Women Artists

I was in the bookstore the other day, in the Art History section, and picked up a book called Women Artists by Margaret Barlow. There are so many names in there that are completely unfamiliar to me, and it struck me how odd it is that in 2009 we still need to have a book devoted to this subject. Imagine how funny it would seem to publish a book called Male Artists.

What is the reason for the lack of awareness of female artists? Director Pamela Tanner Boll explores this subject in the film Who Does She Think She Is?, a film which I have yet to see but is on my must-watch list. The trailer quotes a man saying that art schools have a student body that is 70% female, yet in the gallery system, about 70% of the exhibitions are of male artists.

At my gallery, I never considered a person's gender when selecting their work for a show, and as it happens, I have an almost equal split of male/female artists in my roster.

I want to hear from you - do you feel that it is harder for a female artist to be taken seriously? What are the barriers? What can we do to change the system, either as institutions or galleries or audiences?

tinku Cube(d)

A couple of months ago I wrote about entering a nationwide competition sponsored by Nissan to find the 50 most creative Canadians, to whom they would each give a new Nissan Cube car. I decided to compose a series of short stories depicting imaginary road trips with some of my favourite artists, both living and deceased. What surprised me most was how something that started off as a contest ended up inspiring me to learn the stories of the artists I admire and let my imagination take me around the world.

Many of you read my stories and voted throughout the campaign. And to you I have much appreciation. I am also ecstatic to share with you that it all paid off, and I indeed was selected to win this car, as you will see in the video when they announced my name as one of the winners. (forward to 3:35 to see me screaming!)



A friend asked me to deconstruct the experience of winning to see what lessons I learned, and I decided I didn't want to do that, for it would spoil the magic of the experience for me. What I can say though is that by believing in myself and working with my strengths rather than around my weaknesses, I was able to do what seemed improbable at the start.

Over the coming year I will share some stories of what I am doing in this very unique car, and hope you will come along for the ride!

17 seconds

Is 17 seconds enough to communicate something? Make a first impression? Wow someone? Piss someone off? Make someone laugh or cry? Journalist Jaime Woo once did a video series called Toronto in 6 words, which included a short clip from yours truly. He is now trying to see what he can communicate in 17 seconds, and the first clip is from our last opening, where he interviewed artist Brigid Watson on her show. Check it out for yourself - the circus music alone is worth a listen.

Ignore Everybody: Hugh MacLeod

I don't know about you, but I find everywhere I look (either online or face to face) there are people who are self-proclaimed experts. But dig a little deeper and you will see they are like the Emperor with no clothes, with very to add to the equation.

Once in a while though I come across a guy like Hugh MacLeod, who is the real deal. Hugh MacLeod is a cartoonist who makes his living both by publishing fine art prints via the internet and consulting other companies on web 2.0. I first heard of Hugh only a year ago, by reading his blog which receives over 1 million visits a month, and following him on Twitter where he has thousands of followers. I should disclose that over the last few months Hugh & I have struck up a friendship and are exploring some collaborations together, so there is some inherent bias in my review of his new book. On the other hand, if his book was complete shit, I would not mention it at all rather than write about it here.

Ignore Everybody is a collection of ideas on how to be more creative. At first I was skeptical about whether or not creativity was something that could be taught to people. But after reading Hugh's book, I realized that in many ways creativity is a muscle that can lay flacid or be exercised and nurtured.

Each chapter in Hugh's book begins with a point (and an accompanying cartoon) that seems almost impossibly obvious, but he adds to it in a way that set off lightbulbs for me on how to approach what I'm doing with the gallery. As an example:

Chapter 4: Good ideas have lonely childhoods
"Good ideas exist in a social context. And not everyone has the same agenda as you"

Chapter 11: The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props
"Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on a piece of ordinary stationery that he had borrowed from the friend whose house he was staying at. Ernest Hemingway wrote with a simple fountain pen. Somebody else did the typing, but only much later....There's no correlation between creativity and equipment ownership. None. Zilch. Nada"

Hugh says things in his book that we all have considered in our minds but have never said out loud. Perhaps some have not considered this point of view at all. My one beef is that the book does go a little overboard in giving the finger to those that have seemingly rejected Hugh in the past, painting all those folks, whether in the advertising industry or the art world with one stroke, but hey it's his book so it's his right to do so!

This book landed in my lap at exactly the right time and I find myself reading certain passages over and over to help me articulate the longer term plans for the gallery and articulate how to take these principles and apply them to my life. That is the mark of a good book and I know this one will be a regular read for me for many years to come. Hugh's book strikes the right balance between art and commerce which is a struggle many galleries and artists face.

Ignore Everybody is a must-read for any entrepreneur, and by entrepreneur I include the person starting a business out of their home or an artist trying to develop her practice or the owner of a contemporary art gallery smaller than most people's dining rooms. You can get your own copy through major online booksellers or ask for it in your local bookstore.

Leah Sandal's Playlist

Leah Sandals is a well known Canadian art critic, writing for publications including the National Post, Canadian Art and NOW Magazine. I also follow her feed on Twitter, where she posts links to interesting art reviews as well as her own blog posts, including this hilarious one where she unleashes her inner rock star to compile a music playlist fit for art critics.

Have a look and a laugh here.

Pics from opening: Brigid Watson

Friday night was our opening for Brigid Watson's exhibition The Ground Beneath Her Feet. It was a warm summer evening and we had a steady stream of visitors throughout the night. Our openings rarely get packed like sardines, which means I get a chance to talk to our guests and introduce them to the artist.

I asked Brigid in this video captured by Toronto artist Sandy McMullen how this opening compared to others she has attended in Boston, New York and Singapore where she has recently shown. She replied that people seemed more approachable, asked lots of questions and there was a friendlier atmosphere.

For those who were unable to make it, do check out the video or the pictures I posted on the gallery's Flickr page.

Upcoming Exhibitions

The gallery calendar is booked up for most of the year. Check out our upcoming exhibitions:

June 2009 - Brigid Watson: The Ground Beneath Her Feet
opening reception: Friday, June 5th, 6-9 pm

July 2009 - Open Studios Member Show
(a collaboration with Open Studios, Canada's leading print making center)
opening reception: Friday, July 10th, 6-9 pm

August 2009 - Gone Fishing
(this is not an *actual* show, tinku gallery will be closed for the month of August)

September 2009 - Selena Wong

October 2009 - Elena Popova

I will post images on the gallery site in the coming weeks so you can preview what's next.