MY PICKS - EXHIBITION OPENINGS - SATURDAY, MAY 2 - CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

MAY 1 - 31

MATEO GUEZ: OFF WORLD

STEPHEN BULGER GALLERY & CAMERA

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

Guez eloquently captures the lives of children who live, work and play in Smoky Mountain, one of the world’s worst slums, where entire families scavenge to survive. Smoky Mountain is a mound of refuse outside of Manila, in the central Philippines, named after the methane-heavy mist hovering over it. Guez challenges our preconceptions of the camera by using a mobile phone as an extension of his body to frame his direct experience. In a streetlevel installation, designed by Andrew Mallis, viewers can engage in a unique forum with Guez’s video wall while stills are delivered to their mobile phones. The gallery is immaterial and the image, though multiple, is personal; both exist in the intimate, yet social, spaces now extended by mobile media. Curated by Sanaz Mazinani.

1026 Queen St W

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MAY 2 - 24

YAEL BROTMAN: THE MOUNTAIN IN OUR LIVING ROOM

ADRIAN FISH: THE NORTH YORK PROJECT (CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN)

LOOP GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 1 - 5PM

Brotman’s paintings are based on photographs of her upbringing in Winnipeg. Featuring a mountain in the family living room, the works reference Guy Maddin’s film My Winnipeg and connect portraiture, memory and constructed narrative. Fish documents places that possess psychic weight associated with his childhood experiences in North York. His images also reference the 1802 Wordsworth poem My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold. Curated by Adrian Fish.

1174 Queen St W

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MAY 2 - JUNE 6

TERESA ASCENCAO: CONSUMING HER

WARC GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

Consuming Her is a touch-screen video installation revisiting the first female nude images to appear in mainstream cinema. Audrey Munson’s body shimmers as she is composed of images of other female nudes. As you touch her body, audio clips resonate in the darkened exhibition space. Special thanks to technical collaborators Jim Ruxton (Subtle Technologies), Marius Schebella and Ben Unsworth (Globacore) and to the Ontario Arts Council.

401 Richmond St W Ste 122

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APR 29 - MAY 23

JOAN KAUFMAN: SUSPENDED

RED HEAD GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

"Suspended" is a photo/video installation of constructed fiction. Using would-be circus performers as subjects, "Suspended" explores the boundaries between illusion and reality capturing private scenes of performance in which desire for the impossible prevails. Caught in desperate and absurd situations, solitary acts of magic and illusion do not entertain, but instead isolate the characters in a private and unending cycle of performing. Images of suspension conflate opposites: freedom and confinement, determination and futility, bravery and crippling inaction. With references to metaphorical and allegorical principles, "Suspended" recalls the myth of Icarus who flew too close to the sun and Sisyphus who unwittingly is condemned to an endless purgatory. Like Lucky and Vladamir these individuals are confined to an absurd reality with no beginning and no end, just endless and determined repetition with darkly amusing results.

401 Richmond St W, Ste 115

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MAY 2 - 30

GEOFFREY PUGEN: ANOTHER SIDE OF YOU

ANGELL GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 12 - 5PM

Continuing his investigations of the boundaries between fact and fiction, Toronto-based artist Geoffrey Pugen’s newest body of work Another Side of You presents a series of masterfully manipulated photographs and videos. In an age of technological transformation, Pugen’s modified prints blend reality with mythology as a strategy for social critique. Using digital montage, Pugen plays with the ambiguity of the photographic medium. Staging scenes in his studio or photographing them elsewhere, Pugen then digitally combines and reconstructs the imagery. What appears to the observer at first glance to be an illusion reveals as a convincing construct, betrayed by the absurdity of the narrative content. From a swan caught in a meteor shower to a fallen skateboarder’s poignant recovery, Pugen imbues each image with a sense of the surreal. Deftly blending a futuristic aesthetic with a cautionary perspective on what we perceive to be true, his images offer thoughtful insights into an increasingly mediated world that is in constant flux. A recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award for Interdisciplinary Art, Pugen has exhibited his videos, music and artworks nationally and internationally in Toronto, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Miami, Australia, Poland and the UK. Curated by Angell Gallery.

890 Queen Street W

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MAY 2 - 30

YAM LAU: HUTONG HOUSE

ROBERTO PELLEGRINUZZI: NATURE MORTE

LEO KAMEN GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

In 2008, Hong Kong-born Canadian artist Yam Lau visited Beijing to develop a project about traditional Chinese courtyard houses. China’s vernacular architecture has sustained customary ways of life and values for centuries, but is quickly being replaced by new urban development. Hutong House uses digital video and 3-D imaging software to reconstitute the architectural layout, form and ambience of these spaces. The work hypothesizes a unique combination of space, time and imagery, past and present. Opening up the historical house in virtual space, Lau reconstructs a pure and imaginary vision of China. The artist wishes to thank the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and TFVA for their support.

Nature Morte directly refers to the first photographs that inherited the iconographic tradition of late 18th-century still life painting. Taking up the idea of these composed shots, combined with a desire to heighten the reality of the photographic subject, Roberto Pellegrinuzzi processes his images with photo-editing software so as to break their structure down into their constituent layers. The resulting images acquire a three-dimensionality that is de-composed and re-composed before spectators’ eyes. They paradoxically take on new life through our gaze. Taking his cue from the past, Pellegrinuzzi finds the revolutionary dimension in digital technology.

80 Spadina Ave, Ste 406

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MAY 2 - 30

LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK: SALLY AYRE, MARCO BUONOCORE, DIANNE DAVIS, CHARLENE HEATH, APRIL HICKOX, ALEX KISILEVICH, HEIDI LEVERTY, ROB NORTON, CHRIS SHEPHERD, PAUL TILL

GALLERY 44 CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

As an institution that takes pride in its photographic production facilities, education programs and exhibitions, Gallery 44’s “still revolution” looks back and forward at the same time. Photography, as a medium in technological flux, incites photographers to respond in myriad ways. The gallery’s celebratory 30th anniversary exhibition highlights many of these developments.

Works in the exhibition use contemporary techniques, such as the scanning of objects in lieu of a traditional camera, as in the work of April Hickox. Contemporary themes prevail in the dark tableaux of Dianne Davis and the constructed scenes of Alex Kisilevich. Chris Shepherd photographs vacant storefronts in the process of change; Paul Till uses a vintage Diana camera to nostalgic effect. Documentary practices are celebrated in Marco Buonocore’s gelatin silver prints and in Heidi Leverty’s magni- fied study of discarded paper. Charlene Heath questions the documentary genre in her photographs of webcam images. From ambrotypes and tintypes by Rob Norton, to cyanotypes printed on silk organza by Sally Ayre, traditional photographic methods are juxtaposed with contemporary chromogenic prints. This exhibition represents a range of Gallery 44 members’ works, and was juried by Sophie Hackett, Catherine Dean and Peter Higdon.

Image: Alex Kisilevich, Untitled from the series Talking to People is Easy - 2008

401 Richmond St W, Ste 120

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MAY 2 - 31

LANDSCAPE AS POWER: LISA BINNIE, PATRICIA BRENNAN, JOHN ELMSLIE, NEVILLE HADFIELD, BILL KIMBER, CATHY ORD, EDIE STEINER, MARY TRAILL

ARCADIA ART GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 5PM

This exhibition features landscape sites in a postmodern context as imagined and visible worlds: palimpsests in time and space. The images engage our understanding of our environments, both natural and constructed, daily rhythms and experiences. The artists in this exhibition work with a variety of digital and analogue processes, in the form of prints and mixed media constructions. Curated by Edie Steiner.

Image: Bill Kimber, Marseille Harbour - 2008

680 Queens Quay W

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MAY 2 - 14

SCOTT JOHNSTON: TORONTO

ARTA GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 2 - 4PM

Johnston probes his environment for motifs that reveal the rapid redevelopment of urban space, and documents contemporary existence in the city. In his photographic quest, Johnston reveals the complex interplay between people’s relationships to their surroundings. He photographically isolates urban space, creating an opportunity for the viewer to gain insight through a contained frame. Johnston seeks to discover contradictions and is drawn to photograph them in his search for clarity.

55 Mill St., Suite 102, Bldg 9

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MAY 2 - 31

MARK LOREN FREEDMAN: STILL WILD

DYLAN ELLIS GALLERY

OPENING MAY 2, 12 - 5PM

Freedman’s provocative images highlight the relationships between creatures and their habitats—relationships so precarious and intimate that subtle disturbances can significantly upset their equilibrium. The photographer’s goal is to promote environmental awareness by sharing scenes of what we risk losing forever. An emergency physician by day, Freedman balances his intense work with a passion for nature and wildlife photography. He was born and raised in Toronto. Curated by Bob Carnie, Les McLean, Kevin Viner.

42 Industrial St, Ste 115

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MAY 2 - 30

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY: THOMAS A. EVERS, VIOLET FODER, CHRIS HARRISON, M GLORIA NIETO MONTERO, ELENA WILLIS

ACADEMY OF REALIST ART

OPENING MAY 2, 6 - 9PM

Foder’s project began with her fascination with the variations and interpretations of tarot cards. Using photography, she created a contemporary deck emphasizing female archetypes. For example, Foder has recreated the Hanged Man with a dominant/submissive motif and depicted the the Moon as a lunatic. Other cards reinterpreted include the Empress, the Lovers, the Star and the Sun. Curated by Colleen Johnston.

2968 Dundas Street W, Ste 200

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MAY 2 - 31

MARK KASUMOVIC AND VANESSA PHILLIPS: IDEAL LANDSCAPES

FOREVER INTERIORS

OPENING MAY 2, 6 - 9PM

Ideal Landscapes addresses the sentimental idea of the untouched landscape—a landscape more resembling a stage than the real world. In these photographs, scenes are carefully composed and lit to remove them from their natural surroundings, offering a new perspective on the natural landscape. This series questions the true meaning of the ideal landscape. Curated by Martin Scott.

Image: Mark Kasumovic, Ideal Landscape #1 - 2008

2903 Dundas Street W

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MAY 2 - 31

MARY FARMILANT

POST & BEAM RECLAMATION

OPENING MAY 2, 6 - 9PM

The examination of objects and the spaces they occupy is a predominant theme in the work of Farmilant. She studies objects and their surroundings in order to reconstruct a picture of life in the past. These images explore perception, memory and narrative, and articulate the idea that human presence is part of the history of now uninhabited or forgotten spaces. Curated by Doug Killaly.

2869 Dundas Street W

ARTIST TALKS - SATURDAY, MAY 2 - CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

MAY 2 - 12PM

GWENAËL BÉLANGER

In this bilingual discussion Gwenaël Bélanger will speak about his public installation in the courtyard of MOCCA. Belanger will detail his image creation process of manipulating forms and transforming objects to reveal a fictitious point of view.

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art - 952 Queen St W.

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MAY 2 - 2PM

LYNNE COHEN

Lynne Cohen is known for her photographs of domestic and institutional interior spaces: living rooms, public halls, retirement homes, laboratories, offices, showrooms, shooting ranges, factories, spas, and military installations. Cohen will speak about her current exhibition that includes images from her first trip to Cuba.

Cohen has been in countless solo and group exhibitions around the world and is represented in over 50 public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Australian National Gallery, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Canada Council Art Bank.

Olga Korper Gallery - 17 Morrow Ave.

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MAY 2, 3PM

ANDREW WRIGHT

Andrew Wright, multimedia and photographic artist, will speak about his new series Still Water. With these photo-sculptural works he continues his interest in probing the way in which imaging technologies mediate meaning. Wright has exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, with exhibitions at the University of California, Berkeley, Oakville Galleries, Roam Contemporary (New York), ARCO '05 (Madrid), Presentation House, Vancouver and the Art Gallery of Calgary, to name a few.

Peak Gallery - 23 Morrow Ave.

RITA MCKEOUGH WINS GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD IN VISUAL AND MEDIA ARTS

"As soon as you stop the chaos, you experience the subversive power of silence. Dialogue and listening are politically and socially the most powerful tools for change." –Rita McKeough

Gusto and fearlessness are two words that describe Rita McKeough's approach to art. Her performance and installation art draws on chaos – multi-tracked layers of sound, physical feats of duress, anthropomorphic buildings that talk back and fight off destruction. Through this chaos she explores, without dogma, issues such as displacement, demolition of neighbourhoods, domestic violence and ecological damage. She is a drummer in a rock band and performs regularly at small Calgary venues. Yet perhaps what best distinguishes her 30-year career as an artist, teacher and mentor is her humour, compassion and spirit of collaboration.

The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts, Canada's foremost distinctions for excellence in these artistic disciplines, were created in 1999 by the Governor General of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. The Canada Council funds and administers the awards. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the awards.

The prizes are awarded annually to visual and media artists for distinguished career achievement in visual arts, architecture, independent film and video, or audio and new media. They include the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in the fine crafts. One prize is also awarded annually for outstanding contribution to the visual and / or media arts in a volunteer or professional capacity. Each prize is valued at $25,000.

TVO (TV ONTARIO) PRESENTS A MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

Unfortunately I only have two channels and TVO isn't one of them. So, for those that have cable, knock yourself out. I have seen two of the films, Manufactured Landscapes and The True Meaning of Pictures. Both are excellent, providing insight into two very different subjects and photographers. While Shelby Lee Adams concentrates from a sociological level, on portraits of families living in Appalachia, Edward Burtynsky photographs landscapes carved up from industries and massive industrial revolution. Both films are directed by Jennifer Baichwal from Canada. Baichwal also has a new film, Act of God, premiering in Hot Docs: Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto from April 30 - May 10.

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MAY 3 - 9PM

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS

This documentary traces the arc of Leibovitz’s photographic life, her aspirations to artistry and the trajectory of her career. It depicts the relationships and phases that shaped her life, from childhood, the tumultuous sixties, her transition from Rolling Stone to Vanity Fair, to motherhood. Highlights include interviews with her mentors, colleagues and most famous subjects (Susan Sontag, Bill Clinton, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan and others) and of course Leibovitz’s own personal insights. Watch the evolution of one of today’s most influential visual artists.

Directed by Barbara Leibovitz US, 2007, 81 MIN

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MAY 4 - 10PM

THE GENIUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

The first episode in this 4-part documentary uncovers key developments in photography and describes how this art form changed the way people understood their world. Meet pioneer photographers including George Eastman, who made photography available to the masses with the invention of the Kodak camera.

Episode 1: 1800-1914: Fixing the Shadows Directed by Tim Kirby, Deborah Lee and Chris Rodley UK, 2007, 59 MIN

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MAY 6 - 10PM

DADDY TRAN: A LIFE IN 3D

Hai Tran spent his life sharing the wonders of 3D photography with the world. This passionate photographer fled Vietnam in a small boat with his young family, three cameras and a suitcase of photographs. He eventually opened one of Canada's largest vintage camera stores.

Directed by Siu Ta Canada, 2008, 47 MIN

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MAY 7 - 10PM

TIERNEY GEARON: THE MOTHER PROJECT

Tierney Gearon’s photographs have been called manipulative and perverse. Upon the first showing of her work, the Saatchi Gallery was ordered to take down Gearon’s photos, which were of her young children. This documentary follows Tierney as she assembles her provocative new body of work.

Directed by Jack Youngelson and Peter Sutherland US, 2006, 56 MIN CANADIAN TELEVISION PREMIERE

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MAY 10 - 9PM

ELOQUENT NUDE

When they met, they fell instantly in love. Setting off across the West with camera and typewriter in the depths of the Great Depression, Charis Wilson and Edward Weston transformed photography, and each other. Now age 90, Charis Wilson recounts her years with Weston.

Directed by Ian McLuskey US, 2007, 57 Min CANADIAN TELEVISION PREMIERE

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MAY 1 0- 10PM

PEPPERS AND NUDES: THE PHOTOGRAPHER EDWARD WESTON

Peppers and Nudes presents a personal look at modern American photographer Edward Weston on the trail in California, visiting Carmel and Point Lobos, the sand dunes of Oceano and Death Valley.

Directed by Joachim Haupt Germany, 2004, 26 MIN

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MAY 11 - 10 PM

THE GENIUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY II

This film considers the use of photography 1918–1945. While some were using photography’s precise, objective qualities to promote radical utopia in the Soviet Union and order amid chaos in Weimar, Germany, others were exploring the subjective, the irrational and the surreal.

Episode 2: 1918-1945: Documents for Artists Directed by Tim Kirby, Deborah Lee and Chris Rodley UK, 2007, 59 MIN

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MAY 13 - 10PM

HANSEL MIETH: VAGABOND PHOTOGRAPHER

A German immigrant, Hansel Mieth became a celebrated LIFE magazine staff photographer, carving out a career in a male-dominated profession and creating some of the most indelible images of the 20th century.

Directed by Nancy Schiesari US, 2003, 54 MIN

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MAY 14 - 10PM

GIRL IN A MIRROR - A PORTRAIT OF CAROL JERREMS

Girl in a Mirror traces the passionate and exuberant Jerrems as she documented turbulent 1970s counter culture. A taboo-shattering artist, Jerrems’ life was tragically cut short.

Directed by Kathy Drayton Australia, 2005, 55 MIN

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MAY 17 - 9PM

WHAT REMAINS: THE LIFE & WORK OF SALLY MANN

The work of Sally Mann directly confronts American attitudes towards dying and meditates on the assimilation of the body into the Earth. Her photographs portray the scars left on her property, a Civil War battlefield, a forensic scene, a forgotten pet and, in a closing, life-affirming gesture, close-up portraits of her children.

Directed by Steven Cantor US, 2005, 1:20 MIN

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MAY 18 - 10PM

THE GENIUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY III

Magnum legends Philip Jones Griffiths and Susan Meisalas, soldier-photographer Tony Vaccaro and broadcaster Jon Snow consider the questions that extraordinary pictures raise about WWII as seen through the viewfinder.

Episode 3: Right Place, Right Time? Directed by Tim Kirby, Deborah Lee and Chris Rodley UK, 2007, 59 MIN

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MAY 20 - 10PM

THE PHOTOGRAPHER, HIS WIFE, HER LOVER

O. Winston Link took black-and-white photographs of the great steam locomotives of the 1950s. When Link was 73, he married Conchita Mendoza, 48. She sold his photographs for profit while having an affair and keeping Link captive in his basement darkroom.

Directed by Paul Yule UK, 2005, 1:18 MIN

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MAY 21 - 10PM

THE TRUE MEANING OF PICTURES

This film is an introduction to the work of renowned photographer Shelby Lee Adams. Born in Eastern Kentucky, Adams devoted 30 years to making portraits of families living in Appalachia who have been misrepresented in the media and derogatorily referred to as "hillbillies."

Directed by Jennifer Baichwal Canada, 2002, 58 MIN

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MAY 24 - 9PM

ANSEL ADAMS: A DOCUMENTARY FILM

This film chronicles Ansel Adams’ life and art, detailing his childhood, his marriage to Virginia Best, his relationship with famed contemporary Alfred Stieglitz, his eventual creative successes and his environmental activism.

Directed by Ric Burns US, 2002, 1:36 MIN

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MAY 25 - 10PM

THE GENIUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IV

This episode chronicles Robert Frank's odyssey through 1950s America, William Klein's walk around New York, Garry Winogrand’s explorations of Central Park Zoo and William Eggleston's journey through the American South.

Episode 4: Paper Movies Directed by Tim Kirby, Deborah Lee and Chris Rodley UK, 2007, 59 MIN

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MAY 27 - 10PM

DOLCE VITA AFRICANA

Malian photographer Malick Sidibe's snapshots from the late 1950s to the early 1970s capture the carefree spirit of youth asserting their freedom from colonialism in the early days of Malian independence before a coup ushered in decades of military dictatorship.

Directed by Cosima Spender US, 2008, 59 MIN

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MAY 28 - 10PM

STARS BY HELMUT NEWTON

Take a revealing look at the art of photographer Helmut Newton—always a provocative and controversial study—including candid interviews with many of his famous subjects. The film centres on the release of Newton’s SUMO, the most expensive book ever produced.

Directed by Julian Benedikt Switzerland, 2000, 58 MIN

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MAY 31 - 9PM

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES

Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Edward Burtynsky creates beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris. This film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Meditate on our impact on the planet and witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste.

Directed by Jennifer Baichwal Canada, 2006, 86 MIN

MAY 1 - OPENING CELEBRATION AND LAUNCHING OF THE CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

PRIMARY EXHIBITION OPENING CELEBRATION OF STILL REVOLUTION

Come to the launch of the 2009 festival and the opening of Still Revolution at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA). Come celebrate the start of an exciting photo-packed month of exhibitions and events during an evening of reveling with festival artists, photographers and special guests.

7-10PM - 952 Queen St W. - FREE

FEATURE EXHIBITION OPENINGS - APRIL 30 - CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

Drake Hotel

Its Time: Gao Brothers, Osheen Harruthoonyan, Anne Arden McDonald, Elaine Stocki

Opening Apr. 30, 6 - 8PM

Photographs by their very nature alter our perception of time. Snatched from the narrative of our daily lives, photographic moments allow viewers to step outside themselves, pause and contemplate an image in their own time. This exhibition considers the push and pull of time within the context of photography by examining a variety of photographic practices, past and present.

Elaine Stocki’s portraits capture just a fraction of a second from a sitting that stretched on for hours. Brooklyn-based artist Anne Arden McDonald augments her photochemistry with household solutions such as bleach, aspirin and lemon juice to create contact prints that appear more painterly than photographic. Digital tools enable the Gao Brothers from China to seemingly stretch time in their monumental piece, the Forever Unfinished Building, while Osheen Harruthoonyan’s installation turns the camera obscura inside out, with realtime images projected into the Drake’s entrance. The exhibition continues on the front of the building where a dynamic slide show of archival photographs flows like a stream of consciousness every night in May. Curated by Mia Nielsen and Catherine Dean.



APR 20 - JUN 1 - 1150 Queen Street W

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Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Jeff Bark

Opening Apr. 30, 6 - 8PM

Jeff Bark’s work epitomizes photography’s return to pictorialism, a movement which first arose in the second half of the 19th century when the novelty of photographic accuracy began to fade. Macabre, voyeuristic and intimate, Bark’s works are constructed fictions reminiscent of painting (Ingres, Fischl and Carravagio’s opulent dramas of light and tone), fairy tales (the Brothers Grimm) and film (David Lynch). These elaborate mise-en-scènes explore contemporary urban themes such as the trials of adolescence and consumerism’s emotional debris. The luminous and dream-like qualities of Bark’s images draw you in, yet close inspection reveals his subjects to be engaged in ominous or perverse actions.

Bark hints at our interior worlds of fractured identities, the result of disharmony between nature and culture. He does this by juxtaposing the illusion of painting (perception) with the reality contained in the photograph (document) and by highlighting human instinct and vulnerability. These images are a celebration of ritual and the hidden states of being – mysterious scenes with mythic themes and subtle sexual undertones. Bark’s use of allegory to explore desire, isolation and greed produces a profound sense of the uncanny. Jeff Bark (born 1963) lives and works in New York. This is his first exhibition in Canada.

APR 30 - MAY 23 - 

451 King Street W

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Olga Korper Gallery

Lynne Cohen

Opening Apr. 30, 6 - 9PM

For almost forty years, Lynne Cohen has photographed fragments of the real world, transforming them into found installations. Cohen’s background in sculpture may have intensified her interest in space itself, specifically the space in the surreal, claustrophobic places she photographs that have no way in and no way out. Devoid of human presence, her photographs of strange interiors, lobbies, laboratories and military installations suggest deception, manipulation and control. She is fascinated by the absurdity of modern existence with its camouflage of man-made materials, strange lights, doors that defy entry, threatening instruments left behind and spas that bring to mind anything but healing. Cohen’s interest in social justice lies beneath the surface of much of her work, underneath the layers of contradictions that make it almost impossible to determine the site-specificity of her images.

Using a large-format view camera, Cohen’s recent work includes the results of a first trip to Cuba. Combining analogue with digital scanning technology, her images appear more lifelike than reality itself and reveal startling similarities across time and space. One should not be deceived by the ostensible neutrality of Cohen’s formal devices; her work is as beautiful as it threatening and as much about social situations as about the politics of space.

APR 30 - MAY 30 - 

17 Morrow Ave

2009 CONTACT TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL artist talk and video screening - April 29, 9pm

LOUIE PALU will present short videos taken in Afghanistan’s Southern Provinces of Kandahar and Helmand while he was embedded with Canadian, British and American troops in 2008. He will also discuss his public installation, War Zone Graffiti, located throughout the Queen West neighbourhood and Ace Lane - the alleyway behind the Shanghai Cowgirl.

Louie Palu graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1991. His work has appeared in numerous books, catalogues, festivals and exhibitions internationally, which includes being selected for the photojournalism festival Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan, France five times (2004-08) and also includes five nominations for the Visa d'Or in the Daily Press Award, Internationale Fototage in Mannheim/Ludwigshafen in Germany, George Eastman House, Ping Yao Festival in China, Fotografia International Festival of Rome, Voies Off Fringe Festival in Arles, France, Centrum for Fotografi in Stockholm, Sweden, The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, including exhibitions and festivals in Italy, Canada, Australia, Russia, Portugal, France, Belgium and Brazil.

Louie is the recipient of numerous awards including a Critical Mass Book Award, Aftermath Grant, Hasselblad Master Award and a Best of Photojournalism Award from the NPPA in 2008, Silver Medal from the Society of Newspaper Design for photography and seven awards from the White House News Photographers Association. In the summer of 2006 he was selected for Photography Now: one hundred portfolios, as one of a 100 photographers included in an international survey of photography, which was juried by curators from Europe, Japan and the United States.

Louie's work is included in numerous private and public collections including The Library and Archives of Canada, The Canadian Museum of Civilization, Portland Art Museum, George Eastman House International Museum of Film and Photography and the Portrait Gallery of Canada. His work has been published in numerous publications worldwide including The New Yorker, The New York Times, TIME, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Forbes, NPR, and The Globe and Mail. Memberships and Professional Affiliations are White House News Photographers Association, US Senate Press Photographers Gallery, National Press Photographers Association, Canadian Association of Journalists, News Photographers Association of Canada.

The Bovine - 542 Queen St W

MY picks: 2009 HOT DOCS April 30 - May 10 in Toronto

I have heard a lot of great reviews about Hot Docs. For those who are not familiar with the Hot Docs Festival it is an internationally renowned festival in its 16Th year of operation. This year Hot Docs will present more than 150 films. All films in official competitions will be receiving their first Toronto showing, with many screenings being world, international, North American or Canadian premieres. For most screenings, directors will be in attendance to introduce their films and to participate in post-show Q & A sessions with the audience. Hot Docs has a You Tube site. You can view trailers of films. As well you can view their site by clicking on the link beside the posts.

I've been living in Toronto nearly three years and I still have yet to go to the Hot Docs Festival. However, this year I am attending. Unfortunately I live on a small budget, and so, I may only be able to see 3 or 4 films. The great thing about these documentaries is that some are short and therefore paired with another documentary in one viewing. If I choose my schedule carefully I can see more than 3 or 4 films. Of course that all depends on whether the shows aren't sold out. For those who are on a low budget like me the tickets are $12. each, which is reasonable in Toronto. Had I acted sooner I might have been a volunteer. Volunteers can go to all the films. For those with a bigger budget Hot Doc passes are also available.

After reviewing my picks I realized that I chose a lot of films about children and teens that faced hardships and circumstances unfamiliar to me. While I grew up poor and had a father with an unforgiving mental illness, it was nothing compared to the lives of the children in these films.

Richard Cardinal, a young Métis boy who lived in 28 different foster homes, shelters, and lock-ups from the ages of 4 to 17 committed suicide. In Children of God we find children living on the streets next to a temple in Nepal collecting gold fillings and anything else of value from dead people. In Tinar a boy is hired to tend to a large cow herd in the mountainous regions of Iran. He eats and sleeps with the cows in a life of loneliness and poverty. In Which Way Home we follow the lives of three unaccompanied children embarking on a dangerous journey from Latin America to the US to be with their parents who had years earlier migrated to the US for work. About Face... shares the painful story of a mentally ill mother who throws her baby daughter into a camp fire. She was badly burned. At 24 the young woman decides to meet her mother and begins a long journey to forgive, heal, and move forward. Sweety... the murder of a 16 year old girl by her teen friends depicts the horror of some of our youth today. And last, Ganesh: Boy Wonder, a powerful story about a boy born with a horrible facial deformity is introduced to a Canadian plastic surgeon who offers hope for the first time in this boys' life.

I have also chosen a few odd ball films: Jackpot, The Way We Get By and Plane Days. When I was much younger than I am now I had glimpses of bingo halls and church basements and the people that played frequently. I tried playing but I was unlucky and slow to call out. The rooms were always smoky, and reeked of Avon perfume and Old Navy cologne. Is it different today than it was when I was growing up? I have always been curious about people's hobbies and motives behind each. Plane Days is a humourous look at how some people pass the time. If I make it to senior-hood I could be one of those people. I hail originally from New Brunswick, Canada, and have been to Bangor, Maine a few times. I doubt that it's a tourist stop, for when I was young, it seemed more like a strip mall town. Three seniors sit in the airport greeting and saying goodbye to soldiers going to and from Iraq. What sorrows and histories drive them to use their retirement time in this way?

Both City of Borders and Outrage deal with issues of homophobia and the struggle for freedom to be gay and "out". I am glad to be a lesbian in Canada where Members of Parliament are out of the closet and supporting our rights to marry, have or adopt children. In the United States, politicians are in the closet fighting to quash gay rights and freedoms. In the city of Jerusalem people of opposing nationalities and religions gather at the gay bar Shushan to find acceptance and community while religious fundamentalists strive to reverse anti-discrimination laws.

I am intrigued by the mystery surrounding the men in Diary of a Times Square Thief and The Sound of Insects: Record of a Mummy. Where is the diarist and why did the other man starve himself to death?

Both The Beekeepers and Act of God reference the environment, one in which lightning is viewed in awe and in terror for those who have been hit, and the other, the frightening possibility of the extinction of bees and the ramifications of their extinction.

Now that I have chosen my picks, I now have to pare down to what I can afford!

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DIARY OF A TIMES SQUARE THIEF

Director - Klaas Bense

A mysterious diary from the 1980s, full of haunting prose and photos depicting New York's seedy underground, is purchased on EBay. What has become of the diary's troubled but ambitious writer and the desolate souls he briefly knew?

If you looked back at your life, what would you regret? Director Klaas Bense ponders this question after purchasing a mysterious diary on EBay. The diary belonged to a young man who moved to New York City in the 1980s, aspiring to become the next William Burroughs. Though talented, the young writer fails to be published and quickly descends into a life of drugs and crime. Inspired by the stories and photos captured in the diary, Bense travels to New York to discover what has become of the young writer and those who crossed his path. Through intimate interviews with former residents of the notorious Times Square Hotel, we are reminded to look deeper into the forgotten faces we encounter everyday. Filled with vivid character portraits and haunting images of New York's seedy underground, Diary of a Times Square Thief meditates on redemption, fate, and the beauty of human connection.

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THE SOUND OF INSECTS: RECORD OF A MUMMY

Director - Peter Liechti

A hunter in a remote and idyllic forest stumbles on a make-shift tent fashioned from sheets of plastic and containing the mummified remains of a corpse. A detailed journal found on site reveals the man committed suicide by self-imposed starvation. Who was this man? Why did he kill himself in such a manner? Inspired by this true event and by the novella Until I Am a Mummy by Shimada Masahiko, Insects sensuously evokes the mysterious man's last days. Director Peter Liechti, known for using experimental and impressionistic elements in his documentaries, layers lush images and sounds from the forest with sudden cacophonous flashes from an anonymous urban setting to draw us into the mummy's experience. Driving the story is narration-affectingly performed by Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler-from the mummy's journal entries. Insects is a hypnotic, mesmerizing affirmation of life from one man's radical renunciation of it. Shannon Abel.

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CITY OF BORDERS

Director - Yun Suh

In the heart of Jerusalem stands an unusual symbol of unity that defies generations of segregation, violence, and prejudice: a gay bar called Shushan. People of opposing nationalities and religions gather here to find acceptance and community while religious fundamentalists strive to reverse anti-discrimination laws. City of Borders follows the intersecting lives of several Shushan regulars in their daily struggle for dignity and acceptance. The bar's founder, Sa'ar, fights for visibility and ethnic diversity. Palestinian Samira tries to remain as devoted to her family as she is to her Jewish lover. Devout Muslim Boody risks his life sneaking through razor wire from the West Bank, while former Israeli soldier Adam Russo is stabbed by an Orthodox Jew while marching in Jerusalem's gay pride parade. Yun Suh's thoughtful and inspiring film explores the bond that is forged when people from warring worlds embrace their inherent commonalities rather than be defined by their differences.

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OUTRAGE

Director - Kirby Dick

Outrage delivers a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. Boldly revealing the hidden lives of some of the United States' most powerful policymakers, award-winning filmmaker Kirby Dick details the harm they've inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media's complicity in keeping their secrets. Sure to be one of the year's most explosive documentaries, Outrage could also very well be a game changer in the ongoing battle for same sex civil rights in the United States.

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RICHARD CARDINAL: CRY FROM A DIARY OF A MÉTIS CHILD

Director - Alanis Obomsawin

Richard Cardinal, a young Métis boy with the soul of a poet, lived in 28 different foster homes, shelters, and lock-ups from the ages of 4 to 17, when he tragically hung himself. His painfully eloquent diary pleads for understanding and love. Through heartfelt readings from his diary, Richard is heard for the first time in his short life. A stunning indictment of systemic racism and neglect, this film helped change child welfare policy in Alberta.

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GANESH: BOY WONDER

Director - Srinivas Krishna

Hindus pray to Lord Ganesh before any major journey. He can put obstacles in the way or remove them. He is the Lord of Obstacles.

Krishna and Jayamma have a happy marriage and a beautiful daughter. Now they would like a son. They pray to the god Ganesh to bless them with a boy, never dreaming that their son would actually look like his namesake, the elephant-headed deity. Nor could they have imagined that an accidental meeting with a reporter's brother, after they had given up all hope of finding medical help, would trigger a life-changing series of events. A local television story on Ganesh's facial deformity flashes his face around the globe, connecting a young boy and his struggling working-class family in India to a Canadian plastic surgeon. Acclaimed feature filmmaker Srinivas Krishna makes his documentary debut with this powerful and moving story about love, faith and hope.

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CHILDREN OF GOD

Director - Seung-Jun Yi

Nepalese Hindus believe the Bagmati River flows directly to heaven, gathering the souls of those who are cremated at the steps of the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu and carrying them off to their new home. But for 12-year-old Alesh Poudel, home is on the streets next to the temple. Fishing for coins from the river with magnets and scavenging everything from gold fillings to offerings to the gods, Alesh and his young siblings eke out a contented life from the river, while a more dangerous one lures them to the nearby city streets. Director Yi Seung-Juni's close relationship with-and paternal concern for-his subjects comes through clearly and tenderly in the sincerity and intimacy they share with each other and with the camera. Children of God is a beautifully composed, moving and poetic portrait of a life lived on the steps of heaven.

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ACT OF GOD

Director - Jennifer Baichwal

"I can't accept that it happened for a reason, nor can I really accept that there is no reason. The only way to carry on is to be humble, and a little bit in awe of these things you can't really understand," observes James O'Reilly, contemplating a lightning strike. Accidents, chance, fate, and the elusive quest for understanding underpin Jennifer Baichwal's elegant and captivating new work, an exploration of the metaphysical effects of being struck by lightning. For the writer Paul Auster, involved in a strike at age 14, it deeply affected his life and art. "It opened up a whole realm of speculation that I've continued to live with ever since," says Auster. The improvisational guitarist Fred Frith underscores how accidents spark "the beginning of something." Indeed, as a visually and aurally seductive reverie to storytelling, our attempt to make sense of things, Act of God may be Baichwal's cinematic ars poetica.

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TINAR

Director - Mahdi Moniri

Set in the majestic mountainous region of Iran, this compelling doc follows the life of a boy named Tinar, a hired cowherd. Tinar works alone; his father lives elsewhere on the mountain with his new wife and family. Tinar's job is to keep careful watch over a fairly large herd of milking cows. He eats, sleeps, and even plays with them; they are his only companions. As the seasons change, a pastoral portrait of Tinar and his life gradually turns into a harrowing and lonely account of a boy longing for escape and love. What Tinar wants most is to go to school like his step-siblings, or to join his brother, who has escaped their father and now works in the city with their uncle. Tinar's spirit is remarkably resilient, though, making his story even more heartbreaking. A moving account of the effects of poverty.

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WHICH WAY HOME

Director - Rebecca Cammisa

Each year, thousands of people in Latin America risk their lives to make the long journey north through Mexico in search of a better life in the United States. Many are forced to leave their families behind, hoping that one day they can either return with new-found wealth or bring their families to join them. Rebecca Cammisa's enlightening and heart-wrenching film follows three unaccompanied children as they make the dangerous and demanding trek through Latin America to the US. As the children meet all manner of challenges along the way, they are awaited by their anxious parents who themselves have faced an arduous journey in establishing a new life for their families in the land of opportunity. Award-winning director Cammisa brings a compassionate eye to this thoughtful portrait of the journey to achieve the American dream.

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ABOUT FACE: THE STORY OF GWENDELLIN BRADSHAW

Director - Mary Rosanne Katzke

As a baby, Gwen Bradshaw was horribly disfigured after being tossed into a campfire by her distraught mother, suffering from post-partum psychosis. Her father, unable to forgive her mother, took Gwen away and raised her on his own. She never saw her mother again. Now 24, Gwen, estranged from her father, is recovering in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. About Face picks up Gwen's incredible story as she begins a five-year journey to find the answers she needs to forgive, heal, and move forward. Gwen's inspirational efforts to change her life are filled with ups and downs. She attends a conference for burn victims, finds romance and heartbreak, and connects with a half-sister. But her quest for self-acceptance culminates in the search for her mentally ill mother. Will meeting her mother give Gwen the sense of family and belonging she has longed for?

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THE BEEKEEPERS

Director - Richard Knox Robinson

A ghostly black-and-white transmission warns of Colony Collapse Disorder. The alert is interrupted by static. The voices of beekeepers, environmentalists, and writers echo out from the past and present to announce the annihilation of bees, with humans soon to follow. Is this a message sent from the future? Stop. No, this is happening now. Stop. If honeybees are our oracles, the canaries in the coal mine that is our planet, are we at the end of days? Stop.

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SWEETY. THE FRIENDS, BETRAYAL AND MURDER OF MAJA BRADARIC

Director - Menna Laura Meijer

A girl is seen from behind ... The wind whips her hair around her neck in a silent frenzy of tightening knots ... Everything happens behind her back. On November 17, 2003, Maja Bradaric was strangled by three of her friends. She was just 16. Maja's intimates ask themselves why none of them saw it coming. Gorgeous cinematography sets a sullen, otherworldly mood; the soundtrack speaks for the dead. Sweety innovates by combining actual home video with re-enactments so stylish they feel interchangeably real. Cell phone footage could be archival or artificial-it doesn't matter. Adolescence is a dream, a fantasy without responsibility. Maja and her friends are typical teens: out of control, grasping, testing, and posturing. But the power dynamic of their clique is less typical. The love/hate turbulence in this peer group is extreme, with frenemies plotting, planning, and concealing a murder.

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JACKPOT

Director - Alan Black

It's 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. Do you know where your parents are? While many of us are sleeping or reading the paper, hardcore regulars are staking out their favorite seats at their favorite tables at Delta Bingo, where everyone has a story and a dream. The bingo hall, like some of its regulars, is a little worn down, but it offers a respite from the harsh realities of a big, lonely city. Day after day, week after week soon becomes decades for the regulars, who are convinced that if they hit the jackpot their problems will be solved. The pressure is intense since winning sometimes means being able to pay bills or make rent. For others, it's a way out of a life of hardship and heartbreak. A beautifully filmed meditation on the nature of luck and a reminder that we all need dreams, even if they are always one number away.

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PLANE DAYS

Directors - Benjamin Kracun, Ewan McNicol

Is it a Virgin? A Thai? An American? Young and old gather behind the perimeter fence at Heathrow Airport to swap stories and swig wine. They make a game of identifying aircraft by their engine noise or as tiny specks on the horizon. Entire days are spent recording and collecting airplane registration numbers. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of plane spotting, a rare pastime that makes a hobby of civilian surveillance.

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THE WAY WE GET BY

Director - Aron Gaudet

Bangor International Airport in Maine is the launching pad for troops on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan. It's also their first glimpse of home when they return. A small group of Bangor senior citizens have made it their mission to personally welcome and send off each individual soldier. Since 2003, they have greeted more than 800,000. The Way We Get By follows Bill, Joan, and Jerry as they sit on "hot standby." Joan, who struggles with chronic pain, often sleeps in her recliner awaiting a call that a plane is arriving. Jerry and his faithful dog Flanagan have become so attached to the airport they often sit in a car at the end of the runway to watch the planes take off. Bill, who battles financial debt and loneliness, is always the first to greet the troops as they arrive. A moving look at what millions of seniors face every day.