The 5th Element at the Toronto Fringe Festival

Photography: www.marypics.com





MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

Catalyst is re-mounting "The 5th Element" for Toronto Fringe Festival!!! For those that missed it last year, here's your chance to be part of the Catalyst experience. For those that saw it already, the show has been revamped to give you an even bigger and better production!

Toronto's freshest mix of urban, classical, and cultural dance bring you on an insatiable journey across the Elements of Life.

"Through the rumblings of the earth, to the emotional depths of the rain, to the burning heat of the fire, to the flying freedom of the air…"

DISCOVER YOUR ELEMENT.

Show Details:
Bathurst Street Theatre
736 Bathurst Street

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 - 10:30pm - 11:30pm
Saturday, July 9, 2011 - 11:00pm - Sunday, July 10, 2011 - 12:00am
Monday, July 11, 2011 - 4:45pm - 5:45pm
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 - 9:15pm - 10:15pm
Thursday, July 14, 2011 - 1:45pm - 2:45pm
Friday, July 15, 2011 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Saturday, July 16, 2011 - 7:30pm - 8:30pm

TICKETS GO ON SALE JUNE 13, 2011!

For tickets, call 416-966-1062
www.fringetoronto.com

For more info, email info@catalystthecompany.com
www.catalystthecompany.com

The 5th Element
http://vimeo.com/11828654
http://vimeo.com/14567408

Fear of Failure

Milton Glaser – on the fear of failure. from Berghs' Exhibition '11 on Vimeo.

http://berghs.exhibition11.se

Paulo Coelho – on the fear of failure. from Berghs' Exhibition '11 on Vimeo.

http://berghs.exhibition11.se

Walm-Art Exhibition

In collaboration with some of Toronto's local talent... I'll be exhibiting some new work on Friday May 6th, at The Port Gallery (1179 Dundas St. W.)   

Exhibiting Artists:

HANS POPPE

YOKE

MEDIAH

BOBBY LAWN

And of course music provided by:

WALMER CONVENIENCE

(Dancehall, Rap, Bass, Moombro Tunes, Drumstep, Dance)

CLICK ATTENDING ON THE FACEBOOK INVITE HERE!

Artist For Autism Spectrum Disorder

I'll be participating in an upcoming group art exhibition at the Gladstone Hotel as a fundraiser for Giant Steps Toronto on Saturday, April 30th. Giant Steps is a school and therapy centre that enables children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through academics, therapies, and integration. This one's a win win situation in more ways than one. I'll be exhibiting some limited edition linocuts... Which means affordable artwork and 50% of the sale goes to a great cause! On top of that... live entertainment all night. A one night only event so please save the date. 

Saturday, April 30th
7pm - 1am
Gladstone Hotel, Ballroom
1214 Queen St. W., Toronto
$20 at the door or in advance

Participating Artists:
Angela Chandler
Bill Kreznarich
David Contin
Farhad Nargol-O'Neill
Fraser Shein
Hans Poppe
James Paul Cameron
Jenny Hsieh
Joy Pekar
Julia Chabad
Julie B.
Laura Kendall
Lennon Friedman
Lisa Ng
Lisa Particelli
Matthew Brown
Mike Brown
Peter Mah
Rosario Olivera
Sebastian Barkley
s-kat
Thelia Shelton
The Spooky Astronauts Drawing Club

Join a group of artists and musicians for a night dedicated to awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder as they transform the Gladstone's Historic Ballroom into a gallery and set the stage for musical performances by:

Participating Bands:

gNat

Big City Nights Band
Flying Museum Band
and
Jumple

Proceeds and a portion of all sales will be donated to Giant Steps Toronto. Funds raised through Artists for ASD will be used to deliver Giant Steps' hands-on therapy programs to children with ASD. Tickets $20: Available in advance here artistsforasd.eventbrite.com or at the doors.

TSA's Spring Launch Exhibition (Follow Up)

As usual, great reception at the Toronto School of Art's Spring Launch Exhibition. It was fun meeting and greeting everyone. I'm always humbled by the personal feedback.

Exhibiting at The Artist Project March 3 - 6, 2011

I will be participating with Toronto School of Art in the upcoming, much anticipated The Artist Project this weekend. If you are going (a great way to spend an afternoon), come by say hi. If you were not familiar with this event... you can't lose... "The Artist Project will showcase original art from over 200 carefully juried contemporary artists". I'll be at the TSA Booth for a couple of hours on Saturday. Exhibition dates are from Thursday March 3, to Sunday March 6, 2011 at the Queen Elizabeth Building, Exhibition Place. Feel free to follow any updates via twitter @hanspoppe.


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MEET AND BUY FROM OVER 200 OF
THE BEST CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS.

From March 3-6th, The Artist Project will showcase original art from over 200 carefully juried contemporary artists. First time buyers and seasoned collectors will find this four-day art fair a rare opportunity to meet, learn and purchase directly from independent artists. Discover all mediums, including installations and video art. Experience special features, art chats & docent led tours.

DATES, TIMES & LOCATION
Thursday March 3 to Sunday March 6

Thursday 7 - 10pm (Opening Night Preview Party, 19+ event)
Friday 12 - 9pm, Saturday 11am - 9pm
& Sunday 11am - 6pm

QUEEN ELIZABETH BUILDING,
EXHIBITION PLACE
180 Princes' Boulevard, Toronto, ON

ADMISSION
Adults: $12 / $10 Online
Seniors/Students: $8
Opening Night Tickets: $25 / $23 Online

TO BUY TICKETS, CLICK HERE

Bob Marley

Bob Marley
Spray Paint, Wax, Oil on Board
27" x 33"

Don Reon

This time last year I was asked to collaborate on a project launch... Don Reon. It took a second, but, alas... They have finally launched their site and online store! Always amazing to watch someone's dream materialize through hard work. Check them out donreon.com, @DonReon, show some support facebook. Keep an eye out for the up and coming... another collaboration in progress!

--
Don Reon

Back in 2010, amidst the social unrest and uncertainity of his own future, began a secret project of ideas and broken dreams.

A promise was made to himself and the neglected savoir-faire of the urbanwear industry that things must change, and thus Don Reon was born.

Formulating without a formula Don Reon create original head-turning, head-scratching t-shirts, jumpers and hoods, designed to shock, question, judge and inspire, all in equal measure.

All garments are screen printed on succulently soft American Apparel for a luxurious and stylish cut to suit the most discernible of clothing fans.

Previous post on Don Reon

Sentences on Conceptual Art

A few months back our instructor projects (on the wall) a "case study piece of art". A plain, sewn, black piece of rectangular tarpaulin. Hanging about ten feet from the floor. She asks... "So what do you think?" I believe it was after a heated debate in class on whether or not we thought concept art, was considered... art! And after reading Sol Lewitt's "Sentences on Conceptual Art", did I finally realize that maybe there's more to art, than just beautiful images. What an interesting way to see life!

  

--    

Sol Lewitt 

1. Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.

2. Rational judgements repeat rational judgements.


3. Irrational judgements lead to new experience.


4. Formal art is essentially rational.


5. Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically.


6. If the artist changes his mind midway through the execution of the piece he compromises the result and repeats past results.


7. The artist's will is secondary to the process he initiates from idea to completion. His wilfulness may only be ego.


8. When words such as painting and sculpture are used, they connote a whole tradition and imply a consequent acceptance of this tradition, thus placing limitations on the artist who would be reluctant to make art that goes beyond the limitations.


9. The concept and idea are different. The former implies a general direction while the latter is the component. Ideas implement the concept.


10. Ideas can be works of art; they are in a chain of development that may eventually find some form. All ideas need not be made physical.


11. Ideas do not necessarily proceed in logical order. They may set one off in unexpected directions, but an idea must necessarily be completed in the mind before the next one is formed.


12. For each work of art that becomes physical there are many variations that do not.


13. A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artist's mind.


14. The words of one artist to another may induce an idea chain, if they share the same concept.

Since no form is intrinsically superior to another, the artist may use any form, from an expression of words (written or spoken) to physical reality, equally.


15. If words are used, and they proceed from ideas about art, then they are art and not literature; numbers are not mathematics.


16. All ideas are art if they are concerned with art and fall within the conventions of art.

One usually understands the art of the past by applying the convention of the present, thus misunderstanding the art of the past.


17. The conventions of art are altered by works of art.


18. Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.


19. Perception of ideas leads to new ideas.


20. The artist cannot imagine his art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.


21. The artist may misperceive (understand it differently from the artist) a work of art but still be set off in his own chain of thought by that misconstrual.


22. Perception is subjective.


23. The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither better nor worse than that of others.


24. An artist may perceive the art of others better than his own.


25. The concept of a work of art may involve the matter of the piece or the process in which it is made.


26. Once the idea of the piece is established in the artist's mind and the final form is decided, the process is carried out blindly. There are many side effects that the artist cannot imagine. These may be used as ideas for new works.


27. The process is mechanical and should not be tampered with. It should run its course.


28. There are many elements involved in a work of art. The most important are the most obvious.


29. If an artist uses the same form in a group of works, and changes the material, one would assume the artist's concept involved the material.


30. Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution.


31. It is difficult to bungle a good idea.


32. When an artist learns his craft too well he makes slick art.


33. These sentences comment on art, but are not art.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

An old-skool friend of mine hands me a blank, white, (burned) DVD. Asks... "ever heard of Jean-Michel Basquiat"? I reply with a blank stare. With a smirk on his face, he calmly says... "you should watch that".

This was a handful of years back. Basquiat's movie... (a Julian Schnabel painting/direction)... is about the legendary "struggle", "rise and fall", and eventual... "rise to glory" of an "extraordinary talent". Which by the way, always makes for a great story. (At least for me). But I think it was the idea that no matter what we do, we all... at one time or another, feel the disconnect from the rest. (For whatever reason). But, the root of our confidence feeds from how we choose to perceive our lives, and not how we are expected... to exist.

Basquiat's real human struggle, on a personal level or otherwise,  remains as potent today, as that moment right after the credits started to role. If your not familiar... might be worth your while to check 'em out!

--
Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist and the first artist of African descent to become an international art star. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting. Basquiat died due to a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27. -Wikipedia

Manifesto Festival: Made You Look Art Exhibition

With great excitement, I'm happy to finally announce that I will be exhibiting some of my paintings in a juried group show at this year's Manifesto Festival! There are a couple of artists who will also be exhibiting that I have been a fan of for a number of years now... I gotta admit, its all very humbling. If you are not familiar with this festival, and you happen to be a fan of hip hop, it's definitely worth your while to get acquainted. This is their 4th year, (my third in attendance), and the celebration just keeps growing, each year more entertaining than the last! I grew up with, and I'm very much inspired by the culture of hip hop and I've never seen it being represented at this capacity, this genuinely.

For those of you that are interested in seeing my work in person, (which I strongly recommend, because what you see online, is nothing like the real thing)... here are the details.

MANIFESTO 4th Annual Art Exhibit: MADE YOU LOOK

Inside the newly renovated Airship37.

(37 Parliament St.Distillery District)

Opening night 8pm, Thursday, September, 23 2010.

The exhibit is running until October 1st with regular gallery hours from 12pm - 7pm.

Closing Party NUIT BLANCHE night is October 2. 8pm.

This show is FREE with a suggested donation of $5.
There will be a bar, so it is also 19+. Security on-site.


The show includes works from:

DUBELYOO from Atlanta,

ERNIE PANICCIOLI from NYC, &

Toronto's own CUBEWORKS.

Featured Artist:

Paul Leli
Jordan England
Paul Aloisi
OMEN
Che Kothari
Karen Miranda Augustine
Mark "Kurupt" Stoddart
EGR
Elicser
Joey Dammit!
Adrian Hayles
Eric Quebral
Alexis Finch
Camille Gordon
Derian McCrea
Hans Poppe
Logan Miller
Francesca Nocera SUN
Leon Robinson
Ato Seitu
Janet Manning
Shannon Lewis
Shirley Mpagi
Gabrielle Lasporte
Melissa Doldron
Kal Kidan Assefa
Lindsay Bess
Javid
Ryan Mackeen
Esmond Lee

Also including the ART OF MUSIC VIDEO featuring Directors such as:
RT!
Marc André Debruyne
Charles Officer
Dave F. Mewa
Cazhhmere
Mike Portoghese

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More info and previews of what's to come: themanifesto.ca

Lil Wayne

Spray Paint, Oil on Canvas

30" x 40"

2010