June 2010
10 posts
"I have always liked weirdness"
I recently had the privilege of hearing Gary Panter give a lecture (of sorts) at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Panter, who grew up in Texas as part of a devout Christian family, lives in Brooklyn and works as a cartoonist, illustrator and artist; in addition, he is part of an experimental punk rock band called ‘Greg, Matt and Gary’. Panter is celebrated for his album...
Making out vs. Donald Judd
I am a fan of the new Art Gallery of Ontario. Unlike Daniel Libeskind’s design for the Royal Ontario Museum, Frank Ghery’s design is elegant and progressive, and a big improvement. That being said, I have been disappointed with the gallery’s programming. The AGO’s make-over established the gallery’s prestige and currency; but the gallery has not kept up with it’s progressive looking...
May 2010
9 posts
Sonja Ahlers
I spent yesterday morning browsing at TYPE Books, which is one of the best bookshops in the city. We love TYPE because it carries a selection of publications that have been produced by creative, independent publishers.
I picked up The Selves by Sonja Ahlers, which was recently published by Drawn and Quarterly. Drawn and Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal that specializes in comic...
Art History
Art History is a concept store nestled in the heart of Queen Street West, just a block or two east of The Drake Hotel. Inside you’ll find what you’ve always dreamed a garage sale could be: china sets, clothes, glassware, zines, jewelry, ashtrays and trinkets galore! Nostalgia, vintage and hand-made reign.
Remember the not so distant past, when the inane chatter we now send in the...
Treasures
This morning I wandered around the Sunday Antique Market at Front and Jarvis. The market’s unspoken speciality is Canadiana, and I was lucky enough to spot this book at one of the stalls! Published in 1978, Toronto The Good features historical photographs of the city sourced at the Metropolitan Toronto central library on Yonge Street, which is now referred to as the Toronto Reference...
Toni Hafkenscheid at Birch Libralato
On display at Birch Libralato is an eerily beautiful suit of photographs by Toronto-based artist Toni Hafkenscheid. The exhibition is aptly titled ‘Relics of the Future’ as it considers the faded legacies of dated monuments and infastructure projects.
Highlights for me include a photograph of the Niagara Falls Tower (2009) against an inky blue evening sky, and one of the Trenton Plane (2010),...
We adopted Toronto’s historical nickname, the good, for our blog because it aptly describes both what’s frustrating and wonderful about this city. The nickname has long described Toronto’s conservatism and propriety. With our blog, we’re hoping to reclaim the derogatory moniker and shed light on those striving to make the good a great place to live. Our community of artists, designers, musicians...
