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92-Year-Old Canadian Art Treasure John Koerner Launches Autobiography *
A Brush with Life will prove a valuable source book for art historians and curators, and of course for the many collectors of Koerner’s art.
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A bridge too far *
Toronto's new mayor faces big fights and bigger lawsuits if he blocks expansion of the city's island airport. We wish him well, say DAVID CROMBIE and JANE JACOBS.
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A Companion drawing on experience *
It's fitting that Frank Gehry became a Companion of the Order of Canada on Monday, LISA ROCHON writes, just at the time that the world's most famous architect is acknowledging his creative debt to his Canadian roots
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Architects realize their seating plan *
Shim-Sutcliffe Architects join the storied ranks of designers to have breathed new life into the humble chair, LISA ROCHON writes.
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Deconstructing the AGO *
Four leading architects tell SARAH MILROY how they view Frank Gehry's design for the Art Gallery of Ontario.
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Designing a memorial of light *
Eight finalists have been chosen from 5,201 submissions in a design competition for a commemorative element at Ground Zero. SIMON HOUPT surveys the contenders.
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Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China **** 1/2
The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China -- Highlighted by breathtakingly beautiful "portraits" by Regina-based fine artist Zhong-Yang Huang, David Bouchard's tale of the real-life Empress of China is re-imagined (as they say) in vivid detail that displays a true love of language.
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Eyewitness Travel Paris (Keyes review) *****
Like most of the books in this series, Eyewitness's Paris guide is so visually brilliant that visiting the city itself is almost an anti-climactic experience.
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Great Architecture: The medium is the message *
Forget the economic benefits, great architecture must stand on its own merits.
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In praise of the city and its slickers *
The writer and thinker Ian Buruma, who is a relentlessly cosmopolitan type -- grew up in the Netherlands, lived for years in Asia, teaches in the United States, writes for journals all over the globe -- has been writing with frequency about various forms of resistance to Western culture around the world.
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Is Gehry in the building? *
The rich possibilities of the architect's early AGO models are not yet realized, LISA ROCHON writes. He should be given time to grow.
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Jane Jacobs: Afraid of the dark *
Jane Jacobs has dedicated her career to bolstering the cities of North America. Now, however, MICHAEL VALPY finds the world's leading urban philosopher distressed by 'ominous signs of decay.' At first glance, her new book, Dark Age Ahead: Caution, reads like a doomsday prophecy.
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Litter marks the road to social ruin *
Maybe I'm just another old fogey harrumphing about cardboard coffee cups and candy wrappers blowing in the breeze, trash piled up at bus stops and unattended dog poop. But we fogeys believe littering (along with aggressive driving, smoking, cursing in public, panhandling, etc.) reflects a generation that wants to own things and cares nothing for social grace.
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Martian Meadows: For a home that's out of this world *
Feeling cramped and looking to get far, far away from it all? Martian Meadows may be the location for you, LISA ROCHON writes. Call now to get a piece of the red planet while they last. Airfare not included.
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Mercurial designs for a material world *
In the first of a three-part series on place and placelessness, LISA ROCHON inquires into how we are losing and finding ourselves in an increasingly globalized world. (Read part two.)
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Mona Lisa: So that explains the smile *
The most famous painting in history celebrates her 500th birthday this year. Over the centuries, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has been denounced as a femme fatale, celebrated as the paragon of womanhood, inspired three suicides, and survived a theft. Yet that serene smile staring at us behind bulletproof glass in Paris's Louvre museum remains mysterious.
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New Canadian design history-theory online course planned *
A new Canadian design history-theory course, soon to be available from Emily Carr Institute. A fascinating trip through Canada's past.
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OCAD's flights of fancy *
The Sharp Centre for Design is an exhilarating civic space raised high on nine-storey legs, LISA ROCHON says
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Pressure's building *
As he prepares to unveil his new design for the Art Gallery of Ontario, Frank Gehry talks to LISA ROCHON about his many masters, his vocal critics and the anxiety of coming home.
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Protesters to greet Gehry unveiling *
Demonstration is aimed at issue of 'institutional expansion,' not Gehry design, JAMES ADAMS reports.
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Revised design for WTC site unveiled *
A new design for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site slopes gracefully into a spire rising 1,776 feet (541 metres), echoing the Statue of Liberty, images released Friday show.
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Saving the house that history built *
Vancouver residents are striving to preserve Joy Kogawa's childhood home, one of the settings for her book, Obasan, reports ALEXANDRA GILL.
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Spiritual Architecture: A chapel worth worshipping *
In the last of a series on spiritual architecture, LISA ROCHON feels the pull of Le Corbusier's triumph
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Spiritual Architecture: Part one -- A winning essay of light *
A Toronto architect's design for a Baha'i temple illustrates the challenges of creating places of worship, writes LISA ROCHON
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Spiritual Architecture: Part two -- House of the spirits *
In part two of her series on spiritual architecture, LISA ROCHON examines how the St. Clair Mausoleum at Toronto's Prospect Cemetery provides space for the living to ponder their own mortality
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The Bilbao effect *
Art versus architecture: Which will win out? SARAH MILROY looks at the magnificence of the new museums and wonders if their beauty is only skin deep.
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The call of the wild *
Emerging architect Pierre Thibault finds being out in nature can trigger fresh, creative ideas, LISA ROCHON writes.
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The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson (Garber review) *****
Art historian Silcox, a wonderfully lucid stylist, describes The Group of Seven as "socially responsible, serious, fervent, egalitarian, and sensitive to the concerns of ordinary people," even though they failed to accept women artists as their equals, and expertly chronicles their mission to create an "all-Canadian art."
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The International Museum of Cartoon Art *
The International Museum of Cartoon Art is the only museum of its kind -- with cartoonists represented from over 50 countries.
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The new AGO *
Major highlights of Frank Gehry's redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto...
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The Two Best Travel Guides (Keyes overview) *
I've done my fair share of globe-trotting, and for my money the two best guidebook series for major cities are the ones by the Time Out people and the ones under the Eyewitness Travel imprint of the Dorling Kindersley publishers.
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The urban agenda stampede *
Cities are at the head of the queue when Paul Martin opens the door on his spending plans. Here are the fiscal tools they need most, says urban thinker DAVID PECAUT.
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The Windy City's idea should blow our way *
Toronto's new Mayor David Miller went to Chicago recently to meet with Mayor Richard Daley, to discuss waterfront revitalization and other civic lessons to be gleaned from the Windy City.
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There's no there there *
In the final part of a series on place and placelessness, LISA ROCHON laments that Toronto's new Dundas Square fails on many levels as a public space (read parts one and two).
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Toronto's CityPlace: Failing to make the grade *
Robbery doesn't always happen at the corner store. A new urban neighbourhood can be robbed of civic delight and architectural significance when 20 towers of human containment are stuck in an impoverished streetscape.
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Uncle Sam's city plan (part two of three) *
In the second part of a series on place and placelessness, LISA ROCHON explores the effects of US-style urbanization. (Read part one.)
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Urban cowboys *
With a new prime minister on the horizon and now a hot, new mayor in Toronto, the buzz is getting serious: Cities really are becoming a force unto themselves. But as GRAEME SMITH and JANE ARMSTRONG point out, this time Westerners were the first ones out of the gate.
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Vancouver's street smarts *
Toronto could use some lessons in city planning, LISA ROCHON writes, and it need look no farther than the West Coast for a model of urbanism
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Violent Youth: We need not yield to them *
Some U.S. cities have made great strides in dealing with violent kids. But for starters, adults must act, says Harvard's DAVID KENNEDY
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Western exposure: Artist Robert Smithson **** 1/2
Artist Robert Smithson had a taste for the magnificence of nature, SARAH MILROY writes, and British Columbia fit the bill. A current exhibition tells the tale of his four visits
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Wrestling with a house of music *
Fine-tuning an opera auditorium, writes RAY CONLOGUE, is a truly operatic process.
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Secondary Sites:
The Rainbow Goblins **** 1/2
ISBN: 0500277591
Author: Ul de Rico
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Ul de Rico's fantastic tale of colour thievery, The Rainbow Goblins, is a classic on the shelves of any discerning children's literature aficionado.
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A bumper crop of Canadian art *
The spring's overflowing auction houses suggest the Canadian resale art market is still very bullish, writes JAMES ADAMS
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Art and Culture of India -- more than meets the eye *
India's diversity of religions, languages, and cultures is unparalleled. This complex nation's intricate ethnic mosaic is reflected nowhere as dramatically as in its art, architecture, music, and dance.
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Betting on the Bilbao effect *
Everyone's trying to capture the tourist eye with the lure of a Frank Gehry building, SIMON HOUPT writes
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Dead Sea Scrolls 'belong to all civilizations' *
Ottawa exhibition of more than 100 artifacts from Jerusalem's Israel Museum goes to the roots of Western history.
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Dogfight over ground zero *
As New Yorkers get set to pick a design, LISA ROCHON writes that competing values still grip the World Trade Center site. Will it be a people place or an address for business?
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Feng Shui Astrology ** 1/2
ISBN: 0-345-42265-1
Author: Jon Sandifer
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York, $12.00 in USA; $16.95 in Canada
For beginners, or for those who just want to have some simple fun with astrology readings, this book is just too complicated. Recommended for experienced Feng Shui practitioners only.
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Fibre Art and Paintings by Karen Chapnick *
December 15, 2005 to January 18, 2006, Vancouver, BC
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Introducing Joash Woodrow *
The discovery of 3,500 works by an unknown, 77-year-old recluse may have altered the postwar British art landscape
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Lisa Rochon: Learning in light and living colour *
The Thorncliffe Park redevelopment establishes a new benchmark for school design in Canada, LISA ROCHON writes
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Mega-developments to dominate Cambie and Broadway area, Kingsway and Knight *
Combining a shopping centre with residential, office or other uses is not a new phenomenon, but it is one being seen more frequently as retailers and shopping centre developers turn their attentions to opportunities in the cities. The point is: Who benefits?
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Michael Gordon: He's no poser, dude *
City planner Michael Gordon had a personal reason for wanting Vancouver's skateboarding rules relaxed this month -- he rides 22 blocks to work each day. But there's a lot more to it than that, he tells JANE ARMSTRONG
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New deal for cities critical *
Paul Martin has declared that a new deal for Canada's cities is in the works. His statement comes at the end of a decade of dawning recognition that cities are the agents of growth, the source of innovation and creativity and potent agents of social health.
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Sixth Annual BC Cultural Crawl – August 3rd to 31st *
The Sixth annual BC Cultural Crawl kicks off BC Day weekend and runs from August 3-31, 2007, Vancouver, BC and provincewide.
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Turning on to Bob Masse *
The legendary poster artist for bands such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane has turned his psychedelic talents to new acts like Smashing Pumpkins, ALEXANDRA GILL finds. Just don't ask him if he likes their music.
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