A Must See: Magnetic North

SUMO ROBOT CHALLENGE 2009 at the Ontario College of Art and Design

Ghost Books

From the Yellow Staircase

At The Power Plant: GOLDIN+SENNEBY's Headless

GOLDIN+SENNEBY: Headless

With John Barlow (writer), Angus Cameron (economic geographer), Kate Cooper (filmmaker), K.D. (fictional author), Kim Einarsson (curator), Anna Heymowska (scenographer), Johan Hjerpe (graphic designer), Anders Jandér (graphic designer), Richard John Jones (filmmaker), Gavin MacFadyen (investigative journalist).
Curated by Gregory Burke at the Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario.
Dec. 13, 2008 – Feb.22, 2009

Like the late Mark Lombardi, whose carefully researched drawings were famously scrutinized by the FBI right after the World Trade Centre attacks, the Swedish team of artists Goldin + Senneby continue their work of drawing attention to suspicious global networks of offshore tax-havens. Eschewing Lombardi’s taut minimalism and strict reportage, however, the artists blur history with self-reflexive documentary films and educational displays, spinning Borgesian nests of detective fiction and a conspiracy theory linking contemporary offshore capital with ‘Acéphale,’ a secret society started by the philosopher Georges Bataille in the 1930s.
The exhibit should certainly strike a chord with Canadians concerned about the hypocritical offshore tax-dodging of our former parliamentarians, the eminent Paul Martin and Belinda Stronach. Say what you like about the Americans, but from what I've read, there are fewer loopholes in their tax laws.
Goldin + Senneby’s intriguing unfinished story is told best in the films and their artist’s statement. The educational display, though, is a cluttered mess of boring prose fragments, pamphlets, and images awkwardly displayed on the wall and in glass cases. I was relieved to sit down at the desks at the end of the room and thumb though the books there, it’s more comfortable to read that way, and it makes me want to go to the library and research the topics more.
It’s a lot to take in in one visit. In fact you have to go more than once because the final instalment of the film won’t be screened until Feb. 13. Let’s see if this elaborate plot has a dénouement.

The Following Images May Cause Stupid Laughter and Creepy Wierd Feelings

"The Growths"



Four-Mouths-Into-One

Whales on the Radio

I don't have a TV. I'm not against TV, I just lost interest in it. Instead, I listen to the radio, especially the CBC. I like the Vinyl Cafe and Wire Tap. Jonothan Goldstein is the most awesome dweeb on the airwaves. There's also a great documentary program called Ideas, hosted by Paul Kennedy.

I was blown away yesterday by a documentary on whales' consciousness and culture. Their brains are the largest on the planet. The emotional centres of their brains are a lot larger in proportion to humans'. Their moods must be exceedingly more prolific and nuanced than we can ever imagine. They sense things differently. In the dark, dark depths, toothed whales use echolocation to "see" things. Scientists even speculate that when one whale "sees" another whale this way, it's like an ultrasound scan. The whale might be able to read the other whale's muscle tension, blood pressure, heart beat, or if it's pregnant. Isnt that amazing?