The April Fashion Calendar

Alexandra Kim: A Royal Presentation

April is a busy month for art and fashion related events. Here are selected highlights on the calendar!

April 3, 2013: Meet the Artists: Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Internationally renowned artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller share insights into their work and collaborative practice at 7 pm at the AGO.

April 5, 2013: Behind the Scenes at the Costume Institute. A talk by Chris Paulocik at the Royal Ontario Museum from 4-6 pm, presented by Friends of Textiles & Costumes.

April 10, 2013: Fashion Crimes. A panel discussion at the ROM on what it means to be Canadian in the fashion industry. BIG Business, BIG Pressure, BIG Names and BIG Hype.

Curator's Tour of Shine. Textile Museum of Canada. 630 pm. An exhibition tour that highlights the TMC collection as well as the work of contemporary artists Carmelo Arnoldin (Toronto), Ghost of a Dream (New York), Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky (San Francisco/Toronto).

April 11, 2013:  Mass Exodus at Ryerson University School of Fashion.

April 13, 2013:   A Royal Presentation: Curating the dress collection at Kensington Palace. A talk by Alexandra Kim at the Textile Museum of Canada at 130 pm, presented by the Costume Society of Ontario.

April 17-18, 2013: The Launch of Europeana Fashion - online digital platform - in Florence.

April 19, 2013: The Opening of Musée du costume et du textile du Québec (MCTQ) in Montreal.

April 29, 2013: Lectures related to the Exhibition Fashion, Impressionism and Modernity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, 3-5 pm, including a talk by Valerie Steele on the corset.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Update on the Violation of Copyright

Dear Friends,

After discovering that much of my blog has been copied onto another blogspot site without permission, credit or attribution, I made the decision to temporarily suspend my posts. The experience made me feel violated and cut off from my readers. Figuring out how to report the problem to Google was a challenge in itself, and while the problem has not totally been rectified by The Blogger Team, I am going to resume my posts in a limited way.

Some people have suggested that I write an article on blogs and copyright. This is messy territory with little precedent to follow. I am grateful for the many emails and words of support that I've received from my friends around the world, and it has been that response that has inspired me to continue, albeit I have to admit that I am now somewhat reluctant to share my original research on this forum. But my love of art, fashion and museums compels me to go on.

This morning, I will be attending the press preview for the exciting show Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The AGO exhibition will overlap with the upcoming opening of the exhibition 'Appearances Can be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo" at Museo Frida Kahlo in Mexico City from November 22, 2012 to November 22, 2013. Kahlo had such a distinctive style and the exhibition explores the ways Kahlo used fashion as a language to address the issues of ethnicity and disability - aspects that are also visible in her paintings. I want to share that and the many other wonderful intersections of art and fashion that cross my path. 

You will notice that I am now adding a notice of copyright to each post. I suggest that you all do the same, and take care in attributing your sources of photos and information.

Ingrid Mida

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Maharaja, The Splendour of India's Royal Courts

When life is a frantic mix of holiday parties, Christmas shopping and family get-togethers, taking the time to refresh and restore my spirit is a top priority. What better place to do that than in an art gallery? Gazing at beauty is almost a meditative act, bringing a sense of calm to my soul.

At the Art Gallery of Ontario, Maharaja, The Splendour of India's Royal Courts, organized in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum, features over 200 objects, including paintings, tapestry, thrones, weapons, and jewels, most on view in North America for the first time. Maha means "great" and raja means "king" and the exhibition features on an array of extraordinarily beautiful objects created for the 600 kings that ruled India before 1947.

One of the most opulent pieces of jewelery on display is the magnificent Patiala Necklace (pictured above), which was part of the largest single commission that the French house of Cartier has ever executed.  Completed in 1928 and restored in 2002, this piece of ceremonial jewellery contains 2,930 diamonds and weighs almost one thousand carats. When I toured the exhibition with curator Dr. Stephen Inglis,  adjunct curator of the exhibition and curator emeritus from the Canadian Museum of Civilization, he told me the story of how a Cartier employee discovered the platinum skeleton of this necklace in a London antique shop, stripped of most of the diamonds. It was purchased by Cartier and took two years to restore. Most of the larger diamonds have been replaced with cubic zirconia but it still is breathtaking in its beauty! As I gazed at it with longing, I suggested that I might like to try it on and I was told I was too tiny to wear such a thing. But a girl can dream....

Also on display, but not mentioned on the AGO website or press materials, are a selection of the loveliest saris I've ever seen, including a wedding sari that is so laden with gold that it would be a burden to wear.

If you fancy opulent jewels, beautiful garments, and extraordinary accessories, or you just want to step away from the frantic holiday pace, visit the AGO's Maharaja exhibit. Your eyes will sparkle with delight!

Maharaja, The Splendour of India's Royal Courts
November 20, 2010 - April 3, 2011
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West, Toronto
416-979-6648

Shary Boyle at the AGO

Shary Boyle is one of the very few Toronto-born artists who can say that their work has been featured at the Art Gallery of Ontario. And rarer still are the accolades that have been written about this show in the press. It is refreshing since it often seems that Canadians are slow to celebrate the talent of our own. And Shary is a huge talent, embracing a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation to explore issues of gender, power relationships and the frightening nature of the everyday.

Flesh and Blood is the title of Shary Boyle's exhibition at the AGO which runs until December 5. Included in this exhibition are Shary's exquisite porcelain sculptures, haunting oil paintings, and subversive multi-media installations. Presented adjacent to the AGO's European Galleries, the juxtaposition of this work alongside old masters highlights the enormous talent of this young artist.

In her artist statement, she writes: "We must speak openly of the essential: the animals and women we have underestimated for so long, when will their reckoning be? Our burdens of self, the unshakable tendencies making a lifetime - weaving in and out of every relation. The ache of our bodies, sweet or painful. Violence and loneliness coursing through us all. Transient elegance like an offering. Our hunger for love and acceptance plays like a projection, forever interrupted by shadows."

Last year, I met Shary Boyle during an artist talk at the Toronto School of Art. Her singular devotion to her work is very evident in her description of a typical day at the studio where she often works 12 to 14 hours. Shary uses drawing as a part of her practice, often drawing from her imagination and using 8.5x11 photocopy paper, because it is "not precious".  She described the process of learning to make porcelain sculptures as somewhat accidental, having bought some self-drying clay to make miniature sculptures to help her through the experience of grieving after the suicide of a close friend,  Matthew David Stein. That tiny, meticulous, fragile sculpture was created just for herself, and led her to seek out porcelain sculpture as a means to express her ideas. These exquisite sculptures look beautiful from a distance, but on closer examination, reveal much more.

Cover of Otherworld Uprising by Shary Boyle, Conundum Press, 2008

The key piece of advice that I took away from meeting Shary was this. Shary said that an artist needs to "give yourself permission to understand your experience in the world, and know what is important and unique to you".  

Shary Boyle will be in the gallery at the AGO tomorrow, Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 130 pm to speak about her work. This show will close on December 5th and then will travel to Montreal's Galerie de l'UQAM from January 7 to February 12 and then on to Vancouver's Contemporary Art Gallery June 17 to August 21, 2011.

P.S. Although I will never come remotely close to the acclaim of this hugely talented artist, I did notice some uncanny parallels in my life to that of Shary Boyle's. We were both born in Scarborough, both crave solitude, both like to draw on un-precious bits of paper, both are multi-media artists, both obsessed with death and were both affected by Matthew David Stein (she knew him as a friend and I received the Matthew David Stein scholarship).

Art and the Opera: Auguste Rodin's Sculpture Eustache de Saint Pierre

Eustache de Saint Pierre by August Rodin

I braved heavy rains to attend yesterday's unveiling of Auguste Rodin's bronze sculpture Eustache de Saint Pierre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.  On loan from the Art Gallery of Ontario to the Canadian Opera Company, the sculpture is positioned on the first landing of the grand staircase to best capture the light.

This 7 foot sculpture is one of Rodin's most important works and deals with imminent death, heroism and martyrdom. Created by Rodin in 1887 and cast in 1987, the sculpture was commissioned to commemorate an important incident which happened in Calais during the Hundred Years' War. In 1347, the English had blocked the French port for more than a year. The people of Calias were facing starvation and were forced to surrender. The King of England offered to spare the townfolk of any of six of the town leaders would offer themselves up for execution. The first to volunteer was Eustace de Saint Pierre and others soon followed his lead. In the end, the men were spared because the pregnant Queen persuaded her husband to have sympathy on the men as she believed their deaths would be a bad omen for her unborn baby.

On hand to supervise the installation and to answer questions were Michael Parke-Taylor, Curator of Modern Art and Margaret Haupt, Deputy Director, Collections Management and Conservation. In this photo, you get a sense of the sculpture's monumental scale.

Michael Parke-Taylor and Margaret Haupt and the Rodin sculpture

This sculpture, cast #6 of 8, was donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1992 by Joey and Toby Tanenbaum and has been in storage for several years during the recent renovation. It will be on display at the Four Seasons Centre for two years. If you have the opportunity to see it, look closely at the scale of the hands and feet. The slightly exaggerated size relative to the rest of the body conveys power and pathos. If you are walking or driving by Queen and University, look for the sculpture in the south-east corner of the building. During the COC season, the building itself becomes an art-installation with the audience playing the part of living sculpture pre-and-post-performance and during intermissions.

Photos by: Ingrid Mida 2010

In Conversation with Julian Schnabel

Untitled (Self-Portrait) copyright 2005 Julian Schnabel

I was one of the lucky ones who had a ticket to attend this evening's "Meet the Artist" event with American artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel.  Curator David Moos led the conversation with the artist who spoke with great eloquence and wit about the inspiration and creative process behind his paintings and films. 

David Moos and Julian Schnabel at the AGO
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2010

What I learned from Mr. Schnabel is that process of making art is more important to him than the end result. He referred to a painting by Cezanne that he saw that afternoon at the AGO in which the joy of its creation was evident on the canvas. In the practice of "making things", Schnabel said that it gives him "a feeling of what it means to be human" and that is the quality of the moment and the journey of making that thing that is important. He does not make drawings before beginning a painting; he simply begins by bonding with the subject, working to respect their vulnerability in creating a representation of their being on canvas. He knows when a painting is done because "everything just lines up". 

On the wall of the exhibition itself, there is this quote from Schnabel about process:  

"And whether it's the screen in a movie or whether it's the rectangle that is the perimeter of a painting, it's an arena where this battle takes place, between everything that you know and don't know. And I think that I apply the same system to both paintings and films. I don't know what it is going to look like when I'm done. I know how to start. I know how to lean towards the divine light. But I figure it out as I'm going along, and the process of doing, that's the thing."

For Schnabel, art is a means of transcending death. He said "in the act of making a representation of life, you are denying death". 

Schnabel credits his parents with giving him the belief that he could do anything and it was with that conviction that he made the seemless transition from being a painter to being a painter AND a filmmaker.  

This is an artist with a profound level of talent and creativity. Seeing his monumental works in person and hearing him speak left an inedible mark on me. I realized it is a gift to be able to paint and "make things" and I will endeavour to savour more moments of the process in my studio. 

If you cannot make it to this exhibition, the AGO has many podcasts and other features on its site to learn more about Julian Schnabel's work as a painter and director. Check out this link. 

Julian Schnabel at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art and Film
September 1, 2010 to January 2, 2011
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario Canada
416-979-6648

Playing with Pictures

Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and currently showing at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Playing with Pictures is an exhibition which celebrates the art of Victorian photocollage. In the 1860s and 1870s, photos of family and friends were cut-up and inserted into other backgrounds to create a whimsical and sometimes surreal image. For example, photos were inserted into the wings of a butterfly, the back of a turtle, a pickle jar, the head of an umbrella, the back of an envelope or onto a piece of luggage. Several albums of such images form the cornerstone of this exhibition.

Created mostly by aristocratic women of the time, the raw materials for this precursor to scrapbooking were cartes-de-vistre, small, inexpensive albumin photographs on thin pieces of cardboard. Trading photos with your friends and social circle was de rigeur. And to include the Prince of Wale's cartes-de-vistre in your album offered proof of high social standing.

This exhibition is a charming display of a largely forgotten Victorian past-time. Some of the pages on display show incredible skill in composition, layout and watercolour technique. (Unfortunately, the adjacent sound piece by Janet Cardiff is a bothersome distraction.) Given the ease with which photo manipulation takes place today, it is an amusing rediscovery of our innate desire to play with pictures.

If you like to play with pictures, the AGO is hosting an online exhibition of submissions. They offer three templates for download and can be posted to their Flickr group or emailed to  yourvoice@ago.net  For more info, go to http://artmatters.ca/wp/2010/06/play-with-pictures-and-win/

Playing with Pictures continues at the AGO until September 5, 2010.