Archive for October 2010

The 7a*11d collective, also known as Gale Allen, Annie Onyi Cheung, Shannon Cochrane, Paul Couillard, Jess Dobkin, Adam Herst, Johanna Householder, and Tanya Mars, are descending upon Toronto for the eighth time with the biennial 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art. With 30 local and international performance artists in tow, from October 21st to October →

Photos by Madd Hattere // Clair was a young Latin American girl born in midtown Toronto, living on St. Clair Avenue West. Reflecting upon the path of Saint Clare of Assisi, considering her namesake, it was understood that Clair would undertake the strict Catholic habits of the Franciscan tradition. From birth, it was clear that →

I am feeling extraordinarily patriotic. Earlier tonight, I joined in a robust chant of “Fox, fox, FOX.” If the reader is of Canadian birth and/or upbringing and does not understand the reference above I would be appalled. On September 30th, the annual Terry Fox Run was held in schools across the nation. Terry the Tireless, →

DISCLAIMER: I am normally very strongly of the opinion that songs are not necessarily indicative of the songwriter’s mental state. Art can be art without being autobiographical. Nobody assumes that Mickey Rourke is actually a struggling wrestler, thus, nobody should assume that someone who writes a crushingly sad song is actually crushingly sad. “This life →

In the air above, in the sea below, embedded in history and under your bed. Since the campfire was first ignited, monsters have given the word ‘haunt’ reason, acting as figures of lore that permanently lurk within the shadows and unknown. They’ve inspired us, and they’ve inspired those that inspire others. But what is in →

[The poster] is a means of communication between the seller and the public – somewhat like a telegraph. The poster artist is like a telephone operator; he does not draft messages, he dispatches them. No one asks him what he thinks; all he is asked to do is to communicate clearly, powerfully and precisely. A.M. →

Even though I was essentially born a jaded 40-year-old woman, I have always been terrified of growing up. I hate having responsibilities, a job. Anything entertaining or enjoyable is ruined by an obligation to abide by time and quality restraints. I’d love school if nothing was graded and I could hand in stuff whenever I →

As of the date of publishing for this issue of Steel Bananas (October 15), there are ten days remaining until Election Day. During those ten fearful, fearful notches on the calendar, while all sensible Torontonians will be holding their collective breath in terrified anticipation, it is truly anyone’s guess what asinine shenanigans our esteemed mayoral →

Okay. I’ll admit. I have a bit of a problem. It happens the same way every time. I read about an album I think I’ll dig. I buy it. Before I know it, I’m face down in a dusty record bin looking for an obscure, universally panned late-period Beach Boys record on CD. I tend →

As a professor of mine once blithely stated, there are only three things that need to occur for an act of theatre to exist: someone, someone doing something to someone else, and someone watching. That is the basis of all theatre, of all life, if one considers. Variety exists in the tone, mood, setting, character, →

We’re surrounded by one-man shows. Episodes of self-involvement have always plagued Toronto, and in election time it is especially present. Although a team of people are behind the political campaigns and speeches, it’s only ever one man we are drawn to. It is always just one man that the audience subjects itself to and we →

It has been eight years and counting for Nokomis. That’s a true mark of fashion retail success, especially for an independent women’s clothing store on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue. Showcasing an exclusive collection of clothing and product by Canadian designers, Nokomis was one of the first of its kind in Edmonton to offer unique clothing that’s →

Some say it was invented by Saladin. This is a vile piece of propaganda. I don’t know when this lie started, but I’d cut the throat of any man who dared expectorate such filth. It is much older. In fact, it was not invented at all. At least, not by any living man. This was →

October 23rd, 2010 This month’s cover features Canadian performance artist Karen Elaine Spencer in fragments peeling onions atop a ladder. If you’re in Toronto this week, you can see her sitting in Union Station, offering an antithesis to the movement of the crowds as part of this year’s 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art. This festival →

Werewolves: A Journal of Transformation by Alice Carr is not actually by Alice Carr. Of course the back cover blurb claims that the contents of Werewolves faithfully reproduce those of a journal found by hikers on the outskirts of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. In place of the usual author’s blurb, a “publisher’s note” details →

Tiffany Muñoz is a Vancouver based artist/illustrator.  She was born in Kamloops and raised from Salmon Arm to the backward suburbs of Vancouver.  She is mostly a self-taught artist.  This past year, Tiffany completed foundation studies in Interdisciplinary Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.  Her preferred media is a traditional hands-on love for pencils, pens, watercolours, →