IN Toronto Magazine: January 2014

is local activism harming international LGBT communities?

Gay & Lesbian

City Living | january 2014

musical theatre

books

In Compared to Hitler

RM Vaughan defends Paris Hilton

coming out is not enough

+

travel

the dangerous dazzle OF dESIGNER

Celebrity hunting

Rafael de Cรกrdenas

in Cabo San Lucas

Matthew

McConaughey his portrayal of a homophobic cowboy with AIDS is getting oscar buzz

01.INTO.Cover.indd 1

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NILS OLAV BOE, Constructed Sites

PUBLISHER Patricia Salib EDITOR Alan A Vernon Art director Nicolás Tallarico CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Gordon Bowness, Paul Gallant, Michael Pihach, Krishna Rau CONTRIBUTORS David Bateman, Danny Bowman, Matthew Cutler, Andrew Kounitskiy, Pamela Meredith, Adam Segal, Doug Wallace, Jason Yantha, Andrea Zanin proofreaDER Tristan McFarland ON the cover Photography Helga Esteb Senior Account Director Ryan Lester DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Reggie Lanuza Controller Luis Varesis OUR MISSION Inspire gay men and lesbians to live life to the fullest. Expand the gay and lesbian community by valuing diversity and individual choice.

Celebrate Toronto. Provide readers with compelling news, information and entertainment.

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182 Davenport Rd, #300, Toronto, ON, M5R 1J2

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Gay & Lesbian

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City LivinG | deCember 2013

25

Things to do Places to go People to see

During the holidays

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01.INTO.Cover.indd 1

letters

correction PLUS Madonna's Hard Candy: noT jusT eye candy

In our December issue, we published the incorrect address of the Jie Privé salon. The correct address is 180 Davenport Rd. IN Toronto magazine regrets the error.

21/11/2013 11:48:20 AM

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04 05.INTO.MastContents.indd 4

19/12/2013 12:31:10 PM

Contents

issue 44 january 2014

views | living & design | insight | listings | Arts & entertaiNment | sex

22

11

sex is easy to find

love isn’t.

26

11

21 dangerous dazzle Rafael de Cárdenas counters the bland with arresting design

14

acts of generosity There’s a direct connection between what LGBTs have achieved in Canada and the brutality that’s increasing in many countries

22

Oscar Buzz Matthew McConaughey's performance in Dallas Buyers Club just might win him a gold statuette

26

sharing rock hudson with grandma Rob Kempson's The Way Back To Yesterday is all about soul searching. But don't dare tell him that you hate musicals.

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07 The 519 proposes a new LGBT sports & rec centre 08

celebrity hunting in Cabo san lucas

16 Relationships: getting out of the shame cycle 18

January events calendar and listings

20

in spot: Frank & Oak

21 RM Vaughan defends Paris Hilton 29

hunting with Brian Jungen & Duane Linklater

30

art that's good for you

33 Sex geek: dating À deux 34 Caught in the Act Photos

04 05.INTO.MastContents.indd 5

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toronto talk exchange

VIEW FINDER → The second annual Cub Camp Calendar is hot off the press, featuring a collection of furry men shot by San Francisco photographer Bradley Roberge. Created

by DJ and promoter Scooter McCreight, Cub Camp, the event, was launched in 2010 at The Beaver in Toronto.

During its three-year run, the party has expanded to cities such as San Francisco and Provincetown, and is held regularly in New York City at the legendary lower east side bar Easternbloc.

The Cub Camp brand is also well known for its ongoing poster project with works created specifically for the event by high-profile queer artists such as Scooter LaForge (NYC), Adrian + Shane (Ireland), Juliana Neufeld (Toronto) and Jacopo Camangi (Italy).

A portion of the calendar sales will be donated to the Will Munro Fund for Queer & Trans Youth Living with Cancer. The 2014 calendar is $20 and can be ordered by going to cubcamp.bigcartel.com.

6

January 2014

06 07.INTO.TTE.indd 6

18/12/2013 1:25:40 PM

toronto talk exchange In their own words

Andrew Kounitskiy

By Matthew Cutler

→ “We know that when we address the barriers that LGBT people face, we help to make sport and recreation more accessible for everyone who may feel excluded.” —Maura Lawless

Wheel and Foundry Complex The 519 submitted a report to City Council in November, which, if approved, will mark the first official step in building a new sports and recreation centre for the City of Toronto.

The proposed facility will focus on the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities while also providing much-needed community recreation space for residents in the new West Don Lands community. The project is being developed in response to the demand for additional recreation facilities created by shifting demographics and increased density in the downtown area. The report requests authority for staff of the City of Toronto and The 519 to begin negotiations with Infrastructure Ontario on the Wheel and Foundry Complex near Underpass Park and Corktown Commons.

“The 519 Sports and Recreation Project dem-

onstrates global leadership on LGBT inclusion, building on the success of our internationallyrenowned programs and services,” says Tyler Fleming, chair of the 519 board. “The new community centre will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, providing a welcoming, inclusive space for Torontonians, and particularly LGBT people to participate in sport.”

“This project builds on Toronto’s long history of diversity and community development by providing a truly inclusive place where Torontonians can gather and be active together,” says Maura Lawless, executive director of The 519. “We look forward to developing a facility that the entire city can take pride in.”

The proposed community centre is estimated to cost $100 million and will be funded in large

part by private donations. It is anticipated that two-thirds of the cost of the project will be contributed by individual and corporate donations, and that investments from municipal, provincial and federal governments will account for one-third of the project cost. Once built, the facility will be owned by the City of Toronto and operated by The 519, an agency of the city.

Above and beyond the proposed facility, The 519 has steadily expanded their involvement in sports and recreation through programming, training and capacity-building activities.

As trustee of the PrideHouseTO initiative, The 519 is working with more than 15 organizations to celebrate and promote LGBT communities during and leading up to the 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games in Toronto.

intorontomag.com

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Mexico Tourism

L I V I N G & D ES I G N

T R AV E L

Hollywood South → While a celebrity sighting may elude you, the across-the-board hospitality of Cabo San Lucas will hit the spot Story Doug Wallace

8

January 2014

08 09 10.INTO.travel.indd 8

18/12/2013 1:26:24 PM

LIVING & DESIGN

Mexico Tourism Doug Wallace Doug Wallace

B

oom-chi-boom-chi, boom-chi-boom-chi….

for some prime people-watching.

I was right. Women in swimsuits

had one eye on the funny pelicans and the other on the hunt for a

→ Waterworld (From left) The Arch; snorkelling in crystal clear waters; Nikki Beach at ME Cabo on Medano Beach; pelicans taking in the sun.

It’s a refrain we all know so

and heels, deep tans, lots of V-shaped

well, the soundtrack to our lives: the

backs propping up the swim-up

wispy beats of house music. As the

bar and more abs than I could

a

from

San Lucas was just a little fishing

rhythm made its way into my brain,

comfortably count without getting

LAX, Los Cabos is the region at

village at the time. When everybody

I made my way to the reception desk

caught—I mean, I think I saw an

the southernmost tip of the Baja

decided that the fishing village was

at ME Cabo by Mélia in Cabo San

eight-pack. Party central or soothing

Peninsula, comprised of two towns

the most peaceful and quaint, tucked

Lucas and checked in for a few days

sanctuary? A bit of both, actually—

a half hour apart—San José del Cabo

in at the end of the rocks near the

of fun. Looking through the lobby

thankfully. This little enclave on

(Old Town) and Cabo San Lucas (Main

famous arch (Los Arcos), popularity

toward the beach, I quickly spotted

Medano Beach is a nice mix of those

Town). It’s one of those places where

shifted, and the major construction

the source of the tunes: a white-clad

looking to ignore their neighbours

you wonder why the airport is so far

and even more major yachts along

DJ at the side of the pool, playing to

completely and those hoping to meet

away from your hotel (up to an hour).

with it. Today, the stretch between

loungers at Nikki Beach—a chain of

their neighbours in the hot tub.

Sadly, the area’s planners predicted

the two towns (The Corridor) is

celebrity sighting. Who would it be?

Heralded as Hollywood’s backyard, mere

two-hour

flight

beach clubs at the toniest addresses

In my wanderings ocean-side and

that the more colonial San José

gradually seeing new builds—resorts

around the world. So I knew I was in

through this little town of 70,000, I

would be the major centre, as Cabo

and golf courses—but not so many as intorontomag.com

08 09 10.INTO.travel.indd 9

9

18/12/2013 1:26:51 PM

L I V I N G & D ES I G N

to spoil the vibe: this is the country

the details

after all—a calm, quiet desert, and that’s not about to change anytime

The extremely inviting Lorenzillo’s Oyster Bar (lorenzillos.com.mx/cabos) makes a perfect predinner pit stop, marina-side right in front of their Lobster House.

Base Camp

soon.

Medano Beach is like a region within a region on Cabo San Lucas Bay, protected slightly from the often turbulent waters where the Gulf of California (a.k.a. the Sea of Cortez) meets the Pacific Ocean at Land’s End. It even has its own website (medanobeachcabo.com.mx)

to

promote the hotels, restaurants and activities within walking distance of the town centre and the busy marina, which is home to everything

The 150-room ME Cabo (mebymelia.com) thrives on the Nikki Beach atmosphere it painstakingly works to maintain, and manages to avoid the level of cheese you could possibly be envisioning; no small feat. The hotel’s Tequila Fusion Restaurant is aptly named: tequila is infused into every dish—thankfully, not at breakfast. And unless Jennifer Lopez or Cameron Diaz are dragging you to The Spa at Las Ventanas al Paraiso for a facial, head to Yhi Spa for a superb 90-minute massage that will knock you flat.

Edith’s (edithscabo.com) is the best restaurant in town—steak and seafood, regional flavour, a fusion of Baja and Guerreran cuisine. Edith, by the way, started working there at age 15 as a waiter. Now she owns the place and named it after herself in 1994. The sister restaurant, The Office, opens at 7am for breakfast, and stays open ‘til late—colourful, fun and at the water’s edge. (theofficeonthebeach.com)

from modest glass-bottomed taxi-

Reserve a table at Hacienda Cocina y Cantina (haciendacocina.com) at the Hacienda Beach Club & Residences for full-on Mexican dishes from a variety of different regions. This place has an amazing view in the daytime and at night, you can dine right on the beach.

boats to luxury cruisers. Everyone gets along: one of the yacht clubs is a neighbour of Hooters.

Grab one of the aforementioned little boats to take you to Lover’s ME Cabo

Beach, the little snorkelling and diving strip on the bay side of Land’s End. From there, you can walk the short way to the completely un-swimmable Divorce Beach on the Pacific side, which lays claim to being one of the filming locations for 1968’s Planet of the Apes. The rock formations do indeed make it look other-worldly.

March is perhaps the best time to visit, because the high season is over, so the tourists abate somewhat,

Perhaps you can swing even one night at Esperanza (esperanzaresort.com)? If that’s in the budget, go for it. Both Fergie and Gwyneth Paltrow have hung their heads over this infinity pool, likely in really nice swimsuits.

For something a bit closer to the action, The Bahia Beach Club & Resort (bahiacabo.mx) gets excellent Trip Advisor reviews, as does its busy restaurant, Bar Esquina.

You being you, you will hit the many markets and outdoor shopping plazas for local art, silver and trinkets. But don’t go in the morning, as prices will be higher than they will be if you wait for mid-afternoon or later.

Party Central

the weather is still good and, most

Extra-Curricular

ME Cabo

important, the whale-watching is fantastic. Baby calves, dolphins, the works. As with everywhere in the entire world, try to avoid spring break. Party-hard students are bad enough, but students with money are total torture.

Did I see Jennifer Aniston? No. Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilera shopping

for

handbags?

Nu-uh.

Tiger Woods teeing up? Bupkis.

Many people will ask if you want to go for a boat ride. Unless it’s George Clooney (who favours the El Dorado Golf and Beach Club), say you’re already spoken for at Ocean Riders (oceanriders. com.mx), which runs those zippy zodiacs with the yellow seats. Part amusement ride, part snorkelling tour, their beach-hopping afternoon winds up on a floating restaurant, with tunes and suds. Perfect.

This town puts paid to the rumour that you have to go to Tijuana to experience serious clubbing.

Pffft. Passion at ME Cabo is the best game in town on the weekend—locals, tourists, plus the odd celebrity if you look really hard. Bring the good shoes.

Pink Kitty (thepinkkittycabo.com) near the marina has its exotic eel skin banquettes and tons of Italian blown glass—super chic.

Though I never gained celebritysighting status, I was tickled that this little resort town walks the fine line between regal and rustic. And after my rejuvenating time inside the the house music ringing softly in my head all the way home.

10

Doug Wallace

velvet rope, I headed for the airport,

And Cabo Wabo Cantina (cabowabocantina.com, you knew former Van Halenite, Sammy Hagar was going to end up somewhere here, didn’t you?) is hot for live music .

January 2014

08 09 10.INTO.travel.indd 10

18/12/2013 1:27:14 PM

Design

Arresting design → The seriously dangerous dazzle of Rafael de Cårdenas Story Gordon Bowness

intorontomag.com

11 12 13.INTO.Design.indd 11

11

18/12/2013 1:28:07 PM

L I V I N G & D ES I G N

T

he term postmodernism

and Michele De Lucchi, irreverent

immediately conjures up

Italians who exploded onto the

kitsch

from

scene in 1981. The Memphis

Greco-Roman-Victorian

group thumbed their noses at

temple granaries, garish colours

the prevailing modernist distaste

and

for decoration, colour and irony.

the 1980s:

nightmares

conspicuous

consumption—

Mississauga Civic Centre, Peter Shire

Form

teapots and American Psycho, to be

function; objects could just be

exact.

pretty. It’s that gap between what

In the design world, few admit to being a postmodernist anymore.

have

to

follow

an object does and how it looks that Cárdenas loves to exploit.

Even Rafael de Cárdenas shies

“One of the first things I can

away from the term, though he

remember being drawn to is a

wholeheartedly embraces the era

Philippe Starck juicer. I was eight

that gave birth to the movement.

or nine and remember thinking it

De Cárdenas, a keynote speaker at

was such an unusual thing, pretty

the Interior Design Show in Toronto

ingenious. Probably the first time I

this month (see page 18), is an

thought about something looking

emerging design powerhouse with

like it did not need to, to do what

a long list of high-end commercial

it was meant to.”

clients, like Baccarat, Nike and

De Cárdenas, named to the Out

Nordstrom, and a growing number

100 list in 2012, is also attracted

of well-heeled private homes. He’s

to the Memphis group’s anarchic,

also done a line of furniture for the

rebellious spirit. He, too, wants

Johnson Trading Gallery, a shoe for

to push against the expected

Rivieras, and a new series of house

and accepted. Other favourites

wares for Guillaume out later this

he

year. Architectural Digest just put

designers Dorothy Draper and

him on their 2014 top 100 list of

Tony Duquette. “At a time when

architects and interior designers.

modernism

De

Cárdenas’s

cites

include

was

American

proliferating,

1

often

they were kind of going against

feature op-art-like stripes of black

it with their florals and, I don’t

and white, off-kilter geometries and

know…

high-gloss surfaces in eye-popping

clumsy version of a Queen Anne

like the Baccarat stores and many of

colours—a brash exuberance that

leg, and things like that. They were

the residential projects, de Cárdenas

harkens back to postmodernism’s

doing something weird for the time.

says there has to be some extreme

heyday.

It was not normal and yet it was very

element, “whether that be one point

fashionable.

of colour or an angle… something

Just

designs

don’t

call

it

postmodernism.

a

simplified,

garish,

“I’m not living in a postmodernist

“In a weird way you can kind of

era,” says the 39-year-old New

see how Philippe Starck and Tony

Yorker. “So I can’t see myself

Duquette are similar. They were

as

doing the same thing at different

a

postmodernist.”

But

de

Cárdenas does admit his passion

times.”

that seems a little bit dangerous.

“To me, that’s an interesting feeling, to express this little terror.”

T

→ architectural digest Rafael de Cárdenas' clients include high-end commercial retailers, exclusive private homes and model suites. 1. Baccarat in NYC; 2. OHWOW pop-up at Cappellini in NYC; 3. Pop-In @ Nordstrom: French Fling; 4. The Wynwood Project in Miami's Design District; 5. Private residence at Glebe Place in London; 6. Model suite at NYC's West Village Printing House.

he desire to express something unsettling first propelled de

quickly rose through the ranks and

Cárdenas towards art and painting.

was promoted to full designer in

overarching idea prevails in de

“I

in

the men’s collection studio. But he

Cárdenas’s

stopping

architecture,” he says. “I don’t really

left Calvin Klein after three years to

“I’m pretty obsessed with the ’80s,

viewers in their tracks. “The aim

have an interest in architecture now,

study architecture. He fully intended

because they referenced extremity

is to create some sort of dazzling

to be honest. I was always really

to return to fashion. His main

in form and culture in a way that

confusion,”

is

inspired by fashion. I like street

sources of inspiration at the time

previous eras didn’t. It’s something

interesting to me, [an environment]

culture, I like music, I like art. And I

were avant-garde designers like

we hadn’t seen probably since

that is immersive and yet to some

like the speed at which those things

Bernadette Corporation, a NYC art

neoclassicism, or even far before

degree extracts the observer for at

move. How palpable they are, [how]

collective that designed a women’s

that.”

least a few moments. Something’s

they are part of day to day life.”

line in the mid-1990s, and British

for postmodern design: Memphis

Labels don’t stick in a post-

furniture, Phillipe Starck objects

postmodern

and, oddly enough, the Shelley Long film Troop Beverly Hills.

De Cárdenas’s midtown apartment houses a collection of Memphis furniture, pieces by Ettore Sottsass 12

didn’t

world. designs:

he

says.

But

“That

one

jarring them, something’s different, and they have to face it.”

Even in his more restrained work,

didn’t

have

an

interest

While studying art and fashion at

designers Alexander McQueen and

the Rhode Island School of Design,

Tristan Webber. “There were all

he was recruited by Calvin Klein. He

these young designers who were

January 2014

11 12 13.INTO.Design.indd 12

18/12/2013 1:30:13 PM

LIVING & DESIGN

De Cárdenas’ Canadian hit list Vancouver artist Stan Douglas

“I love those videos of his that are slightly fuzzy.”

Ocad university

“The Will Alsop extension looks like a table-top object blown up a hundred times. Crazy.”

2

Architect Arthur Erickson

“I only recently came across his work. The Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver looks like an amazing building.”

5

Architect and philanthropist Phyllis Lambert

“Love her. Heard her speak at the 50th anniversary of the Four Seasons Restaurant [she was head of planning for NYC’s Seagram Building]. Her stories about working with her father [Samuel Bronfman] and architects Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe had me thinking, ‘This woman is a living treasure.’”

3

actor Catherine O’Hara “She is better than any building any day.” discuss how design must open up a space for creativity. “The lecture is about how cities have become too safe and clean for the production

6

4

of culture. Great artists don’t live in New York anymore because they can’t afford it.”

playing with the notion of the show,”

his

says de Cárdenas.

Architecture at Large.

But

architecture

design

firm

in

2005,

the stripes. To the modernist’s “less

Like the postmodernists before

is more,” de Cárdenas responded by

him,

making more with less.

stranglehold of an unimaginative

who

helped

break

the

hold

“There I was, late 20s early 30s,

of him while studying at UCLA. “I

figuring out what I’m going to do,

“It was important to me that

and alienating brand of modernism,

drank the Kool-Aid,” he says. After

playing around with stuff, begging

everything I design exists. I want

de Cárdenas counters our bland,

getting his masters he worked with

people to let me do projects. And

to participate with people. I want

family-friendly urban environments

Greg Lynn, the influential architect

some of those people I was begging

people to get the feel and the look of

with

and

were friends, who were the same

[my design] and what it means.”

dazzle.

professor

non-linear

grabbed

own

who

popularized designs

age as me. And they were like, ‘I’m

(blob architecture). But de Cárdenas

biomorphic

opening a store and I have $5,000

Saturday of IDS de Cárdenas plans

says he grew frustrated with the

for interior design.’ So we used what

to give a lecture called “Ornament

academic,

of

we had, or we’d make it ourselves.”

and Crime: Criminal Intent,” a title

Lynn’s Form studio; he needed to

Hence his early reliance on paint

referencing the early modernist

make actual things. So he opened

and other surface applications, like

Adolf Loos. De Cárdenas wants to

theoretical

nature

For

his

appearance

on

some

seriously

dangerous

the IDS Wed, Jan 22-26. Metro Toronto Convention Centre. 255 Front St W. interiordesignshow.com.

RAFAEL DE CÁRDENAS/Architecture at Large. architectureatlarge.com. intorontomag.com

11 12 13.INTO.Design.indd 13

13

18/12/2013 1:31:47 PM

insight

INT E RN ATI O N A L

are our victories hurting LGBT communities around the world? → Political triumphs in Canada gave LGBT people in other countries an idea of what’s possible.

Alas, it gave oppressive governments and homophobes the same idea Story Paul Gallant

N

ine

years

George

ago,

when

boycott the Russian Olympics were

without

whether

Harvey, Battista’s first international

Harvey

began

all over social media, even as some

it’s a plane ticket, paperwork or a

efforts were channeled into Amnesty

Russian activists advised against it.

temporary place to stay when they

International, an organization that

Putin signed the law, anyway.

arrive in Canada. The organization

advocates through petitions and

has helped about 50 refugees, 20 in

letter-writing

the last year alone.

says the organization’s track record

volunteering

with

the

Amnesty International (ai.aito.ca) booth at Pride, 200 signatures was

“I

think

Putin

cared,”

help,

campaigns.

Harvey

a good return on investment. Last

says Harvey, who points out that

summer, Harvey closed up the Pride

Amnesty International has a policy

booth with 400 pages—thousands of

of not advocating for boycotts since

beyond

criminalizing

released is impressive; for LGBT

signatures—of petitions addressing

they can aggravate the situation.

homosexuality (76 countries still

prisoners it’s much less so. Still,

LGBT rights violations in Russia,

“Boycotts are not about working

have laws on the books). They’re

Amnesty

Cameroon and South Africa, where

together to correct the problem.”

prohibiting

p a r t

a young lesbian’s killers have not been brought to justice.

“There’s been a real surge in interest in international LGBT issues, which has been amazing,” says Harvey, who discovered a passion for human rights work during a trip

But

when

people’s

lives

and

Battista sees countries now going “merely”

LGBT

people

Any

to do something. The question is

thinking goes, may lead to same-

what should we be doing.

sex marriage. And so there

G

freedom,

have

been

ay and lesbian Canadians

and

political

pretty

that

much

have

legal

has

the

posturing

encouraged

people. While Rainbow

looking beyond their own lives in

successes have produced a certain

Railroad

order to help people they’ve never

sense of domestic fait accompli. But

on helping individuals,

met is an act of generosity, even if

the effects of legalized same-sex

it hasn’t yet taken on

it’s just a second to "Like" something

marriage here rippled far beyond

the task of challenging

on

countries

our borders. Our victories gave

the

with laws, cultures and economic

LGBT people in other countries

themselves.

circumstances so different from

an idea of what’s possible. And it

Helping LGBT

our own, you have to wonder what

gave oppressive governments and

people

effect international activism really

homophobes the same idea.

escape

“There’s

has

LGBT

focused

crackdowns

might

when it does more harm than good.

between what we’ve achieved here

drain

When

Putin

and the brutality that’s increasing

a w a y

was about to pass a law prohibiting

in many countries. It’s not that we

a country’s loudest and proudest

“propaganda”

need to feel guilty, but we have

voices, but Battista suggests it’s

traditional sexual relations, calls

a

Michael

not much of a dilemma—nobody

for boycotts of Russian products

Battista, an immigration lawyer

can advocate when they’re dead,

of

popped up everywhere. One night

and member of Rainbow Railroad

hospitalized or on the run.

delaying a proposed Uganda law—

in Montreal I watched go-go dancers

(rainbowrailroad.ca). The Toronto-

While Rainbow Railroad provides

which would punish “aggravated

empty Stolichnaya vodka bottles

based organization was founded

triage, long-term strategies must aim

homosexuality” with death—which

onto the floor and each other. A

four years ago to provide practical

to make oppressive countries better

has been kicking around in one form

funny protest, yes, but hard to

support to LGBT refugees who might

places for LGBT people to live; not

or another since 2009.

imagine it doing any good. Calls to

not be able to escape their situation

everybody can move to Canada. Like

President

Vladimir

promoting

non-

direct

toward

connection

has and whether there are times

a

been

crackdowns

violence

in

has

conservative

so lucky). Rightly or wrongly, our

But

for getting prisoners of conscience

organizing or expressing themselves.

equality (trans people are not quite

Facebook.

from

liberties are at risk, we feel compelled

It certainly is amazing. People

to Kenya when he was 23.

14

don’t

outside

responsibility,”

says

some

The

successes,

timing

and

including

framing

of

January 2014

14 15 16.INTO.INSIGHT.indd 14

18/12/2013 1:32:48 PM

insight

international pressure is crucial.

of it is more hands-on:

Cynical governments will sometimes

staff

propose anti-gay policies they never

talking with some

intend to implement, just to win

Saint

over conservative voters. But when

organizations

they see themselves demonized

to help 16 queer

by other countries, they might

families

defiantly move ahead with the plan.

Russia

This effect was believed to have

because they fear their

played a part in Nigeria’s passing

children

a bill in May that threatens those

taken away under the

who engage in same-sex marriage,

country’s new anti-gay

same-sex “amorous relationships”

law.

or participate in LGBT rights groups

have

Petersburg

leave for

Canada might

—michael battista, immigration lawyer and

be

member of rainbow railroad

“We have very limited

with penalties of up to 14 years in

resources to do work

prison. The president has not yet

internationally,

signed the bill into law.

we’re seen as rich

“There’s a lot of times we’re asked

There’s a direct connection between what we’ve achieved here and the brutality that’s increasing in many countries. It’s not that we need to feel guilty, but we have a responsibility.”

been

"What is best for ourselves is not always best for others. Better police training, for example, may improve people’s lives more than a change in a horrible-sounding law.

Sometimes it’s about the right to even exist.”

but

because of Canada’s

by Western media and Western

rich

activists, ‘Why aren’t you focusing

portfolio,” says Egale

on this?’” says Harvey. “Often it’s

executive

because we’ve spoken to activists on

Helen Kennedy. "What

the ground who are working behind

is best for ourselves

the scenes and they need it to be

is

hushed. If there’s an outcry at the

for

wrong time, it could really hurt the

police

situation.”

for example, may

LGBT

not

rights director

always

others.

improve

—helen kennedy, executive director egale

best

Better

training,

"There’s been a real surge in interest in international LGBT issues, which has been amazing.”

people’s

lives more than a change in a horriblesounding

—george harvey, amnesty international

law.

“Sometimes it’s about the right to even exist,” Smart organizations build relationships with LGBT

she says. (arc-

agenda of the UN, that the countries

of

and human rights groups in

international.net), an internatio-nal

ARC

International

participating in the processes can’t

marshal program, where an activist

Pride’s

international

grand

countries of concern, and

advocacy group founded 10 years

avoid discussing the issue.” Back in

from another country leads the

follow their lead on what

ago by former Egale ED John Fisher

2003, Brazil drafted a UN resolution

parade, the organization has been

to say and when to say it.

and former Egale board member

on sexual orientation and withdrew

increasingly outward-looking. Next

Although the temptation to

Kim Vance, has directed much of its

it amidst fears it would have little

year’s WorldPride will feature a

condemn oppressors is strong,

efforts toward the United Nations’

support. Says Vance: “Now we’ve

human rights conference expected

human

Their

got the majority of members of

to attract 450 participants, many of

more far-sighted. Egale Canada

listserv, which started out with 60

the UN voting positively on very

them from outside North America.

(egale.ca), primarily known as a

members, now has more than 900

basic coverage and protection.” A

Toronto’s

national lobby group, has been

groups who use it to communicate

serious consideration of same-sex

has played a part in this evolution.

working internationally for years. For

across borders.

marriage? Not yet. A consensus

finding and nurturing allies is

rights

system.

multicultural

makeup

“People may move here from

example, the organization has been

“When we first started this work,

that violence and persecution of

around

involved in training police officers

the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and

LGBT people is unacceptable? We’ll

always connected to their home

and social workers in Montenegro,

transgendered did not even emerge

take that, thank you very much.

community and I’ve found they’re

as

government

in the UN system and whenever

actively tries to improve its human

they did, the conversation was shut

events

rights situation. Some of Egale’s

down immediately,” says Vance.

local

work is consultative: advising other

She’s based in Nova Scotia, while

groups on issues like safe schools

Fisher is based in Geneva. “We

like Pride Toronto (pridetoronto.

In September he visited Belgrade

and what kind of conditions should

have played a huge role in making

com) has been intriguing. Since

for its Pride march, which went

be placed on international aid. Some

sure that is consistently on the

the introduction eight years ago

ahead despite a last-minute ban.

the

country’s

Considering usually

how

Pride

always

the

world

passionate

but

they’re

about

the

emphasize

the

situation back in the place they

ephemeral,

the

came from,” says Pride Toronto

internationalization of a festival

executive director Kevin Beaulieu.

and

the

intorontomag.com

14 15 16.INTO.INSIGHT.indd 15

15

18/12/2013 1:33:05 PM

insight

With the country going through dramatic

social

change

(like

Montenegro, Serbia also wants to join the European Union), activists there believe having international witnesses on hand will help their cause.

It’s

hard

to

know

how

international news about Toronto Pride—its thronging crowds, its international grand marshal, its flashiness—affects the situation in other countries. Does it give people in other countries hope or does it come across as showing off and so create a bigger barrier between the haves and the havenots? Although Vance says she personally doesn’t quite get the appeal of Pride, she sees how its focus on local empowerment and celebration can give activists around the world a real boost.

“They might say, ‘Hey, in our lifetime, we may never see policy or legislative change, but we can have a Pride festival. We can show the government that we’re here and we exist and that we celebrate who we are. If that’s all we

Four countries to keep an eye on Uganda Many countries blame the decadent Western world for promoting homosexuality. But in the case of Uganda, which is still contemplating a law that would implement the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” it was American evangelicals who stirred up anti-gay feelings in the country. Still, photos of the country’s exuberant first Pride march this year would give anybody hope.

Russia While international scrutiny did not stop President Vladimir Putin from signing a ban on homosexual “propaganda” into law, it remains to be seen how the overly broad legislation will be implemented in Russia, which decriminalized homosexuality in 1993. Although calls to boycott Russian products and the Sochi Olympics have not found much traction, it remains to be seen how visiting athletes might flaunt the law.

can do, we can do that,’” says Vance.

While the Internet and social media

have

raised

awareness

about the precarious situation of LGBT people around the world, they may not, on their own, be the best tools for change.

Real

physical

presence

still

counts for something. Face-toface

meetings,

colourful

Pride

celebrations, well-timed protests

Nigeria Homosexuality is already illegal in Africa’s most populous country, but a law passed by lawmakers in the spring, which is awaiting approval by President Goodluck Jonathan, would penalize same-sex marriage with 14 years in jail. So far, Jonathan seems more interested in threatening the law than implementing it.

and even paper petitions usually deliver better results than an infinite number of Like-button clicks.

Not just because the person receiving

the

realize,

deep

the

extra

something.

message

must

down,

that

effort It’s

counts also

for

because

the people who make a bigger effort to send the message are obliged to do their homework.

Like good sex and enduring love, international activism is a twoway street.

16

Montenegro Although 60 people were injured as anti-gay protesters attacked the Balkan country’s first Pride march last summer, the country’s politicians, at least, are working to improve the situation. About 2,000 police officers were deployed to protect the Pride marchers. The government has floated the idea of samesex relationship recognition and three years ago agreed to pay 80 per cent of the cost of sex reassignment surgery.

relationship advice

— with Adam Segal → I am hoping the New Year can bring about some change for my partner and I. We both struggle with our weight and have been unsuccessful with trying to change our habits of eating unhealthy foods and avoiding workouts. This struggle can tend to fuel tension and arguments between us where we blame each other for the problem. I tend to beat myself up for not going to the gym and when I do manage to get there I am so aware of how good everyone else looks and become so self-conscious about my growing belly. We are having less and less sex as we both feel crappy about our bodies and this isn’t helping matters much. How do we go about trying to get fitter without it creating so much stress and conflict?

Lucien

It sounds like you and your guy are

etc.) So whenever your inner critic

stuck in a shame cycle and you can’t

says you are too fat, remind your-

get out. While weight and exer-

self that it isn’t really about weight

cise have been a source of stress

but stems from something old and

and conflict, there is an opportu-

outdated. Wanting to eat healthier

nity here for you both to join forces

and lose some weight are fine goals,

and encourage each other to live

so long as there isn’t an assump-

healthier lives, both separately and

tion that self-acceptance is only an

together. Criticizing yourselves and

option at the end of the rainbow.

each other is only going to fuel neg-

Shame is never going to be an

ativity and will likely maintain this

answer to this issue. We can tend

pattern of frustration.

to think that berating ourselves

If going to the gym becomes a way

is going to fire us up to make pos-

of confirming that you have worth

itive change, but really this inner

and not going means you are a piece

criticism exhausts us and makes

of crap, you will ultimately avoid

us and our world feel even smaller.

the gym altogether as it becomes all

We can limit ourselves by thinking

too loaded. Working out at the gym

we have two choices: chastise our-

needs to become a practical choice

selves as an attempt at self-motivat-

again, rather than some sort of

ing or be passive and give up. A mid-

definitive statement about your per-

dle option would be to be your own

sonal value.

best coach—one that supports you

While I don’t want to minimize

when you are down and honours

how frustrating it can be to estab-

your achievements when you make

lish an exercise routine, I do want

strides. Zen teacher Cheri Huber

to suggest that your self-criticism is

writes about a concept she terms

broader and likely predates this par-

Compassionate

ticular issue. A lot of queer people

would consider utilizing this as a

grow up feeling inherently not good

motto for 2014 and beyond.

Self-Discipline.

I

enough—this sense of unworthiness has an unseemly ability to attach itself to ever-changing aspects of ourselves (I’m not slim enough, rich enough, cool enough, butch enough

Adam Segal The writer and therapist works in private practice in downtown Toronto.

Ask him your relationship or mental health question at relationship@intorontomag.com.

January 2014

14 15 16.INTO.INSIGHT.indd 16

18/12/2013 1:33:13 PM

ART-OF-CELEBRATION-QuarterPage.pdf

1

2013-10-21

8:14 PM

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19/12/2013 12:30:06 PM

listings & events

january IN THE CITY

5

winner of 8 Tony Awards, Once Closes at The Royal Alexandra Theatre

8

Next Stage Theatre Festival Opens at the Factory Theatre

22

Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness Opens at the Ryerson Image Centre

Art & Design STACKS FOR LIVING THINGS Noah Rosen and Suzanne Carlsen of Carl & Rose produce functional items, objects and installations based on their unique vision.

Playful, colourful and made with care, Carl & Rose creations infuse environments with a little extra joy. To Sat, Jan 11. MADE. 867 Dundas St W. 416-607-6384. madedesign.ca.

ROMANTICISM NOW This exhibition of works by up and coming artists looks at how romanticism in the 21st century has emerged in reaction to the technological revolution and today's political realities.

Artists include Layne Hinton, Parker Kay, Stu Monck, Ryan Walker, Ian Willms.

11am-6pm. Tue-Sat. Opening Reception: 2pm-5pm. Sat, Jan 11. To Jan 25. O'Born Contemporary. 131 Ossington Ave. 416-413-9555. oborncontemporary.com.

18 19 20.INTO.calendar .indd 18

TSO concertmaster Jonathan Crow in Mozart Festival@258

RYERSON IMAGE CENTRE The Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) marks its 2014 winter season with four exhibitions that focus on national, social and technological histories. Through the use of documentary photography and film, each artist examines a transforming cultural landscape. The exhibition includes Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness.

Curated by Dr. Gaëlle Morel, the show examines both the dramatic and historical demise of film-manufacturing facilities and industrial darkrooms, and the shift to digital technologies; guest curated by David Harris is Phil Bergerson: Emblems and Remnants of the American Dream featuring photographs taken during dozens of extended road-trips, crisscrossing the US in search of the “American Dream;” Black Star Subject: Canada, a display every one of the 1,853 photographs filed under the “Canada” subject heading in the Black Star

17

9

serial plagiarist jayson blair stars in A fragile Trust At the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

23

Rafael de cÁrdenas at the Interior Design Show At the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Collection; and Elisa Julia Gilmour: Something in Someone's Eye featuring four cinematic portraits using Kodak Ektachrome film. Opening reception: 6pm-8pm. Wed, Jan 22. To Apr 13. Free.

11am-6pm. Tue, Thu, Fri. 11am-8pm.

Wed. 12pm-5pm. Sat, Sun. Closed Mondays. Ryerson Image Centre. 33 Gould St. ryerson.ca.

INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW This event is Canada’s premier showcase of new products, innovative designers and avant-garde concepts from North America and around the world. Highlights this year include tastemaker Rafael de Cárdenas, named in Out magazine’s Top 100, the designboom mart, widely recognized as the first-ever design bazaar, and Studio North, introduced to support Canada’s vibrant and independent design scene, featuring ateliers and design-makers from coast to coast. The showcase features 60 Canadian and international

A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD Opens at Buddies in Bad Times

come up to my room Opens at the Gladstone Hotel

designers exhibiting one-off and custom collections of furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles and surface design in a gallery-like installation. $19-$61.

7pm-11pm. Thu, Jan 23. 9am-7pm. Jan 24. 10am-7pm. Jan 25. 10am-6pm. Jan 26. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building. 255 Front St W. interiordesignshow.com. (See our interview with de Cárdenas on page 11.)

HARD TWIST: THIS IS PERSONAL The 8th annual juried exhibition celebrates the intimate, layered and complex relationship between people and textiles. The showcase of works explores the nuances, complexities and politics of clothing that communicates social position, hopes, fears, sexuality and aspirations.

Participants range from established artists to students. The works are tiny and huge, straightforward and complex, representational and abstract, and speak of things as disparate as biblical lyrics,

18/12/2013 1:34:30 PM

TH HEAD Times

LISTINGS & EVENTS

our guide to your month Hall. 60 Simcoe St. 416.598.3375. tso.ca.

Stage ONCE Only days left to catch this winner of eight Tony Awards. Once tells the story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant drawn together by their shared love of music. Over the course of one fateful week, their unexpected friendship and collaboration evolves into a powerful but complicated romance, heightened by the raw emotion of the songs they create together. $35-$130. 8pm. Tue-Sat. 2pm.

Wed, Sat & Sun. To Sun, Jan 5. Royal Alexandra Theatre. 260 King St W. 416-872-1212. mirvish.com.

NEXT STAGE THEATRE FESTIVAL Past Toronto Fringe artists bring their work to a wider audience. The 10 up-and-coming indie artists and companies present Canadian premieres of star-packed musicals (A Misfortune, Killer Business: The Musical), boundary-pushing remounts of past Fringe hits (Jack Your Body, Release the Stars: The Ballad of Randy and Evi Quaid), brand-new works One night only fundraising performance of Les Miserables from powerful female voices (On the Other with Ramin Karimloo and Colm Wilkinson at the Princess of Wales Theatre Side of the World, Stencilboy and Other Portraits), risk-taking departures from veteran Fringe companies (Scheherazade, Ulysses) by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre Rifles) and the return of the antechamber global warming and the fate of dryer lint.

Architects, Stantec Inc, HDR Inc, Ian (1665-1729), one of the few women 12pm-5pm. Daily. Opening reception: Chodikoff and Patrick Spear. Contributing series (Fatherly, Polar Opposites). composers of her day. The diverse 7pm-10pm. Thu, Jan 23. To Apr 27. visual artist: Brendan George Ko. Free. $12-$15. Various Times. Wed, Jan 8-19.

Gladstone Hotel. 1214 Queen St W. 6pm. Fri, Jan 24. 12pm-6pm. Tue, Wed, movements depict the encounters and Factory Theatre. 125 Bathurst St. 416-531-4635. gladstonehotel.com.

Fri-Sun. 12pm-8pm. Thu. To June 8. York torments faced by Ulysses on his long 416-966-1062. fringetoronto.com.

COME UP TO MY ROOM This year marks Quay Centre. 235 Queens Quay W. voyage, including the storm set upon him LES MISÉRABLES This one night only the start of a new decade for this 416-973-4000. harbourfrontcentre.com. by the raging sea god Neptune. $20-$25. performance, starring Ramin Karimloo as alternative design event, featuring 60 2pm. Wed, Jan 1. 8pm. Jan 2. Heliconian Jean Valjean and Colm Wilkinson, is a Film artists and designers given full reign over Hall. 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-535-9956. fundraiser for Casey House, Covenant this iconic heritage hotel to create 25 musiciansinordinary.ca.

House and others. $59-$200. 7:30pm. Sat, a fragile trust This film tells the provocative installations. Staying true to its MOZART@258 FESTIVAl The Toronto Jan 11. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 shocking story of infamous serial off-the-cuff curatorial process rooted in Symphony Orchestra’s 10th Mozart festival King St W. 416-872-1212. mirvish.com. plagiarist Jayson Blair and how he urgency, risk, discovery and trust, CUTMR features the music Mozart wrote while A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD unleashed a scandal that rocked The New 11 encourages exhibitors to bend their working as a freelance composer and This behind-the-scenes feast of great York Times and the world of journalism.

In disciplinary boundaries. Participants musician in Vienna, as well as choral music movie lore and delicious stories provides 2003, Blair was caught plagiarizing the include A Zero, Ana Jofre, Andrew composed under his patron Prince insight into Hollywood’s legendary work of other reporters and supplementFoerster, Bettie Cott, Megan Blake, Bruno Archbishop of Salzburg. Guest conductor costume designer, Edith Head. In her six ing his own reporting with fabricated Billio + Department of Unusual Certainand pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn kicks it off decades of costume design, she worked details in dozens of different stories ties, Christine Kim, Vanathy Ganesharajah, with Symphony No. 39, one of the on 1,131 motion pictures, dressed the published in the Times.

The ensuing media Claire Scherzinger, Collage Collective, composer’s final symphonies ($33-$105. greatest stars of Hollywood, received 35 frenzy served up sordid details in a soap currentform, Hilary Hayes, Tim Richards, 7:30pm. Jan 11; 3pm. Jan 12). TSO music Academy Award nominations and won an opera-style tale of deception, drug abuse, Kathleen Wicks, Natasha Basacchi, Aliya director Peter Oundjian and the orchestra unprecedented eight Oscars. Miss Head, racism, mental illness, hierarchy, white Tejani, Rollout, Sarah Keenlyside, Nathan will be joined by the Amadeus Choir and an played by Susan Claassen in this guilt, accountability in the mainstream Whitford, Shannon Scanlan, Sisley Leung, all-Canadian cast of vocalists, including one-woman show, tells her own media and power struggles inside the SPAM, Torontonians & Mammalian Diving soprano Leslie Ann Bradley, mezzo-sopra- fascinating story filled with humour, hallowed halls of The New York Times.

Reflex.6pm-8pm. Thu, Jan 23. 11am-8pm. no Lauren Segal, tenor Lawrence Wiliford, frustration and Hollywood glamour.

Filmmaker Samantha Grant will be in Jan 24. 11am-10pm. Jan 25. 11am- 5pm. and bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, for $35-$40. 8pm. Fri, Jan 17-19. Buddies in attendance. $15.

6:30pm, 9:15pm.

Wed, Jan 26. Gladstone Hotel. 1214 Queen St W. Mozart’s jubilant Coronation Mass. Plus Bad Times Theatre. 12 Alexander St. Jan 8. 6:45pm. Thu, Jan 9. Bloor Hot Docs 416-531-4635. gladstonehotel.com.

Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary 416-975-8555 Cinema. 506 Bloor St W. 416-637-5150.

Hahn will take centre stage for Mozart’s IDIOT’S DELIGHT A cast of wonderfully Health bloorcinema.com.

Violin Concerto No. 5 Turkish ($33-$145. eccentric and international guests 8pm. Jan 15-16). And TSO concertmaster Music (countesses, arms dealers, showgirls, BUILDING FOR WELLNESS: ARCHITECJonathan Crow will be the featured soloist revolutionaries, charlatans and lovers) TURAL RESPONSES TO THE CHANGING in Mozart’s Violin Sonata in G Major, as part spend a fateful weekend in a resort MUSICIANS IN ORDINARy A New Year’s NEEDS OF HEALTH CARE Examining new of a masterworks programme for violin, Day Concert: French Baroque Cantatas hotel in the Swiss Alps. While songs are directions in health care and the role that woodwinds and piano. Pianist Louis Lortie and Sonatas features soprano Hallie sung and dances danced and loves architecture plays. Curated by Patrick will join the TSO onstage as he conducts Fishel and lutenist John Edwards. Joining rekindled, the dark clouds of war come Macaulay, the exhibit looks at new Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 in B-flat major, them are Christopher Verrette, violin; rolling in. $29-$74. Thu, Jan 23-March approaches to hospital design, patient Gran Partita, and leads from the keyboard 1. Young Centre for the Performing care and the effects of social structures on Emma Zoe Elkinson, baroque flute; and in the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major. Arts. 50 Tank House Lane. 416-866Philip Fournier, keyboards. The major our health. Participating firms include ($33-$145.

8pm.

Jan 22-23).

Roy Thomson work is Le Sommeil d’Ulisse (The Sleep of 8666. soulpepper.ca.

Diamond Schmitt Architects, KPMB

18 19 20.INTO.calendar .indd 19

18/12/2013 1:34:51 PM

l i s t in g s & e v en t s

in spot FRANK & OAK Story Jason Yantha

It's a brand new year, so we all deserve to kick it off in some brand new clothes, right?

The problem is your boyfriend didn't get you that sweater you wanted and your Mom somehow thought that acid wash jeans make a good gift. With the hectic holiday season at a close, it’s safe to say the last thing on your mind is setting foot in a mall, and let’s be honest, online shopping always just turns into paying shipping on pants that won’t fit.

Well what if I told you that you could have some fresh new clothes delivered right to your front door, for free? Try them on, buy what you want by simply keeping it and just send back what you don’t, no charge. All you'll need to participate is Wi-Fi and a mirror. It almost sounds too good to be true, but it’s real and it’s called Frank & Oak. Born out of Montreal, Frank & Oak is a menswear brand that designs, manufactures and sells its own premium apparel through a hassle20

free online shopping experience— for the Twitter generation. As men, we want stylish clothing that comes simple, fast and affordable, and, like a good friend, Frank & Oak has your back. While it’s all too common to throw around the word “affordable” nowadays, Frank & Oak can say it and actually mean it. The clothes, which can be described as Club Monaco meets Ralph Lauren, with a touch of Top Man, all fit somewhere in the $30 to $60 range.

CEO and co-founder Ethan Song (pictured above) says his company uses the internet to enhance the products, not just sell them. “We’re part of a new generation of brands that are thought of as a community,” says Song. “Our products are designed with the feedback of our customers; therefore, the products are more relevant. It allows us to create a much more integrated experience.”

To be a part of said community, sign up for a free membership into what they call the Hunt Club. When

the site updates its look book at the beginning of each month, select a few items to try on at home before you buy. “We do all the work for you," says Song, “[With our look books] it’s easy to understand what the cool pieces are for the season.

We allow you to actually order the products and try them on for 10 days. Wear them, get feedback from your friends, and then decide whether you like them enough to keep them or not."

Since its launch only two years ago, Frank & Oak just hit one million members and recently received the Innovator of the Year title at the 2013 PwC Vision to Reality Awards.

As Song garners more and more attention for truly making his vision a reality, he’s become an inspiration, and is happy to share some advice. “What I always say to aspiring entrepreneurs is: ‘Just do it.’ People always ask, ‘How did you go about creating a clothing line and meeting manufacturers?’ Well, I just did it. I called them up and

I went to meet them. There’s no magic. You have to work hard and commit to what you want and then you’ll be successful at it.”

If, after reading this, you feel the need to run into the streets screaming Frank & Oak's praises, do so on the way to their pop-up shop located at 737 Queen St W. It's open until January 12, and offers a wide variety of seasonal essentials. And since fashion is all about looking forward, Song shares an interesting prediction for the warmer months ahead: "The big trend that I think a lot of guys might be afraid of, but I think they should try, is the concept of sweaters in spring and summer.

In Europe, guys already wear linen sweaters in the summer. It's very sporty and easy to layer when the weather is cool enough."

Frank & Oak Pop-up at 737 Queen St W. until Jan 12, 2014. frankandoak.com.

January 2014

18 19 20.INTO.calendar .indd 20

18/12/2013 1:35:08 PM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT B O O KS

Mr Nice Guy → In his new book of essays Compared to Hitler, RM Vaughan refuses to name names. Well mostly Story Paul Gallant

R

M Vaughan never had a gap year. His transition from university student to Toronto-based artist and writer was interrupted only by a nervous breakdown followed by a rejuvenating stint working in a Montreal porn shop. So last year he packed up his art-filled apartment, gave notice at The Globe and Mail, where he was visual art critic, and moved to Europe for a while to get a sense of what he might have missed out on.

“When I left Toronto, I felt old and worn out and that my sexuality was invisible,” he tells me. “The great thing I got out of Berlin was that in cultures that are a little less difficult than in Toronto, you are expected to be sexual up until you die.”

Which is to say he got laid a lot.

Amidst all this sexual rediscovery, Vaughan astonishingly managed to find the time to rediscover his output as a journalist and critic over the last couple of decades, selecting essays for his new anthology Compared to Hitler. Although the pieces range widely from personal essays and criticism to celebrity interviews, the common thread is the playful prickliness of his voice. Some have taken his brattiness too seriously; the book’s title pokes at the tendency to overstate grievances. Still, he doesn’t think everybody’s stupidly hysterical.

Who was the biggest bitch you interviewed for your celebrity column in The Globe?

Carrie-Anne Moss—there, I said it.

She was promoting a beautiful indie Canadian film and she was fantastic in it. One of my first questions was: “You’ve been in some big megahit films. Has that allowed you the time and space to make small, more moving choices?” She instantly read that as, “Now that your career is

over….” and went on the defensive.

She answered every single follow-up question with “No” and nothing else.

That film got released, barely, more than a year later. No one saw it and I never got to run the column.

When you were going through these essays, did you ever say, “Oh my God, did I really write this?”

Lots. I wrote a thing saying the Pride parade should stop, which seemed totally relevant at the time, but now that we have a mayor who refuses to go to the Pride parade, I would not write that today. I made predictions about Ryan Reynolds being taken seriously as an actor, which have not panned out. I also

wrote a defence of Paris Hilton, which I still stand by. I don’t have 30 fucking stores with my name on them—do you? There’s still a kind of genius attached to that woman, but I did write a defence of her music career and I think that’s pretty much dead.

Where does your prickly voice come from?

It’s entirely organic. I am Atlantic Canadian and we have that base mistrust of enthusiasm of any kind.

We have that instinct to needle and tease, especially if we like someone, so a lot of it comes out of a perverse affection. But I am capable of a full-on hate.

You’re rarely mean, though.

Even in the notes of this book, the few times I named names of people who had been unpleasant to me, at the last minute I took the names out.

I just can’t go that far.

But you never know what’s going to upset people.

When I first started writing about art at The Globe I wrote about a painting by a well-known Canadian painter, who I’m not going to name.

It was a massive painting. It was vibrant and crazy and I quite liked it. But there was one small section that didn’t work. That person went ballistic on that one sentence— Facebook campaign and the whole thing. I was like, “Didn’t you read the rest of it?”

When I worked with you as an editor, I was always amazed at your ability to generate so many ideas. Did you ever think you’d be writing about the breadth of stuff you’ve written about?

Never. Originally I was a painter.

I had a handful of shows, but I was a dreadful painter. Then I thought I could be a poet and that would be it, which was an illusion. So I decided to write about anything. If that makes me a whore or a hack—words that are supposed to be derogatory but that I think are complimentary— then I am that, I’m a whore-hack.

intorontomag.com

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FILM

All-american? no more → To play a homophobic cowboy with AIDS, Matthew McConaughey had to lose 50 pounds and leave his pretty-boy image behind. Maybe now Hollywood will honour him with an Oscar Story Danny Bowman

22

January 2014

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

M

atthew

McConaughey

in 1985 before starting a "club" from

audiences would love to see this

has got to be one of

which people infected with the virus

man's story. Of course, my wife

the dreamiest actors in

could buy drugs that had yet to be

wasn't very happy when I told her

approved for sale in the U.S.

I had to go on an extreme diet and

Hollywood. But several years ago he

→ anti-hero It took McConaughey three years to help get financing for a film about a womanizing, substance-abusing, homophobic straight man with AIDS.

reached a point in his career where

McConaughey's performance in

he decided to shake up his pretty-

Dallas Buyers Club, which co-stars

boy image. Instead of continuing to

Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner, is

physical

it's mind over matter. You've got

play the charming romantic hero,

garnering rave reviews and plenty

appearance in the film will shock

to embrace that sense of control

he would seek out more serious

of Oscar buzz, in many ways a

many people. How difficult was it

you feel over your body. You've

roles in smaller, independent proj-

vindication

for you to lose so much weight?

got to make exact calculations

ects. Recent films like Killer Joe, The

redefine his leading-man screen

Paperboy and Mud have seen him

image.

for

his

decision

to

lose 50 lbs. It scared me, too, but I knew I had to make this movie.

Matthew,

your

McCONAUGHEY:

The

hardest

about how many calories you're

thing was going through different

eating every day and that gets

stages

the

tough towards the end. Another

playing against type as he tries to

You took a big career risk leaving

widen his range in darker kinds of

your all-American image in the

beginning, it was easy to take off the

problem is that you lose a lot of

stories.

dust. What was the impetus for

weight with exercise and eating less

strength and your energy level

this career decision?

but then you reach a point where

is very low. My only comfort was

That determination to redefine

of

weight

loss.

At

himself is nowhere more evident

McCONAUGHEY: I was tired of

90 per cent of the weight loss is

drinking a glass of red wine or two

than in Dallas Buyers Club, which

doing romantic comedies and films

achieved purely through reducing

at dinner.

opened late last year. In order to

which didn't really mean much

your calorie intake. My goal was to

Once I got down to 137 lbs,

lend credibility to his portrayal

to me anymore. It was time to go

lose four pounds per week. That

each day seemed like an eternity.

of real-life Texas electrician Ron

back to the kinds of stories which

worked well for the first few months

You begin spending a lot of time

Woodroof, McConaughey, 44, lost 50

inspired me to become an actor

but then things got tricky.

thinking about food and craving it.

lbs to play the role of a womanizing,

in the first place. I'd been trying to

substance-abusing and homophobic

help get Dallas Buyers Club financed

straight man who contracted AIDS

for three years because I knew that

Does it become torture at that point?

McCONAUGHEY: Not torture, but

That becomes very hard on you, psychologically. You're fantasizing about food all the time. intorontomag.com

22 23 24.INTO.Film.indd 23

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A RT S & E N T E RTA I N M E N T

own care better, find drugs that aren't approved yet, and make a profit from a business venture that allowed other HIV-infected people to get a hold of those experimental drugs.

Films like Dallas Buyers Club, Mud and other recent films are part of your process of transforming your career. Did you hate your old leading man image?

McCONAUGHEY: No, but I hated repeating myself. The last films I've done, not once did I ever have the feeling that I was dialing it in.

Each of the films, whether it's Magic Mike or Dallas Buyers Club, was a challenge for me. I had to dig deeper.

Also, my decision to shake things up came after my first child was born. I had taken nearly two years off and I thought that I would enjoy my time as a dad and wait until something interesting came along. But I kept getting more romantic kinds of scripts or action films and I would → NO MACHO MAN But growing up in Texas, McConaughey knew real rednecks like Ron Woodroof, which helped him get inside the head of the real-life character.

Was it hard for you to look at yourself in the mirror when you became so thin?

of your gaunt appearance?

tell my agent that I wasn't interested in any of those projects.

What was Hollywood's reaction?

your

McCONAUGHEY: Oh, the offers

didn't think I looked so bad because

movie on a real-life character, you

dried up after a few years and it was

because

if

you're

basing

I guess it's a gradual process and you

shouldn't fudge the truth. I also

like I had fallen off the radar. But

supports

don't compare yourself to what you

don't like stories that romanticize

then directors like William Friedkin

me in all my projects but this time

looked like several months before.

characters

(Killer

she thought I was taking things

But now that I look at the film or

becoming nice guys by the end of

(Magic Mike) and Lee Daniels (The

a little too far. It was difficult for

see pictures of myself when I was at

the film. I loved the fact that I didn't

Paperboy) got in touch with me and

her to watch me get so thin, and

137 lbs I kind of cringe a little and I

have to soften Ron's character and

wanted me to be part of their films.

we stopped eating meals together

notice how thin I looked.

that I could bring some of my own

That was a whole new chapter for

What was it about playing Ron

Texas background into portraying

me. I didn't chase any of those films

You seem nearly back to normal

Woodroof that made you want to

him. Growing up, I wasn't really part

and it made me think that I was right

now. Was it hard regaining the

put yourself through this physical

of that particular macho culture, but

to take a chance, say no to the kind

weight?

ordeal?

I knew people like him, real redneck

of thing I had grown tired of doing,

guys, and that helped me get inside

and wait until something good came

his head.

around. And it did.

McCONAUGHEY:

She

during that time.

McCONAUGHEY: You have to be

McCONAUGHEY:

Ron

was

an

and

they

wind

up

Joe),

Steven

Soderbergh

very careful how you go about it.

American

You have to retrain your digestive

wild man, a selfish bastard and a

system and retrain your brain which

businessman out to make a buck.

is telling you it wants you to keep

He wasn't a noble, crusading kind

eating more and more. Your body

of guy which made this movie

anarchist. I think of him more as a

McCONAUGHEY: I won't turn it

is sending out all kinds of signals

very different from other movies

classic anti-hero, a guy you like in

down. It's an honour for me to be

telling

you

was

a

Was Woodroof a hero in some ways?

McCONAUGHEY:

Does the talk of a possible Oscar nomination for Dallas Buyers Club

He

was

an

excite you?

about HIV. Also, it was told from a

spite of who he is. I compare my

the subject of that kind of discussion

heterosexual point of view which

character more to Scarface. There

and I'd be lying if I told you that I

usual weight. But the doctors will

made it very unique. He was a real

are no violins playing for this guy,

didn't enjoy the recognition of the

tell

start

cowboy, a hard-ass. He was the kind

there's no false emotion to him. This

public and my peers. I've been very

binge eating which can be very

of guy who was willing to play with

is a real-life story of a guy who is

flattered and grateful for the kind

dangerous.

fire.

told that he has 30 days to live and

of appreciation I've received for my

Did you ever consider trying to

decides to teach himself enough

work over the last few years. This is

make him a more sympathetic

science so that he can manage his

a very happy time in my life.

that So

it

He

remembers

you

that

original.

what life was like at 182 lbs, my you it

can't takes

some

patience. But now I'm pretty close to my old self.

24

McCONAUGHEY: No, there was never any question of doing that

McCONAUGHEY: At the time I What did your wife, Camila, think

character with fewer rough edges?

January 2014

22 23 24.INTO.Film.indd 24

18/12/2013 1:38:58 PM

25.AdPage.indd 50

19/12/2013 12:16:14 PM

A RT S & E N T E RTA I N M E N T

STAGE

High maintenance → Rob Kempson’s musical about a young man's coming out and the stories he would have liked to tell his grandmother, but couldn't Story David Bateman | Photography Jeremy Clay

R

ob Kempson believes in

to support his queer lifestyle. His

relationships

Maybe even his own. Kempson's

brother also seemed to take it in

coming out. “Maintenance needs to

after

the

official

if someone were to ran-

musical, The Way Back To Thursday,

stride. His dad was another story

happen,” he says. “Coming out is

domly approach him and say, “I hate

which opens this month at Theatre

altogether, a reaction that Kempson

not the end of a coming out story;

musicals!” he would just flat out not

Passe

had not expected.

it is only the beginning. At a young

believe them.

complexities of coming out to one's

Muraille,

explores

the

“My dad was a bit of a wild

age, it can feel like coming out is

relationship

card,” says Kempson. “I felt like he

the hardest thing to do, but in fact

says Kempson. “People who say they

between a young man and his

wouldn’t really be put off by it, but

it is just the beginning of a series of

hate musicals are thinking of fly-in

grandmother.

I know it was a big deal for him

circles to consider.”

“You just can’t hate musicals,”

sets, choruses and tap dancing. They

26

be one someone could love.”

musicals. So much so that

family

As

through

a

queer

the

30-year-old

who

in a way that I didn’t anticipate.”

Family circles, that is. The same

just haven’t seen the right musical. I

came out to his friends and family

Although he doesn’t go into the

ones that have made a profound

love musicals as much as the next

nearly a decade ago, Kempson had

details of how his father dealt with

impact on the kind of musical

homo, from the really awful campy

a relatively easy transition. “My

the news, Kempson is enlightened

theatre that Kempson is committed

ones to the beautiful ones, from

mom probably still secretly wishes

by the experience which in turn

to. His strong sense of family still

Hello Dolly to Elegies. But there are

that I would marry my best friend

moves

into

has him wondering who he might

so many different types, there will

Rebecca,” he says. Yet she continues

one about maintaining complex

have left out in his initial coming out

our

conversation

January 2014

26 27 28.INTO.Stage.indd 26

20/12/2013 12:26:35 PM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

congregations

in

an

Etobicoke

church to enthusiastic individuals ages nine to 90. He also makes regular visits to schools in Peel and York regions as well as institutions within the Toronto District School Board.

“My work lies somewhere between theatre and community arts,” says Kempson, who for the past three years has been the associate artistic producer at Theatre Passe Muraille.

“Community

investment

is

the

Michael Cooper

primary purpose. I often question sometimes people just “don’t want

whether the people I work with are

to talk anymore, don’t take time to

having the most valuable experience

listen anymore.” Ultimately, The

or whether they’re making the most

Way Back To Thursday chronicles

brilliant art.”

a young man’s emergence into

His position as an arts educator and

queerness and the stories he would

artist puts him in a prime position to

have liked to tell his grandmother,

assess and learn from the cultural

but couldn’t.

divides he tries to navigate on a daily

As

progresses,

basis as part of his professional and

Kempson still won’t give up on

personal life. “I feel very lucky to have

passed away when he was only

anyone who claims to abhor even the

this work produced by a ‘general’

12, before he had time to cultivate

thought of musical theatre, claiming

theatre company. I’m a playwright

a strong bond based in common

that Toronto audiences tend to

as well as a composer, and have

interests. And though he fondly

separate traditional theatre from

written a number of straight plays.

recounts her as a farmer who

musical theatre in an unnecessarily

I didn’t start creating [The Way

process almost 10 years ago. So this

collected eggs—“I was mildly scared

divisive way. “There’s still a sense

Back To Thursday] knowing that

past Thanksgiving, before taking his

of the chickens”—Kempson decided

that musicals are somehow separate

this was a musical, just like I didn’t

partner home to meet the extended

his on-stage coming of age story

from

Kempson.

start creating it knowing that the

Kempson clan, he found himself

would

autobiographical.

“When in fact they simply represent

character of Cameron would be gay,

emailing a cousin he thought might

Instead of his real life connection

a multi-disciplinary form of theatre. I

or like old movies or idolize Rock

still not know he is gay, all the time

told in song and tuneful clucking

think we do a disservice to ourselves

Hudson.”

wondering if the cousin even cared

sounds, he made The Way Back To

by suggesting that the two worlds

or needed to know. But this impulse

Thursday an iconic fictionalized

are separate. General theatregoers

identity-based

to keep relatives in his queer loop

tale

a

should go to musicals, and vice

unearth

lies deep in the foundation of his

grandmother’s

a

versa.”

audiences to consider ways in which

musical.

glamorous past, the two bonding

→ pas de deux Kempson shares the stage with the fabulous Astrid Van Wieren, who plays his grandmother.

(Far right) Rob Kempson as a child with his grandmother at the farm.

Kempson, who wrote the book

be

less

about

the

movies, desire

and for

the

theatre,”

forms

and lyrics, stars in the 75-minute

those

theatre,

song cycle without dialogue, sharing

enduring

Rock

Hudson.

These

says

His distinction between various

over images on a screen, including of

interview

of

theatre

musical

and

that ask

we can become more inclusive without losing our sense of self.

There may be lyrics like “Do I have to

the

straight identities, are the basis

wear sparkly pants/Do I have to talk

the stage with the fabulous Astrid

fodder for the formative influences

for Kempson’s very personal and

with a lisp,” not to mention catchy

Van Wieren, and a piano and cello

on a curious child moving into young

professional

the

one-liners and melodic quips, but

accompaniment.

manhood, bring them together, yet

past 20 years, balancing his life

the heart of this musical lies within

ultimately separate them by way

of an artist and arts educator.

the cycle of songs that comprise a

of

of gender and sexuality. Neither a

Having studied music and drama at

solid showcase for soul searching,

twentysomething men—queer and

happy nor a sad ending, The Way

Queen’s University, with an Artist-

a thirst for familial honesty and the

straight—and their connections to a

Back To Thursday is a piece of

in-Community Education degree,

care and maintenance of lasting

loved one from another generation,

musical theatre that values the need

Kempson divides his time between

relationships.

like a grandparent. The interview

to keep relationships authentic and

programming events for Theatre

subjects spoke of everything from

alive through mutual honesty and

Passe Muraille and going out into

baseball and National Geographic

reflection

regional communities. There he

For his research he specifically sought

out

the

stories

stories,

journey

queer

questions

stereotypes

and

cinematic

between

and

In fact, Cameron asks a lot of

during

magazines to movies, all united in

In the summarizing song End,

some way through a shared interest.

the lyrics ponder difficult tensions

of people who are interested in

around the conflicted idea that

theatre,

Kempson’s

own

grandmother

teaches

a

varied

from

cross-section

multi-generational

The Way Back To Thursday. $20-$32.50.

7:30pm. (2pm. Sat matinees). Thu, Jan 16-Feb 8. Theatre Passe Muraille. 16 Ryerson Ave. 416-504-7529. passemuraille.on.ca. intorontomag.com

26 27 28.INTO.Stage.indd 27

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20/12/2013 12:27:46 PM

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20/12/2013 3:01:56 PM 12/9/13 6:19 PM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT V is u a l art

On the hunt for meaning → Artists Brian Jungen and Duane Linklater hunger for a ‘Modest Livelihood’ Story Gordon Bowness | Photography Brian Jungen and Duane Linklater

W

hen is a moose just a moose? And when is it a metaphor… for exis-

tential meaning, for traditional wisdom, for art-world success?

Canadian art star Brian Jungen teamed up with multidisciplinary artist Duane Linklater to create Modest

Livelihood,

a

50-minute

video projection currently installed at

the

Art

Gallery

of

Ontario.

Linklater, an Omaskêko Cree based in North Bay, recently won the $50,000 Sobey Art Award, one of Canada’s richest; Jungen, a Danezaa of mixed ancestry, who splits his time between Vancouver and Fort St John, BC, won the inaugural prize in 2002. The pair’s enigmatic, minimalist film may offer a sly comment on Aboriginal artists trying to make a name and a living for themselves in the capricious and at times harsh international art scene. → moose men The loose narrative of the film is comprised of long static shots of gorgeous scenery and a return to the men looking… and looking.

Jungen shot to stardom in 1999

miered last year at the Banff Centre

and Linklater continue the hunt.

with sculptures made from Air

for dOCUMENTA (13). It follows

More looking. Early one dawn they

Jordan sneakers ripped apart and

Jungen and Linklater on two moose

finally bag their quarry. Then begins

re-stitched to resemble West Coast

hunts in the Peace River valley in

the arduous task of skinning and

Aboriginal masks. He’s gone from

British Columbia near where Jungen

butchering the carcass: white guts

away as you can get from New York

success to success with a string

grew up. The first hunt is in the pres-

spill out of brown hide, white ribs

City or any other centre of the inter-

of witty and seductive sculptures

ence of an elder, Jungen’s uncle, Jack

and red meat, blood pooling against

national art scene. Whether the men

addressing mass consumerism and

Askoty. The second hunt finds the

fat, red slush. Some more quick cuts

are discussing the mysterious or the

colonialism: a whale skeleton made

artists on their own. No one and no

and the pick-up truck drives off. Two

mundane, we can’t know. The film’s

from lawn chairs, a giant turtle shell

thing are ever identified in the film;

birds careen in the sky. The end.

silence respects the way traditional

made from garbage buckets, blan-

it is screened without sound or titles.

Both Jungen and Linklater are gen-

knowledge has been passed down

kets woven from shredded sweat-

Shot on luscious Super 16mm film,

erous artists; their works consis-

through generations; the silence

ers of professional sports teams. He

the loose narrative is comprised of

tently invite all viewers to engage, to

stretches across the vast distances

was the first living artist to get a solo

long static shots of gorgeous scen-

ponder the place of Aboriginal cul-

the two artists have travelled.

show at the Smithsonian’s National

ery, plenty of quick flashing edits

ture in the wider scheme of things,

When the two men finally get their

Museum of the American Indian.

and jerky camera movements, and a

to ponder our own place in that

moose, it’s almost pitch black. Shots

The title Modest Livelihood is

constant return to the men looking…

scheme. Their works inspire multi-

fired in the dark hit their mark: a

inspired by a landmark Supreme

and looking. At one point, there’s an

ple readings.

potent symbol for art-world success.

Court ruling in 1999 that recognized

encounter at dusk with some ani-

At one point, in the first half of

First Nations’ traditional use of natu-

mal, possible a family of moose, but

the film, the three men sit around a

ral resources for basic sustenance, a

it’s unclear what happens. Then,

campfire drinking hot tea, gabbing.

“moderate livelihood.” The film pre-

suddenly, it’s winter and only Jungen

Figuratively and literally, it’s as far

Or perhaps it was just a moose.

MODEST LIVELIHOOD Until June 15. Art Gallery of Ontario. 317 Dundas St W. ago.net. intorontomag.com

29.INTO.VisualArt.indd 29

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18/12/2013 1:43:14 PM

A RT S & E N T E RTA I N M E N T ART

The fine art of weight loss → Forget the typical New Year’s resolutions to get healthier. Try gallery going. It’s good exercise Story Pamela Meredith

H

ere’s a new twist on

painter from Newfoundland, will

including memory, loss and a deep

objects,

New Year’s resolutions.

be featured in a solo retrospective

relationship

suggest unseen occupants, often

home.

Instead of promising to

(Jan 18-Apr 27) that provides the

start exercising or give up sugar or

depth and context to reconsider

gluten this year, why not resolve to

her

get out and see more art in 2014?

It’s much easier and more edifying,

deceptively

simple

landscape

and

and

detritus

“outsider” characters like bikers

The Power Plant (thepowerplant.

narrative.

A

emotional, sensory extravaganza

the Canadian landscape and the

in the form of renowned British

flotsam and jetsam that washes up

especially the exhibitions of these

Art in Newfoundland and Labrador

artist

on our shores.

artists that we don’t often get the

where one can consider how Ned

exhibition in Toronto (Feb 1-May

opportunity to see locally.

Pratt has inherited his mother’s

19). I’ve been haunted, anxious,

com)

gift for nuanced, poetic imagery

amused, moved and thoroughly

provide

in

eastern edge, as I am?

most

Here’s a

his

large-scale

photographs.

an

unfolding

is Changing Tides: Contemporary

Mike

provide

an

works. Alongside this exhibition

Canada’s

will

and

new commission is inspired by

by

org)

drawings

equally

Intrigued

Nelson’s

first

solo

Division Gallery’s (galeriedivision. big

beautiful

Winnipeg

space artist

will

Simon

overwhelmed (in a good way) when

Hughes with plenty of room for

simple

experiencing Nelson’s work in the

his majestic imagery of ice floes,

Rosetta is on the car stereo for the

shed, but it is the horizon, the sky

past. Quiver of Arrows, a collection

aurora borealis and forests (Feb

drive to The McMichael in Kleinberg

and the elements that steal the

of four Airstream trailers that

6-Mar 15). For years, Hughes has

(mcmichael.com). Walk the gallery’s

show. Twenty-nine artists have

viewers may enter and explore, will

been working primarily on paper

beautiful grounds and then take

been gathered together and while

similarly immerse and provoke.

with watercolour and collage in

in this very special lineup. Mary

the work is incredibly diverse,

His labyrinthine installations are

his distinctive geometric style and

Pratt, the celebrated photorealist

certain themes can be teased out,

abandoned, but the forsaken books,

soft palette, a nod to Lawren Harris’

perfect

30

subtle,

to

February

Sunday:

Hey

Façade

foregrounds

a

January 2014

30 31.INTO.Artcol.indd 30

18/12/2013 1:43:55 PM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

→ gallery hopping (Clockwise from far left) Ned Pratt's Northern Peninsula from Facade; Bridget Moser in Push and Pull; trailer from Mike Nelson's Quiver of Arrows; in the studio of Simon Hughes; and Genevieve Cadieux's Pas de Deux

late Northern landscapes. Humour

Featuring

and criticality come in the form

character,

of sticker people who inhabit the landscape, representing Aboriginal

of gesture and communication.

gets my vote for the Best of

and

While

highlights

2013. Mercer follows it up with

fantastical modernist architecture

stillness until a flurry of arm

Push and Pull (Feb 7-Mar 29), a

incongruously placed under the

fluttering overcomes her, a man

group

northern lights.

performs martial arts movements

artists from Toronto and beyond.

that that really interests me.”

Genevieve Cadieux is a most

in slow motion. While Cadieux’s

Bridget Moser typifies the push-

I’m intrigued to find out whether

accomplished artist from Montreal,

previous works have often pointed

pull, love-hate, absurd-profound

Moser and the other artists in the

the maker of cinematic, large-

to disturbing experiences, Pas de

dichotomies

exhibition

exhibition elevate the annoyance-

scale photographs of the landscape

Deux is more universal, referencing

with her humorous, speculative,

interest debate into a serious but

and micro details like scars on

gender, narrative and the passage

self-critical

funny conversation.

the body. But Diaz Contemporary

of time. Let it wash over you.

videos. Speaking on her chosen art

European

settlers,

and

(diazcontemporary.ca) will present Pas

de

Deux

(Jan

16-Feb15),

Cadieux’s recent foray into video.

female

Mercer Union (mercerunion.org),

examines

there’s still time, but not much

the possibilities and limitations

(closing Jan 11). The exhibition

And Geoffrey

a

the

the

if

male

and

work

woman

you Farmer’s

haven’t

exhibition

in

of

the

emerging

performances

and

seen

form, she says: “I find it pretty

awe-inspiring

annoying to watch, almost. But

exhibition A Light in the Moon at

then

there’s

something

about

PAMELA meredith Is TD Bank Group’s senior curator. intorontomag.com

30 31.INTO.Artcol.indd 31

31

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