Packing for TIFF

Heading to Toronto for the first time in about three years to see friends, friends of the family and of course TIFF!  Bought a couple of tickets for some shorts I worked on and the British mini-series Southcliffe directed by Sean Durkin of the Martha Marcy May Marlene fame.  Our visit will be quick and dirty and jam packed.  Commence the bag stuffing of the travel/wardrobe essentials.

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Of course by essentials I mean three pairs of shoes and a pair of flip flops for four days.  This picture does not even include outerwear and sweaters, but with all the erratic weather we've been having this summer you just never know.

Chihuly.MBAM.MMFA

The latest mega show at Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal is Chihuly:Utterly Breathtaking featuring multiple site specific installations of the renown American blown glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly.  Back when the show opened in June I thought that this would be a great exhibit to attend with my mother, who was a smitten fan from the very first time we eyed Chihuly's work at a modest gallery in Toronto's Distillery District.  I gave my mother a ring and proposed an art date, to which she replied: "I already saw the show."  Smitten fan indeed.  Fast forward a couple of months and I ventured into a crowded museum to catch the show before it was too late.

The show is composed of eight installations and one of the most stunning is the Chandeliers and Tower room.  Holy STUNNING! The non-functional chandeliers are suspended over a small platform topped with black plexi that provide a reflection and another perspective of the works.

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Citron Balboni Chandelier, 2013

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looking at the underside of the chandeliers, into the plexiglass base 

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getting up close to the anemone-esque Pallazo Ducale Tower (1996) and its steel armature

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The tower seen through its reflection

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The reflection of Crystal Turquoise Chandelier (2010)

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As a fan of Dan Flavin and neon works, it was a wonderful surprise (no, I don't read up on an exhibit before a visit-suspense!) that Chihuly's argon and neon Glass Forest made an appearance.

Glass Forest #6 (2013) was one of the installations specifically designed for the Museum.  I couldn't help but conjure the image of melting, deformed flamingos

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last look, from the back of the room

Salicornia & Elderberry

In movie making mode at the moment, so throwing down another food post.  Been jonesing to share my deep deep thoughts on Spring Breakers, but that'll have to be for another time.

I first crunched into a salicornia back when Sardine still had its dinner service.**  The sourced ingredients were local and my eyes practically popped out of my head when the salty watery plant (not dissimilar to purslane) hit my palate. Yum!  A recent meal featured this succulent delicacy and sent me on a mission to Jean-Talon market on the hunt to give it a home in my fridge.  Success!

 This little beauties are again courtesy of Les Jardins d'Ambroise.  These itty-bitty elderberries are making their first time appearance in my belly.  Please come again.

**UPDATE 17.09.13: Sardine has reinstated dinner today! With chef Hachiro Fujise of Guu Church at the helm**

Carrots in Love

Year one was awesome.
Year two with Les Jardins d'Ambroisie has been equally fruitful. Pun totally intended.  This week's veggie basket has given us a bunch of insanely delicious carrots (not your blah grocery store kind), in which two have intertwined in a love embrace.  And then they sloshed around together in my belly.

La Maison du Pêcheur

The September issue of Elle Québec's culture section features four actors (styled by yours truly, lensed by Julie Artacho) who star in the soon to be released La Maison du pêcheur, a film chronicling the encounter of the young revolutionaries in Percé that would culminate in the October Crisis of 1970.

For those not from La belle province, let me just say that politics and language are at the heart of this culture despite being made out to be all about a cool artist/music scene by the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin etc, which I would argue stems indirectly from our politics.  While Québec politics is too dense of a subject to be covered in this post, whether one considers the FLQ terrorists or freedom fighters, what was imminent in this province was change for a distinct society in an anglicized/Canadian mold.  While I don't condone any acts of violence, what I keep in mind is: it is never that simple.  My brain first started processing these complicated ideas when it was twelve years old, upon meeting the grandson of Pierre Laporte in high school, where the history I had learned in class was staring at me in the face.

tiff.festival'13

Super stoked to learn that two projects that I did the costumes for will be playing at the juggernaut of a festival: the Toronto International Film Festival (tiff is alot easier no?)

First up, Daybreak or Éclat du jour directed by Ian Lagarde about a group of kids on bikes, rebellion and pack mentality.  Some behind the scenes images here.

Film number two is The Sparkling River directed by Felix&Paul.  This 3D short has undergone various incarnations and had received the Guillaume Corbeil touch in its final stages.  We shot this many many moons ago, and I have yet to see the end result!

Here I will take a moment to say that a dear friend, Daniel Allen Cox has co-written Gerontophilia with THE Bruce LaBruce, Canadian queer filmmaker/artist extraordinaire.  I don't know how many more excuses I need to go to tiff now.

Shoes on a Line - Part Two

I wanted to call this post "shoes on a line-the return!" but that would imply that they have returned to the same spot as last year's apparition.  These are in the same neighbourhood though, I saw them as I was biking and u-turned to take a snap.  What is it about these that are so captivating?