This is the transcript of an address given 13 Nov 2014 at the Belkin Gallery in Vancouver. — Thanks everyone for being here. And thank you Shelly Rosenblum and the Belkin Gallery for inviting me. I’ve only been full-time faculty here for 18 months or so. And one thing I didn’t know to anticipate were these cross-disciplinary conversations that were […]
Tag: Art
The Way Things Are: Fred Herzog’s Art of Observation
First published in Canadian Art Winter 2013 At 82 years of age, photographer Fred Herzog doesn’t move quite as quickly as he used to. But then, few people ever did. In his younger days, Herzog was the kind of guy who’d jump on his Norton motorcycle after lunch and ride back roads to the top […]
Music in the City and the Psyche
Update: 28 August 2012 The editors at Harpers have assigned the story. So this piece will be appearing in an upcoming issue of that great magazine. We’re very much interested in the story of PTSD and how it is illuminated by Christian Ellis’s story and the remarkable opera inspired by his experiences. That’s both sides […]
The Stock Market with French Flaps
The Blue Light Project has been nominated for a CBC Bookie Award. Thanks to the CBC producers who included me on a list with Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyen, Brian Francis and Elizabeth Hay. Those are amazing writers! I’m truly honored. That said, it’s fascinating that this particular novel would be nominated for this particular prize. […]
They’re Everywhere
Holy stickers Batman. These things have hit Toronto, New York, Halifax… everywhere. Now they’ve reportedly crossed the pond. They’re going up in the UK now. Move over Banksy. Or whatever. I have no idea what this means.
Chaos and Planning
This article ran first in Vancouver Review. Sadly, I have to report that the Red Gate did finally lose its battle with the city and has been evicted. CHAOS AND PLANNING: A tour of Vancouver’s public art ONE: THE RED GATE By the time you read this article, an interesting but little-known Vancouver public-art institution will either have […]
Man Standing
This profile of Inuit film-making legend Zacharias Kunuk was originally published in Canadian ArtEdited by Richard Rhodes *** Final descent into Igloolik and I’m feeling the cold already. It’s seeping into the plane, into the soles of my feet, stiffening my knuckles and knees. It seems to be reaching out toward me, and I find […]
CBC “cultural secrets”: Byron Cameraman
I’ve written several times in these pages about my friend Byron Dauncey, who is also the street artist known as Cameraman. I’m happy to do so again, as Byron was included in the CBC show “Cultural Secrets”, for which the CBC asked a whole range of people for suggestions. When they approached me, I took […]
Save the Red Gate
I’m mid-way through a piece for Vancouver Review on the topic of public art. As a result, I wouldn’t normally write and post anything on the topic because it might end up stealing from work to-be-published. But, with apologies to my kind and forbearing editors at VR, I’m going to make an exception here because […]
Blue Light Project Street Art – Part II
Is a fictional character from my novel The Blue Light Projectcoming to life? A mystery is growing here. I’ve just published a new novel about a street artist, the semi-fictional Rabbit. The book’s been getting amazing reviews. Banksy even tweeted about it recently. Not bad. In the book there are multiple photos of street art. Most of that work […]