PERSPECTIVES catalogue

EXHIBITION C A TA LOGUE

PERSPECTIVES INTRODUCTION BY Aaron Krishtalka, Maimire Mennasemay, Kenneth Milkman, Richard Shoemaker, Lois Valliant, and Andrew Katz EDITED BY Sarah Watson EXHIBITION April 24–May 8, 2019 Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery Dawson College 4001 de Maisonneuve West Montreal, Canada H3Z 1A4 LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Dawson College is located on land which is the unceded traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka. This land has also served as a gathering place for Abenaki, Anishinaabe and other nations. As uninvited guests, it is our responsibility to honour the stewards of this land by educating ourselves about the histories and contemporary realities of First Peoples, and by contributing to the important work of reconciliation and decolonization.

space.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/exhibits/summary/the_perspectives

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Perspectives Introduction

What is a “perspective”? By one definition it is a vantage point; what we perceive because of where we’re standing in relation to the world around us. If we are looking at the earth from outer space, as in the famous “Pale Blue Dot” photograph of our planet; from the point of view of Sky Woman falling towards Turtle Island; or from the depths of our oceans, our perspective is different than it is looking at the earth from the sidewalk outside of Dawson College in Montreal.1 By another definition, a perspective is a particular lens, filter or framework that shapes, and indeed constructs, our perception and understanding. We can perceive the world, for instance, through a microscope, a telescope, our eye, as well as through the neural pathways that run from our eye to our brain, where “seeing” ultimately takes place.

But we can also perceive the world from the perspective of our own individual disposition, family dynamics, cultural attitudes, socio-economic status, religious beliefs, school of critical thought, familiar stories, paintings, songs, and so on.

Perspectives in all these senses of the word are explored across the academic disciplines. Ancient Greek astronomers sought a cosmological perspective on our place in the universe. Italian Renaissance architects, artists and theoreticians developed linear perspective (the illusion of depth on a flat surface). Einstein imagined standing looking backwards on a beam of light in order to formulate his theory of relativity.

Many Indigenous Peoples in North America have long taught the perspective that the earth is our mother and that we, as her children, have both a responsibility for her and a dependence on her. Mary Ainsworth’s theories of attachment offer new insight into very early human life. Adrienne Rich wrote poems that challenged dominant perspectives on women and power. Fifteen-year old Greta Thunberg in Sweden, who is refusing to attend school until politicians take action on climate change, is part of a growing movement of young people reminding their societies of the perspectives of future generations.

The theme of PERSPECTIVES invites exploration from myriad angles. Scales of perspective, from the quantum to the cosmic. The genesis of perspective, in our nature and through our nurture. The construction of perspective, as by a writer or visual artist. The complex layers of perspective, such as in our perspective of a loved one. Limitations of perspective, from the physiological to the psychological to the social to the human. (Can we imagine the point of view of an ant, a maple tree, the animals we are eating, the gas we are burning?) The moral consequences of perspective, for example, of the belief in human dominion over nature.

The privileging of perspective, as in a patriarchal society.

Revolutions against established perspectives. The notion of relativism (i.e. the equal validity of all perspectives) versus the idea that there can be preferred perspectives. The synchronization of perspectives, of consciousness, experiences, tastes, choices, and opinions—as illustrated by the phenomena of social media “likes,” YouTube followers, top Google searches, and niche news sources—versus the perspective of a “free spirit.”2 Justified perspective, and the question of how perspectives might be evaluated and educated through processes such as the scientific method, logical argument, historical analysis, anthropological study, and personal reflection, among others.

This exhibition presents multifaceted, multidimensional interpretations of PERSPECTIVES by Dawson students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the broader community who work across a wide range of disciplines. Their explorations may invite us to have fun with perspectives. To open new windows and horizons in our understanding. To bridge fields of study. In the words of Muhammad speaking to the different tribes and peoples of the Quran, to better know one another. To help “make the world safe for human differences,” as anthropologist Ruth Benedict wrote.3 To find our way to a more sustainable future. To redraw the boundaries of things, ideas, and beliefs. And to generate new meanings, new questions and new perspectives on ourselves, our world, and our place in it.

—Aaron Krishtalka, Maimire Mennasemay, Kenneth Milkman, Richard Shoemaker, Lois Valliant, and Andrew Katz

1. According to many Indigenous Peoples in North America, the creation of earth began with a being named Sky Woman falling out of the sky towards the back of a turtle. The turtle eventually becomes Turtle Island, also known as North America.

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2. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in Human, All Too Human: “He is called a free spirit who thinks differently from what, on the basis of his origin, environment, his class and profession, or on the basis of the dominant views of the age, would have been expected of him.”

3. This quote is often attributed to Ruth Benedict, though no primary source for it is available.

LYDIAN KIRKWOOD 3rd Year, Illustration

Perspectives, theme poster for 2018-2019 Mixed media Variable dimensions

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MICHAËL EMOND Graduate, Visual Arts

Drag’s the Limit, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 92 cm x 61 cm

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Drag is a portal to expressing a person’s self, lifestyle, character and perspective. In recent years drag has entered the mainstream and has achieved a level of respect as a cultural practice. Drag represents gay culture and is a means to create a visual shell against negativity.

Drag’s the Limit shows a side of my self as my drag oddity.

This self-portrait represents the power I derive from embracing myself in full character. The perspective of drag is a position of power or comedic. Drag’s the Limit also plays with the expression “the sky’s the limit”. The perspective of a person can go so far, it is what they make of it that will determine the meaning of what they do and how they see themselves.

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ROXANA BALOIU, KIANA PICANCO 2nd Year, Cinema-Communications, ALC

Twinge, 2019 Video 2:14 minutes

Twinge is a surrealist, visual representation of mental entrapment. This film’s dark, sinister aesthetic captures the viewer’s attention and draws them into the film’s world through the juxtaposition of abstract components that represent the horror of the situation. With physical allusions to confinement, this video work showcases the fear and mystery of being trapped in one’s own head and the sensation of being overwhelmed by inescapable thoughts and emotions. Inspired by Luis Bunuel’s 1929 film, Un Chien Andalou, this piece aims to evoke disorientation in the viewer by playing on the notions of space and time. Twinge references the history of slavery and is influenced by experimental, narrative, horror and thriller filmmaking.

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Still from Twinge

CAMILLA DEPTA, EMMA PROST, MARIA FERNANDA VELASQUEZ MORALES 1st Year, Visual Arts

Illusive Vision, 2019 Ink and charcoal on foam board 122 cm x 244 cm x 2 cm

What would it be like to experience a work of art from the inside? This is the primary question that inspired our group in the creation of our work. Our monochrome drawing is influenced by mandala art. It experiments with three-dimensionality and depth and plays with perception.

Our artwork may invite your gaze toward the center of the mandala. As you look around, attempting to escape the blackness of the vanishing point, you will happen upon a human figure sandwiched in between two layers in the drawing. This silhouette represents, we hope, the experience of stepping inside the drawing. Our artwork places the beauty of mandalas into a physical space where it can be closely examined and imagined as if from within.

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ANONYMOUS, YANA DENUCCI-GAGNON 2nd Year, Arts and Culture, ALC; 1st Year, Illustration

A Transgender Perspective, 2018 Prose; Mixed media 605 words; 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm

“For every woman who burned a bra, there is a man burning to wear one.”

—Vera Miss Vera, an American actress and writer, often used her writing to promote recognition for transgender women. In this specific quote, Vera makes reference to the Miss America protest of 1968 in which feminists lit bras on fire as a sign of protest against our patriarchal society. Vera uses this protest as a classic example of how feminism has led to more recognition of women as an oppressed group than it has done the same for transgender people. This recognition towards the oppression of women has led to a lot of societal progress and has resulted in the diminishment of women as a marginalized group. Although women remain less privileged than men, I would argue that all cisgendered people are more privileged than people who do not align with their sex.

Cisgender people, or people whose gender identity aligns with their biological sex, live in the comfort zone of the majority. I have recently come to understand that I am in fact trans non-binary and have spent the last few months living from an almost entirely new perspective. Although I have almost always experienced the oppression of a visibly queer person, I have recently developed the vocabulary and the understanding to be able to express this perspective. Transgender people who do not ‘pass’, meaning they do not physically appear as their preferred gender, are at an extreme disadvantage for success and are drastically disadvantaged every day. Even as a pale-skinned (White) Canadian I have come to realize the lack of understanding cisgendered people have in relation to their own privilege.

It took me almost two months to get a job in the West Island because employers would rather hire a cisgendered person over a visibly genderqueer one. After finally getting a job, the place went bankrupt and closed two months later, leaving me unemployed once again.

My brother, a cisgender, heterosexual man, was hired at the only two places he applied to, which both pay significantly above minimum wage, and are strongly established institutions, which will not, at any time, go bankrupt. My brother can also mention his serious girlfriend of three weeks at any time without fear of harassment. I, however, must tiptoe around mentioning my partner of almost two years, in fear of making someone uncomfortable or being told my relationship is less legitimate.

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Even as a visibly queer person I am still at a great advantage compared to most genderqueer people. People will often assume I am just a butch lesbian, and although this means being misgendered several times a day every day, this is still an advantage because it is much more socially acceptable to be homosexual than it is to be transgender.

Trans women definitely face the most adversity of any subgroup in the transgender umbrella. First of all, is much more difficult for a transwoman to pass than it is for a transman, as the effects of hormone therapy are much more rapid and drastic when taking testosterone than estrogen. Secondly, as much progress as feminism has made, it is still a disadvantage to be a woman in a patriarchal society, and as such transitioning from the ‘stronger’ sex to the ‘weaker’ one is viewed negatively by the majority.

Perhaps you, if you are a cisgender person, read this thinking you are an outlier. I beg you to ask yourself, even if you are not transphobic, how much have you really used your own privilege to help marginalized people? Would you be willing to sacrifice your own privilege for the benefit of the oppressed and even the playing field? Can you change your perspective for the benefit of minorities?

—Anonymous

This illustration, by Yana, was created in association with A Transgender Prospective, by Anonymous, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in Neal Armstrong’s class.

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KEISHA CARTER Dawson Support Staff

Things Change and Stay the Same, 2019 Acrylic on canvas 101 cm x 76 cm

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The more things change the more they stay the same.

This is my perspective on the years of slavery and the world today. I want to take viewers on an emotional and intellectual journey as they try to connect the noose and the bullet.

The faces and methods of violence have changed, but regrettably, their actions have been deviously masked. Today, brown people are gunned down by anyone who sees them as a threat.

The way brown people have been treated and the systemic abuse that has passed through generations has unfortunately become entrenched in our DNA. In my practice, I sympathize with the emotions of the situation and the history behind it. I want the viewer to recognize that the violence we see today stems from the forefathers.

Slave masters used the word “black� to categorize us and it unfairly misrepresents us, as we are many shades of brown.

It also saddens me to say that, teaching our children to stay safe against everyday racism and violence is as important as teaching our children the alphabet. I hope this piece also helps us think of the future.

So, ask yourself: what can we do now to make the future different and better for everyone, no matter the colour of someone’s skin?

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ANAÏS SAUTTER-LÉGER, LANCE BERCAN 2nd Year, Liberal Arts; 1st Year, Illustration

An Opportunity for a New Perspective, 2018 Prose; Mixed media 649 words; 27.9 cm x 43.2 cm

Opportunity, NASA’s Mars rover, has been giving humans the chance to explore the red planet for the past fourteen years.

A recent failure to communicate with Oppy—as Opportunity is commonly known—is distressing because it might mean the end of the robot’s life. This breakdown in communication does, however, offer a new possibility: instead of looking only at Mars through Oppy, we have the chance to look at ourselves through our relationship to this fascinating machine and gain a new perspective on humanity.

tion. According to Seibert, the main reason for the high level of attachment to Oppy is the robot’s appearance. Its camera lenses look like eyes, it has an overall very symmetrical design, and its height is approximately that of an adult human.

Although Opportunity’s design is not accidental, the fact that it looks so familiar to us is. Oppy appears human, and many of us have come to consider it as more than a robot because of its likeness to us. The former crew leader himself refers to Oppy as ‘‘she.’’

Opportunity landed on Mars in January of 2004. It sent images back to earth as it traveled very slowly (about half a meter per minute when going quickly), until an important dust storm hit this summer. Since then, we have been unable to communicate with it. Many of the people working on its success have grown attached to the robot and don’t want its journey to end.

NASA’s workers, though, are not the only people reluctant to see Oppy go: in the past couple of weeks, there has been an international phenomenon of space enthusiasts asking NASA not to give up on the automaton. Why is it that so many of us have become attached to a machine so incredibly far away?

Seibert adds that people may be fond of Oppy because it is an underdog. Originally meant to survive on Mars for 90 sol, one sol being one Mars day and slightly longer than one Earth day, it has now been roaming our neighbouring planet for over 5000 sols. It was at its 5111th sol when the dust storm hit it.

Oppy the machine is thus an engineering feat and a symbol of human achievement. Anthropomorphized, it becomes a kind of hero: one of us, leading the way in planetary exploration, surpassing all of our expectations. Renstrom claims that Oppy has become ‘‘an extension of the human race’’ as we explore space through it.

In a recent episode of “The Current,” a CBC radio show, host David Common spoke to Mike Seibert, former lead flight director and senior driver on the Opportunity crew; Dr. Tanya Harrison, research director at Arizona State University’s Space Technology and Science Initiative; and Prof. Joelle Renstrom, a robot enthusiastic journalist for Boston’s Daily Beast. These experts offered listeners different perspectives on the situa-

Oppy was able to survive for so long in part due to its amazing design, explains Harrison, and in part because of the weather, which provided just enough dust particles to regularly clean the machine. Now that Oppy has stopped responding, NASA has resorted to sending signals every now and then, hoping for one back. If in a month it still is not responding, NASA will wait for a spontaneous signal from Oppy without itself sending anything out. If there is a continuing lack of activity on the rover’s part, its mission may be officially considered complete. An end to Oppy’s adventure is just what so many Oppy fans fear.

Whether or not Opportunity’s sols are officially numbered, its mission break has given us the opportunity to gain a sort of meta-perspective. Though we normally gain special spatial perspective through it, we can understand ourselves better by analyzing our relation to it. People are becoming increasingly attached to machines, and through our anthropomorphizing of Oppy, we see what humans want for humanity: hope, love, and timelessness.

—Anaïs

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Carr, Danielle, Ines Colabrese. ‘‘Why scientists have become attached to ‘Oppy’, the Mars rover stranded by a dust storm.’’ The Current, 2018. CBC Radio, cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-21-2018-1.4831874

This illustration, by Lance, was created in association with An Opportunity for a New Perspective, by Anaïs, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in Neal Armstrong’s class.

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ESTHER CALIXTE-BEA Dawson Graduate, Visual Arts

Flower Series: Growth, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 121.9 cm x 91.4 cm

The perception of beauty is forever changing and being challenged. We all know the saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. My work addresses the points of view on beauty and how it is achieved through different adjustments to one’s natural appearance. This idea is expressed through an insecurity depicted through cosmetic rituals women enact to hide or change their appearance. Thus, we see that this insecurity is being removed or masked. We can conclude that what is beautiful all depends on each person and what they believe is beauty. Even though society has a set of standards and ideals for beauty, we are in a time when these laws are being broken and reinvented and expanded to create a more inclusive definition of beauty.

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CHARLIE GALEA MCCLURE Graduate, Cinema-Communications, ALC

NO ADMITTANCE, 2018 Short film 2:10 minutes

NO ADMITTANCE is an intersection of perspectives. It is an experimental found footage film. As such, it comprises archival footage from a variety of sources—old documentaries, animated films, as well as other archaic stock—and overlays this footage with new editing techniques.

NO ADMITTANCE is a test in ambiguity, its various clips are bound together by a vagueness that hovers like a fog, helping to shape, unshape and reshape perspectives on its imagery throughout the film.

Still from NO ADMITTANCE. All edited footage from the public domain: Prelinger Archives

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JOEL TRUDEAU Faculty, Physics

Marvin, 2019 Mixed media 94 cm x 63.5 cm

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is being powered by rapid advances in the underlying algorithms and the capacity for computation. The timeline for creating a so-called General AI with human-level intelligence is under dispute and not presently within reach. Yet, the explosive development of Narrow AI applications for simple tasks is radically transforming nearly all fields of endeavour. For art production, the tangible use of AI has provoked new discussion on the nature of creativity and agency. Some have wondered whether if, beyond the novelty of these emerging disruptive practices, future AI-rendered artworks and writings will completely flood the marketplace. In an extreme scenario, these outputs would be indistinguishable from those created by humans. An alternative is that human intervention will always be necessary and desirable, and that AI will be just another tool for creative expression. The reality seems likely to lie somewhere in between these two extremes.

This work explores possibilities for AI art creation using two different machine learning algorithms. The result is Marvin, a reference to Marvin Minsky, one of the founding fathers of AI. It is also a playful nod to the pop art movement coincident to the early years of AI research in the 1950s and 60s.

Marvin was conceived of with the output from a generative adversarial network, or GAN, designed to create successively higher resolution and realistic portraits of nonexistent people.1 An intervention at an intermediate stage was made and a portrait chosen to be fed into the second algorithm, a deep neural network able in principle to represent the style of any painting.2 Automated pastiches, derived from the paintings of 32 different artists, were then curated and brought together in a large poster format.

The exhibited work is printed on vinyl adhesive, affixed to acrylic translucent Plexiglas, and mounted as a light-box with embedded electronics to control a matrix of addressable LEDs. The lighting of the piece can be controlled to highlight the singular imitation of a particular artist. Taken together, the grid of styles suggests effects and filters for image manipulation but also the potential for infinite variety using AI tools and human creativity.

1. Karras et. al., Progressive Growing of GANs for Improved Quality, Stability and Variation, ICLR 2018.

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2. Dumoulin et. al., A Learned Representation for Artistic Style, arXiv preprint arXiv: 1610.07629.

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ALESSIA SIMO, NICASIA JAMES 1st Year, Illustration; 2nd Year, Enriched Science

Insecurities, 2018 Mixed media; Prose 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm; 209 words

This illustration, by Alessia, was created in association with Insecurities,

by Nicasia, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in Neal Armstrong’s class.

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It starts in gym class when a girl points out the hair on your legs Too young to understand that her words will manifest into something much greater Far more complex than your 9-year-old brain can process Nonetheless, a seed has been planted And soon torment will grow in your heart It becomes the rolls under your shirt when you sit down And the thighs too thick to fit into your friend’s jeans.

It’s the red bumps on your cheek that you cover with powder and the fuzz around your mouth that makes your lips un-kissable It turns into all the mornings you skip breakfast convincing your mom that you were in a rush, then the lunches you throw away and the dinner you spend hours picking at You hear the growls like thunder in your stomach But you can’t stop the storm Because nothing is hurts more than how ugly feels It becomes the miles you scroll down Instagram, All the likes you don’t get on a picture The nights spent waiting for daylight yet dreading dawn The hours staring into a reflection of blunder Quickly buried alive under your own expectations Suffocating on silent screams Gasping for acceptance at the feet of those who have kicked you —Nicasia James

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JENNIFER SMITH, TIAWENTI:NON CANADIAN Faculty, Anthropology; Coordinator, First Peoples’ Centre

Qisijalirijuit: (they are) working on the seal skin, 2019 Multimedia installation Texts, photographs, and objects

STUDENT ORGANIZERS Ayelet Ami 2nd Year, Law, Justice and Society, Social Science

Andy Bernardi 1st Year, Psychology, Social Science

Jenna Caruana 2nd Year, Law, Justice and Society, Social Science

Michelle Ho 2nd Year, Law, Justice and Society, Social Science

Gabriella Lefebvre 2nd Year, Law, Justice and Society, Social Science

Julia Pisaturo 2nd Year, Law, Justice and Society, Social Science

Kelly Rosialda 1st Year, Psychology, Social Science

INTRODUCTION This project offered an opportunity to approximately 300 students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to connect to seal hunting, a contemporary and important issue in our country as well as internationally, in a tactile and deep way.

After learning about Inuit seal hunting from the Inuit perspective by watching the film Angry Inuk (Arnaquq-Baril, 2016) and through independent research essays, eight groups of students in anthropology, sociology and Journeys cohorts had the opportunity to work with seal skin in a workshop guided by a cultural expert to make something they kept (key chain, earrings, bracelet, small owl). Workshops were also offered to the Dawson community more broadly during Multicultural Days, First Peoples’ Week and the ALC conference. In addition, an advanced five-week seal skin mitten workshop was completed in collaboration with the First Peoples’ Centre.

The exhibition piece here showcases items made during the seal skin workshops, reflections on the learning process, a seal skin pelt and piece to touch and a “key facts” list to entice newcomers to the subject to learn more.

RECOGNITION Many Inuit cultural experts were involved in this project.

Special thanks are due to cultural expert Daisy Savard who ran numerous seal skin workshops and the five-week mitten workshop, Tina Pisuktie who helped out at the last minute for one of our workshops and to Hannah Tooktoo, a Dawson student who helped to guide this project as it took shape and ran a seal skin workshop for a group of students.

Students working with sealskin

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MESSAGE FROM PARTICIPATING NON-INUIT/NON-INDIGENOUS STUDENTS We have done our best to share our learning with you and would like to highlight that: We are not experts. We are not Inuit. This is what we have learned. This project comes from a place of respect and curiosity.

LITSILAURTAVUT: Something we learned “I experienced a slight moral dilemma at the beginning of this workshop. As a vegetarian, when we were introduced to this assignment, I immediately opted for the alternative craft [to work with vegan leather]. However, upon arrival I began strongly questioning this decision. When I thought about it, the reasons why I am vegetarian is related to the ethical issue of the way meat is handled in the industry in terms of the mistreatment of animals as well as environmental reasons. When I looked at both the vegan leather and the seal skin I began to question my initial instinct. The seal was killed in an ethical way and I know this as fact. I do not however know the ethical side of the leather. In addition, the seal skin is natural whereas the leather is plastic. It began to seem to me like the seal skin was morally the better option.

“Having Daisy (the cultural expert who ran the workshop) there to give Tristan and I guidance on how to cut the skin was very useful. She is well practiced and gave us advice that helped in the making of my keychain. I enjoyed that the activity felt relaxed and casual and that we could work independently but also had the support of our peers or experts to help us. I believe that this format of learning is missing from most classes and therefore I was grateful to have it in Anthropology! As a kinetic learner, opportunities like this are rare but very useful in my comprehension of a subject.”

#Sealfies

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ADJACENT, FACING PAGE Keychains and bracelet Sealskin pelt

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JULIANNA JOOS Faculty, Fine Arts

Mending Pillow: Hodgkin, 2019 Fiber art: digital printing, sewing and embroidery 17 cm x 13 cm x 3 cm

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This miniature fiber artwork is about approaching life through different perspectives, mending what science cannot fix. The dash-dotted white lines on this small pillow and garment are Sashiko embroidery. Sashiko Japanese embroidery is an ancestral technique used as a form of darning to repair or add strength to worn areas of clothing. Sashiko is considered a “folk textile�, useful but also decorative; it was used to extend the life of fabrics, to recycle torn surfaces or to insulate clothes by stitching several layers of fabric together.

In this fiber artwork I have approached Sashiko embroidery in a meditative manner while trying to preserve the aesthetic qualities of the technique.

The printed design of the organza fabric used for the pillow and the hand-sewn clothing is an image of a deadly Hodgkin’s lymphoma as perceived through the lens of a microscope.

The lens enables the pathologist to analyse the cells and give prognosis. While this perspective helps the scientist understand our world, we need other perspectives to help us through the unplanned labyrinth of life.

The embroidered pillow is about mending what is broken, overcoming what we cannot control, closing the gap between reality and humanity. The slow process of Sashiko stitching through the fabric has become a form of mindful stitching instilling empathy and acceptance.

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FRANK MULVEY Faculty, Fine Arts, Illustration

It Depends, 2019 Charcoal on paper 76.2 cm x 76.2 cm

Observation of the world is fuelled by a need to understand its complexity. Things are better grasped if seen from a variety of viewpoints and through many lenses, unrestricted by the limitations of a singular perspective. However, despite the wealth of information gathered in this way, insights derived from this process never guarantee a final and all-encompassing truth.

Each lens offers a variation on the subject, eliciting its own truth from the gemstone of visual experience.

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MARIA MELINA TOMIZZI, JENNA CORPUZ 2nd Year, Arts and Culture, ALC; 1st Year, Illustration

What I See, 2018 Poem; Mixed media 160 words; 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm

Lilies have bloomed, sprung up like a child reaching out for something just beyond her fingertips, reviving what was a desolate garden within me.

And a serene light now seems to encompass my days that were once burdened by insufferable darkness.

For even when you are not around, the mere recollection of your smile is enough to inspire an early spring.

Your laugh, although high-pitched and always sounding the slightest-bit condescending, is to me a warm, harmonious tune to which I wish to dance, and I don’t dance.

And the arch of your back is a terrain yet unexplored, both strong and fragile, as if concealed within you are the intricacies of a universe that I long to unveil through tender means.

Because everything you are inspires the world to be good in response. Now, feelings are truer, sunlight shines brighter, and the flowers are undoubtedly more fragrant.

If only you weren’t allergic.

If only you saw what I see —Maria Melina Tomizzi

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This illustration, by Jenna, was created in association with What I See,

by Maria, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in John Singer’s class.

THOMAS MEGANCK, SEBASTIAN TORRES 2nd Year, Cinema-Communications, ALC; 1st Year, Illustration

Young Man in the Mirror, 2018 Prose; Mixed media 124 words; 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm

We all have insecurities.

From my perspective, my legs are too long, all my pants too short.

My arms are too skinny, two Barbie arms glued onto the body of an 18-year-old dude. My nose is crooked, pointing slightly right––actually that’s true, happened after running into another kid on the playground.

Why does Kim Kardashian have the most followers on Instagram?

Why do all men have to be as “buff” as Dwayne Johnson?

Why does “perfection” matter so much?

Why can’t all shapes, all sizes be appreciated for what they are: natural? Can we shift the question to how? How can we be more inclusive? How can we have more self-esteem? How can we break the evil image that lies in the mirror?

—Thomas Meganck

This illustration, by Sebastian, was created in association with Young Man in the Mirror, by Thomas, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in John Singer’s class.

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ELIZABETH BARNES, MORGANE BROUILLARD-GALIPEAU, YU LU LIU 2nd Year, Pure and Applied Sciences; 2nd Year, Health Sciences; 2nd Year, Pure and Applied Sciences

Tempestry—Daw50n, 2019 Acrylic yarns 160 cm x 28 cm each piece

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The image above shows prototyping of the partial 2019 data, to be completed with temperatures from the project’s weather prediction model.

The Tempestry Project is an international data visualization initiative. Around the world, people are creating beautiful colour-coded knitted wall hangings to represent climate data for different cities during a given year. The goal is to use the knitting craft to reframe the complex and often abstract issue of climate change with an accuracy and tactility that is accessible to others. This year, to honour Dawson College’s 50th anniversary, we have created two such tapestries for Montreal, one from 1969 and the other from 2019.

Temperature data is taken from the local weather stations, nearest to Dawson, using the Government of Canada open access platform. The thread colours encode the temperature in intervals of 5 degrees Celsius and are weaved together to produce a visualization of the temperature profile of the city for the given time period. For each day of the year we relate a high, low and average temperature. Since the temperature data for 2019 is incomplete, the second tapestry involves a creative and technical interpretation of the chaotic aspects of weather prediction over long time periods. We use an imperfect quantitative model to make our predictions and manifest the imprecision of the science while still capturing the overall seasonal trends.

This project has the additional dimension of engaging the Dawson community in a relaxed and tangible discussion on climate change. We will invite participants, during the exhibition, to a knitting experience that functions as a collective act of weather prediction.

Additional information about the international Tempestry Project that inspired this artwork can be found at tempestryproject.com

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HUGH DURNFORD-DIONNE 2nd Year, Cinema-Communications, ALC

Fluid, 2018 Video 2:28 minutes

ANIMATION PROCESS Fluid is an animated short film with original music by Yama Sato. Each frame was originally shot on a camera then printed and coloured in using crayons. The original drawings are done in the complementary colours of those shown in the final version. In post-production the drawings were inverted from their original colour to create a more luminous effect as opposed to the original pastel colours. Animation is one of the most effective means for demonstrating one’s perspective on the world because of the freedom and choice that comes with every frame. The final scene is shot with a GoPro in a local pool when nobody was there. Yama got dressed up in all black clothing and swam around giving the impression of being in a void.

THE SOUNDTRACK PROCESS After watching these drawings come to life for the first time without sound, Soonie (Yama Sato) improvised a piano freestyle on the spot. At a later date, he added more ambient sounds such as field recordings of birds and a chorus to complete the soundtrack.

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Still from Fluid

KATHLEEN BINETTE Graduate, Illustration & Design

Kids and Their Phones, 2019 Digital 27.9 cm x 43.2 cm

I want my piece to speak from my perspective of generational differences. In writing this text, I realize that there are many ways I could describe my artwork. I could tell an anecdote about the reference photograph that I took on Christmas night in a Tim Horton’s when my parents took out their phones in the middle of a conversation we were having. I could have written in the third person in the style of an article that tackles the question of how and why we perceive generational gaps and similarities. I could have drawn a parallel with the young couple in the background and claimed that the two couples reflect one another and question the generational divide and commonality between these subjects. The perspective that unites them passes across the tables and over time.

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JONATHAN GAUTHIER 1st Year, Studio Arts, ALC

divi-nature, 2018 Acrylic on canvas board 46 cm x 61 cm

Many interpret art and life as an act of God; as chiaroscuro, tenebroso and through divine light descriptors that seem to flood galleries and museums the world over, be it Vermeer’s The Woman with the Pearl Earring or Monet’s Bain à la Grenouillère, or any number of works said to harbor cryptic messages that only a choice few can decode. In such light, the beauty of art is lost through the jaded lens of analysis and pretense.

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In every artwork there is spirit, soul, external intervention and the spark of life—the ability to make a God of any artist.

Artists wield the tools that breathe life into pigments, create new worlds with their materials. God exists through the Carravaggios, Rembrandts, Dantes, and Mary Shellys of the world. Their works ignite within the soul of the viewer a chance to sample the exquisite sensation of being present at the creation of a world, a life. This is a perspective that only creation can offer, and only for a fleeting moment, in the making and in the seeing.

GABRIELA KENNEDY 2nd Year, Arts & Culture, ALC

The Myth of the Woman, 2018 Glass, assorted “Introduction to Arts and Culture” course pack pages, acrylic paint, gel transfer prints, gel medium on canvas 60 cm x 60 cm

In Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949), she discusses the historical oppression of women, particularly through the concept that their essences are said to be definable, which inherently puts men in a position of power over them. If women are easily categorized, then their position in society can be as well. De Beauvoir also addresses the concept that when stories are told from only one perspective, they are limiting and defining for their subjects. The only way she sees to break free from this narrative is to become aware of it and to rewrite it. This collage is based on these notions and their relation to my personal and academic upbringing as a latinx female artist. I selected segments of texts used in the introductory course of my program, Arts and Culture, which were written predominantly by white men, and superimposed them with excerpts from de Beauvoir’s book. This overlapping effect illustrates how I was able to understand how my field of study was introduced to me and how I had to distance myself from the traditional male perspective in order to find my own.

The cracked glass represents my dissection of this image and how I was able to reconstruct it into something that better accommodated myself, my voice and my artistic practice.

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SCOTT MILLAR, LEIGH SHAPIRO Faculty, Interior Design

Interior Design Community Project, 2019 Poster 142.2 cm x 111.8 cm

Personal perspective, empathy and intuition are key qualities in making important design decisions. This Interior Design Program “Community Project” (term 5) explores specific needs of residents in two Montreal neighbourhoods: Griffintown and St. Henri. From their unique perspective, individual students developed a project suited to their understanding of the community and inspired by research and the perspectives of residents from the two neighbourhoods: their hopes, their needs and their ideas.

Perspective drawing is an essential skill for the field of interior design and one that translates the site through a designer’s understanding and perception of place. To present ideas to the communities, the students created perspectives drawings to encourage a conversation with residents, thus offering images to invite discussion and exchange.

1. BA NYE HONG REACH is a women’s organization focused on assisting adult immigrant women for better integration and into safe environments. REACH aims to empower and create a community where women can help each other towards autonomy.

REACH strives to be proactive and its outreach program does not hesitate to share knowledge and skills that are necessary to start up a new life in Montreal.

2. VIRA SELETSKA BBrave is a community center for immigrants that facilitates the newcomers’ adaptation by offering employment counselling and language classes. Cultural exchange and mutual respect between the immigrants are encouraged. There is a daycare and a communal kitchen where national dishes can be shared. Nature, and ‘everything is possible’, drive the design concept.

3. ZAINAB BANAT This Youth Community Centre is for teenagers, 12 to 18 years of age. The main goal is to keep the teens away from violence and drug use by offering them access to different alternatives.

Teenagers from different cultural backgrounds, religions, and gender meet and learn to interact in a healthy way. The main design goal is to have an informal atmosphere to make the teens feel welcome and comfortable.

4. TANIA KOWYNIA Studio L’X is an inclusive, non-judgmental space that teaches music and technical audio skills to women and people who 36

identify as women in the multifaceted neighborhood of St-Henri. The centre offers workshops in musical practice and theory, recording, mixing, and producing. It provides opportunities to perform in front of a live audience to help build self-esteem and freedom of expression.

5. BETTY DERMOSESSIAN The Social Club is for older adults and offers a variety of activities. Its purpose is to enhance their quality of life, to help them feel included in our society and to keep them up-to-date with societal and technological change. One of the centre’s most important objectives is to avoid a sterile, institutional design and thus make its users feel as comfortable as possible.

6. HELENA LIANG BRKN BRD is a membership-based, not-for-profit community kitchen and gro-op offering aquaponic-farmed fresh produce, herbs, flowers, tilapia and striped bass. The centre boasts a program fostering inter-generational collaboration, learning, and community building. An after-school program will match youth to seniors and retirees by having the teens deliver daily meals prepared at BRKN BIRD. 7. LEANNE MELNICK The Friendship Circle is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of individuals with special needs, the lives of their families and volunteers in the community.

The Circle’s aim is to integrate individuals with special needs into society to encourage them to feel loved and cared for.

The design mandate was to create as an inviting space aligned with the organization’s values.

8. RINEY CHEN Hooman is a reminder to let go of the rush of life. It’s asking people to stop and look around at the connections waiting to be made. It’s asking you to not be so serious and skeptical for a minute. Here, you dance like you’re in your living room.

You sit with friends, you have a drink, you enjoy a show.

9. STEVEN NAPOLI X-R Size Fitness Center is a gym designed for young men 18 to 25 years old to engage in physical activity to maintain a healthy way of living. These young Cegep/university level students can blow off some steam and release some negative energy. The objective is to offer the gym users a place which is energizing and motivational to the mind and the body.

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Vira Seletska Rodier locale Griffintown

Betty Dermosessian Rodier locale Griffintown

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Riney Chen Rodier locale Griffintown

Tania Kowynia Brewster locale St. Henri

Hooman is a reminder to let go of the rush of life. It’s asking people to stop and look around at the connections waiting to be made. It’s asking you to not be so serious and skeptical for a minute. Here, you dance like you’re in your living room. You sit with friends, you have a drink, you enjoy a show.

Leanne Melnick Brewster locale St. Henri

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Zainab Banat Rodier locale Griffintown

This Youth Community Centre is for teenagers, 12 to 18 years old. The main goal is to keep the teens away from violence and drug use by offering them access to different alternatives. Teenagers from different cultural backgrounds, religions, and gender meet and learn to interact in a healthy way. The main design goal is to have an informal atmosphere to make the teens feel welcome and comfortable.

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Helena Liang Rodier locale Griffintown

BRKN BRD is a membership-based, not-for-profit community kitchen and gro-op offering aquaponic-farmed fresh produce, herbs, flowers, tilapia and striped bass. The centre boasts a program fostering inter-generational collaboration, learning, and community building. An after-school program will match youth to seniors and retirees by having the teens deliver daily meals prepared at BRKN BIRD.

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Steven Napoli Rodier locale Griffintown

X-R Size Fitness Center is a gym designed for young men 18 to 25 years old to engage in physical activity to maintain a healthy way of living. These young cegep/university level students can blow off some steam and release some negative energy. The objective is to offer the gym users a place which is energizing and motivational to the mind and the body.

Studio L’X is an inclusive, non-judgmental space that teaches music and technical audio skills to women and people who identify as women in the multifaceted neighborhood of St-Henri. The centre offers workshops in musical practice and theory, recording, mixing, and producing. It provides opportunities to perform in front of a live audience to help build self-esteem and freedom of expression.

The Social Club is for older adults and offers a variety of activities. Its purpose is to enhance their quality of life, to make them feel included in our society, and to keep them up-to-date with day-to-day changes (societal, technological, etc.). One of the centre’s most important objectives is to avoid a sterile, institutional feel, and make its users feel as comfortable as possible.

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REACH is a women’s organization focused on assisting adult immigrant women for better integration and into safe environments. REACH aims to empower and create a community where women can help each other towards autonomy. REACH strives to be proactive and its outreach program does not hesitate to share knowledge and skills that are necessary to start up a new life in Montreal.

BBrave is a community center for immigrants whose main goal is to facilitate the newcomers’ adaptation, by offering Employment Counselling and Language Classes. Cultural exchange and mutual respect between the immigrants are encouraged. There is a Communal Kitchen where national dishes can be shared, and a Daycare.

Nature, and ‘everything is possible’, drive the design concept.

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Ba Nye Hong Brewster locale St. Henri

The Friendship Circle is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of individuals with special needs, the lives of their families and volunteers in the community. The Centre’s aim is to integrate individuals with special needs into society, allowing them to feel loved and cared for. The design mandate was to create an inviting space that was in alignment with the organization’s values.

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MARIAM EL JABIRI, XIN TING ZHOU 2nd Year, Cinema-Communications, ALC; 1st Year, Illustration

The Land of Jasmines, 2018 Excerpt; Mixed media 403 words; 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm

Jasmines painted the streets white. Crystallized teardrops elegantly dancing in the Mediterranean wind. A man carefully trod on them, his steps like footprints on feathers of snow.

He made his way through Rawda Square, a path he had walked down ever since he could stand on his two feet. But this time, it was different; everything was so vivid. The cedar trees overshadowing the minaret that towered over the city, pine needle silhouettes swaying against the cracked walls.

Mount Qasioun red in the sunset, as if soaked in Abel’s blood.

Damascus a fragile rose with jasmine thorns protecting her narrow, dusty streets.

He was staring at his phone. A terrorist attack had occurred in a foreign country the night before. Headlines read Pray for Paris. Thousands of people held candle lights. Some were hugging each other, some were crying. In a video on the phone screen, a father was comforting his terrified son, telling him that the bad guys may have guns, but they have flowers.

He closed his eyes, and for a second, he was by his grandmother’s side, picking petals in the dormant streets of dawn for his perfumed morning tea. He let his lungs fill up with the aroma of childhood one last time, before breathing turned sharply into acute pain.

“Do you think people ever pray for us, too?” she asked playfully.

Khalil couldn’t help but laugh. What could a delicate little flower do against bullets?

Rima looked over his shoulder.

He smiled.

“We don’t need their prayers. We have God.”

His shirt was completely red now.

As he turned back to see the trail of blood that painted the floral canvas, he collapsed on the rubbled marble sidewalk of his falling city.

Buried underneath a sea of wilting jasmines, his hands reaching up to the sky. *** The children woke up startled. They couldn’t hear the missiles. The silence in the house was so unusual, they thought they were dead.

Rima got up and checked on her infant brother, Amine. He was still sleeping soundly. She caressed the crescent-shaped birthmark on his nose with her small delicate fingers.

How lucky you are, sleeping like this.

She pranced to the living room, her two pigtails bouncing on her flat chest.

There, slumping on the pile of old blankets that formed their makeshift couch, was Khalil.

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He twiddled with his misbaha, which he always kept in his pocket.

—Mariam El Jabiri

This illustration, by Xin Ting, was created in association with The Land of Jasmines, by Mariam, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in Neil Armstrong’s class.

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DANIEL GOLDSMITH, MARK MCGUIRE, ALAIN CHEVARIER Dawson Faculty, Humanities; John Abbott Faculty, Humanities; Artist

Felix and Anya, 2019 Illustrated short story 62 pages

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Why do certain effects of trauma endure? How do traumatic experiences transform us? What is the connection between trauma and resilience?

Felix and Anya is an illustrated story that addresses these questions, and in so doing, challenges common perspectives on trauma. For both characters, the influence of the past persists in the present, often in ways that are unconscious and unseen. Both seek to understand how their behavior has been shaped by past generations’ responses to the tragedy inherent in being alive.

The story opens a space where we can examine how to find a gift in what we might otherwise consider burdensome. For these characters, this process is catalyzed by the overwhelming power of the natural world. Along with the essential tools of courage, awareness, and a supportive community, we invite you to consider how nature can play a pivotal role in transforming the way we relate to ourselves.

FACING PAGE Illustration from the short story Felix and Anya. Visit felixandanya.com to read the entire story.

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JENNIFER SMITH Faculty, Anthropology

“Everything is always changing”: Stories of shifting perspectives on the road, 2019 Text and photographs

For this project students conducted ethnographic interviews that centered on an individual’s experience with, and stories of, migration and/or travel. Stories help researchers connect with interviewees on an emotional level and add depth to our understanding of personal challenges, growth and hardship. During the ethnographic interviews, students asked their interviewees to describe a shift in perspective they experienced during their migration/travel experience. This exhibition piece showcases the answers to this question. To best convey the context, photos accompany each story: photos, chosen by the interviewee to accompany the description of their shifting perspective; and, a second photo of the interview in progress that offers insight into this commonly used research method.

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ANNA-CLAIRE FUZESSY 2nd Year, General Studies, Social Science

“Everything is always changing” Interviewee: Christopher Fuzessy (Anna’s father) Words 283

TRAVEL STORY Christopher Fuzessy took a trip across Canada with his girlfriend when he was in his early twenties. Christopher decided to go on this trip because he was in search of work so he could save money for school. He wanted to save money and needed a change of scenery. He headed out west in January 1992 when he was 24 years old. After traveling by train across the country they decided to return to Jasper as it was the favorite site they had visited. They lived in Jasper for the summer and Christopher worked at the Moraine Lake tourist site doing jobs such as driving the employee bus and fixing boats. When he was not working, he took advantage of the many hiking and mountain biking trails.

Q: Out of all the pictures you’ve shown me, which one reflects a change in your perspective on things during this trip?

A: “It was the picture of Medicine Lake, mostly empty. As I explained to you, this lake is full in the spring and then as the months pass, as the snow melt recedes, it becomes a trickle.

That is kind of symbolic of the different seasons, the phases we go through in life. Like how does a lake go away? Everything changes; things can change and you need to be aware. It was just a beautiful visual representation of the fact that everything is always changing. Even when we think things are stable and things are good, overtime it shifts; and what that gave me perspective of was you have to keep those things that matter to you close. Pay close attention to them and make sure that they’re not changing for the negative.”

LANDSCAPE, THUMBNAIL Medicine Lake, Alberta, July 1992. Photo by Christopher Fuzessy Anna (left) and Christopher (right), during their interview

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ZOE ZEDKA-PETTIGREW 2nd Year, General Studies, Social Science

“Micro-moments” Interviewee: Camelia Melillo (Zoe’s friend)

TRAVEL STORY Camelia Melillo, a self-employed 24 year-old, was happy to share stories about a life-changing trip along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She first learned about the Camino from a co-worker in 2015. Two years later in January of 2017, Camelia’s cousin invited her to join a small group on the pilgrimage. On September 30th, 2017 she found herself on a plane heading from Montreal to Bia Ritz, France. It was her first time in Europe; after a few days of exploring she began the pilgrimage on October 1st, 2017. She walked “El Camino De Norte” in five weeks with the only constant variable being herself, alongside the everchanging terrain, climate and company.

Q: A change of perspective you noticed on the trip?

A: “It’s like when you are driving somewhere and you’re on the highway and then comes a scenic view, so then everybody stops and gets out their car and takes the same picture.

Right? Because it’s, like, the view. It’s a landscape view, (like the first picture being shown) usually you have the ocean and it’s the big picture. Then, contrast that perspective to walking and just coming across whatever’s there and then stopping and looking at it and the detail of, like, the color and the texture. And oh, it just rained and the color and texture of the moss just vibrant and green and there’s a little bug. It’s those micro-moments that contrast with the bigger perspective and people usually forget that.”

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM El Camino del Norte, Spain, October 11th, 2017. Photo by Camelia Melillo.

El Camino del Norte, Spain, October 2nd, 2017. Photo by Camelia Melillo.

Zoe (left) and Camelia (right) during their interview, February 27th, 2019.

Photo by Alexander Melillo.

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TATIANA GORDOA, AMANDA KUFLIK, GEORGIA LAPIERRE AND ELARA NEATH-THOMIN 2nd Year, North South Studies

Echoes, 2019 Audio recording; Digital print, embroidery thread 4:09 minutes; 11 cm x 18 cm

Unifying. Loving. Strengthening. Eye-opening. Inspiring.

These are all words used by the students of North South to describe one place—Cuba. When thinking of this country, these are typically not the first words that come to mind for many people. Some view Cuba as a dictatorship, and others see Cuba as the perfect tourist destination. While these perspectives aren’t necessarily right or wrong, it is important that we understand that there are multiple and complex sides of this country so rich in history and beauty. Told from our perspective as North-South students who recently visited Cuba, this piece hopes to show a different side to Cuba than the one that readily comes to mind.

In this audio recording, we express shared perspectives, such as the warmth and resilience of the Cuban people, juxtaposing them with our differing views, such as a critique of government control. The melody unifies and makes distinct many voices and thus vocalizes shared and individual perspectives. Each student looks within themselves to identify one word to describe their view of Cuba.

ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS IN AUDIO RECORDING Isabella Gavanski, Mikayla Geraghty, Catherine Howison, Anna-Rosa Percoco and Frédérick Simard.

Within the photo, the embroidered bright reds, orange and yellows symbolize the colours of a sunset as we look toward the future: the end of one experience promising the beginning of new ones. The never-ending field of green string represents our presence in Cuba as well as the beautiful countryside itself. The artwork features a twisting of words to demonstrate the many perspectives held by each student. It is our hope that like the embroidered open eye looking at the unfolding scene, this piece will open viewers’ eyes to a different perspective on this highly debated country.

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PAULINE MOREL

FAITH BEARSKIN-BOSUM

These Truths, 2018

We All Carry It, 2018

Faculty, English

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1st Year, Journeys: A First Peoples College Transition Program

In collaboration with Moe Clark (multidisciplinary Métis artist) Prose; Collages

Poem; Magazine clippings, glue, paint 91 words; 25.4 cm x 20.3 cm

Dawson’s Journeys First Peoples program invited Moe Clark, a multidisciplinary Métis artist, educator, and activist based in Montreal, to collaborate with our group of first-year students on their creative writing projects for their English 101 class. During three workshop sessions with Moe, the students created a series of collages and composed poems or spoken word pieces inspired by their artwork. The students were supported in a feeling of community in the classroom and their works developed through the aid of visual and verbal cues. The intention here was to build creative kinship within the classroom through exercises of awakening, writing and sharing our personal and collective stories. What sights, textures, sounds and movements do you see on the canvas?

What micro-story does the collage tell? What three things do you know to be true? The students were invited to write about an event, a situation or memory where they experienced one of these truths as a peak experience: an event containing profound personal, often transformational, meaning. What follows are some of the students’ very sensory responses to some of the truths experienced from their own perspectives.

They carry it with them everywhere I can smell it on your breath It takes the life out of families All year round Why do we do it?

Some say it makes them feel right When there is so much wrong I carry it with me The more I abuse it To drown this feeling It leads straight back to the beginning As I look into the starry sky Suddenly, I don’t feel so far As I breathe in the frosty air I know I’m not alone We all carry it

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MOE CLARK

Multidisciplinary MĂŠtis artist

Rooted in Resistance/ Saachihiiwewin, 2018 Magazine clippings, glue, paint, beads, feathers 25.4 cm x 20.3 cm

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ANGELA DIAMOND

1st Year, Journeys: A First Peoples College Transition Program

Saachihiiwewin, 2018 Poem 39 words

I saw nikaawii

standing alone

With her thoughts all over the place Black background is the dark world But the hearts are a mind full of love Although the world is dark There is always room for saachihiiwewin (love)

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TEASHA WELLMAN-EUGENEÂ 1st Year, Journeys: A First Peoples College Transition Program

You Never Know, 2018 Poem 126 words

Virtual World vs Reality As technology advances, Our society is losing its romances.

Our friendships feel fine, but the sad truth is We only see our friends online.

Children being neglected due to this addiction, Growing up to nothing but future affliction.

Unable to feel grateful because the next person is hateful.

We compare ourselves to others wondering why life is so complex.

Head buried in our phone waiting for that next text.

We live in a world where love dies quick, Only because you can find another at the press of a click The likes and follows will soon die out.

You need a new hobby and that’s no doubt.

Make a new friend, by saying hello Because you never know when technology might go.

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SAGE KARAHKWINETHA GOODLEAF-LABELLE 2nd Year, Psychology, Social Science

You Never Know, 2018 Magazine clippings, glue, paint 25.4 cm x 20.3 cm

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EBONY MONTOUR

1st Year, Journeys: A First Peoples College Transition Program

Nothing Stops the Rain, 2018 Poem; Magazine clippings, glue, paint, feathers on canvas 60 words; 20.3 cm x 25.4 cm

I am awake and I am aware now that these four walls you’ve locked me in are no stronger than I am I’ve struck them down with the storms that you have gathered the thunder roads within my voice the lightning charges through my veins look what you have started because nothing stops the rain now that i am free

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ROXANNE IZZO, BILLY MANN VELICARIA 2nd Year, Arts and Culture, ALC; 1st Year Illustration

Suburbia, 2018 Prose; Mixed edia 282 words; 43.2 cm x 27.9 cm

The manicured evergreen lawns have razor sharp edges, Don’t get too close or you’ll get pricked and join the parade.

I know because the streets have seen me.

They resent the salt water I litter from my eyes on their pavements, I am the rain on their parade.

The white houses aren’t holy, But they surely all look elated in hell.

I know because I see their lives go by, Battle scars and growing pains revert back to steady morning commute and matrimony, Your integrity is despondent, you’re fated to join the parade.

The playgrounds are haunted, By the ghosts of mourned ambition.

The offsprings of remorse’s fools surely don’t see it, though.

I know because am their trespasser, their little laughing stock, But I see them, and I see the road ahead, and I see how unnecessarily high they hold their heads, So high that they don’t even realize they proudly march in the parade.

Even the birches are sickly and decaying, They’re one with me.

I know because I am the sound of wind in their leaves, The leaves that cannot twirl freely in autumn air before falling to the ground, They refrain from changing colours for the sake of not being a burden, They’ll solely be polluting the parade.

This illustration, by Billy, was created in association with Suburbia, by Roxanne, as part of a collaboration between the S.P.A.C.E. web magazine and 1st year Illustration students in Neal Armstrong’s class.

So I retreat to the vacant back alley ravines, As a mere attempt to seek glory in monotony.

Here, I see the truth through the gaps of the picket fences, The truth that stabbed my insides violently, But it won’t be enough to kill me, right?

Oh, please, please, please don’t let me die here, Just let me bleed enough to leave my mark and be omitted from the parade —Roxanne Izzo

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JULES PRUD’HOMME Faculty, Illustration

3 Point Perspective Deadlock, 2019 Multi-media: wood, steel, model train engine, enamel paint, model turf, epoxy, cyanoacrylate glues, plastic, cotton, modified figurines (zinc and plastic) 29.2 cm x 33.0 cm x 17.8 cm

The invention of the printing press made way for the development of mass media, a powerful platform that simultaneously shares, circulates, distracts and obscures information about our world: scientific discovery, environmental damage, conflicts and migrations. The function of mass media, a powerful and complex machine, depends much on one’s perspective.

The news and our understanding of it is produced within our own positions as producers, informers and viewers.

At present, we live with the reality of environmental damage and global warming, not as future events, but as active and destructive situations enfolding before us.

This artwork is a symbolic expression of the multiple perspectives at play in the human experience of destruction.

The train deadlock is a pretext for the myriad of reactions produced in reaction to it. Some viewers are entertained by the news and situation, some are distracted and indifferent.

Some are numb. Some control the damage. Some try to run away in a limited space. And, finally, some are consumed and burned, as the machine must go forward and produce while some are piling-up, on the tracks, as the train hits the wall, to protect it as they were told to do.

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JOEL TRUDEAU

Featuring: Students from the SPACE 365: Make Things That Matter course; Liberal Arts students from the Science: History and Methodology course; Students from the SPACEcorp Research and Development group

Hypothesis Testing, 2018/19 Video, multimedia 5 mins

Problem solving, in its meaning and methods, can differ depending on the discipline and the context in which the problems are posed. Common to all research problems though is the formulation of a hypothesis or a thesis statement. Both posit answers, but only the hypothesis in its specificity can be proved or disproved based on the evidence.

This is the staple procedure of scientific and quantitative methods. A challenge in solving complex problems and those of a mainly qualitative character is to argue to a conclusion through the accumulation of supporting evidence. Zooming out from the particular view, reveals the presence of many sub-problems to be analyzed and understood.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM The figure, created by student Sivan Milton, is a parse tree of the first sentence of Wildscreen Archive’s “Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)�. Parse trees are direct visualization of linguistic form, which can help expose general writing styles, conventions, and methods. A contrast in this project is made with the visual form of poetry versus scientific discourse and is a representative sample of the diverse hypotheses explored by the student participants.

Still from Hypothesis Testing. Video created by Nicholas Gertler and Charlie Galea McClure, Graduates, Cinema-Communications, ALC.

Hypothesis Testing explores the difficulties associated with solving problems that range from the well-posed variety, to those involving complex social and personal issues, and into territory where certainties cannot be derived from unambiguous, coherent patterns in the evidence. It presents a set of student perspectives on data, prediction and evidence. The various processes and methods involved in tackling challenging and diverse problems across many disciplines lead to a spectrum of prototype solutions and a meaningful portrait of student engagement and learning in and out of the classroom.

A multimedia slide show of data visualizations and representative prototype solutions of the student projects will accompany the video in the exhibition.

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STUDENT COLLABORATORS Liberal Arts Students of Science: History and Methodology Andy Bernardi Maria Aouchiche, Isabelle Baptiste, Patrick Belzile, Ines Brault, Anna Cipolla, Alyssa Cohen, Kiara da Châo, Rachel Emond, Kate Feldman, Val Gheorghe, Alexa Grimaldi, Olivia Hallett, Frédérique Harvey, Artur Irgaliyev, Julia Johnson, Jacob Kasirer-Kettner, Emma Kiddie, Victoria Knight, Miranda Lalla, EvaMalamas, Olivia Mallette Dembo, Lindsay Mazliach, Sivan Milton, Maxie Ornstein-Ostroff, Kyla Palanca, Ignacio Perezmontemayor Cruz, Sarah Petkau, Philippe Quartz, Brooks Reid-Constantin, Fernanda Rengel, Romane Robinson, Eden Rosenbloom, Yasser Rzaini, Anaïs Sautter-Léger, Ana Paula Silva Reyes, Lianna Sternklar, Phoebe Tom, Laurence Troquet, Sara Ulisse, Ted Warren, William Weaver, Fiona Wilkinson Students of S.P.A.C.E. 365: Make Things That Matter Gustavo Aguirre Najera1, Fiona Akimana2, Preslava Aleksieva3, Denis Aliosmanov3, Halie Aubut4, Emmanuelle Beaudoin5, Vincent Boivin6, Luca Drouin7, Alexi Dubois5, Asmah Elshokri3, Karim Fall8, Micheala-Kirsty Fleming9, Dahomée Forgues10, Angelina Guo5, Elissa Hibbert11, Ian Langleben3, Charles Lévantian11, Ruilin Liu12, Chloé Mersereau3, Philippe Nadeau13, Aleya Napoleoni14, Milan Patel15, William Pugsley3, Matthew Reid16, Tova Stolovitsky15, Maya Tatarelli10, Ella Vézina5, Monique Sandrine Youane Wouansi7, Aidan Zentner10 SPACEcorp Research and Development Gustavo Aguirre Najera1, David Alexander10, Jason Alvarez Luna10, Elizabeth Barnes10, Lyon Belyansky10, Morgane Brouillard-Galipeau3, Karin Chen3, Benjamin Cheung10, Amia Chowdhury10, Nicholas Gertler17, Carlos Hidalgo Montesino10, Farah Jaber3, Ian Langleben3, Yu Lu Liu10, Isa Nanic17, William Pugsley3, Owen Rodgers10, Andrew Salem10, Luis Sanchez, Rui Cong Su10, Maya Tatarelli10, Angely Te3, Massimo Vadacchino10, Zachary Vernec10, Yu Shi Wang3, Zehai Wen10, Millie Yee3, Aidan Zentner10, Ding Yi Zhang10, Yu Qi Zhou3

1. Visual Arts; 2. General Studies; 3. Health Science; 4. Graphic Design; 5. Law, Society & Justice; 6. Civil Engineering Technology; 7. Social Service; 8. Arts & Culture; 9. Psychology; 10. Pure & Applied Science; 11. General Studies; 12.

Nursing; 13. Industrial Design; 14. Community Recreation and Leadership Training; 15. Commerce; 16. Business Management; 17. Graduate

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MYRIAM SYDNEY TURCOTTE 2nd Year, Illustration

Perspective Exchange, 2019 Watercolour and ink on paper 38 cm x 28 cm each piece

When thinking about art, I think about perspectives. Every piece an artist makes is a link to others, to their thoughts, reactions, laughs or cries. One person shares a perspective, and the others react to it through theirs.

My goal for these illustrations was to make them as interactive as I could. The reaction of people towards the piece is necessary for it to work. I used three strategies to reach this goal: First, each illustration is a reproduction of a well-known painting. It becomes a guessing game for the viewers, who are using their experiences and knowledge, to guess which original painting was used before I applied my perspective to it.

Secondly, these well-known characters all come with my personal touch. I’ve applied my own perspective to their design and stories. People can then discover and analyze, how and why I shaped these characters the way I did because they are all part of stories that have been told and retold in the past.

Finally, and this is my favourite point, the narrative viewers can create, from these paintings, new situations and characters. As we know, humans go around the world shaping it through narratives. For these paintings, I didn’t jump into the project having a definite idea for a storyline, but some viewers with vivid imaginations may create stories I didn’t even notice in the first place, in my own pieces.

And this might be the best point about perspectives. It allows emotions and creativity to be shared in a multitude of ways with people.

TOP Interpretation of Wood, Grant. American Gothic. 1930, Chicago Institute of the Arts, Chicago.

BOTTOM Original characters, from left to right: Mephistopheles, Faust; Morgan LeFae, round Table; Narcissus, Greek mythology; Freyja, Norse mythology.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, INTERPRETATIONS OF: Dicksee, Frank Bernard. The Beautiful Lady Without Pity. 1926, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol.

Leighton, Edmund. The Accolade. 1901, private collection.

Matejko, Jan. Stańczyk. 1862, Warsaw National Museum, Warsaw.

Botticelli, Sandro. The Birth of Venus. 1480’s, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

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HUGH DURNFORD-DIONNE, EMILY REES 2nd Year, Cinema-Communications, ALC

Reflection, 2018 Video 2:04 minutes

Reflection is a surrealist short film about the way we perceive ourselves and others and the subjectivity of perspective.

The growing spot on the boy’s neck represents the insecurities we feel in ourselves and the aspects that others do not notice.

Our perspective of ourselves is often more negative than the way others see us. In the end, the boy runs into a girl who does not see anything on his neck and the spot is no longer there.

It is at this moment that we realize that the spot existed only for him and from the girl’s perspective, it was invisible.

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Still from Reflection

SARAH SCHIPPER, GABRIEL BENSIMON 1st Year, Environmental Sciences; 2nd Year, Health Sciences

Thunderstorm, 2019 Audio recording, mirror, broken glass, epoxy glue, silver sharpies and translucent adhesive stickers 7:00 minutes; 152.4 cm x 40.6 cm

Booming voices, thunderous shouts, dripping sarcasm and raging thoughts bombard our senses in modern communication. The result is nothing but echoing silence. Every word is a raindrop drowned out in the din.

Every individual has a unique perspective from which we could all learn, but we do not listen. Different languages, cultures, nationalities, ethnicities and people offer not only the risk of conflict but also the opportunity to forge relationships and understanding. When we listen to each other, we can reverse the tide, push back segregation, racism and xenophobia and encourage empathy. When we don’t, words lose meaning, become fragmented from each other, like shards, as they crescendo into a roaring, overwhelming thunderstorm.

Like glass, words can be sharp and jagged, painful and destructive. They can also be smooth and crafted, reflective and beautiful. Molded into weapons of war or of peace.

When words are both spoken and listened to with empathy, they allow us to see others’ perspectives through the rain of our swirling conversations.

See yourself and others through the rain. Wield your words for empathy and listen to the perspectives of others. End the thunderstorm and open space for a rainbow.

SOURCES “If I speak I am condemned, if I stay silent I am damned.”

—Victor Hugo, Les Misérables RECOGNITION Sarah DeGuzman for her time, expertise and dedication towards perfecting the auditory recording; Andrew Katz for his guidance, support and advice on the poem and the entirety of this project.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gratitude to all participants, including students, faculty, staff and others, including those individuals and entities listed below.

GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE Neal Armstrong, Amanda Beattie, Gisela Frias, Daniel Goldsmith, Julianna Joos, Andrew Katz, Aaron Krishtalka, Maimire Mennasemay, Kenneth Milkman, Scott Millar, Pauline Morel, Frank Mulvey, Jules Prud’homme, Leigh Shapiro, Richard Shoemaker, Kim Simard, John Singer, Jennifer Smith, Lisa Steffen, Mark Sy, Joel Trudeau, Lois Valliant, and Sarah Watson

DEAN OF ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT Catherine LeBel

CATALOGUE EDITOR, CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sarah Watson

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AGENT, VISUAL AND APPLIED ARTS PROGRAMS Helen Wawrzetz

EXHIBITION COORDINATOR, EXHIBITION DESIGN, ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND PREPRESS FILE PREPARATION Frank Mulvey ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE, FILE MANAGEMENT, PROOFREADING Ursula Sommerer GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew Di Leo

SSAP COORDINATOR Tina Romeo OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL Donna Varrica

WARREN G. FLOWERS ART GALLERY COMMITTEE Gwen Baddeley, Peter Berra, Andréa Cole, Raymon Fong, Meinert Hansen, Guiseppe Di Leo, Rhonda Meier, Scott Millar, Ramona Ramlochand, Michel Seguin, and Donna Varrica INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS (PHOTOGRAPHS, SCANS AND DIGITAL FILES) NOTE Material from collective projects often represents a selection from larger sets of content, visible on the S.P.A.C.E. explorations pages at space.dawsoncollege.qc.ca

© 2019, Dawson College

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Perspectives / introduction by Aaron Krishtalka, Maimire Mennasemay, Kenneth Milkman, Richard Shoemaker, Lois Valliant, and Andrew Katz ; edited by Sarah Watson.

Other titles: Perspectives (Montréal, Québec) Names: Watson, Sarah, 1968- editor. | Krishtalka, Aaron, 1940- writer of introduction. | Mennasemay, Maimire, writer of introduction. | Milkman, Kenneth, writer of introduction. | Shoemaker, Richard, 1945- writer of introduction. | Valliant, Lois, writer of introduction. | Katz, Andrew, 1975- writer of introduction. | Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery, host institution. | Dawson College, publisher.

Description: Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery from April 24 to May 8, 2019.

Identifiers: Canadiana 20190085142 | ISBN 9781550167986 (softcover) Subjects: LCSH: Dawson College—Students—Exhibitions. | LCSH: Dawson College—Faculty—Exhibitions. | LCSH: Dawson College—Alumni and alumnae—Exhibitions. | LCSH: Art, Canadian—Québec (Province)— Montréal—21st century—Exhibitions.

Classification: LCC N6547.M65 P47 2019 | DDC 709.714/2807471428—dc23

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