MONDOmagazine

By Kerry Freek

Rufus Wainwright: All Days are Nights / Songs for Lulu
June 15 and 17 @ Elgin Theatre

Act One:

The sombre face in the picture above should give you a pretty fair indication of how the first act of Wainwright’s one-man show went down. Before the curtain opened, an unidentified man came out, greeted us on Rufus’ behalf, and brought tidings of Wainwright’s requests of us for the next half-hour or so, which included refraining from applause until his imminent “song cycle” had come to a complete end. We’d even have to wait until Wainwright left the stage entirely, as we were told even his exit would be “part of the performance.” Read the rest of this entry »

Austin Visschedyk, teenage paparazzo.

Teenage Paparazzo
Directed by Adrien Grenier
Co-presented with Hot Docs
Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West)
May 8

By Kerry Freek

Forget Lady Gaga. Thirteen-year-old Austin Visschedyk is the fame monster. Not only is he a paparazzo-in-the-making, but the subject of Teenage Paparazzo comes threateningly close to becoming a celebrity himself, and almost certainly as a direct result of receiving this attention from director Adrien Grenier. Read the rest of this entry »

Brian, by Drasko Bogdanovic (via CONTACT).

Persuasion Of Men
Drasko Bogdanovic
GRASP Erotica Bar (543 Yonge St., Level 4)
Runs May 7–31

By Jessie Davis

In our culture where sex sells most everything and “sexy” is generally portrayed as a smooth, slim, attractive woman, the male body has often been disregarded and even censored. In fact, it is probably the last remaining taboo in mainstream film and television. Drasko Bogdanovic stares down this taboo with his camera lens, creating his series Persuasion of Men (see YouTube preview here, potentially NSFW) to encourage the audience’s curiosity about the male form, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

It’s difficult to move into this gender and preference-neutral territory, however, given that the show itself is housed in a re-purposed former bathhouse on the outskirts of Church and Wellesley Village, with gay porn being shown on the television behind the bar. Add to this the fact Read the rest of this entry »

An unintentional voyeur takes in Tanja Tiziana's Fancy Panties.

99 Cents
Show & Tell Gallery (1161 Dundas Street West)
Runs May 7-16

By Kerry Freek

It’s the battle of the blogs! Kidding (mostly). Back in March, blogTO announced a Sony-sponsored contest for aspiring photographers to take part in an official Scotiabank CONTACT photo exhibit. The theme was 99 Cents, that ubiquitous sale suffix. The call encouraged the exploration of the concept’s psychological influence. Cool, yes? Unfortunately, the exhibit’s description sounds better than it looks. The result of reader votes and culls from blogTO’s curatorial team is a rather meh collection of photos on display now at Show & Tell. Read the rest of this entry »

Belinda Visage

By Kerry Freek
Photos by Melina Stathopoulos and Andrew Louis

At first, it looked like Day Four of [FAT] (titled Joy) might threaten audiences with a severe lack of glam. As the show opened with a much-too-long, uninteresting, tripped out solo dance/video/LED/meditation performance act, I’m willing to bet I wasn’t the only one considering the shocking similarity between the words “runway” and “run away.”

Luckily, Kirsty McKenzie’s Year of the Tiger heated things up. Her band of fierce gypsy-clown madams took the stage and rocked it wild-style. Strutting up and down in bright colours, big skirts, tulle and lots of leg, the models wore re-appropriated, cartoonish stuffed feline toys like tidy Victorian hats and Cro-Magnon capes. Crowds forgot about the aforementioned dancer as McKenzie’s pièce de résistance: a silver warrior-queen-as-kitty with faux fur and, well, flexibility. Brilliant.

Next up: Avendano. The collection was somewhat unbalanced in theme, but by the fourth or fifth model, Read the rest of this entry »

Magpie

By Helen Fylactou

The energy on the second day of Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week was playful, silly, and just straight-up fun. All the artists, designers and audience members let loose and everyone was interacting with each other. The theme for Day Two was Lust. The designers tackled issues of sexuality, desire, the body, identity and gender. Music and the art were fantastic — DJs Daniel Wilson, Curtis Santiago and Jet Phynx set the seductive mood of the evening.

Evan Biddell opened the 9pm runway show with his newest collection, Refined. While keeping his signature edge, Biddell managed a more wearable collection that was sci-fi inspired (certain outfits resembled Lady Gaga’s get-ups). Biddell never fails to impress. His designs were unique, well-tailored and colourful, keeping a simple colour palette: ghetto gold, black, brown and blue, with a few graphic printed pieces just for fun. One favourite ensemble was a full POP graphic, hooded cape with a white head cap and red Read the rest of this entry »

Ado Les Scents

By Helen Fylactou

Last night marked the fifth anniversary of one of a Toronto fashion-lover’s favourite event: Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week, also affectionately known as [FAT]. The event showcases over 200 designers, performing artists, musicians and photographers. In recognition of the passion and devotion that’s part of every creation, this year’s edition is titled Made with Love. The four-day event, being held in Liberty Village this year, is a vast array of designers and artists, ranging from debuting artists to seasoned designers.

Day One of [FAT] challenged designers and artist to focus on Longing, and called on collections to represent the hopeful reflection of fashion through design, art and performance. Read the rest of this entry »

Work by Anahita Azrahimi.

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Anahita Azrahimi is one of the featured artists at this year’s [FAT]. No stranger to the world of art and fashion, Azrahimi is currently the producer and art director of Sparrow in the Room, an artistic collective. Studying with some Iran’s visual artists, Azrahimi began her art endeavours at a young age. Beginning with drawing Disney characters to eventually painting Monet’s art, Azrahimi has always challenged herself to do more.  Her paintings are complex, dominant, and richly textured — her work demands a constant negotiation between the piece and the audience. Azrahimi kindly answered a few questions for MONDO in advance of the show. Read the rest of this entry »

Paria Lambina

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

A recent graduate of the Ryerson University fashion design program, Paria Shirvani has done nothing by excel in fashion industry. She has been featured at the Holt Renfrew flagship store, has interned with designers such as Arthur Menonça and is actively involved with New York Fashion Week. Debuting in Toronto on [FAT] Day One, Paria Lambina is a ready-to-wear collection for women. The designs are body-conscious, classic and elegant. The collection worked both structured and flow in her 2009 Fall/Winter collection and audiences can expect a similar collection for Spring 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

youth.inAsia

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Last year’s debut of youth.inAsia’s collection at [FAT] was theatrical, outlandish and experimental. It was a collection that boldly mixed pattered pencil skirts with short fur jackets. The complexity of the collection was impressive and the couture-based signature creations of youth.inAsia are unforgettable. Aidan Mayner and Josh Shier are the creators behind the label.

Collaborators since art school, Mayner and Shier’s geometric designs caught the eye of Sandra Robert, the editor-in-chief of IMAGOzine. Roberts loved youth.inAsia and helped propel them into editorials, television and fashion shows. The designs are beautifully sculpted with architectural shapes and help enhance the female form. Read the rest of this entry »

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Christabel Couture is one of the most dramatic and intriguing artists in Toronto. Creating risky clothing lines, starring in hilarious videos and leading an extraordinary daily life, Christabel’s creations are one-of-kind and are, without a doubt, on the way to be a ‘household name’ in couture.

How to explain Christabel’s style? Take the alien aspect of The Fifth Element, add a hint of Alexander McQueen (with emphasis on the Queen), and maybe drop some acid. The light-hearted and multi-disciplined artist is one of the featured photography and video artists  at this year’s Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week. My interview with Christabel had me laughing out loud, and here’s how it went. Read the rest of this entry »

People per Hectare (E.R.A. Architects - image via harbourfrontcentre.com)

Inside the City
Part of Harbourfront’s View Points Series
Moderated by Ian Chodikoff

By Tina Chu

When the snow blew me in to Harbourfront’s Inside the City lecture, Helena Grdadolnik of Public Workshop was already presenting her works and was just beginning to delve into explanations of the reactivist and activist approaches to architecture.

Essentially, the difference between the two is a difference between being a problem-solver and a problem-identifier. In other words, instead of waiting for clients to present their needs, the activist architect is someone who actively seeks improvement by identifying setbacks in design, and then engages community collaborators and financial partners to devise a solution together.

Not a right approaches, it is more simply one Grdadolnik prefers when designing Public Workshop’s installations and interactions to examine the use of public space and to help people to reconsider and repurpose public spaces that are conventionally overlooked and/or negatively perceived.

Operating with the same approach, Michael McClelland and Graeme Stewart of E.R.A. Architects focuses the process on conducting research.

In the instance of Community Centered and Inside the City, McClelland and Stewart are specifically concerned Read the rest of this entry »