WESTERN FR.ONT CALENDAil IIIJil CYNTHIA SHORT 1989 Feb. 17 - March 25 - SOME DETACHED HOUSES March 29 - April 22 Robin Collyer Todd Davis Dan Graham Amy Jones Bill Jones Robert Linsley Warren Murfitt Margaret Naylor Ed Ruscha Nancy Shaw Greg Snider FRIDAY MARCH 3, 9 PM Reception for New York composer/performer, Wayne l·h:irniu:. Arlist in Residence. SUi'!DAY MARCH 5, 8:30 PM S@undchi.!ck. Panel on Improvisation. MARCH 6 - ·15 Peggy G~ll!I. Curator in Residence. FRIDAY MARCH ·10, 9 PM Screening and discussion with Tainya Mars, paliormanca artist and editor of Parallelogramme. l1.lill ROSS iNHJIRHEAD April 26 - May 6 B1811 FRIDAY MARCH 17, 9 PM IDEOPHRENIA with iirt ~.llcP and Audi()) McB COLD CITY ARTISTS SATURDAY MARCH 18, 10 PM Hank'$ lm:hJstria! Cubar~t MARCH 24 - APRIL 7 Al NEIL May 10 - June 3 11111 THURSDAY MARCH 16, 5-8 PM WC?1:&i:1,?nli fr(Oln'i: 16~h Bir-thdsy. Coi~!di.11 Party. "Origins: Celtic Series•. Exhibition THURSDAY MARCH 30 FRIDAY MARCH 31 SATURDAY APRIL 1 9 PM "Ordinary Shadows, Chinese Shade". Video Screening. JACK ~JEFFREY June 9 - July 8 Western Front Society, 303 East 8th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5T 1S1 CONTEMPORARY ART 555 Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 1-5 PM GIU.LERY Telephone: (604)876-9343 HAMILTON VANCOUVER V6B 2Ri • 681 Office Hours: Tues-Fri 1-5 PM and anytime by appointment. 2700 Membership Policy: First time visitors to live events are asked to pay a $5 membership fee, included in the price of admission. A Subscribing Membership costs $20/year and includes a subscription t,::,i FRONT Magazine, special invitations, free use of print and tape archives and access to the Artsfund Medical and Dental Pian. 1 VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC PRESENTS T r 2095 W" 4TH VANCOUVER, B.C, TEL: 732~6810 NEW WORKS BY PETER HANNAN, ALEXINA LOUIE, GORDON MONAHAN SUNDAY MARCH 12 ~ 8PM VAI\JCOUVER EAST CULTURAL CENTRE RESERVATIONS 254-9578 2 VIDEO IN PRESENTS DELUDING DOCUMENTARY iV\ARCH 28, 31 APRIL l, 2 1989 A FOUR DAY SYMPOSIUM WHICH EXPLORES AND EXPLODES THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN VIDEO ART AND DOCUMENTARY Richard March 14 - AprH 1 MARCH 28 8 pm AIDS IN HISTORY Video Screening MARCH 31 8 pm NEW DOCUMENTARY STRATEGIES Video Screening APRIL l 1 pm NOBODY'S FOOL Artists' Presentations Opening Tuesday, March 14 4 pm SUBJECTIVE FACTORS Panel 8 pm DOUBLE DESIRES DOUBLE Bill Film Screening APRIL 2 l pm INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES Artists' Presentations 8 pm IS TRUTH A STRANGER. TO FICTION? Panel OR GALLERY 314 W. HASTINGS, MAIN FLOOR VANCOUVER (604)683-7395 With Stuart Marshall (Britain), Claire Aguilar (U.S.), MeeraDewan(lndia), Robert Morin and Lorraine Dufour, Gary Kibbons, John Greyson (Canada). All video screenings, panels and artists' presentations at the Video In, $3/4 day passes Film event at the Robson Square Media Centre Cinema, $4/5 double bill GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 noon - 5:00 p.m. Or gratefully acknowleges the support of the Canada Council and the City of Vancouver. CAll 688-4336 FOR FURTHER !~!FORMATION Special thanks to the Vancouver Foundation for their assistance in gallery renovations. Curated by Sara Diamond. Funded by the Canada Council &.hibitions and Visiting Foreign Mist Programme. 36 POWEU. STREET VANCOUVER (604) 681 ~6740 It takes a 1ot more than 2 to t~ngo at Women in Focus! To eel rate lnternet'l Women's Dey before we move to Yailetown exhibitions february 10 · march 10 performances rnE m lANDSCArE men I 8pm DAVID ASHODEUS "ln He Dari" 110mens cabaret white gallery we like to invite everyone to come to our Broadway location for: black gallery march IJ · march JI march 1/ 8pm J[AN TRILBY HIGINBOTHAM "On My Metal' grace martini & bent benny "western video shootout" T.B.A. Gallery Houn: Noon· 5pm daily white gallery @ black ga Ilery Opening Night Monday March IJ 8pm @ AN OPEN U I EUU NG of WI F's 15 year:§' icollecUon of fUms & llJideos plus new tu·:quis~Ucm5: ~ *free *select your own! A 6lRN[E OF PAST GALLERY RCTI Unns thru' slides, cBtalogues & 0U1er documentation. 4 5 Western Front 0 The Western FronJ:, founded in 1973, is an artist-run centre that focuses on the production and presentation of new art. It offers programs of Exhibition, Performance Art, Video Production, Computer Graphics, Telecommunications, Poetry, Dance and Music (lorca said it's all poetry, dance and music). Through a unique residency program, local, national and international artists are invited to create new works in this interdisciplinary environment. Henry Bull LUMEN CINERIUM February 16 to March 4 presents JA at I Opening February 16, 8PM ISADORAS Restaurant, Granvme !§!and Curators FRONT Gallery: Annette Hurtig Performance Art: Eric Metcalfe Video Production: Kate Craig Music: Alex Varty, lain Macanulty Poetry & !deophrenia: Susi Milne Computer Graphics: Kye Goodwin Archives: Brice MacNeil Staff Administrator: Office Manager: Technicians: Accountant: Karen Henry Susi Milne lain Macanulty, Rob Kozinuk Ann Hepper Five Weekends of Exciting Sounds Alistair MacLennan by Re ional and I nterootional Artists "SITE CITE" SPECIFIC March 3, 4 March 10 to 25 Opening March 9, 8PM George Robert Quartet • bebop alto saxophonist from Switzerland with Hugh Fraser. March 10, 11 Brass Roots • New Orleans style, with i:he spice of 1\1:.lrdi Gras and twist of Lester Bowie March 17, 18 Sol Denny Good.hew Trio The Westem Front is a non-profit cultural society supported by grants from: The Canada Council, Employment and immigration Canada, the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture, the City of Vancouver, and special project from the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation. FRONT Magazine is published nine times a year. Design & Production: Henry 0. Jane Ellison, Deanna Ferguson, Susi Milne, Chick Rice, Ron Twanow. Contributors: Alex Varly, lain Macanulty, Kate Craig, Susi Milne, Alfred Birnbaum, Karen Henry, Annette Hurtig, Paul Wong, Eric Metcalfe, Margaret Dragu. Cover: Paul March 31 to April 15 Opening March 30, 8PM • unique Seattle saxophonist, with Clyde Reed and Claude Ranger March 24, 25 Jay Clayton Quartet • highly acclaimed vocalist performs unique renditions of jazz standards. March 31,April 1 ()()() Kill~""') VJ1Kouvcr Lunar Adventures Briti~h Culu1nbia V5T .1K-l • modem jazz, harmolodic funk, ccltic swing, & calypso collage. X7_l-X.172 All shows 9 PM - Mid • $5 at the door JAZZ HOTLINE:682-0706 by Chick Rice 6 Lewitt 7 HO l; f( S Wcd11e,Jay to Saturday I prn--5pm . OU D HECK WAYNE HORVITZ Sunday, March 5, 8:30 PM FREE March 1 - 11 Improvisation may be described as the invention of music in performance. This definition applies equally to music of widely divergenl and content, including baroque court church organ music, chance composition, computer music and jazz of all kinds. It is appropriate to wom:ler if there is any music at all that could exist without some of improvisation. This month's Soundcheck presents a panel discussion on the role of improvisation in contemporary music. Five musicians of various backgrounds present their perspectives 011 the issue. Topics may include the following: What is the relation between the notion of a composition as a musical entity in itself and theai wide variety of interpretations that may result in performance of that composition? Where does the improviser's "inspiration" come from? Is it related to the composer's "inspiration"? What is the role of memory and 1nperience in improvising? What are the socio-political implications inherent in the act of improvising? What is the meaning of a recorded improvisation? If computers invent music in performance, are they improvising? Are some improvisations better than others? PtH'll®!ists: Co~t Cook, Waymai Horni1lz,1Jan Sch@!dt, Aln [l(l)na Zapf Modernllor: lain Macarn.1lt)f This presentation is co-sponsored by Vancouver Pro Musica. 8 CONCERT with Wayne Horvitz, Butch Morris, Bobby Previte and Vancouver vVorkshop Ensemble Saturday, March 11, 9PM. $5.00 technological world of digital synthesis; on synthesizer he is one of the most convincing improvisational stylists, switching timbres as easily as a saxophonist might vary his attack, while with his "rock" band, The President, he comes on more like a very loose and down-home Joe Zawinul, funky and tuneful and yet given to surprising twists and turns. Horvitz's compostiona! skills are just now coming to light-the Kronos Quartet recently recorded one of his pieces-and his studio skills are similarly in demand: after recording most of his Nonesuch Records debut in his spare bedroom, he will produce Bill Frisell's next effort for that label. And when he's not writing or recording, Horvitz is in constant demand on the American, European and ~lapanese new music circuits, touring by himself, in duets with Frisell or with his wife, composer/pianist Robin Holcomb, in an ongoing trio with Butch Morris and Boby Previte, with the Sonny Clarke group, or as a charter member of John Zorn's eclectic Naked City ensemble. Wayne Horvitz is perhaps the living embodiment of the '"downtown" Manhattan experimental music network, a loose group of composers and instrumentalists who thrive on change and who leap stylistic barriers with apparent ease. Trne products of this vast urban conglomerate, these players raid idioms freely, often possess immense knowledge of cultural traditions not necessarily their own, have usually acquired and then transcended virtuosity in the pursuit of an individual voice, and are usually comfor!able working in collective situations, either with other musicians or with artists from other disciplines. Horvitz is first and foremost a pianist, and those who heard him either in his Western Front debut in 1985 or more recently with the Sonny Clarke Memorial Quartet, are fully aware that he is conversant with the whole history of American piano styles, from the hardest blues to the most fluid bop to the free-est of free improvisations. But he has also successfully made the leap from the acoustic keyboard into the 9 During his time in Vancouver, Wayne will work with Vancouver musicians on a number of projects, including new recordings and a public performance, March 11, which will feature one set by the Horvitz/Moris/Previte trio, and one with a larger group incorporating some of the best of this area's improvisational players. PM. Feel free to come up and meet the artist. Musicians interested in the workshop/rehearsals should contact the Western Front office or call me directly at 255-212"1. This residency is made possible by a grant from the Foreign Visiting Artist Program of the Canada Council. The Western Front will host a reception on Friday, March 3 at 9 -AlexVarhJ DOWN AMONG THE BABIES WITH THE WELDONETTES Down Among the Babies You and Me Make Three Down Among the Babies We Fart and Poo and Pee Down Among the Babies We Boil Formula in Pots Down Among the Babies Hand Laundry Never Stops Down Among the Babies We Hold Baby Buddha Tight Down Among the Babies Is really quite All Right Margaret Dragu Canadian Visiting Artists Program Presenls: TANYA MARS Tanya Mars is a performance artist from Toronto who is also the editor of Parailelogramme Magazine and a strong figure in ANNPAC (the Association of National !Non-Profit Artist-run Centres). Her colourful and flamboyant performances gamer ravlil reviews from the art scene. During her week in Vanco1JV£H she will make the following presentations: Monday, March 6, 7:30-10:00 PM. at the VIDEO INN Video as a tool in perfmmance art. Friday, March 10, 9 AM-Noon at 10 EMILY CARR, Sara Diamond's class. Tanya Marn will discuss her own work and show videotapes. Friday, March 10, 9:00 PM. at WESTERN FRONT. A lecture and screening featuring Tanya's videotapes and an open discussion on ANl'l!PAC, Para!lelogramme and related issues. The Vancouver Artists Talks Committee is supported by a grant from the Visual Arts Section ol the Canada Council. All events are free and open to the public. 11 THE TOKYO EDITION 1988 INFERME TAL 8 THE FIRST Il\fTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON VIDEOCASSETTE North American Premiere: Sunday, March 12, 1 to 6 PM. $5.00 ,41fred Birnb,u1m wm be in attendance. l1.mch. library viewing: March 13 to 24. !NFERMENTAl is a magazine on videocassette started in Berlin by Gabor in 1980. It has been travelling nr.i:n.,,, .. n cities and editors ever since. FERmenting between !Nformation and experiMENTAl, between personal and mass media, it is an international network. In 1987, the Western Front produced INFERMENTAl 6. INFERMENTAl 8 was produced in Tokyo by Alfred Birnbaum. Here we go again. The annual survey of global video is back again. This year's compilation comes bursting with the latest in Japanese post-design art and ideas. Called IN THE AFTERGLOW OF TV LAND, it delivers the goods on Godzilla, lnfomania, limboguistics and Future Fashion. Travailing with the tapes on their North American tour is citizen of the world, time traveller, translator, the producer of li¾JFERMEl'HAl 8, how about a round of applause for Alfred Birnbaum: with broadcast and cable stations in different locales the world over. INFERMENTAl material. Straight from everywhere to everywhere." "Television subcultures are multiplying; personal viewpoints on this "most popular medium" sweep lhe full wavebam:L The reception may still be a little poor and the picture difficult to tune in. But beyond the late-late fringe of any network, this is prime time The North American Premiere of INFERMEl'lTAL 8 will take place on Sunday afternoon, March 12. The five hour show will be projected on a large screen and on monitors. lunch will be served. Informal atmosphere. The best way to Hnd out what's happening TODAY in Tokyo. "Thank-you, folks. Bringing INFEAMENTAl to Japan, islands far removed from the American and European continents of previous editions, yet very close to the global "info-magnetic" environment, we recognized the need to bridge a broader span than ever before. Not just East West, but from art to more popular e)(pressions. "For Japan is nothing if not popular commercial culture. Public support for the arts is non-existant and "the state of the artist" is static. Which make this the first edition of INFERMENTAl to be privately funded, as well as the first edition to be released on 1/2 inch videocassette to reach a larger popular viewership. We knew that the Japanese see themselves as very much a television We also knew that television is, if anything, more international than video-becoming ever more planetary through transnational satellite communications. While mass programming still glosses a seamless and seemingly "objective" no-point perspective, many exciting new directions are e;merging as more and more artists and independant production groups collaborate (applause ... ) 12 PEGGY GALE Curator in Residence March 6 - 15 & April 17 - 27 Peggy Gale is one of Canada'a fast and best known curator/critics of video and perlormance art She will be in residence to select an exhibition of Western Front videotapes under the working title, "limits 01' Performance". Video el(hibitions have tended to concentrate on specia.l!y made wvideo art". But for fifteen years, music, poetry and performance events have also been recorded on video. Gale suggests that now is the time to look at these documents. Some magic, famous, ephem&ral moments have been caught on tape. Some of the artists have died since. Video is an old enough medium that its role in the writing of ari history can now be considered. The residency will take the form of a tutorial with the participation ol l(aren Henry, Annette Hurtig and Elspeth Sage. For further information, please contact Kate Craig at 876-9343. 13 Western F :r on t Sixteenth Anniversay 16cANDLES ONLY 16 THURSDAY, MARCH 16 5:00 to 8:00 PI\1 You are cordially invited 'lo come out and help celebrate our birthday. Take this festive opporti.mity to renew your membership, introduce a friend or visit the Front for the first time. us Champagne and music. Balloons and chocolate cake. Surprises! ~ ~ ~ ~ 14 SWEET LL E H IL BERS E As well as being !birthday time, M,m::11 is 1t,emb1,,rnhip Month. The Western Front has been active in the cultural lile of this city for sixteen years, but we would be nowhere without the support of our membership. This month we salute all our members and make a special ettor! to attract new ones. Here are the ways in which you can participate as a member: P~rHcipating M0mber: With your first $5.00 admission you automatically become a Participating Member. This gives you access to the in-house library, archive and video collection. 16 T Sub~cribing M~mber: For a year ($25.00 for families) you will receive a subscription to 9 issues of FRONT Magazine, with informaticm about al! Western Front programs and events, as well as announcements and comment on other cultural events around the city. You will aiso receive extra mailings, invitations to special even!s and access to the A11sfund Medical and Dental Plan. Cail 876-9343 for details. Org,,mlzoitio11 !M®mb~r: This membership is for business a.nd professional associates who have an interest in the Western Front, and for sister organizations who share artistic concerns and receive special services in support of their projects. An Organization Membership costs $50.00 and includes FRONT Magazine and special mailings, but please note that entrance to events is by individual membership only. (No, you can't bring your whole staff on one ticket!) IDom:ms: Friends who can support our activities and concerns with a contribution of $50.00 or more receive special consideration and copies of all Western Front artists' books and exhibition catalogues. We are particularly grateful to a small but growing number of patrons who have supported us faithfully, some of !hem for many years. We urge you to join their ranks: Irene Aebi Janice Dillon and David Gibbons Peier Fraser Q.C. Helen Freeze Charlotte Murray, M. Arch, MA!BC Leslie Norris and Dr. Myron MacDonald Dr lyie Thurston and Stephen Franch Coi"pora'Uil imd Businei$s Donll:ms: Om thanks to the enterprises who are contributing to the current activities of the Western Front For their continul!ld financial support: Cantor Corporation For donatlcms in lldnci: Atari Canada BCTV Custom Plastics General Paint Goethe Institute Hemlock Printers Northstar Mills Strider Computers. ..... ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ◄ 15 ill EDGE ru1d Western. Front present: PAUL WONG 0RDII\TARY SHA~DO\,VS, CHINESE SHADE Canadian P.renlieire Tinrrsday I\..farch 30; Friday March 31 & Saturday April 1 9 PM $5.00 running time: 90 minutes Paul has consistently fixed 11is gaze on difficult topics and tough issues for his projects involving video, photography and performance. His work is a personal odyssey that includes murder, suicide, anger, youth, drugs and the controversial exploration of the sexual tenain. His more recent work reflects a contfnuing obsession with mass media, popular culture, narcissism and consumer society. ORDINARY SHADOWS, CHINESE SHADE is a breakthrough. In it, uses his s.econd generation Chinese-Canadian perspective to frame the Chinese here in the new world, Canada, and in the motherland, China. This is an intimate, personal view. Through his own "family networkw and several trips to the Peopie's Republic of China, the artist gained access to the iweryday, non-exotic world of the Chinese. A picture emerges of displaced cultures and traditions in transition. The viewer identifies with the artist/camerman as he bears witness to the unfolding of his own cultural identity. It presents a refreshing and incisive view of China that is missing both from mass media journalism and from the work of Western artists who use exotic cultures as "raw material" their work. ORDINARY SHADOWS, CHINESE SHADE is neither dramatic, conventional narrative, nor straight documentary. It is a flowing tapestry of seemingly ordinary events and people. The tape is fascinating and startling in its simplicity. ORDINARY SHADOWS, CHll\!ESE SHADE had its world premiere at the New York Museum of Modem Ari last November. This is the Canadian premiere. 16 17 AL NEIL ORIGINS: CELTIC SERIES March 21 - April 7 Gallery Hours: 1 to 5 PM, Tuesday to Saturday At the artist's request, this exhibition has been scheduled to coincide with his sixty-fifth birthday. Neil explains his request and the Western Front's significance to him by recounting his first "public" performance, when, as a young boy, he wandered into the building at 8th Avenue and Scotia Street, found a piano and played unannounced for the owners, the Vancouver Chapter of the Knights of Pythias. Neil has become a familiar at this site since its reinception in March, 1973, as the Western Front. His activities here have ranged from solo piano concerts to multi-media collaborative performances, an exhibition, mixed-media "Annual Reports", most recently presented with fellow artist and companion, Carole ltter, and numerous impromptu appearances. Neil views the "Origins: Celtic Series" exhibition as a perpetuation of the cycles that in summation constitute his life to date. It is Front Gallery's intent that this exhibition acknowledge Neil as a progenitor of several strains of current Canadian cultural production. The exhibition will present approximately twenty four of Neil's "Origins: Celtic Series", collage works on paper. The series is distinguished by two central motifs: each collage entails a portrait of the artist based on a photo by Carole ltter, transformed through photocopy enlargement, colouration and re-photography; each of the manipulated self- portraits is juxtaposed with a page from the medieval illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells, which Neil uses as a reference to his Celtic origins and for its mystic sources-its illumination both literal and figurative. These collages are further differentiated by Neil's characteristic calligraphy, painted gestures and excerpts of text from his published writings. Although virtually all of Neil's diverse oeuvre has an autobiographical aspect, the "Origins" series is overtly so-a compilation of this pioneer's ancestral, theoretical, and philosophic roots, together with mystic and poetic sources. Moreover, it exemplifies Neil's unique means of combining elegant formal precision with the gestural, narrative and metaphoric qualities which distinguish his work, and from which the frequently applied title of "shaman" proceeds. Neil's works encompass the West Coast mythologies, its landscape and ethos, while simultaneously addressing global post-capitalist issues. Personal and cultural elements-his own medical reports, baseball, philosophical treatises- speak to concerns about the human condition. Al 18 Neil is an exemplar-an artist who dissolves boundaries while assimilating new ideas continuously. A catalogue accompanies the exhibition. It includes a text by Neil and essays by Scott Watson, Alex Varty and Annette Hurtig, as well as photo documentation of collage works, performances etc. For the financial assistance that made this publication possible, the Western Front gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council Exhibitions Assistance Program and the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture. - Annette Hurtig 19 I IDEOPHRENIA l) What is the purpose of a Cow? : The cow's main purpose is to eat grass. 2) What is the purpose of a shrimp? : Shrimp is meant to be eaten on a plate with mayonnaise, lemon juice and pepper. 3~ "r?ould a cow enjoy a plate of shrimp? The mouth of my ~·nd becomf es me in my .vojce. The su sfonce o my mind becomes ost. WORK IN PROGRESS IAIN MACANULTY I ART McP March 17, 1989, 9:00 PM $5.00 ldeophr•nia (-fr~'ni-A), n. 1naduM1 characterized by disordered ideu. 20 MZ8 [YZArZw S*. 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MORE ON OSTREM at grunt gallery As a board member and curator at grunt gallery I read with interest Renee Rodin's review of Ostrem's exhibit (FRONT, Jan. 89). That she opened the review with references to racism in the art community is timely but unfortunately misrepresents Ostrem and his work. When I first saw Failure of Judaism in the curator's studio it took me aback. But Ostrem's work often has a disturbing edge. The painting was part of a tryptich that dealt with news stories. The other two, Christianity and Technology, took their inspiration from Jimmy Swaggart's fall from grace and the destruction of the Challenger. He was getting at the scandals and contradictions these seemingly decent institutions have been embroiled in at the end of the S0's. Failure of Judaism was a reaction to a specific news event of Israeli soldiers breaking a Palestinian's hands. The complete title is: The Failure of Judaism, January 20, 1988-Hymie breaks Yousef's Hands. The image shows a desert landscape with a 'building to the far right. In the foreground several soldiers hold down a civilian man while another soldier raises a piece of 2x4 to break his hands. Jesse Jackson did get into a lot of trouble using the word Hymie but not necessarily because of the word itself. His reference to New York as "Hymietown• implied that the town was dominated by "the Jews• (read Jewish money) and this ugly and racist assertion was what got him into well deserved trouble. Ostrem is in no way making any of the same assertions. Renee sees "Hymie" only as a racial slur but it is first and foremost a name and it is in this context that Ostrem uses it in the work. That Ostrem links Judaism with Israel shouldn't be much of a surprise to anybody. Israel was started in the late forties as a Jewish state and still largely is, as the recent elections there surely attest. That all Jews shoulq feel responsible for the excesses of Israel is ridiculous and in the same order of all Christians feeling reponsible tor Jimmy Swaggart's whoremongering. But he does address this at length in an interview in the catalogue, of which I'll only quote a part. "I think there's a problem happening in Israel. There's factions there too. There's a pro-peace faction and an antiarab faction. So I'm not criticizing Judaism, it's more like I'm taking sides, I'm identifying with the peace faction in Israel.• Maybe by labelling the piece "bad art•, as Renee does, grunt could have avoided the whole issue. But I feel incomfortable pulling works off walls. It presupposes a political correctness that is dangerous. I discussed the situation with Ostrem after the first complaint and we agreed that 22 if there was a body of complaints we would pull the painting. There were two serious complaints over the word Hymie. The postcard was pulled because it was a postcard and we could not be assured it would be taken in context. Many people complained that we were overreacting. Renee felt we didn't go far enough. As an art community that is largely white and anglo-saxon it was and is a very useful discussion to be having. Attacking Ostrem or grunt as being politically regressive does nothing to further this discussion. Standing on political correctness that sees good thoughts as the way to political change is naive and useless. I do feel Renee could have done her research before castigating Ostrem. I offered her a copy of the postcard when she told me she wished to write about it and gave her a copy of the catalogue where the interview appeared. That the painting was misrepresented as being "Arabs and Jews fighting over a hill of beans• and that on that basis Ostrem was labelled racist is perhaps the "Failure of Renee Rodin". - Glenn Alteen, RODIN RESPONDS Talk about "naive"-this issue is a little more important than just being "politically correct". And I didn't think "good thoughts", I reacted! Both the grunt and the Pitt are galleries which I like and usually support. I'm a member of the Pitt and referred to an incident there to indicate that racism was not just "out there" but all around us. We have all absorbed the racist attitudes of the society we live in. Painful as it is to confront ourselves and others, denial is worse. Generally, we are in the throes of a 1950's morality, complete with its acceptance of prejudice. And Vancouver, right now, is in the midst of a "yellow peril" campaign. Glenn's reference to my "hill of beans" is really making a mountain out of a molehill. I interptreted the scattered beans as a smart statement on nationalism-though it is no joke that the Palestinians are homeless. Maybe I overestimated Ostrem's subtlties. In the review I quoted Ostrem as as telling me, "hymie was a word kicki'lg around New York ... • It was used "first and foremost" in this context. Hymie is an Afro-American putdown of Jews. That Blacks and Jews are at each others throats has served the American establishment well. Hymie, as a name, is Yiddish, the language of many European Jews. In Israel, however, Hebrew (a totally different language), Arabic and English are the predominant languages. I called the piece "bad art" only because it misinformed. Ostrem's equation-Hymie (Jew) = anti-Arab is simply not true. Also, 23 linking all Jews to Israel is like iin!dng ail Catholics to Italy. I did not read Ostrem's catalogue because a written statement migM augment, but should no1 have to explain a visual piece. It should be able to stand on its own. Some people lelt I was advocating censorship. Racism is 1:he worst form of censorship-it traps in lies. Not allowing reaction to art is another way to censor. If you had an equivalent piece with "sambo" instead of "hymie, would you still have shown it?-Sticks and Stones. -Renee Rodin We find tanadians to be appreciative of cultural publications. And we appreciate that. ART iN FORM BOOK & RECORD STORE 2237 SECOND AVENUE SEATTLE, WA 98121 (206)441-0867 MON-FRI 10-6, SAT 10-5 CONTEMPORARY ART PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM CATALOGS & MONOGRAPHS ART CRITICISM & CURRENT THEORY EXHIBITION SURVEYS & ANTHOLOGIES NEW MUSIC LP'S , CASSETTES, AND CD'S ARTISTS' BOOKWORKS ,A.RT MAGAZINES & JOURNALS MAIL ORDER CATALOG AVAILAIBlE PLEASE WRITE ART IN FORM BOOKSTORE. 2237 SECOND AVENUE SEATTLE, WA 98121 (206) 441-0867 BOOI{S B()()l(S 24 2742 w.,4c 25 THE FEDERATION OF B.C. WRITERS PROUDLY PRESENTS CURRENTS OF THE go~s DIRECTONS, WRITING AND POUTiCS , 0 A two day conference April 8111 and 9th 207 west hastings Readings and workshops by: Mryna Kostash Tom man Andreas S roeder Sarah Ems David Chuenyan Lai tl1es~fri 12 -6 sat 11-4 For more information call: 683=2057 681-8199 SWJZESPEARE Jvlarch 8-11, 15-18 8 p.m. SFl; Theatre Ticket5' $5/3 T he magical gongs andbells of a gamelan orchestra proi·ide exonc music for Shakespenre's classic. Prospero's charmed island fil1ed u·ith song, dance, sho.dou•s and illusions, monsters and spirits, lo,•e, bc"tra:al and ret•c>r1ge promises traTL,porr to a srrange and man elous u:orl.d. 1 Artspeak Gallery Donation Card These are some of our operating expenses that funds can be earmarked for on a onetime or monthly sustaining basis. one-time monthly □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ The Gan1elan TE'MPEST Presenred bY the Centre for the Arcs 26 rent 00 $50 $fi0 telephone $50 office supplies printing postage IAamm Gmm 291-3514 #3-311 W. 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