Naziosare

Ivan Manuppelli 

Guess Who? 

Mou 

 Colin Clark

Just got this amazing piece of work in the mail today from Abraham Diaz and Yecal Disaster of Ediciones ¡Joc Doc! in Mexico City.  All pages are screenprinted and risographed; the art is by 16 artists from around the globe.  Buy it here!

Tea, Talk and Tell at Needlework

At long last, Pulling Strings' next event is on the horizon.  After an incredible month of guest blog posts about essential textile-related publications, PS is launching it's latest initiative-- a textile book reference library-- with a reading and breakfast event at Needlework.  Textile artists Grant Heaps and Kate Jackson, Hamilton-based craft producer and maker Anna Zygowski and past Director of the TMC and lovely local Jennifer Kaye will talk about their favourite textile books in a casual show-and-tell/roundtable discussion.  There will be time to peruse the brand-new reference library's rich (and growing) collection as well, and we will be serving up tasty homemade scones.  Don't miss it!

Tea, Talk and Tell

A Launch Event for the Pulling Strings Reference Library

at Needlework

174 James Street North

Hamilton

Sunday, April 27th, 11 am - 12:30 pm

The Pulling Strings Reference Library

There's lots of amazing stuff brewing with my textile-based collective, Pulling Strings.  A few weeks ago our newest project, The Pulling Strings Reference Library, had its soft launch at Needlework.  A growing collection of eclectic textile-related publications have been installed in Needlework's window along with a cozy chair for browsing and lounging.  After April, the library will become an ongoing fixture at Needlework as a semi-permanent community reference of textile art, theory and how-to books, zines and catalogues both old and new, weird and wonderful.

There are other great library goings-on happening until the end of April as well.  Every Tuesday and Thursday, our blog will feature reviews of books from the personal collections of some of our textile heroes.  This series kicked off last week with reviews by Robyn Love, Kate Jackson and Grant Heaps with many more lined up (previews of a few of the books that will be featured above!). At the end of April, we'll have a reading event at Needlework where an impressive group of textile enthusiasts will read aloud from their fave textile books.  More details to come soon!

http://pullingstringshamilton.blogspot.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/pullingstringshamilton

Some Thoughts on Grassroots Archives

Photo scooped from the PUBLIC>ACTION Facebook page.

A couple weeks ago, I attended an open discussion about archiving printed matter at OCAD University, as part of the month-long Public Action residency at their Student Gallery organized by Professor and print-y artist Shannon Gerard and masters student Mary Tremonte.  The roundtable was facilitated by Maggie Flynn, an interdisciplinary artist.  I am happy that Maggie thought to invite me (despite the fact that we had never met!).  It is crazy how much I miss out on, in large part because I'm not on Facebook and don't get the memo about a lot of events around town.

A bluurb about the discussion presented the following questions:

Leave aside for a moment the images of dusty boxes and stacks of paper that cling to the word “archive”. For this discussion we'll think about archiving as any act that preserves accumulated knowledge and collective memory. How can the process of archiving past or present social movements give direction or even instruction for future action? Can collected information serve as a conduit for action? How do we keep track of movement and change in the communities we are a part of? How can processes of archiving reflect the values of the activity being documented?

Up until recently, I worked at a (wonderful) museum.  I also helped run a zine library for over two years, am a longtime record collector, and do some independent curating.  Recently, I served as a consultant with a historical society as to how they could best display and care for their collection of ethnic costumes, photos and printed matter-- my first post-school independent work as a curator/museum professional.  I am only now realizing how much I am 'at home' in archival processes and practices and truly enjoy and am excited by the prospect of a making a life of this kind of work.

Chucking around ideas and experiences of archiving, particularly within the context of activism and grassroots activity made me think hard about the work I've done, specifically the successes and failures of the projects I've been involved with.  I thought I'd unpack some of my thoughts on this in light of this roundtable talk, as well as some of the ideas and points made by others during the discussion.

The Virtues of Autonomy?:  This is a topic I struggle with a lot and it is something I brought up almost immediately during the discussion.  The word 'archive' immediately brings about ideas of authority and institutionalization.  What does it mean to archive independently, outside of the confines of the institution? Alternately, what sort of freedoms or advantages (ie: financial, a built-in audience) do academic and civic/municipal national archives afford archival projects, and those doing the archiving?

I have often claimed that something that makes the Toronto Zine Library (where I was a volunteer librarian/collective member for just over two formative years in their history) special and sets them apart is that, unlike many zine libraries (especially locally), it exists outside of the umbrella of an educational institution.  While this may set them apart, could this be fairly referred to as a strength?  The TZL was (is still, I think) dynamic in that all volunteers had very different backgrounds and experiences, and existed within a broader local community instead of an insular institution.  However, it was severely hindered by a profound lack of money when I was a volunteer.  At the OCAD discussion, I admitted that the TZL had $100 stolen from the library once, and the impact was pretty devastating.  To most organizations, $100 is chump change.  The fact that $100 could either be considered admirable-- that we were able to make a small amount of money stretch-- or pretty damn sad.  If we had more money or put more effort into securing funding (private or from a funding body), we could have reached more people, and likely done more with the collection and the space.

But am I being lazy/uncritical by assuming that 'autonomous' archives are more virtuous than institutional ones?  How can institutional archives be maximized in terms of their reach?  In what small ways can they be liberated?  Does it matter?  How can grassroots archives be more sustainable and perhaps more ambitious?  Again, does this matter?

Processes of Archiving as 'Emotional':  This can apply to anyone who collects or has experienced attachments to souvenirs or keepsakes.  This also makes me think of the meaning of the word curate-- it means "to care," after all.

Learning About vs. Learning From Archives:  One OCAD educator present at the discussion brought up this important point that resonated with me.  We learn about all sorts of archiving projects, but how often do we learn from archives-- the material that is archived, and other people's experiences of archiving?  (If I misinterpreted his point, someone please enlighten me...I'm sure there is much more that can be said about this...)

The Digital Black Hole vs. The Crisis of Space:  In this day and age, what is the bigger boogeyman? Personally, I can't decide...

The Pragmatics of Radical and Conventional (?) Archiving:  Facilitator Maggie expressed the desire to unpack how radical archivists can archive their own archiving processes (!).  A good point of discussion for sure. Burnout is a reality in activist circles and in DIY endevors that take up a lot of time, energy and effort.  As people float in and out of a particular project, how is important knowledge preserved?  How can past experiences be learned from?

Archiving as 'A Sort of Dreamtime':  What a beautiful idea.  This relates back to the idea of archiving being 'emotional.'  This reminds me of how laborious, meditative art processes bear fruit, providing one with a dreamtime through which to have free thoughts and make new, unexpected discoveries.  Perhaps the same can be said about the process of archiving?

I would be eager to hear anyone reading this chime in on these matters.  The exciting thing about open discussions is all the enthusiasm, ideas and experiences people have to share.  However, I tend to get hung up on the pragmatics of archiving, and the roadblocks that get between archives and accessibility, sustainability, and their ability to 'function:' a term that is up for debate, for sure.

Symposium Recap

I've been too darn busy with graduation and work to post these photos of the She Said Boom Feminist Zine Symposium, that happened two weekends ago.  The workshop on Saturday, April 27th was definitely a highlight-- an all-day collaborative zine-making session with several talented and brilliant women of all ages. I wanted to thank and acknowledge everyone who took part for their amazing contributions: Emily Cook, Sarah Snyder, Lia Frederiksen, Aviva Cohen, Andrea Manica, J.P. King (honorary woman for the day!), Samantha Miller, Marta Ryczko, Renee Saucier, Lydia Ogwang, Meredith Marty-Dugas and Robyn Marty-Dugas.  And of course big ups to my fellow organizers Erin Oh, Shannon Gerard and Amy Egerdeen.

Thesis Zines

Finished school last week and I'm in a bit of a daze.  My final project-- which I've decided to not post about here in detail because I'm a little sick of it-- culminated in the production of these two publications. One was a collaboration with my mother and one is a reprint of a zine I did in 2011 which contains a transcription of an interview I did with my father.  I'll be posting them both on my Etsy shop for purchase real soon.

My brain is teeming with ideas for new zines.  Thrilled to finally have the time to follow through with them!

Father Knowledge, Mother Tongue

In the thick of work on my thesis project.  This is a first shot at a promotional image for the project, which will eventually emerge as books, a book launch event in late March, and an exhibition-like space where the launch will take place.  More on this soon!

New York, New York

A few weeks ago, I threw caution to the wind and went to New York for the NY Art Book Fair at MOMA P.S.1.  What a great time!  I was gone for only 2.5 days (and spent almost as much time on the bus as I did in New York), but it was a whirlwind of awesome.  Much better than my last trip to Manhattan-- a mandatory day trip from Baltimore that equalled 8 hours on the bus and 5 hours in the city...?!  Boy, was that frustrating.

We covered a lot of ground in less than two days, spending much of both days at the fair in Queens, staying overnight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (bed and nightlife delivered by the fabulous Elsner), and hanging out a little bit in Manhattan.  As great as the book fair was-- with tons of art publishing houses as well as a zine tent, beer, music and more-- the main attraction for me was a talk by Gee Vaucher (below), the artist behind all the iconic Crass record art.   She talked for an hour about her art practice, punk and self publishing.  I even worked up the courage to ask a (rather doofusy) question about how punk strategies of communication and resistance (collage, wheatpaste, etc.) have been co-opted by mainstream advertising/capitalist ventures.  I was a little starstruck, I admit-- she's an art hero of mine, for sure.  For more on Gee's amazing work, click here.

The NY Art Book Fair was a pretty inspiring event.  There was lots of overlap between art, music and publishing there (even Malcolm Mooney, the first singer of CAN and an amazing artist in his own right, performed-- I missed it!) which made me feel more at home than I've felt at an art event in a really long time.  I even ran into a fellow ziney Torontoite.  Here's to blowing off school and travelling!  Up the art book punx!

The Lesen Lounge on T Magazine/New York Times Blog

So much to catch up on here, but I'll start with this awesome tidbit.  Talented friend and Toronto expat Leah Buckareff has started a new project in Berlin called the The Lesen Lounge-- a roving zine library cart attached to the back of her bike which she rides around to parks, letting people browse her collection of zines for reading enjoyment and inspiration purposes.  In Leah's (adorable) words:

I really just want to share the zines with Berliners. (...)  People think I’m trying to sell stuff...it’s about teaching people to make stuff rather than buying stuff – but they should buy zines. Not here, though. They’re just to read.

To learn more about The Lesen Lounge and Leah's impressive selection of zines from around the world, take a look at the project website.  Also, don't forget to take a look at this article written for the New York Times online by another Toronto expat Nadja Sayej about the project, where you can find a photo and caption for my recent zine, Goin' Down the Road: Newfoundland Stories of Leaving.

A History of Hunger

Here a is new-ish project I completed recently called A History of Hunger consisting of one dozen mini-scroll "books" made of a dozen white eggs.  Admittedly, this was a project for school.  Here's a statement about it...sorry if it comes across as a little clinical sounding.

A History of Hunger
Eggshells, Japanese paper, adhesive, egg carton
Edition of 12 unique objects

A History of Hunger is a series of 12 miniature objects inspired by books.  Using the phrase “break in case of emergency” as a starting point and combining creative writing with research and sculptural processes, I used broken, empty eggs to frame an exploration of hunger and famine across time and space.  Through online research, I learned about both contemporary and historical examples of famine and food insecurity such as the Irish potato famine as well as periods of hunger during communist rule in China, WWII and the Great Depression.  Each of the twelve book-objects represents a year when a famine or food shortage existed somewhere in the world, and contains a short poetic response to a condition or situation that I read about.  A guiding idea in the series is that in opening each egg and finding it empty aside from a short piece of text reflecting an experience of hunger or famine, one might learn not only how widespread hunger is, but how people have coped with food shortages, as well as how they come to exist.

This project is in keeping with the guiding principle of our class publication-- playing with time by imagining the present through the lens of the future, and guessing what aspects of our contemporary cultural/societal condition will carry over to become major issues in subsequent decades.  Food security is an issue worldwide that will likely only get worse with increasing climate change.  The series of multiples resists providing a linear narrative or definitive history of hunger, and the inclusion of a multiple marked with the year 2042 alludes to the fact that hunger will likely be a continuous problem in a rapidly growing and warming world.

Many of the material/formal decisions I made in the execution of A History of Hunger grew out of my initial decision to use a carton of broken eggs as a starting point.  While the content of the multiples is historical, the use of a contemporary carton of eggs marked with nutritional information at a recent date stamp root the work in the present.  The multiples play with the scroll-- a historical format that is echoed in word processing applications, web browsers and film credits.  Typing directly onto the narrow scrolls required the use of short words in my poetic responses to each historical example of hunger, making them resemble Haikus and giving them a quiet quality that softens the tragic imagery contained in some of the text.  The long scrolls made out of Japanese Kozo paper were designed to mimic the look of egg yolks and whites pouring out of their shells.  Finally, the fragility of the eggshells fits with the precariousness of food security across time, as well as the increasing instability of our environment.

Amy Borkwood Interview on TCA

Amy was my subletter while I was in Baltimore!  She is also an accomplished bookbinder, longtime zine maker and all-round awesome person.  I interviewed her recently for Toronto Craft Alert-- in it she talks about how she has integrated zines into her job as a community worker.  Mega inspiring stuff.

http://torontocraftalert.ca/2012/02/16/questions-for-crafters-amy-borkwood/

Danville Community Encyclopedia

A few days ago, I finished my latest zine, Museozine.  This got me thinking about how artists have used the interview format in both performance and printed matter.  Tonight in my Publications class I was introduced to a really awesome example of this (somewhat minor) tradition called the Danville Community Encyclopedia by artist Anna Callahan.  For this project, Callahan hung out in a public library in Danville, Illinois interviewing members of the public of all ages about their respective areas of expertise.  She eventually filled an entire book with transcriptions of the interviews she collected-- the encyclopedia entries as diverse as Ghostbusters, Gospel Songs, Attention Deficit Disorder, Protest, Chicago Illinois, Canada and Tupac.

This was an uber-limited edition.  I wish I could buy this!

For more on Anna Callahan and her community projects, check out her website.

(P.S: This is my 300th post!)

Adventures in Canada

First try at making a movie! I'm happy with it. Mr. Lightfoot-- if you're reading this, please don't sue me for copyright. Technically this is student work. I am a big fan of yours, and I'd be really upset if you were mad at me...!

Adventures in Canada

Busy, busy, busy these days finishing up my semester at school (and my time in Baltimore City!), so there has been little time to write here.  One of my major projects right now is a body of work inspired by the story of my father leaving Newfoundland and traveling across Canada before finally settling in Toronto in 1973. It's a wild story that can serve as a snapshot of so many things which relate to Canada's recent history-- the migration of Maritimers to large Canadian cities to look for work in the mid-20th century, Toronto as Canada's "boomtown" in the 1970s, and a look at how working people have been affected by the steady decline of industry.

While I've had papers to write about this topic, art projects dealing with this line of research started out as diversions, but have ended up being an important part of the greater project.  An interview with my father was transcribed and turned into a short zine, pictured above.  I dedicated the last week to condensing the interview into fragments and using them in a stop-motion animated video (a still from it is included above as well), complete with a soundtrack featuring a rare Gordon Lightfoot song (!) and a book from the late 1800s.

I will post the video here once it's done.  In the meantime, here is the link to the project blog.

http://newfoundlandstoriesofleaving.blogspot.com

Marian Bantjes Review on TCA

A review I wrote of the Marian Bantjes exhibition was just posted on Toronto Craft Alert. Check it out here.

For more information on the show at Onsite (at) OCADU, check out these websites:

http://www.ocad.ca/onsite
http://iwonderbantjes.tumblr.com/

Vladimir Nabokov's Alphabet in Colour

I came across this beautiful book yesterday afternoon in a bookshop near my house. It is an illustrated alphabet by Jean Holabird of Vladamir Nabokov's descriptions of the alphabet, inspired (is that the appropriate word?) by his Synesthesia. The text included in the book is quoted from Nabokov's Speak, Memory. The book is a really interesting meditation on the senses and the ways they can intersect with one another.

The following text was scooped from the Alphabet in Colour page on the Gingko Press website:

"For anyone who has ever wondered how the colors Nabokov heard might manifest themselves visually, Alphabet in Color is a remarkable journey of discovery. Jean Holabird’s interpretation of the colored alphabets of one of the twentieth century’s literary greats is a revelation. Nabokov saw rich colors in letters and sounds and noted the deficiency of color in literature, praising Gogol as the first Russian writer to truly appreciate yellow and violet. This book masterfully brings to life the charming and vibrant synesthetic colored letters that until now existed only in Nabokov’s mind.

In Alphabet in Color Jean Holabird’s grasp of form and space blends perfectly with Nabokov’s idea that a subtle interaction exists between sound and shape. He saw “q” as browner than “k,” while “s” is not the light blue of “c,” but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl. . . . Dull green, combined somehow with violet, is the best I can do for “w.”
In his playful foreword, Brian Boyd, “the prince of Nabokovians,” points out that an important part of “Nabokov’s passion for precision was his passion for color.”

The Craft Reader

I've been reading this on and off for the past few weeks in an effort to expand my theory deficient and unedu-ma-cated brain, as well as to get some ideas to put toward the Love and Money show. I particularly enjoyed the essays Building Materials by Adolf Loos and The Revival of Handicraft by William Morris. Adolf Loos wrote the infamous essay Ornament and Crime, in which he proclaimed that ornament was a sign of degeneracy(!).

More on The Craft Reader here.

I like your work: art and etiquette

I bought this pamphlet/book at a bookstore in Brooklyn while I was there two weeks ago, because I both found it's concept hilarious and figured it would be an added bonus if I actually learned something from it, as someone who often feels like vomiting before her own openings. I once took the day off of work to go to an afternoon reception of a group show I was in, chickened out, and sent my parents into the gallery while I waited in the car! I agonize over the most basic of interactions that happen at openings, and judging by this book, I'm not the only one who does this by miles...

Here are some highlights from the book, which offers both biting criticisms of and honest advice and tips for navigating the art world, an oftentimes bizarre and complicated parallel universe which has it's own unique code of conduct and unspoken "rules."

ANONYMOUS: "Wait until you are at least six blocks away from a show before expressing a negative opinion about this show-- this is known as the "six-block rule."

ANDREW BERARDINI: "You must attend art openings. When you're Bruce Nauman, you can be a hermit in New Mexico. Until then however, you must attend art openings."

DAVID LEVINE: (When asked what constitutes bad manners...) "Getting so caught up in your own social discomfort that you fail to attend to the comfort of others."

RYAN STEADMAN: "If you're a skinny artist, be clean and neat. If you're a fat artist, be crazy looking and disheveled. Not sure why, but this seems to work best."

JESSICA SLAVEN: (When asked what the role of etiquette is in the art world...) "That the art world should have a separate code of behavior from civilized society serves to indicate its self-impressed and savage nature."

More on I like your work here.

PLP at Mixed Media, Hamilton

The next showing of The Portable Library Project opens this Friday at Mixed Media in Hamilton. The opening will coincide with Hamilton's monthy James Street Art Crawl. See above (and below!) for all the details. Hope to see you there!

The Portable Library Project is a multi-dimensional mail-art/bookmaking project involving the creation of small works exploring ideas surrounding archiving, ephemera, journalling, libraries and incorporating an art practice into everyday life. The 18 participating artists span several artistic disciplines, from performance art to fibre-based art; from photo-based art to craft to sculpture and installation. Artists involved in the project are based across Canada, and are from as far away as Seoul, Korea.

Invited artists were sent/delivered an empty cigar box, roughly the size of a hardcover book. Over the course of one week, participants were expected to create a 'book' a day, reflective of each person's day-to-day activities and artistic process. Books were ideally made while on the go; boxes were intended to be carried with the participant, where books were to be added and collected each day for seven days.

Participating artists:
Aimee Lee (Seoul, Korea)
Amber Landgraff (Toronto)
Cara Spooner (Toronto)
Daphne Gerou (Toronto)
Debbie Danelley (Winnipeg, MB)
Deborah Margo (Ottawa, ON)
Fiona Bailey (Toronto)
Jen Pilles (Oakville, ON)
Laura Calvi (Halifax, NS)
Laurie Kang (Toronto)
Margaret Flood (Guelph, ON)
Margaret Legue (Forest, ON)
Morag Schonken (Halifax, NS)
Sheila Jonah (Toronto)
Simon Rabyniuk (Toronto)
Stephanie Cormier (Toronto)
Stephanie Vegh (Hamilton, ON)
Sylvia Ziemann (Regina, SK)

The Portable Library Project is organized and curated by Tara Bursey.

Poster design: Tara Bursey

Sonja Ahlers' The Selves on TCA

A review I wrote of Sonja Ahlers' exhibition The Selves (up until Tuesday at Magic Pony) was just posted on Toronto Craft Alert. Check it out here.

The Selves is also the title of Sonja's new book on Drawn and Quarterly.