This weekend I had the wonderful chance to see an exhibit here in London, England of the art of Lee Miller (1907 - 1977), feminist icon and one of the twentieth century’s greatest photographers.

Born in upstate New York, she actually began her career at 19 as a model for American Vogue - she made history when she appeared in the first advertisement for menstrual products that featured an actual woman in the picture. She was captured on film by some of the world’s greatest photographers, and was considered one of the greatest beauties of her day - her breasts were thought so perfect, champagne glasses were modeled after them.

But so much more than just a pretty face, she was much more passionate about working behind the camera than in front of it.

(more inside…)

stef lenk and Shannon Gerard‘s “Playing Doctor” exhibition has been pulled from the York University Bookstore window only 7 days after it was installed. The reason? Some higher-ups at the University demanded it’s removal. Apparently a nameless professor who lives on the campus found it offensive and was afraid his son might see it.

The exhibit actually happily hung in Toronto’s Pages Bookstore’s front window for a while, celebrating the dual launch of lenk and Gerrard’s books at a This is Not a Reading Series event back in August.

Richelle at BlogTO reports:

I asked the gallery’s Assistant Curator, Emelie Chhangur to describe what was in the window of the bookstore: “Playing Doctor was comprised of lenk’s operating table and Gerard’s cut out figures of a man and a woman with crocheted boobs and dinks, (the parts of the male/female body affected by cancer). Gerard’s books, and video + small “kits” contain DIY instructions on how to check yourself for testicular and breast cancer. lenk’s operating table brings it home with reference to the children’s game, this time with hand drawn body parts and a hand painted figure on the table. The art work is fantastic, fun, accessible, and educational.”

How a giant board game and information about cancer could taint a child is beyond me.

I was at the TINARS launch in August and was particularily moved by what Gerard was aiming to accomplish with her detection kits. Her honesty regarding her and her partner’s own experiences with “finding a lump” and her bravery in expressing it through her work was inspiring. In my view, the “kits” she had on offer at the event were a real step in the right direction; they opened up an early detection dialogue, and aimed to make people comfortable and aware of their bodies in order to save their lives. Her entire performance (which included a an informative yet hilarious video) humanized and inspired.

Both lenk and Gerard’s work is specific to the female body in an uncommonly non-sexualized way; with their images they point to an empowered awareness and self-ownership, which I would argue is very feminist.

This kind of ridiculous censorship is a disgrace.

Hilary Duff may have a problem saying she’s a feminist, but artist, film maker, writer and the all around fabulous Miranda July does not. How do I love her? Let me count the ways…

BUST MAGAZINE: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

MIRANDA JULY: Yes.

BUST: That’s so nice to hear. There are a lot of women who don’t want to associate with the word anymore. Why do you think that is?

MJ: Whenever I see people have a long answer to that question, I’m just like, “What’s confusing about that?” It’s just being pro your ability to do what you need to do [laughs].

(By the way, she just won the Frank O’Connor Prize for Short Fiction cause she’s so awesome.)

I’ve finally returned, jet-lagged and swimming in unreturned emails, from London, UK and wanted to share a fantastic exhibition I saw at the Tate Modern while I was MIA from the Shameless Blog. The Irresistible Force, currently showing at the Tate’s Level 2 gallery space, “examines how economic forces shape our lives, as cultural values and traditions are realigned by global capitalism.” Most strinking of all the artists’ works in the show is Judi Werthein‘s controversial “Brinco.”

From a simplistic perspective, Brinco (or “jump” in Spanish) is a running shoe, “designed to help illegal immigrants negotiate the sometimes deadly terrain they encounter when crossing the border from Mexico to the US.” The shoes, designed by the artist, are equipped with a compass, light and painkillers. They also feature a removable insole printed with the most popular illegal routes from Tijuana into San Diego. As part of the art project, Werthein distributed free pairs of the shoes to migrants at shelters in Tijuana. A few days later she sold the shoes at a hip boutique shoe store in downtown San Diego for $215 US.

Brinco is a conceptual art piece conceived to make a statement about the politics of immigration, economic disperity and xenophobia: “Though the (San Diego) store is only about 15 miles (24km) from Tijuana, here the champagne-sipping crowd sees the Brinco as a vehicle for discussion - not transport.”

The most amazing thing about the exhibition is how Werthein has been received by American mainstream media since she launched the project in 2005. The gallery space features a number of televisions broadcasting interviews with and reports on Werthein, where reporters repeatedly criticize and accuse her of aiding and abetting illegal immigrants by giving them free shoes. In fact, she has to repeatedly state over and over in these newsclips that she is an artist as her interviewers fail to ever mention it. It seems that the media was completely incapable of understanding a) contemporary art and b) that the shoes were created as a symbol of and commentary on a social problem.

With headlines like “Designer shoes made for border-crossing” and “Designer giving $215 specialty sneakers to illegal immigrants for border run,” it appeared that many news sources were missing the point completely. One on the recipients of Werthein’s shoes sums up the missed point well in a BBC news article:

“I’m crying because you gave me these and almost no-one ever helps me,” she explains, adding that she has never owned new shoes before.

Call for Submissions: Canadian Women’s Feminist Exhibit

Deadline for Proposals: January 1st, 2008 Any mediums accepted.
(installation,interdisciplinary and site specifif art encouraged.
Also, painting, sculpture, craft…)

The idea of the exhibit is for women to take up as much space as possible, a feminist blanketing across Canada of strong women’s art.

Please include: your cv, bio,description of project, paragraph of feminist perspective, photo of artwork, 10 images of your art on disc including the proposed exhibit.

Please Mail submissions to:

Feminist Exhibit
28 Osborne Drive Eastern Passage,
Nova Scotia B3G1H2.

Canadians For Choice, a non-profit that works to promote sexual and reproductive rights, is celebrating the upcoming 20th year anniversary of the Morgentaler decision, which decriminalized abortion in Canada.

The contest is a way for people to raise their voices around an issue that’s often silenced. Write a piece on why a pro-choice Canada is so important and you could win a trip to Ottawa and an appearance on national TV. If you send a pro-choice piece of artwork, it may be published on the cover of a book.

Here are the, um, rules: “Tell us in your own words through an essay, song lyrics, a poem, a rant or a testimony why the pro-choice movement has been- and continues to be so important. Or, you may choose to express your pro-choice sentiments through a painting, a drawing, a photo or another form of visual art. Enter the contest as many times as you want, the options are endless!” You can even submit anonymously.

Enter here (scroll down).

Friends -

Three queer women literary stars in Toronto will lunch at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) on Wednesday, September 19th from 12 noon to 1pm. The FREE event features

Debra Anderson - author of Code White (McGilligan Books, 2005)
Farzana Doctor - author of Stealing Nasreen (Inanna Publications, 2007)
Pat Capponi - author of Last Stop Sunnyside (HarperCollins, 2006)
who will read from their novels on themes of working and living within mental health institutions.

All are welcome to this free & wheelchair accessible event!

It takes place at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell Street, Cafeteria, Toronto (near Spadina Ave. and College St.)

Authors will have books for sale and be available for book signings. Short Q & A afterwards.

For more info call 416-535-8501 ext. 2693.

Organized by the LGBTTTIQ CAMH Working Group and co-sponsored by LGBTQ Resources & Programs at the University of Toronto.

I was excited to recieve news today that S.T.E.P.U.P.(Speech That Enlightens People Uplifts Places), a youth poetry project of the Dub Poets Collective in Toronto, is launching a printed anthology of its greatest youth poets! It’s called R/evolutionary Harvest, and it harvests the work done by the collective over the past year.

The anthology launch is on August 26, from 4-6pm at Trane Studio (964 Bathurst Street), one of the best venues in Toronto for spoken word art.

I first mentioned S.T.E.P.U.P. in an article about dub poet d’bi young in Shameless Issue 8 (Fall/Winter 2006). Back then the group was a dub-based summer seminar that provided an opportunity for youthful poets to create, perform, and network with renowned spoken word artists. It has now grown into a socially active youth poetry collective, promoting power of voice over force of violence.

In the words of Klyde Broox:
“R/evolutionary Harvest is a collection of works reflective of S.T.E.P.U.P.’s diligent commitment to both performance and literary craft. As individuals, the collective brings a multi-cultured blend of unique styles to the page and stage. As a collective, its members continue to produce poems that embody the transformative power of the word.”

The event is hosted by Klyde Broox, with performances by anthology contributors.

Cost of Admission: for youth, it’s “pay what you can” and for adults, $5 ($15 including book).

In addition to my regular blog duties, I’ve decided to start having a weekly feature called Picks From Planet Venus. As some of you may know, I work on a radio show called Venus on CKUT 90.3 FM here in Montreal, which gives me exposure to a lot of killer music by women that, due to the bloated mass that is the music industry, gets far less attention than it should. So every Thursday I’ll be introducing you to a new independent female musician, most likely from hereabouts or not-so-far (though exceptions will be made for the truly exceptional). Maybe one day I’ll actually be able to post tracks for you to listen to, but for now I’ll make sure to at least link to a site where you can find out more on your own.

And for today’s pick…

More people should know about the mini-ukelele. It’s one of those instruments that your grandma probably played because it was considered delicate and ladylike, and its shape isn’t quite as suggestive as a guitar or (va-va-voom) cello (plus that whole thing about grasping it between your legs… yowza). In the hands of Sarah Mangle, the mini-uke becomes something in between a thumb-piano and a banjo - sweet and small and slightly goofy, like a little cousin practicing dance steps when they think you’re not looking. Listen to her track Camped Out with your eyes closed and be buried in late-autumn leaves and dreams of snowdrifts. Maybe I’m glad not everyone knows about the mini-uke - it makes Mangle’s songs all the more unique.