture.” This is one Canadian film where “eh” is not the punch line of every joke.

This film isn’t just another futuristic-themed low budget movie filmed on a video tape in someone’s backyard. The quality of the production was just as important to Hayden as the story. Having studied film production and film studies simultaneously, Hayden said he feels he can now create, “thought provoking cinema, with a mindfulness of both the art form and the craft.”

With The Northlander backed by Canadian film industry hard hitters Adam Beach and Jeremy Torrie, it was made not only to explore cultural identity, but to display the beauty and capabilities of Canadian-produced cinema. This level of production quality is not new to Hayden since his previous short film, Agophobia premiered at over 20 film festivals worldwide  including the Cannes Film Festival.

The Northlander has a few more stops at other film festivals this fall. It will be screened at the ImagineNative Film Festival, which runs from October 19 to 23 in Toronto, as well as the Feratum Film Fest from October 5 to 9 in Tlalpujahua, Mexico. Hayden has an agreement with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) to screen the film on the network for the next three years. It will also have a limited theatrical release next year in major Canadian cities.  After the theatrical release, The Northlander will be released digitally by Spotlight Pictures within the next year.

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Fashion: your own personal art

From off the runway and into the closet, fashion is a powerful art form

Choosing what to wear has been a lifelong struggle for most people, but for some, getting dressed is a form of art. Whether it’s subconscious or not, a person chooses what they wear carefully. They may only search out little gems in second hand stores or only buy things off the runway. Some colours may make a person look sallow, or a pattern may be too busy. This is similar to the way a painter chooses the colours for a painting’s background in order for it to best complement the subject. It can be a meticulous process.

Just like different styles of art, fashion has many different forms of its own. From classic to haute couture, each design is always part of a bigger picture. Fashion shows display a designer’s work, and all the pieces come together to bring to life the designer’s theme. The theme can be interpreted in as many ways as a Picasso painting. The colours and cuts chosen by the designer are always open to interpretation. Some may wear the skirt as a shirt or others a scarf, but all of the pieces are used to convey a person’s emotions and personality, two things that almost all art is based on. The body of a person is their personal art gallery. Although some people have taken their art galleries to another level.

Everyone’s closets are their own form of an art gallery. While displaying their favourite pieces there is usually a happy medium between organization and chaos. A new trend featuring custom built closets have become a new form of the personal art gallery. Harper’s Bazaar recently featured Kris Jenner’s closet, which is completely dedicated to her Birkin bags. These bags, which are all handcrafted and take over 18 hours to make, are coveted by hand bag enthusiasts worldwide. Costing over $23,000 for a brand new bag, each one is a valuable art piece displayed proudly on its owner’s arm or in their custom-built closet. Some of these closets have their own Instagram accounts and flood fashion-lovers’ Pinterest pages.

Whether or not the closet items were designed in an atelier in Paris, a department store, or an eclectic thrift store, each item was at one point a part of a designers’ vision and dream, and they become a part of every wearer’s personal style and vision. It becomes a part of a person’s own art gallery both at home and when they are wearing it on the street.

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A summer film to soothe the soul

Together, Masao and Kikujiro embark on an unlikely adventure.

Kikujiro draws parallels between a boy’s quest and the transition to adulthood

Kikujiro (1999) is an essential summer movie, but it’s all about when you decide to watch it. This summer was a time for me to break away from the last few years of stressing over adapting to adulthood. Watching Kikujiro at this time in my life really validated what I was going through.

Kikujiro is about a little boy, Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi) who embarks on a journey with his elder neighbour Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano). Together, they have a very random, yet life-changing summer adventure. The movie pulls you in with the innocence and sadness of young Masao, but it takes you on a trip that lets you reflect on the value of the people you meet throughout your life. Written and directed by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the film, Kikujiro was entered in the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

The sad tone of the film is balanced by the light-hearted nature of Kitano’s character, and the bizarre encounters he and Masao have along the way. As a viewer, you are introduced to a rather despondent nine-year old boy who lives with his grandmother.

When his summer vacation begins, Masao has nothing to do and no one to play with, since all of his friends go on trips with their parents. Masao doesn’t know much about his parents—the only thing his grandmother tells him is that his mother is working hard. One day, he stumbles upon a picture of his mother. Written on the back of the picture is an address in Toyohashi, several hundred miles away. He decides to take a trip to meet her.

A lowly neighbourhood thug, Kikujiro becomes Masao’s companion. His wife, a former neighbour of the boy, convinces him to accompany Masao on his trip.

Their trip starts off a little shaky, with both parties forced into travelling together. After winning a bicycle bet, the pair stumbles into several messy situations, such as hitchhiking after their taxi breaks down, that help the two grow closer.

Watching this movie, I realized there are special people you meet that can change your life and how you view yourself. Regardless of how you feel about this movie, Kikujiro perfectly captures a pivotal journey in the characters’ lives. Kikujiro reminded me of my childhood, when I was a bored kid living in the city with a working parent, trying to find any way to amuse myself. The film also reflected my current situation, as I struggle to transition into adulthood.

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A case for sport as art

Florence Yee

Art is all around us – even in athletics

Another edition of the Summer Olympic Games has wrapped up, and with it, the greatest athletes in the world return to their home countries.  Some are proudly weighed down with gold, silver or bronze medals around their necks and hard-earned international recognition.

Graphic by Florence Yee

The sacrifice, perseverance and motivation required to qualify for any international competition cannot be underscored. A lifetime of training and conditioning goes into qualifying for races that only last the time it takes to blink three times. At such high levels of competition, an athlete’s physical capabilities are typically bragged about: extreme strength, agility and power.

However, another athletic quality that is just as important, yet not fairly mentioned, is the artistry.  Although arts and sports might seem like polar opposites, they do go hand in hand to some degree. In sports such as swimming, what distinguishes a first-place finish from the second spot on the podium can come down to technique.

In gymnastics, synchronized swimming and even rowing, the performance becomes something akin to an art form. Rowers must be in perfect synchronicity with each other in order to be efficient. Gymnasts must wow the judges with the precision of their performances, but also with the creative aspect of them. Synchronized swimmers must deliver a spectacular performance—while submerged and holding their breaths.

These athletes have made something excruciatingly difficult and physically demanding seem easy, just as ballet and theatre do. No one would contest the artistically physical aspect of a ballerina. Therefore, sports should be recognized for their physical artistry as well.

 

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Overlooked art in a creative city

Montreal’s infamous street art has become a core part of its culture and identity.

A painting on the side of a flower box is one of the many displays of creativity found in Montreal’s Gay Village. Located on the corner of Rue Amherst and Ste. Catherine Street, the ghostly and haunting quality of the characters’ faces draw in passing pedestrians.

The painting was created by artist Aleksandra Panic during Amherst en Arts, an event where local artists gathered along Amherst street to display and sell their work. A number of artists, including Panic, painted the sides of the flower boxes located along Amherst Street. According to Panic’s website, her paintings distinct characteristics include the “folkish elements and primitive shapes” along with the “dramatic contrast between primitive, generalized body and detailed face.”

The primitive ghost-like beings, contrasted with the bright red and orange background, make for a piece that is open to many forms of interpretation. The characters’ faces bring to mind old renaissance books of saints and demons, or of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. The different textures and shapes of the characters create a deeper and more three dimensional effect. The brush strokes along the edges of the characters’ hair make it appear wispy and tangible. There is almost no shading or shadows except on the two characters’ faces, which gives them a mysterious aura. However, the bright background makes the characters appear less sinister and perhaps even hopeful. The red and orange gives a warmth to the whole painting and contrasts with the facial features. The dichotomy of the mural makes me want to know more about the characters depicted, to observe, talk and reflect about scene. Like most paintings, it sparks a conversation and a discussion about my interpretation. Luckily, such art is publicly available in many places across the city, having gained in popularity with addition of the art fairs taking place in various Montreal boroughs, like the Gay Village. All you need to do is pay attention.

Check out more of the painted flower boxes along Amherst Street this fall. To see more of Aleksandra Panic’s work look on her website, or on her Facebook page called: aleksandrapanicartist. You can find some more of her street art at Plaza St Hubert.

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