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Former Victoria resident Zan Comerford defends her hometown from the lashing so eloquently delivered in  “Cascadia Defied” by Racan Souiedan, in Sad Mag issue one.

Yes, Vancouver, we know. You’re all grown up now. oldvictoria

Your music scene is good, and you have dozens of independent art spaces. East Van holds its own in the art world, and the city brims with gorgeous, fit, stylish types on beat up bikes with passions for good espresso.

Vancouver can even claim to possess the one true criterion of any progressive West Coast city: it has more freelance graphic designers / writers / artists than one would care to shake a stick at, all of them drinking lattes in the afternoon with their dogs.

But, c’mon Vancouver, let’s not get cruel. Racan Souiedan’s article “Cascadia Defied” in the Autumn 2009 issue of Sad Mag would have us believe that there is hardly another Canadian city that comes close to your brilliance.

Victoria may be small, awkward and kind of annoying. Sure, it’s the runt of the litter, but as a city, it has something to offer too. It offers you things that none of its littermates can—only the best of those things that make life worth living: dating, art, and partying.

Let’s start where it all starts, really: sex. Victoria’s dating pool is the Don Perignon of getting it on. With a liberal university, hundreds of hospitality jobs, and thriving art and music scenes, Victoria is a destination for attractive, educated, and artistic twenty-somethings. And it gets better. Because of a phenomenon commonly known by Islanders as “The Velvet Rut,” Victoria is so comfortable that all of these eligible beauties stick around long enough to give everyone—and I mean everyone—a shot. Long known as “The Land of Ladies,” Victoria boasts three women to every man. Beyond doing wonders for one’s odds from a merely statistical standpoint, it also does wonders for your chances of “Nailing a Ten!” as they say on the street.

Strolling hand-in-hand with a good dating scene is, of course, a good nightlife. Victoria has more restaurants, pubs and bars per capita than New York, not to mention a handful of organic microbreweries that give Red Truck a run for its money.

Victoria’s music scene is longstanding, and contrary to Mr. Souiedan’s article, the well-worn music scene makes the local shows anything but boring. From grungy basement bars to scenester havens, Victoria’s music venues are attuned to exactly what makes the Island lifestyle so attractive: good beer, and good friends. Walking into a local show is to see arms thrown around shoulders, as 250 of the band’s closest friends belt out the songs to lyrics they never get tired of hearing.

Should big name acts forge the treacherous Strait of Georgia (which they do with surprising regularity) they are delighted to find a young, willing and eager audience that get just enough entertainment to keep them ravenous for a good time. Audiences rather satiated from regular snacking on live shows are tougher, blander crowds in larger metropolitan cities.

Victoria’s enthusiasm means we can hold our own among the big boys of Vancouver, Portland and Seattle in terms of art and culture. The very quality that finds Victoria being compared to these cultural havens is exactly what sets it apart.

Victoria isn’t trying to be something it’s not.

Instead of lining up to see expensive international film festivals, Victorians flock to abandoned warehouses, where guys with dreadlocks are stringing up a stolen projector. Instead of art openings with wine, cheese and pretension, groups like Panikon Deima are setting up guerrilla art installations in the creakiest fire escapes and oldest alleys in the city.

Above all, Victoria isn’t trying to compete with Vancouver, doesn’t want to be like Portland, and couldn’t care less just what Seattle would say about its coffee (as delicious and well crafted as it may be).

Victoria is too busy doing just what its inhabitants have always been doing: hanging out, relaxing, and enjoying itself.

— Zan Comerford

We won’t have egg nog…..

Getting together for the Holidays is Naughty and Nice. Lola Frost and Villany Loveless will entertain you!
Getting together for the Holidays is Naughty and Nice. Lola Frost and Villany Loveless will entertain you!

However we will be combining Burlesque forces, Season Greetings and Publishing Magic to give you a treat!  Vancouver’s burlesque sister act, Lola Frost and Villany Loveless will reveal more than some Yuletide Joy on December 17th at our favourite, The  Anza Club. Cover is cheap! The Beer is good (sponsored by Phillips Brewery), the spirits are high, and the buzz is around us. Join us for the exclusive look at Issue two and have  a fun evening with the Sad Mag Family.
Details on Facebook, RSVP!

display_sad2-301109
Sister Act, a sneak into one of the articles in Issue Two. Photography by Tina Krueger.

Sad Mag launches issue two on December 17. Until then, we’re releasing sneak peeks from the new issue. So check back for updates during the next two weeks and keep your eyes peeled for exclusive web content!

We were featured in SFU’s student newspaper, The Peak, this week. Click here for article. We spent all last week in production, laying out Issue Two, and it is looking gorgeous! Desperate to see it? Well, we’ll be releasing a video soon! And want a copy before anyone else? Then show up to our holiday party, December 17th. Details here: RSVP to get on the guest list!

Keep updated with our news and sneak peeks: Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

-The Sad Mag Family

The Girls of Book of the Month
The Girls of Book of the Month

Sad Mag contributor Rebecca Slaven started something that Sad Mag had to be apart of.

Stacked Collective presents:
Book of the Month

A vintage calendar of literary heroines & villains. Proceeds from the calendar go to support Sad Magazine Publishing Society’s media production workshop for teens (Summer 2010) in the form of a bursary for promising young women. Check it out, get your twist on, and support a good cause!

Music by Lazerbomb!
Proceeds to go our future media production workshop launching 2010!

More info and guestlist on Facebook

RSVP here.


Shari-Anne Gibson smiles and delights. Photograph by Brandon Gaukel.

Shari-Anne Gibson is a newly wed. Buzzing around her new apartment she talks about love, making art, and the simple life. The fall is the season that marks new beginnings: a new husband and her first solo show in Vancouver. Now The Trees Have Grown Up is Gibson’s collection of new paintings and drawings that represent innocence, our relationship with nature and an insight into the artist’s imagination. The work is characteristic of Gibson’s aesthetic, which is thematically connected by a sense of interrupted innocence.

The 28-year-old painter said she gets “late night energy.” Since the start of the year, she has spent the evenings working on this project. Her work came to an abrupt halt, however when she was in a car accident, which resulted in months in a neck brace. Taking time off her “Joe job,” she spent the months creating and planning. She was forced to reflect and spend time with her art. The experience made her more involved with her art and more confident about her work. When I joked about having a Frida Kahlo moment, she corrected me: “Less intense.”

Over tea, I asked Gibson about her upcoming show and we watched the rain fall.

Sad Mag: Tell me about the title of the show. And the significance to the work?

Shari-Anne Gibson: Now The Trees Have Grown Up is intended to make the viewers think about trees as having sensibilities, accumulating experience, losing innocence. I want the trees in the pieces to be seen in a new way, and allow the fragmented landscapes to become personal, perhaps reflecting the viewer in some way.

SM: Where were you trained and how long have you been painting?

SG: I studied both at the University of the Fraser Valley and at the Ontario College of Art and Design where I received my BFA. I’ve always loved to draw and paint, so a long time.

SM: What do you think is missing from Vancouver’s art scene today? Or do you feel it has a mighty strength?

SG: After living in Toronto, Vancouver feels very photo-conceptual in contrast, which I absolutely appreciate, however I sense that real painting is a little out of style here. But I know the tides are changing as more painters are getting attention and the MFA program at Emily Carr is gaining a national reputation for its painting program.
Shari-Anne in the studio. Photograph by Brandon Gaukel.

SM: Some of your favourite visual artists?

SG: Johan Creten, Janet Cardiff, Peter Doig, Laura Owens, Katja Strunz, Nan Goldin, Egon Schiele, Fra Angelico, Makiko Kudo.

SM: Where did you grab your inspiration for this collection of work?

SG: I love the natural environment and also appreciate work that is psychological and philosophical. I wanted to create spaces which interrupt our experience of nature, which play with our sense of perception. I wanted to depict the natural world in a way that reveals something about our human experience.

SM:
What inspires you in your daily life?

SG: Colors. Photography. Music. When people are free and comfortable with themselves. One evening I went for a walk and a man was singing opera at the top of his voice while I was  strolling through his neighborhood. I love that.

SM:
After the show, plans? New work? Vacation?

SG: Oh! Right! There is life after the show! Ha ha. I am planning to shift my practice a little and focus on drawing for the rest of the year. It is something I love and haven’t spent enough time with recently. My friend and I hope to start a daily blog together sharing our pieces. I also plan to go on holiday in February. . .maybe to Iceland!

Shari-Anne Gibson’s online portfolio

Now The Trees Have Grown Up shows at Little Mountain Gallery

from October 29th to November 18th.

Opening reception Thursday, October 29, 7-10pm.

www.littlemountainstudios.ca

195 EAST 26th Avenue VANCOUVER B.C. V5V 2G8

RSVP for the opening.

Outside the SUB Art Gallery. Photograph by Brandon Gaukel

Update [26 October 2009]: Drippytown was cancelled last week. In place of the exhibit, the AMS Art Gallery has expertly put together VANIMAUX, which opens today:

VANIMAUX explores the Vancouver animal in its native environment drawing other stories from six perspectives. The contemporary landscape is unpacked by six [local emerging] artists.

The show features Sad Mag contributors and family members Daniel Elstone, Kristina Fiedrich, Brandon Gaukel, Tina Krueger, Judit Navratil, and Katie Stewart. VANIMAUX further unpacks the idea of urban Vancouver, wiping the Olympics sanctioned hype away and showing the beast for what it is.

VANIMAUX. AMS Art Gallery. 6000 Student Union Boulevard. Exhibit opening October 26, 2009, from 5-8 pm.

RVSP

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Jeremy Jaud is nearly choking on his words. His excited phrases are gunning through the empty gallery and splatterings upon impact. Jaud is the art commissioner of the Student Union Building (SUB) Art Gallery at UBC.

Until recently, most UBC students knew the the SUB Art Gallery as the site of the annual poster sale. Today, the gallery is a fixture for art aficionados in Vancouver’s scene, in major part because of Jaud. After meeting the gallery’s previous art commissioner in an Art History seminar last spring, Jaud took over the position and oversaw dramatic renovations over eight months. Jaud is all passion and smiles as he shares what led him to this position. “I saw it as an opportunity to bear all my skill sets on one direction, having a background in art history, visual arts, budgeting, management, and volunteer work.”

Last month, the new space was inaugurated with the show “Vancityscapes,” featuring Morgan Dunnet, a local artist whose impressionistic paintings reveal the city of Vancouver in its simplest moments of glory—images you might recall from late night stumbles through the rainy streets of Gastown. The opening night of “Vancityscapes” saw over two hundred visitors, many of them students, like myself, who had been on UBC’s campus for years, never set foot in the space, but gushed at its reinvention. This was just the start of the gallery’s continuing celebration of Vancouver. Jaud, originally from Yellowknife, is drawn to Vancouver’s new developments and the sense of community it provides. “Vancouver is constantly changing, it’s always in the moment, it’s infectious.”

Jaud envisions the the SUB Art Gallery as a window on the landscape of art to the Belkin Gallery, Museum of Anthropology, Koerner Library, and beyond campus to the rest of Vancouver. He discusses the uniqueness of the gallery in its daily access to thousands of students—the future powerhouses of Vancouver—and its opportunity to initiate or foster artistic interest within them.

The man himself, Jeremy Jaud. Photograph by Brandon Gaukel

At the end of this month, the gallery is hosting an extension of an exhibition called “Drippytown: Vancouver Life Through the Eyes of its Independent Artists” at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library (RBSC) at UBC. The exhibition showcases the RBSC’s collection of print comics created by Vancouver artists, including Colin Upton and James Lawrence, whose work together on a cover for the comic “Drippytown” gave the exhibition both its name and narrative. “Drippytown” presents Vancouver and its characteristic rain, gray skies, and silver linings, as seen through the eyes of six local artists using the comic medium. Like Vancouver, the collection seems dreary at first but is ultimately inspiring.

The exhibition is made possible by the coordination of several forces: students of UBC’s School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies program, RBSC staff, Francesca Marini – a professor within the department, the artists, and Jaud.

Says Jaud, “UBC has such a broad range of art producers and people already interested in the arts; conduits and reflectors. More bridges need to be built between these various groups so that our ideas can be shared, our messages can strengthen and access can blossom.”

The SUB Art Gallery is currently showing “Tragically Rescuing His Family From the Wreckage of a Destroyed Sinking Battleship”, works by Kevin Day, from Oct. 13th – Oct. 23rd.

398 - art gallery cards cityscapes

“Drippytown” shows at the SUB Art Gallery from Oct. 26th –  Nov. 3rd and at Rare Books and Special Collections from    Oct. 23 – Jan. 31st.

-Rebecca Slaven for Sad Mag

Sad Mag is looking for a Web Editor to join our team! If you have an interest in online publishing and a desire to gain experience with an exciting new project, consider applying for this volunteer position.

Job Requirements

  • + Direct and maintain Sad Mag‘s presence on the web, online at sadmag.ca and on social networking websites
  • + Create and direct the creation of online content (written, visual, audio, and video) for the website in collaboration with volunteer writers and artists
  • + Set publishing schedules and editorial deadlines
  • + Edit and carefully proofread all online content
  • + Grow the position and Sad Mag‘s online presence to reflect the growth and maturation of the magazine
  • + Meet with Sad Mag‘s editorial staff on a monthly basis

Qualifications

  • + Professional or hobby experience creating and moderating websites
  • + Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and WordPress or a desire to learn
  • + Working knowledge of social networking platforms, particularly Facebook and Twitter, or a desire to learn
  • + Working knowledge or experience producing podcasts and online video or a desire to learn
  • + Professional or volunteer experience working in an editorial position or in a publishing environment
  • + A demonstrated interest in writing, editing, and publishing
  • + A demonstrated interest in art and culture in Vancouver

If you would like to be considered for this position, please email us with an introductory letter and resume to info [at] sadmag [dot] ca before October 31, 2009.

Pine Night by Daniel Elstone

This week in my blog about Vancouver artists, I bring you Daniel Elstone.  You can get a small taste of his fine work in our premiere issue; Dan photographed the Radio Station Cafe at 101 East Hastings.

Dan graduated from Langara’s Professional Photo Program and is currently getting his BFA at UBC. He is a killer surfer and he spends some of his summer nights rock climbing, photographing Vancouver at night, feeding raccoons, and jumping into Lynn Canyon.

His work speaks both very high and low of the west coast. He documents the green beauty around around him and his eye is dead on.

I chatted him about his work, summer 2009, and his take on photography today.

Sad Mag: Why are trees such a prominent subject in your photos?

Daniel Elstone: I shoot trees because there are endless variations of shapes, forms, patterns and sizes, even between the same types of trees. I don’t shoot exclusively tree’s though, I’ve been shooting more shrubs and thickets lately. I can get bored fairly quickly shooting the same type of things, but I always go back to trees.

Sad: What’s it like to make a name for yourself as a photographer today?

DE: I have mixed feelings about it. In commercial photography, digital technology is making it harder to make a living as a photographer. The cost of equipment, workload, and image standards are going up disproportionately to income, but at the same time digital cameras make life a lot easier. Photography as an art is possibly better than ever. There are so many great photographers out there, so many magazines and ‘zines, so much on the internet—it’s almost too much. Some of my favourite photographers are just people from flickr. (You can find Dan on flickr here)

Sad: What’s do you think is missing from Vancouver’s art scene right now?

DE: There’s a shortage of studio space in Vancouver. I think the city is also lacking galleries that are willing to display interesting photography.

Sad: What drew you to working with Sad Mag?

DE: The photography scene in Vancouver is fairly close minded, many galleries just seem to focus on fine art work, which usually isn’t very innovative. Sad Mag is a good way to get your work out there, discover local artists, and find out what’s going on around the city.

A Cabin by Daniel Elstone
A Cabin by Daniel Elstone

Sad: Who are some of your favourite visual artists?

DE: Some of my favourite photographers are Jeff Wall, Stephen Shore, Matthew Genitempo, Tokihiro Sato, there are too many to list. My favourite artists are William Schaff, Eric Fischl, Martin Creed, and whoever did the Roxy Music Covers.

Daniel Elstone
Car by Daniel Elstone

Sad:  Summer has escaped us. What are you looking forward to this season in the arts?

DE: I’m looking forward to the Where the Wild Things Are movie and The Malcolmson Collection, which is a bunch of 19th- and early 20th-century photographs to be shown at The Presentation House [Gallery in North Vancouver].

Sad:  What’s next from Dan Elstone?

DE: I have a couple series which I’ve been putting together, both of them tentatively named. I hope to complete those by next summer, although they’ll never really be complete. I’ll tell you later.

——BG

Check out Daniel Elstone’s online portfolio here.
Keep coming back to sadmag.ca for interviews, blog posts and sneak peaks at our Winter Issue.

 

 

Sad Magazine launched to an enthusiastic crowd on Thursday, September 17 at the ANZA club. We received the following communique from our friend Lindsay in the aftermath:

Additional evidence that the sad mag launch was awesome was discovered only when I got home and into a well lit room:

  • + there were a bunch of sad faces drawn all over my arms in permanent marker
  • + I was wearing a home made dirty dancing pin that said ‘no one puts baby in a corner’ in sharpie
  • + there was a 4 foot trail of fishing line and ribbon trailing behind me, attached to one of my boots

We had a great time!

Sounds like a fantastic time was had by all! Thank you to everyone who attended our event, cramming the ANZA club well beyond capacity, and helping us to raise money for this exciting project. 

Thanks especially to:

  • + Paul Beja, our event planner, for creating the best balloon trees of our lives, as well as the volunteers who helped us to set up the party.
  • + The volunteers who managed the bar and the front door in every manner of dressed and barely dressed.
  • + The eternally fabulous Isolde N. Barron and her support crew, for blowing our heads off with a performance of “Baby, I’m a star!” Baby, you are a star.
  • + Our DJs Jef Lepard, Ryan and Rohit, who kept us dancing all night long. 
  • + And, of course, the very talented contributors who dedicated their best work to our first issue. 

Enjoy our peek-a-boo slideshow above for folks who couldn’t make it, or those who want to relive the magic.