I’ve been sitting on this one for long enough; sorry, Kurt. May the exhibit be heavenly. Enlightening. Ascendant. Hey, whatever turns you on.

For the benefit of the reader who may not be familiar with the Queen West art strip, it’s a terrific place to exhibit work. The whole area is chock-a-block with galleries and people interested in seeing them. In July, tourist season in full swing, with the heat and oh-so-pleasant air con inside, it’ll be even more lucrative. Kurt’s been at this for a while so you’ll be in good hands and I didn’t see anywhere on there that it says “locals only”.

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“The Spirit Of The Thing” is an exploration of Art that deals with spirituality. I asked a friend if he was religious. His reply was one that is heard often now;”No but I am spiritual.”. I want this exhibit to reach for some explanation as to what the word spiritual means in this context. Does being spiritual have some loosely defined form of dogma? How is it practiced? Or is this just a way to avoid the matter of religion altogether? Have we as a western society become so jaded by our religious traditions that we have rejected their ways, but don’t want to be viewed as having no concept as to what is before and after these short stays in our fleshy carcasses? Has history showed us the political truth of religious societies; A truth of war, intolerance, and abuse in the name of their deities? Have we re-examined religious literature to come to the conclusion that indeed it is literature and not dogma? So we have on mass vacated the houses of religion, but what have we replaced them with? These are the questions I want to see your answers to.

The exhibit will take place in *New* Gallery in the middle of the Queen West art district, during the month of July. *New* gallery is an Artist collective as well as a rental gallery. The fees are very reasonable and with enough Artists involved to share the expense the cost would be nominal. For more information please e mail me, Kurt Rostek, lokart@sympatico.ca .

Submissions by email only. Send 3-5 jpegs of recent work, and an Artist Statement. All media acceptable. Send all submissions to Kurt Rostek, lokart@sympatico.ca

Deadline For Entry: May 15th 2010

If you’re a member of a North American aboriginal group — Canada, US, doesn’t matter — your blood may already be boiling. Did you judge this post before reading it?

Yes, “lazy alcoholic Indian” is most definitely pejorative, and up until this post, I’d never used it openly. But that’s not to say I haven’t met lazy alcoholic Indians. I’m not talking about people with genuine hardships living on the street here, I’m talking about able-bodied people who lay around in public parks (I see them day in-day out with my own two eyes), getting hammered, living off social assistance, and telling me to get off their land – along with a few other choice words. I will never apologize for calling them lazy alcoholic Indians. And ignorant. And intolerant. And racist. And rude as all fuck.

Let me set the record straight here. First off, the term “Indian” isn’t pejorative. It’s not accurate (this isn’t India), but the word is still officially used by the government. The way to make “Indian” an insult is to tack something in front of it. You know, like “lazy alcoholic Indian”, or “fucking asshole rapist European” … like that.

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Newstalk 1010 is starting to grow on me again.

The downtown AM radio station was part of my regular morning schedule. I’d wake up, shove an energy drink into my face, and get good and worked up to Bill Carroll’s latest rant.

As the weekday morning guy, Bill was on top of local topics before most people, and he’d always deliver them with an abundance of vociferous opinion. Sometimes he’d be so wrong that I’d have to stand up in protest. At other times Bill would say something so accurate and poignant that I’d have to rise in support. Either way I’d be out of bed and into my day with a tank full of caffeine and indignation.

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Wheels are in motion.

I spent this afternoon pushing thumbtacks into all sort of surfaces around the local Universities in an attempt to lure writers, photographers, artists, and fellow bloggers to TCL. It’s time for this blog to start spreading its wings a little.

I’ll be keeping my hands as dirty as usual around here (posts / photos / etc.), but I firmly believe that the potential for TCL to grow into something more substantial is there. And I don’t think I can get there alone.

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I don’t believe I’ve ever done more than one post in a day on TCL — this one is too short to feel satisfying so something will have to follow.

Bit of an unspoken tradition with me until I thought … and why? Well, gives me time to go over the photos, research, etc. But darned if I didn’t come across the neatest thing the other day. Neat enough to make me question.

This insightful work was produced by Chris Hutsul out of Kensington Market. Chris was kind enough to provide a gargantuan version of this drawing as well as a close-up of that adorable house centipede in the center.

Mr. Hutsul is obviously a native.

You know, I really thought that last post about letting your kids wander around alone in a city would’ve been more contentious. Apparently not. Gotta say, the TCL readership is waaaaaay more liberal than I ever could’ve imagined. Cool!

Or you’re still reading. Sorry, it was kinda long. I’ll do my best to keep this one lighter.

Nothing much to say anyway. The Music Garden is supposed to communicate through other senses.

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