- Some would be inspired… (TIAF 2/4)
When facing down the offerings of over a hundred art galleries plus some dozen peripheral projects, questions of quality tend to fade into insignificance – the vast majority of work is certainly going to be technically skilled, but to stand out from this crowd, good just isn’t good enough. Of course, it also helps to [...]
- First Thoughts on the Toronto International Art Fair (1/4)
In between days spent attending the Toronto International Art Fair on behalf of Map Magazine, I’ve been spending the evenings unwinding with the most recent episodes of Doctor Who. In keeping with Russell T. Davies’ postmodern take on the original’s camp values by way of melodramatic angst, The Doctor relates how the ubiquitous evil of [...]
- (bizarre) triangle love
I’ve been embroiled tonight (and last weekend) in shortlisting meetings with the Hamilton Artists Inc. as part of an ongoing epic battle to reduce a field of ninety applications into some six-to-eight main exhibitions for 2009/2010. I’ll no doubt be commenting further on this in the very near future, but that’s a discussion best left [...]
- Bringing the crawl back into the Art Crawl
This post is lagging somewhat behind last Friday’s James North Art Crawl here in Hamilton, but maybe I’m just a stickler for stylistic consistency. Despite my Hammer-girl roots, this was my first time attending the monthly Art Crawl in Hamilton’s burgeoning James Street North artist community. Needless to say, I had been admonished on many [...]
- A Primer on Fine Art Research
Last night, York University played host to Dr. Bruce Brown, the Dean of the University of Brighton’s Faculty of Art and Architecture and general go-to guy on research in the creative arts in the UK. Given that this issue he was addressing – research practices in the practical and sometimes-ephemeral creative arts – is a [...]
- Inaugural Post, or The End of Leather Wing-back Armchairs
Some weeks ago, I found myself at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario chasing up a possible job opportunity. I wasn’t hired, which gives me perfect license to have at this institution with perfect impunity, but as it happens I was largely impressed by the place. Despite being well off the beaten tracks of [...]
