Todd Duckwork, Quelemia Sparrow, and Kevin Loring perform in The Edward Curtis Project.

THE EDWARD CURTIS PROJECT
More than 80 years after photographer Edward Curtis documented the First Nations, which he called a “vanishing people,” Métis/Dené playwright Marie Clements and photojournalist Rita Leistner embarked on a journey to re-contextualize his findings. The result is a phenomenal multi-disciplinary theatre production contrasting Curtis’ findings and the contemporary landscapes and people encountered by these two women. Directed by Clements, The Great Canadian Theatre Company provides an insightful glimpse into modern First Nations communities throughout North America. From $36. Until Sunday, April 21. See website for show times. Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, 1233 Wellington St. W., www.gctc.ca.

POTTERY SALE AND EXHIBITION (FREE!)
Fifty Ottawa ceramic artists and potters have been wedging, trimming, glazing, and firing up a storm in preparation for the annual Ottawa Guild of Potters Spring Sale and Juried Exhibition. The Ottawa Guild of Potters celebrates their 40th anniversary this year, and will kick off the weekend with a vernissage at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Come browse the creations of local potters, and find a uniquely hand crafted pot or sculpture to call your own! Thursday, April 11, to Sunday, April 14. See website for exhibition hours. Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Blvd., www.shenkmanarts.ca.

THE COTTAGE AND BACKYARD SHOW
There might be a snowstorm in the forecast, but that won’t stop us from picturing days spent at the lake or dinners on the patio. The Cottage and Backyard Show rolls into town to get your outdoor space equipped for some fun in the sun. Join in seminars on gardening, grilling, and landscaping with resident experts to brush up on your knowledge of the season. And don’t miss out on this weekend of prizes, contests, and exhibitors to renew your holiday haven. $12, $10 online, children 17 and under free. Friday, April 12 to Sunday, April 14. See website for show hours. Ernst and Young Centre, 4899 Uplands Dr., www.caneastshows.ca/Cottage-Home.

SOMETHING’S AFOOT!
In their 10th anniversary year, Theatre Wakefield is celebrating their 45^th stage production with the murder-mystery musical spoof Something’s Afoot! Based on the works of Agatha Christie, you’ll be riveted as singing, dancing, and sleuthing take to a two-storey stage to reveal which of his guests murdered Lord Rancour. With nearly one-fifth of Wakefield’s population involved with this production in one way or another, this play is a testament to the importance of theatre in the community. $18, $15 in advance. Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. Wakefield-La Pêche Community Centre, 38 Valley Dr., Wakefield, www.theatrewakefield.ca.

Harlan Pepper plays the Black Sheep Inn on Friday night. Photo by Brian O’Brien.

HARLAN PEPPER AND THE STRUMBELLAS
The Black Sheep Inn is rockin’, and you should come a knockin’! Hamilton quartet Harlan Pepper boasts and eclectic blend of country, hard rock, blues, and folk. Sharing the stage with them are Juno-nominated, bluegrass-inspired indie rockers the Strumbellas, who are off to Regina for the Junos next week. This smashing six-piece group delivers high-energy sound and big pop hooks that are guaranteed to stick with you long after the last note. $10. Friday, April 12, 8:30 p.m. The Black Sheep Inn, 753 Riverside Dr., Wakefield, Qbc., www.theblacksheepinn.com.

DANCING AURORAE
What do the North Pole and the South Pole have in common? Luminous curtains of polar lights! Known to the Cree as “The Dance of the Spirits,” polar lights have had many names and various explanations throughout history. At this family workshop, kids ages four to 12 can learn more about this awe-inspiring astronomical phenomenon, and make a colourful take-home craft. $12, students and seniors $10, children three to 12 $8, children two and under free. Friday, April 12, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Canada Science and Technology Museum, 1867 St Laurent Blvd., www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca.

OTTAWA GALA: OTTAWA’S BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Throw on your glad rags and get dolled up for a night on the town! The Ottawa Gala is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and fittingly this year’s event takes us back to the Roaring Twenties. Hooch will be flowing, jazz will rock the joint, and flappers will dance the night away. With all proceeds going to local initiatives to alleviate the effects of poverty on children and families, this ritzy soiree is truly the cat’s meow. $70. Saturday, April 13, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Government Conference Centre, 2 Rideau St., english.ottawagala.com.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S SHOW
Craving a girls’ weekend? With over 250 exhibitors, the National Women’s Show offers something for all the ladies, offering everything from food and wine sampling to home renovation advice. Celebrity guests include fashion designers, psychics, dance teachers, career coaches, and Brad and Bianka from The Bachelor Canada (how could you not go?). Grab your girlfriends and show up early so you don’t miss out on a limited number of goodie bags! $12, children 12 and under free. Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14. See website for show times and vendor information. Ottawa Convention Centre, 55 Colonel By Dr., www.nationalwomenshow.com.

KIDSFEST: 12^TH ANNUAL PARENT AND KIDS SHOW
Bring your brood down to the 12^th annual edition of Kidsfest. Stage shows, interactive exhibits, and educational demonstrations will captivate the kids (until Dora and Diego wander by!) For the little divas, Capital Kid Idol offers a chance to sing their way to the top. And for all you parents? Check out exhibits about family travel and summer camps to help plan your summer. $15.50, children two to 17 $11, children two and under free. Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ernst and Young Centre, 4899 Uplands Dr., www.kidsfestottawa.ca.

The post WEEKENDER: The Edward Curtis Project, the great outdoors, and a girls’ day out — plus 6 more events that offer something for everyone appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Carnival III, Jacmel, 2011 © Benoit Aquin

The spectacular Haitian exhibition Vodou, which opened last year at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, will continue as the main show at the museum throughout the coming summer.

So, if you saw the show already and became intrigued with Haitian culture, then you might be interested in a new Haitian photo exhibition at the McCord Museum in Montreal.

The exhibition is titled Haiti: Chaos and Daily Life and contains dozens of large-scale colour photographs, some terrifying and some moving, by internationally renowned Montreal photographer Benoit Aquin, whose work is found in several prestigious collections, including that of the National Gallery of Canada.

The backdrop for the photographs is the 7.3 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010, that killed 220,000 people, injured 300,000 others and left 1 million homeless. Much of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was left in ruins. Much rebuilding still needs to be done.

There are many images of destruction, bodies in the streets, ruined buildings, makeshift outdoor hospitals. The most poignant scene shows a pile of rubble covering a woman. All we can see of her is one hand sticking out of the mess. There is pink nail polish on her swollen fingers.

But there are also photographs showing Haitians’ lust for life, wearing outlandish costumes, dancing and generally partying in the annual pre-lenten carnivals that came just a few months after the quake. No quake could stop those parties.

Ceremony II, Souvenance, 2011 © Benoit Aquin

Some of those carnival scenes were shot in the seaside town of Jacmel, where I holidayed a few times in the 1970s and fell in love with this vibrant community of lively street bands, tasty Caribbean food, and French colonial buildings. Some of those buildings I recognized. It was like seeing photos of a friend after a car crash.

Some of the images show scenes of voodoo ceremonies. Many are of women caught up in a voodoo frenzy, their eyes rolled back in their heads, as they move jerkily like marionettes. In one scene, a group of white-clothed women perform some unnamed ceremony in a muddy, rushing river. They can barely keep their heads above the waterline – a metaphor for all of Haiti these days.

Alongside the photographs are poignant quotations from a book called The World is Moving Around Me: A Memoir of the Haiti Earthquake by Haitian-Canadian author, Dany Laferrière.

Haiti: Chaos and Daily Life continues at the McCord Museum, 690 Sherbrooke St. W. in downtown Montreal until May 12. McGill is the closest Metro stop. For information visit www.mccord-museum.qc.ca.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER ROAD TRIP: A photo exhibit in Montreal shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of Haiti appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Rosalie Favell, "I Awoke to Find My Spirit had Returned." See the photo of Xena on the wall?

Ottawa photo-artist Rosalie Favell has an alter-ego and it’s none other than the supernatural cult heroine, Xena, Princess Warrior.

Images of the kitschy Xena pop up all over the place in Favell’s new photo exhibition at Cube Gallery. Favell poses as Xena, or places a small image of the Princess Warrior in the most unlikeliest of places, including the bedroom wall of little Dorothy (Favell, actually) awakening after her magical experiences in the land of Oz.

Originally from Winnipeg, Favell is not the only Canadian celebrity to appropriate Xena. Mary Walsh’s over-the-top CBC television character of Marg Delahunty, Princess Warrior, has for many years been wielding a sword, “smiting” Canadian politicians from the prime minister on down. Let’s just say Favell’s Xena has more class than Walsh’s loud-mouthed version.

Favell’s work is familiar to visitors to the National Gallery of Canada and its offspring, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, as well as Ottawa Art Gallery and Karsh-Masson Gallery. But Favell is not a regular at commercial art galleries in Ottawa, so this exhibition at Cube is a rare opportunity to purchase some of her work, which varies from mischievous to thought-provoking.

The exhibition contains work both old and new. My particular favourites are the tweaked images of Xena and a series of extreme close-ups of porcelain flowers used to decorate graves in France. The flowers have an otherworldly glow.

One photograph of a painting of the Virgin Mary looks very ordinary until you realize the face of the saint is actually the face of Favell’s mother. Nearby is a poster-sized image of Ganesha, the Hindu deity with an elephant’s head. But look closely: The body of Ganesha in this case is an image of Favell as child. That gal Rosalie/Xena really gets around

Many of the photo-works are a tribute to Favell’s late father Doug and his brother Gerry. As children, the two boys were inseparable. As adults, they died within a week of each other. Favell has paired old family snaps of the two boys with images of clouds, airplanes, and landscapes.

Favell won the 2012 Karsh Award, which is given every two years to an Ottawa photographer who has produced over the years an exceptional body of work. Favell certainly deserved that award.

The exhibition of Favell’s work at Cube Gallery continues until May 5. The vernissage takes place this Sunday, April 7, from 2-4 p.m. Cube is located as 1285 Wellington St. W.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: Meet photo-artist Rosalie Favell, Ottawa’s own Princess Warrior, whose images of Xena pop up in unusual places appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Relieve the magic that was the Beatles with Day Tripper: The Beatles Experience on Thursday night.

DAY TRIPPER: THE BEATLES EXPERIENCE
Though it’s been almost 45 years since The Beatles last played together publicly on a London rooftop, you’ll feel as though it was only “Yesterday” as you behold The Beatles Experience. Four accomplished Montreal musicians take the stage as John, Paul, George, and Ringo, reviving the nuances, mannerisms, and musicianship of the band that forever changed the world. From Beatlemania to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to Abbey Road, this concert will have you twisting and shouting for more. $51. Thursday, April 4, 8 p.m. Salle Odysée, 855 boule. de la Gappe., Gatineau, www.beatlesexperience.com.

EXTRAORDINARY ARCTIC FESTIVAL
As the weather (hopefully) warms up in the city, things are cooling off at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Extraordinary Arctic Festival kicks off this weekend, featuring films, storytelling, performing arts, games, and activities. Coinciding with the 100^th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (a scientific expedition in the Arctic Circle), the Festival’s feature exhibit, Flora of the Canadian Arctic, contrasts flora specimens from 1912 and 2012. Get out and discover the remarkable heritage of Canada’s far north! $12, students and seniors $10, children $8, children three and under free. Thursday, April 4, to Sunday, April 28, Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St., www.nature.ca.

ORIGINALS: THE SPRING CRAFT SALE
Could your home, garden, or wardrobe use some updating? A bit of pizazz? A trip to Originals should help to liven things up. A wide selection of fine handmade work from 180 artists, artisans, and designers make it easy to shop for Mother’s Day (or treat yourself!), plus brides-to-be should check out Saturday’s bridal “party” day, featuring dress designers and celebrity wedding planner Stacey Price. $7 (weekend pass), youth (13-17) and seniors $4, children 12 and under free. Thursday, April 4, to Sunday, April 7. See website for show hours. Ottawa Convention Centre, 55 Colonel By Dr., www.originalsshow.ca.

OTTAWA ANTIQUE SHOW
If you’ve been keeping an eye out for a timeless treasure, you may find a little piece of the past to call your own at the Ottawa Antique Show. This year’s show hosts over 50 vendors offering accessories, artwork, and furnishings for sale. With a variety of items and a wide range of price points, there’s a hidden gem here for everyone. $10 (weekend pass), 18 and under free. Friday, April 5, to Sunday, April 7. See website for show hours. Carleton University Fieldhouse, Bronson Avenue at Sunnyside Avenue, www.ottawaantiqueshow.ca.

ART THROB @ JUNXION
Get out of the house and get into house music at JunXion! This night of festivities benefits Ottawa arts programs by raising money for youth scholarships at the Ottawa School of Art (OSA), and the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO). Your heart will be racing on the dance floor as local musicians Zoo Legacy, NDMA, and Silkken Laumann spin an eclectic mix of house, hip-hop, electro, indie, and rock all night long. From $10. Friday, April 5, 9 p.m. The JunXion Public House, 15 George St., www.artthrob.eventbrite.com.

MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON’S
Jealousy rears its ugly head at The Howard Johnson Motor Inn as members of a love triangle collide and murderous plots begin to take form. Three scenes deliver three failed murder scenarios, as different members of the triangle side with one another to assassinate the third party. The Phoenix Players deliver a riotous dark comedy will have you in stitches! $18, students and seniors $15. Until April 13. See website for show times. The Gladstone, 910 Gladstone Ave., www.phoenixplayers.ca.

YOGA ZONE FUNDRAISER
The Adi Shesha Yoga Studio offers more than just yoga to make you feel good. This Saturday afternoon, spend your time and money at the Grand Fundraising Bazaar to raise funds for a life-saving kidney transplant needed by a 17-year-old Nepalese boy. Food, drink, entertainment, and yoga giveaways set the scene as you browse a wide variety of items on sale, generously donated by local businesses, artisans, and restaurants. Donations welcomed. Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Adi Shesha Yoga Studio, 1338 ½ Wellington St. W., www.adishesha.com.

INSIDE THE MUSIC: OTTAWA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (FREE!)
Ever wondered how an orchestra comes together so beautifully? Bring the family and get a behind the scenes look with OrKidstra and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. As the OSO prepares for Monday night’s concert A Russian Celebration, kids can watch and listen as David Currie directs and perfects the sound of the symphony. Kids will partake in activities led by OrKidstra musicians, and will even have the opportunity to conduct a small ensemble themselves. Light refreshments will follow the fun. Sunday, April 7, 2.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. NAC, Southam Hall, 53 Elgin St., www.ottawasymphony.com.

The post WEEKENDER: The Beatles Experience, a cool art party, and an orchestra outing for families are on the bill this April weekend appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Reid McLachlan, "Northward." Oil on canvas, 71 x 61 cm, 2012.

Ontario artists can only be envious. Every two years, or sometimes three, Loto-Québec sponsors an exhibition at Galerie Montcalm in Hull for artists living in the Outaouais. It’s a competition of sorts, with the winners – and there are often several winners – having their work purchased and then incorporated into the vast Loto-Québec art collection for display in public buildings around the province.

In Ontario, most large cities, including Ottawa, have an art purchasing program, but the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. does not have a program similar to Quebec’s to benefit the province’s artists.

The current Loto-Québec show at Galerie Montcalm is called Reperage Collection Loto-Quebec. The word “reperage” is a muscular one with many meanings. In this instance, the exhibition title can mean “tracking” art for the Loto-Québec collection.

In each of the Loto-Québec competitions, Outaouais artists are invited to make submissions to be included in the exhibition at Galerie Montcalm. About 80 works were submitted this year. A jury picked 37 of them to be exhibited and it is from this group of 37 that Loto-Québec will decide which ones to purchase.

Now, one would think that Loto-Québec would send its art-buyers to Hull to view the exhibition and pick the best works. Alas, bureaucracies do not work this way. Instead, all 37 works will be shipped to Montreal. The ones purchased will remain there and the rest returned to Hull.

One can only hope that Paula Murray’s exquisite, meditative, but very fragile looking porcelain and wood arrangement called “Sanctuary,” can survive one, possibly two, trips down the Trans-Canada. Murray, being a pro, has probably taken all that into account.

Rebecca Mason, "Poplar Stand." Watercolour on Japanese paper. 58 x 31 cm, 2012.

The Canadian Conservation Institute, a federal agency researching the best ways to preserve and repair artworks, actually does crash tests to determine how big a bump ceramic items can take before cracking. Perhaps the institute has a handy guide made available to Murray.

Now, if I had been asked by Loto-Québec what works to buy, my first choice would have been Murray’s installation. I also fell for Johanne Lafreniere’s brilliant photo, “Je m’imagine, je m’imagine,” of a woman, the image having been captured from a video and projected unto a pitted steel plate and given a smooth plexi-glass finish. And who could not fall in love with Andree Prefontaine’s 28-second video “O Divine” showing an organic object, possibly a halved strawberry, moving like some man-eating plant looking for prey?

Of course, I dare not recommend the purchase of paintings in the show by such artists as Jean-Francois Provost, Reid McLachlan and Becky Mason. I own paintings by these three very different artists. Someone would surely say I was in a conflict of interest if I suggested their three works should be purchased, possibly boosting the artists’ overall standing and market value. Anyway, do take a look at these three paintings. Just don’t say I sent you.

Reparage Collection Loto-Québec continues at Galerie Montcalm, 25 rue Laurier in Hull, until April 21.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: Some Outaouais artists are about to win the “art lottery” by having their works purchased by Loto-Québec appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

One of the images from Kenneth Emig's exhibit "Equinox."

Sculptor Kenneth Emig is really a magician. Savouring his handiwork is like watching a truly professional magic act in which you are constantly torn between simply being thrilled with the experience and obsessively trying to figure out how it all works.

Emig’s art is all light and mirrors bundled up in what he calls “architectural light boxes.” Think of when you were last at a clothing shop, tried on a new outfit, admired yourself in a mirrored alcove, and suddenly saw your reflection again and again, right into infinity. Now, reduce that kind of experience to a large box, suitable for hanging on a wall, and you have Emig’s magic art. You could even call it kinetic art because what you see hanging on the wall contains “fictional space” that becomes “elastic space” that stretches into infinity and shape-shifts depending upon the angle you are at and the intensity of the light in the room.

Back in the 1960s, there was movement called “op art.” Those works were usually paintings of mind-bending geometric shapes that seemed to dance before your eyes. Emig’s work is like that but in 3D, a sensory experience that stretches the conventional definitions of art.

An exhibition of Emig’s unusual work titled Equinox runs from March 21 to April 9 at Galerie St. Laurent + Hill in the ByWard Market. Emig gave me an advance peek at the works while they were still at his studio at Enriched Bread Artists. He was planning on putting eight works in the exhibition. The biggest, when installed on a wall, is shaped like a diamond 78 inches high and 78 inches wide. The rest look about half that size.

This is Emig’s first major solo show in the Ottawa area since 2007, when he took over the vast exhibition spaces of AXENEO7 in Hull. More recently, in September 2011, Emig exhibited work in the Moscow Biennale. This coming summer he will join other Enriched Bread Artists for a show in The Netherlands.

Emig’s architectural light boxes are made of wood that have been painted black on the outside and either red, orange, or bluish-mauve in the inside. Light fixtures of two concentric circular fluorescent tubes are hidden in the box. When the tubes are lit, they interact with strategically placed mirrors so that the viewer sees reflections of reflections stretching to infinity.

This is art for the whole family. Even young kids should enjoy the show. But they will surely start asking their parents how exactly these things work.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: Kenneth Emig’s new sculpture exhibition at Galerie St. Laurent + Hill is all light, mirrors, and magic appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Vera Saltzman's "Debbie and Dolly" is part of the exhibit SPAO: APPLIED at Exposure Gallery.

The best part of visiting contemporary art exhibitions is the discovery of a previously unknown major talent.

Such was the case upon catching the new show by the School for the Photographic Arts: Ottawa at Exposure Gallery. Each of the photographs on display is from a student or teacher at SPAO who received special recognition during the past decade from Applied Arts magazine. So, consider the show something akin to SPAO’s greatest hits since 2002.

One particular, devilishly ambiguous, slightly creepy image jumped out at me. It is titled “Debbie and Dolly” by Vera Saltzman, a former student of SPAO now living in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask. I was unfamiliar with Saltzman’s work. I soon rectified that.

Saltzman’s image shows a mature woman holding a child’s doll. What is going on in this picture? Is Dolly some cherished item from Debbie’s childhood? Is Debbie a little off her rocker and still playing with dolls? Is the photographer just playing with our head?

Clearly, this photo called for some research. Google came to the rescue and I checked out Saltzman’s website and encountered many examples of her fine work, including some absolutely fabulous faux-antique images of Ottawa architecture and some haunting pictures of hardscrabble prairie architecture.

“Debbie and Dolly” is part of a series Saltzman created called Sue and Winnie, in which several adult women are posed with a doll from their own childhood. Here is how Saltzman describes the series on her website:

“Sigmund Freud believed the uncanny to be something which leads us back to what is old and familiar but is at the same time “unheimlich” or uncomfortable. This series explores the idea of the uncanny as it manifests in a longing for youth, and a recognition of mortality.

“Driven by the nostalgia of our lost childhood, many of us have kept our dolls: sitting on a shelf, buried in a box in a closet, locked in an attic. In these portraits, women over 40 are posed with their childhood dolls. Each doll serves as an entry point into the history of our life which is both strange and familiar. In my photographic survey I consider the rediscovery of these doll-mementos, which lead these women to recall a past of comfort and security. It’s hard to imagine a time and place when we would have played with these dolls. As young girls we spent hours with them. Our friend and confident, they kept us safe at bedtime, while comforting us during stressful times. Those days are gone forever, yet eternally present as evidenced by the doll: an assurance of a past.”

Saltzman’s work is not the only show-stopper in the Exposure show, the first in a series of exhibitions at this gallery to be mounted by SPAO during the coming year. It’s just that I was already familiar with the work of such gifted photographers in the show as Leslie Hossack, Olivia Johnston, Tony Fouhse, and Colin Crowell.

The show is titled SPAO: APPLIED and it continues at Exposure Gallery, 1255 Wellington St. W. atop Thyme & Again, until April 29.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: The Artful Blogger stumbles upon a major talent at SPAO’s new show at Exposure Gallery appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Meaghan Haughian, Beyond Hibernation. Mixed media & collage on paper, 15 x 11 inches, 2013.

We are all products of our landscape. Canadians have more in common with such fellow northerners as Swedes and Finns than we do with more southerly Egyptians and Mexicans.

Ottawa artist Meaghan Haughian has taken that truism to heart. The result is a new body of work, Winter Garden, on view at La Petite Mort Gallery until March 31.

Haughian is a collage artist who has taken old photographs, including some of her grandmother, and painted around them to produce a series of dreamy, haunted images in which female figures literally seem to sprout from the landscape. The figures and the landscape are inseparable.

In this recent interview, Haughian discusses her work.

What inspired this particular body of work?
A family friend died of cancer last spring, which caused me to revisit cemeteries. I had photographed a few European cemeteries almost 10 years ago (some of these are exhibited in Winter Garden). These photos have existed in my studio for several years but I’ve never been able to show them. I visited Beechwood Cemetery last summer with my camera. This resulted in dozens of photographs of fake flowers from the graves of individuals. I used these photos to create a big garden of nearly 60 framed flowers for an installation at Blink Gallery last August called Practice Saying Goodbye. I wanted to capture colour and beauty during a time of sadness, and to create a quiet, soothing space for reflection. So a number of things in the past year have led me to explore gardens and growth/decay. I realize that there is much sadness in my work… but I seek to express the beauty in that sadness, and within beauty there is hope.

Meaghan Haughian. Perennial visitation (every spring I feel you here), mixed media & collage on paper, 22.5 x 30 inches, 2013.

Do you see these works as autobiographical?
All of my pieces have an element of autobiography, though I don’t consider them autobiographical. I explore ideas and feelings that have had a profound influence on me. Merging these elements with fiction is a reflective process that helps me understand the world and allows me to connect with others about our shared experiences.

What attracts you to the medium of collage?
I love the process of grouping images together, especially disparate ones. It’s like a puzzle that nags at me until I’ve found a solution — the solution being a pairing of images that results in new relationships and makes me see something in a new way. Using other imagery also allows me to reference elements, eras, etc., that are outside of my limited life experience, which I feel is important and strengthens my work.

What’s next on your agenda?
Except for getting married in October, I don’t have any major plans, which is refreshing! I’m looking forward to spending time in the studio without a specific project in mind. I did purchase a giant roll of paper almost a year ago that I’ve been scared to touch… I think I’ll be hanging it up soon.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: Female figures sprout from the landscape in Meaghan Haughian’s new show at La Petite Mort Gallery appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

Don McCullin. American soldiers, Checkpoint Charlie, West Berlin, August 1961. Gelatin silver print. © Don McCullin / Contact Press Images.

Some journalists were having lunch the other day with Marc Mayer, director of the National Gallery of Canada, and suddenly found themselves asking: What is art?

Specifically, do the photographs of British photojournalist Don McCullin qualify as art? Or are his dramatic images from war zones, famines, and decrepit neighbourhoods simply photojournalism?

There is a splendid exhibition of McCullin’s work at the National Gallery these days and Mayer certainly believes the photographs on display are art, although McCullin himself is most uncomfortable being called an artist. As Mayer says, these are not lucky shots by a photographer who happened to be in the right place at the right time during a career stretching back a half century. No, these are consistently high quality, powerful images created under extreme conditions that, together, deliberately create a body of work with a purpose: To draw attention to the victims of aggression, poverty, and discrimination.

Mayer is right. McCullin’s photographs of soldiers and their victims in Biafra, Congo, Cyprus, Vietnam, Lebanon, Berlin, and other world hot spots of the last 50 years are as much art as are the images created by war artists recording battles, not with a camera, but with paint and canvas.

An excellent essay in the exhibition catalogue by National Gallery curator Katherine Stauble compares McCullin’s work to the famous – or is that infamous? – drawings of death and torment by Francisco de Goya during the Napoleonic Wars in Spain and of the horrific drawings and paintings by German artist Otto Dix, a soldier himself, during the First World War.

Don McCullin. Protester, Cuban missile crisis, Whitehall, London, 1962. Gelatin silver print. © Don McCullin / Contact Press Images.

In discussions about his work, Stauble writes in the catalogue, McCullin often evokes Goya, particularly in reference to his first war assignment, in Cyprus, where he came upon a massacre site and became aware of his “painter’s” sensibility.

“I started composing my pictures in a very serious and dignified way,” McCullin later reflected. “It was the first time I had pictured something of this immense significance and I felt as if I had a canvas in front of me and I was, stroke by stroke, applying the composition to a story that was telling itself. I was, I realized later, trying to photograph in a way that Goya painted or did his war sketches.”

An image from the civil war in Cyprus in 1964 is, indeed, one of the most dramatic images in the exhibition. A Turkish-Cypriot woman has just learned her husband was killed by Greek-Cypriot militia. Her look of anguish is unforgettable and perfectly sums up the horrors of all wars.

Even more horrific are the images from the famine in Biafra in 1969 showing children who have been reduced to stick figures. One particularly haunting picture shows a starving baby fruitlessly trying to suck milk from the flattened breasts of his emaciated mother.

The McCullin exhibition continues at the National Gallery until April 14.

Featured image on the Ottawa Magazine homepage: Don McCullin. US marine throwing grenade, Tet Offensive, Hué, South Vietnam, February 1968. Gelatin silver print. © Don McCullin / Contact Press Image.

The post ARTFUL BLOGGER: One of the leading war photographers of the 20th century exhibits his “art” at the National Gallery appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.

At the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, the film "Seasons" explores water in its frozen and expanded form. Photo by Mike Leeds.

WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL
In this one-day-only film festival, you get the chance to catch an eclectic mix of films tied to the theme of water protection and conservation. The Ottawa Riverkeeper hosts and all proceeds go to protecting the Ottawa River. The river won’t be the only thing winning: in addition to the compelling films being shown, there will be a silent auction and raffle. Thursday, February 21, $12, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington St., www.ottawariverkeeper.ca/events.

BUST A MOVE AND TEAM TITTY TARTS’ BOOBIE BALL
The event’s name might be silly, but the cause is anything but. Come out to Lobby Nightclub for a fun evening benefitting the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation and “help save second base.” The evening kicks off with a VIP reception. 19+. Friday, February 22, 9 p.m. $30. Lobby Nightclub, 158 ½ Rideau St., www.ottawacancer.ca.

CARTE BLANCHE: 3 O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON
Choreographer Ina Christel Johannessen brings Norway’s National Company of Contemporary Dance to Ottawa for the first time, directing 12 dancers in an event combining the visual arts, theatre, poetry, and movement. From $38. Friday, February 22, and Saturday, February 23, 7:30 p.m. National Arts Centre, 53 Elgin St., www.nac-cna.ca.

BALL & CHAIN AND SWAMPERELLA
Mardi Gras is over, but its spirit lives on with Louisiana-style bands Ball and Chain and Swamperella. The evening opens with a free dance lesson and there will be authentic Cajun food served at the break. $12. Saturday, February 23, 8:30 p.m. Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank St., www.irenespub.ca.

MEDIA AND CELEBRITY PHOTO CONTEST AUCTION (FREE!)
Ottawa’s media and celebrity personalities come together through photography to show us why they love this city. Get the chance to meet a few of the celebrity participants, vote for your favourite, and take part in a silent auction benefitting the Ottawa Food Bank. Saturday, February 23, 12 p.m. to 8:83 p.m. Ottawa Studio Works, 160 Preston Street, www.ottawastudioworks.com.

TREEPOT MEDIA INDIE DOUBLE BILL
There’s no talent like local talent. Come see what two of Ottawa’s up-and-coming filmmakers have to offer in Algebra, directed by Treepot Media founder Jith Paul, and Thirteen Downs, directed by Karim Ayari. Algebra won the award for best technical quality in the invited category at the 2012 Digi60 Filmmaker’s Festival, and Thirteen Downs premiered at the 2012 Ottawa Film Festival. $10. Saturday, February 23, 7 p.m. Algonquin Commons Theatre, 1385 Woodroffe Ave., www.treepotmedia.com.

CHEMISTRY MAGIC SHOW (FREE!)
Carleton University’s Chemistry Department invites you and your family to peek into the magic of science. You won’t believe what’s happening before your eyes as mysterious substances explode, change colour, and even glow in the dark. There’s a hands-on component too, so young scientists can make their own Olympic medals, create slime, and more. In place of an entrance fee, guests are encouraged to donate a non-perishable item for the Food Bank. Saturday, February 23, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Theatre B, Southam Hall, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., www.carleton.ca/~jmanthor.

DIANA KRALL
The talented and Grammy Award winning Diana Krall arrives in Ottawa for two shows. The tour follows the release of Krall’s latest album, Glad Rag Doll, her 21st century take on the music of the ’20s and ’30s. What’s old is new again as Krall takes on the treasures she found in the LP collection in her family home. From $85. Saturday, February 23, and Sunday, February 24, 8 p.m. National Arts Centre, 53 Elgin St., www.nac-cna.ca.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) by Danny Hussey.

DANNY HUSSEY AT THE CUBE GALLERY (FREE!)
Excellent news for art lovers: not only is Canadian artist Danny Hussey’s work on display at Cube Gallery, but the artist himself will be on hand for an evening vernissage and to discuss his projects, which combine plywood, paint, printing, and photography. This is Hussey’s first time at Cube, and you can expect to see a selection of his past work as well as newer installations. Artist’s Talk and Vernissage, Sunday, February 24, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; exhibit runs now until Sunday, March 3. Cube Gallery, 1285 Wellington St. W., www.cubegallery.ca.

MAYFAIR THEATRE LIVE OSCARS TELECAST
Who needs the Dolby (formally know as Kodak) Theatre when you’ve got the Mayfair? Ottawa’s beloved independent movie theatre presents the 85th Annual Academy Awards in a live telecast. Plus it’s free for members and licensed for alcohol. If you’re not a member, the entrance fee includes membership: reduced-price admissions for the year, because if you’re watching the Oscars you must be a movie buff, amiright? $10. Sunday, February 24, 8 p.m. The Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St., www.bank.mayfairtheatre.ca.

The post WEEKENDER: From the Wild & Scenic Film Fest to the Oscars telecast, 10 events to entertain you this weekend appeared first on Ottawa Magazine.