Prachi, a husky 24-year old with a dull gaze, barks at a group of young Hindu girls. After two and a half hours of running, crawling, and combat drills, their colourful saris are torn and dusty. While Prachi trains girls in the skills required of a Hindu fundamentalist at the[Read More…]
Author: Ilia Blinderman
Danish winter much warmer with steamy liaison
Costume dramas are a risky business. Either they’re artificial and implausible, or the novelty of lace-sleeves, elaborate hairdos, and expensive props simply overshadows the plot and the acting. There are times, however, when this isn’t the case; when the historical background is the focus, and costume only succeeds in augmenting[Read More…]
Through the looking glass: the faces of war
Aydin Matlabi’s photographs of Iran do not match the expected photojournalist tenor; rather, they take on an extremely personal, artistic form. His current exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), Landscape, Revolution, People, exemplifies this perfectly. Born in Iran but raised in Montreal, Matlabi possesses a unique voice:[Read More…]
No room for ageism in Quartet—only high octaves
I didn’t need a sign to tell me which theatre Quartet was playing in—all I had to do was follow the large crowd of mature movie-goers. I certainly felt like an oddball, sitting in the theatre where the average age was well above 60. But do not be deceived—there is[Read More…]
Fighting repression, one Lego figure at a time
At the exhibit’s entrance is wall, with a child-like drawing of a person, accompanied by a dictionary definition of the term ‘human being’. Next to this drawing is one of an owl; following, is an image of a box coloured in grey, which the accompanying caption tells us represents the[Read More…]
Thomas Demand: deceit and delight
Walking into Thomas Demand’s Embassy (2007), it is easy to empathize with the uneasiness the artist must have felt when visiting the titular Embassy of the Republic of Niger in Rome to prepare for this series. Frameless, life-size prints, appearing as part of the wall they are mounted on, depict[Read More…]
Various Artists: Girls Soundtrack, Vol. 1
The debut season of Girls received effusive praise, and viewers fell in love with the triple-threat director, writer, and lead actress Lena Dunham. Dunham plays Hannah Horvath, a twenty-something writer living in New York, who struggles with a steady job and a relationship with an uber-horny boyfriend. Among the complicated[Read More…]
Sebastien Tellier: My God is Blue
In his latest album My God is Blue, French musician Sebastien Tellier plays with numerous different genres, sounds, languages, and emotions. Tellier’s release won’t be enjoyed by all, but those who do will like it whole-heartedly. My God is Blue is a spiritual album. Tellier asks the listener to connect[Read More…]
Flamenco, revisited
Flamenco is recognized for its passionate, precise, and lightning-fast footwork. La Otra Orilla’s captivating presentation of their new piece, HomoBLABLAtus, blends the nuances of traditional flamenco with contemporary expression. Founded in 2006, the small and relatively new company has a unique approach to the Andalusian art form, including projected recordings[Read More…]
Budget cuts could increase McGill deficit to $30 million
On Dec. 6, the Parti Québécois (PQ) announced that it expects Quebec universities to cut $124 million from their cumulative operating budgets by April 2013. According to McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, the cuts amount to 5.2 per cent of universities’ operating grants, but their introduction, two-thirds of the way through[Read More…]
