In 1955, Disneyland opened its doors and the American public descended into the fantastical world of Walt Disney. While Disneyland corresponded to the company’s growing brand as a movie-making empire, it also reflected the way that the original American colonies and the ever-developing Western frontier shaped the American mindset. Based on the…[Read more]

Flattened, the tire was. Pedalling with great strength, I push myself forward in the country road illuminated by lonely street lamps, leading the front tire—headstrong—advancing. Trailing behind, the synthetic black rubber greets the asphalt paved road with a kiss from a frail body. In turn, a bathetic road rash of a romance cut short by the jea…[Read more]

Stefano da Putignano’s Trinity (1520) depicts Jesus on the cross placed between the legs of an enthroned God the Father with the dove of the Holy Spirit connecting the two. Located in the small southern Italian city of Turi, this painted stone statue is one of the earliest examples of a human-sized statue of God the Father. It is unique in its m…[Read more]

Marianne Hirsch’s concept of “liquid time” states that photographs are not fixed into static permanence but remain dynamic and unfixed as they acquire new meanings in new circumstances. I had not considered this concept until I began going through family photographs after my grandfather passed away. There I was, sitting on the sofa in my grand…[Read more]

The Ward, The Noble Ward, Saint John’s Ward, Old Chinatown, and most recently, the Bay Street Corridor all describe a particular area of Toronto bordered by College Street, Yonge Street, Queen Street, and University Avenue. Historically this area was the landing point for immigrants to Canada and over time became what was considered by the local g…[Read more]

Adorno’s conception of “serious art” posits that art rejects mimesis, has autonomy from the world as well as from itself but can, however, simultaneously be about the world. Autonomy, from my vantage, has always signaled will, volition, positive and negative freedom. Positive freedom being freedom from internal restraints—the art being autonom…[Read more]