Wednesday, September 18, 2013

a horse did whinny...*



"a horse did whinny in the afternoon -
he had no pity for the old buffoon...

a horse did whinny in the pale sunlight -
he had no eyes, he had no insight...
 

a horse did whinny in the middle of the day,
a horse did whinny as if to say...
go away... go away... go away...... go away..."* 






[* the selected lines are lyrics from a song by Enzio Verster of Half-Chinese, a too-cool Vancouver band on the move to Montreal...]


["Horse did whinny" is the first song on their album We were pretending to be released by Sad Game Records, 2012]


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

downtown westside:: the sexy sixties [episode three]






The Guinness Tower [by Charles Paine & Associates, 1969] is as sexy as the International Style gets back in provincial 1960's Vancouver. Almost 50 years on, it can still hold its own with its sleek proportions, its silver threading through aqua-green glass, its seductive black "leggings", and its ageless integrity. Mies van der Rohe would be justly proud of this well-heeled derivative of his own tall pristine temples.
And, of course, thank you, Guinness family fortune.

Within this paean to Miesian symmetrical sexiness is a full-wall tile mural in the lobby that is so unexpected in its large scale chaotic surrealist conception, as only a one-armed wild-haired Catalan artiste from the realm of Gaudi can execute. Entitled "The Fathomless Richness of the Seabed", the ceramic tile abstractions sweeps one into a maelstrom of swirling sea creatures and blue tidal depths in low relief. I learned about an artist whom I have not known of before - Jordi Bonet, born in Barcelona in 1932 and after moving to Montreal, sustained a most prolific practice in painting, sculpture, ceramics and public wall installations during his short life.
And thanks again to the fathomless wealth of the Guinness family, we are graced with one of his magnificent, albeit a little hidden away, creations in our fair city of aggregating richness.







The Guinness Tower at 1055 West Hastings Street
Completed in 1969 by Charles Paine & Associates

*Please enjoy my new photo-essay book, BARCELONA PRIMITIVA, available for previewing on blurb.ca/b/4589830-b-a-r-c-e-l-o-n-a-p-r-i-m-i-t-i-v-a

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

the bipolarity of blue bears...


strange strandings from arctic empires
moulding ice blue stance behind the stables
the late august sun beats inconsolate upon
the prowling pair, still durable and fierce
for another maladaptive winterwelter