Pencil Sharpener - March 05, 2015
AGO Thursday
Image Stories: Comix Otherwise
Guest-curated by OCAD U MFA Criticism and Curatorial Practice students
Art Spiegelman, Cover art for Print magazine, May/June 1981 Image Information
On March 5, AGO First Thursdays celebrates the comic-art trailblazer Art Spiegelman, the legendary artist at the centre of Art Spiegelman’s CO-MIX: A Retrospective. The night will trace his influence on Toronto’s legendary collaborative comix scenes. Organized by OCAD U’s Criticism and Curatorial Practice students, the night will focus on a new generation of innovative and experimental voices who will transform the gallery through interactive artist projects, live performances and music.
Toronto's alternative pop musician Lowell synthesizes danceable electro-pop beats with fierce lyrics. After releasing We Loved Her Dearly (Arts & Crafts) in September, the album made Q's Top 20 albums of 2014. Lowell headlines the event starting at 10 pm in Walker Court.
Before Lowell takes the stage, Walker Court will be animated by the live-drawing collective EN MASSE, featuring Toronto and Montreal artists who work in illustration, alternative comics and graffiti. DJ Barbi will keep the pace pumping as the artists fill the vast space with their illustrations.
For zine lovers, artist Jason McLean curates a library lounge from his archives of collaborative zines dating from 1990s to the present. Plus, large-scale projections by Fiona Smyth and Alexandra MacKenzie will fill the gallery walls with personal narratives and pulsing digital animations.
Emerging illustrator Ness Lee transports the audience back to their childhoods with her fun cartoon cutouts popping up in unexpected places in the gallery. DJ Donna Lovejoy will keep the party moving in Galleria Italia alongside an interactive art-making station, and Matthew Ryan Smith will give a pop-up talk on the genre of autobiography in art and literature.