Elspeth Pratt honoured with Mayor’s Arts Award

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November 2, 2014

Portico (2011) is part of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s permanent collection.

Three years ago, when looking to pursue a second degree in visual arts, one characteristic made me choose Simon Fraser University over the multitude of art schools that offer post-secondary education in the Vancouver area: the art practices of the faculty members themselves. Among all of the practicing artists teaching courses in Vancouver, one of them stood out to me more than any other — Elspeth Pratt.

By a turn of coincidence, Pratt evaluated my entry portfolio during the admission process, though, as of yet, she has not been one of my professors. That being said, it was a pleasure to conduct a short phone interview with her, to get a sense of her teaching career prior to becoming the associate director of the School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU in 2010, and then obtaining the director position in 2013.

Hailing from both Winnipeg and Toronto, and earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Pratt finished her M.F.A. studies at UBC before going on to teach at the University of Victoria in the mid-80s. Afterwards, she also held positions at the Emily Carr College of Art and Simon Fraser University.

I discovered that one of the first exhibitions of her work was as a participant in the now legendary October Show in 1983. This exhibit was the first artist-run warehouse show to take place in Vancouver, and was organized in order to contest the Vancouver Art Gallery’s selection of artists during their historical retrospective that same year — Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931-1983.

Of course, there have been many other exhibits of her works in Vancouver since then. In 2008, Kathy Slade curated a solo show of her art entitled Nonetheless, which took place at the Charles H. Scott Gallery. A monograph of Pratt’s work bearing that same title was later published in 2011. (I happened to pick up a copy of this publication at last year’s Vancouver Art/Book Fair, as it is the main reference tool when studying her work.) Also in 2011, Pratt was commissioned to produce a site-specific installation at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s offsite location titled Second Date. The piece was presented from June 29 until January 8, 2012.

I even stumbled upon one of her pieces this past summer when visiting the VAG. The work, titled Portico (2011), was part of the Out of Sight exhibit that featured recent acquisitions to the gallery’s permanent collection, and I remember taking the time to examine it carefully.

This particular wall study is assembled from wood, particle board, and laminate, which are basic construction materials for today’s urban spaces. Through a succinct selection of diagonal shapes and the presence of two triangular negative spaces, Pratt manages to maintain a constant struggle with gravity that places her work at the crossroads of painting and sculpture, while addressing the architecture of the gallery space itself with her selection of materials.

It seemed only logical to me when I read that Elspeth Pratt had been honoured with a Mayor’s Arts Award in the Visual Arts category a few weeks ago. Even more exciting to me though, was learning that she will be teaching my fourth year Studio course next term.

Stickboy tackles bullying at the opera

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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Dealing with a universal theme, audiences can relate to this powerful story.

Fans of opera be warned, this show is far from typical. It is, in fact, so much more. Part beauty, part tragedy, and many parts pain, Stickboy did not fail to deliver at the Vancouver Playhouse.

The show, directed by Rachel Peake, was adapted from Shane Koyczan’s autobiographical book of poetry of the same name, with music composed by Neil Weisensel. According to Leslie Dala, the Vancouver Opera’s music dramaturge, they first approached Koyczan in September 2013 and asked him to transform his story into libretto for the opera to perform.

Mixing classical with contemporary styles of music, traditional operatic libretto with spoken word, and live theatre with animated visuals created by Giant Ant — the company behind Koyczan’s viral “To This Day” video — Stickboy pushes boundaries to its advantage. The busy, visual opera certainly had something for everyone, but focused on one universal theme: bullying.

From the perpetrator, to the victim, or even a bystander or someone close to someone who has been affected, bullying can greatly alter the lives it touches. Stickboy took the story of bullying one step further. Based on Koyczan’s real life experiences in Yellowknife and Penticton, it illustrates just how destructive bullying can be. It also plays on the realization that we all have a monster inside of us, and that we all have the capacity to do terrible things.

According to Dala, the show “talks about the thing we all have within us — the capacity to harm others, or to just be bystanders who do nothing about it. All of us can think of times we’ve been one, or both, of those.”

The story follows ‘the boy,’ played by Sunny Shams, as he navigates the tough terrain of childhood, with scenes at age 10, age 13 and age 17. The settings range from classrooms, playgrounds, and treacherous hallways, to his sanctuary at home, featuring both graphics and Koyczan’s pre-recorded narration between scenes.

Some of the most poignant scenes revolve around his bedroom door, as a caring and concerned grandmother passes a notebook under the doorframe. Conversations are splayed across the pages, and moving visuals play on the screen behind them. Differing, perhaps, from many shows, Stickboy does not provide its audience with any reasoning for its horrors; it only offers “because” as an answer, and doesn’t feature any precise ending, because one generally doesn’t get either in real life.

With it’s ability to tackle themes that many shy away from, Stickboy seems to resonate with audiences, and was well deserving of the minutes-long standing ovation it received. There are plans to adapt the opera into a shorter play, with the aim of traveling to elementary schools throughout BC.

Stickboy is presented by Vancouver Opera October 23 to November 7 at the Vancouver Playhouse. For more information, visit vancouveropera.ca.

Nightcrawler thrills and repulses

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this film that plays with our desire for violence.

A horrible tragedy happens, the news gets the story, and then the circus starts. Anchors talk about the school shooting or terrorist attack for hours, speculating and spinning without proof. They depict the event graphically, instilling fear in their viewers. People watch for hours, craving more and more details. It’s a form of twisted entertainment and we love it; Nightcrawler explores this.

A current topic appearing in many different movies is that of media, and the bias behind corporations that run media outlets. Deserving culprits include Fox News, for their shifty and deceptive perspectives and manipulation of uneducated and less discerning viewers, as well as the political and social left wing cheerleader, CNN, whose stories may spin the truth better than the Democratic Party.

Nightcrawler is about the media, but less about the behind the scenes of a station. Admittedly, it does focus on how ratings drive the material put on television, but its master stroke lies elsewhere — it shows you the horrors of a news station that picks its stories based on their visual power and fear factor, and then tells you how you are a part of the process.

This is an ingenious film that thrills you with its images and graphic violence, and then repulses you as you begin to realize that you crave these violent depictions. We go into these kinds of dark, gritty movies looking for someone to die, and then are thrilled by the spurting of their blood. The spectator is as involved with the unethical situation as the characters.

Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut presents a sordid story of underground crime journalism in LA. Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a man struggling for work, videos car hijackings, fires, and murders for the news. He captures raw images of dying, upper class whites, and sells them to Channel 6 News; they take the footage and manipulate it, so that viewers are drawn to their station. Lou doesn’t care about ethics; his aim is to capture the perfect shot of the dying, struggling victim, as these images can be sold to the station at a higher price. Everyone in Nightcrawler has a monetary value; people cease to be human. They are products for Lou to capture and sell, commodities for the station to publish, and a pathway to high ratings.

As Lou drives from crime scene to crime scene, the audience is invigorated by the proceedings. We don’t know the victims, but we are intrigued and thrilled by their horrible situations. We voyeuristically watch their final moments, as those who watch Channel 6 News do. I was simultaneously enraptured and repulsed.

Nightcrawler is a daring movie that succeeds on its surface level and leaves you thinking about more than a roaring mustang on the streets of LA. It’s an art-house action film with brains and brawn. Long takes and fluid hand-held cinematography build tension with slow movement within the frame, before the sequence explodes and the average shot length diminishes, cutting more frequently, and consequently increasing the tension in scenes.

This is the odd movie that you want to see, then not see, then see again, before not seeing it. Nightcrawler is action-packed, playing on our desire for violence before making us look in a mirror and revealing us as the culprits who fuel this immoral form of journalism. We demand the violence; they provide the supply.

Empirical observations in 16mm

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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Bunte’s films at Or Gallery document technological advancements of the former German Democratic Republic.

If a revolution is a release of pressure, what becomes of the force following its release? Andreas Bunte, a recent SFU Audain Visual Artist in Residence, attempts to address this question by looking at two spaces of differential pressure in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Bunte’s two films, presented as a double film installation at the Or Gallery, use an athletic training facility, Underdruck (Low-Pressure), and a synthetic diamond manufacturer, Künstliche Diamanten (Synthetic Diamonds), as respective subjects to document the technological achievements of the GDR.

Bunte primarily works in the medium of 16mm celluloid film. The grainy, anachronistic look of 16mm is congruous to the subject matter being depicted. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, each of these spaces was affected. The synthetic diamond institute lost its state funding. It then had to relocate and become a private enterprise. The training facility, designed to simulate the low pressure of high altitudes, fell into disuse due to the cost of renting the space. Because of the way it was built, it was also too costly to destroy, ostensibly becoming a monument to the era in which it was created.

Both spaces feel lost in time due to the prevalence of the dated, analogue technologies that they contain. Through these short films, Bunte affords the viewer a privileged look at processes and spaces rarely seen, while also framing the banality inherent in each.

A diamond is created over billions of years in high-pressure areas kilometres beneath the earth. In Künstliche Diamanten, we witness the transformation of graphite into a diamond over the course of several minutes. The final product is cut out of its casing using a tool that looks like a butter knife.

In Underdruck, Bunte takes us into what looks like a Cold War-era spy bunker, straight out of a Roger Moore James Bond film, but then reveals the banality within: the faded plastics in the offices, the humming frequencies of the rooms, and the blinking fluorescent lights.

Due to its isolation, the GDR had to rely on synthetic processes to maintain its independence. Whether it was through the production of plastics, synthetic fibres, or synthetic diamonds, a GDR state-owned economy had to rely on technological innovation to keep up with its Western counterparts, let alone stay afloat. The two subjects of Bunte’s films are a testament to the stubborn ingenuity of the GDR, which reduced the need for its people to bring in outside goods or travel outside the country — not that the GDR populace ever had much choice.

A couple blocks away from the Or Gallery, Andreas Bunte also has an exhibition at Republic Gallery. This exhibition, Lettuce Partially Emerging from a Shopping Bag, features another 16mm film, titled Suspended Durations. The film documents actors performing everyday tasks, such as unpacking a bag of groceries, using a swipe card machine, and untangling a set of earbuds. In each film there is a grid background placed in the frame of the action, and as each action is performed, sometimes in multiple takes, the sound of the 16mm camera whirs in the background, along with the artist’s voice calling out directions over sections of black in between shots.

The placement of the grid within the frame of action, along with the uncut sound and occasional flash frames, give the sense that we are watching a scientific motion study — normally conducted to improve work practices by maximizing the efficiency of the body’s movement — while also referring to what is taking place behind-the-scenes. By juxtaposing the mundane activities in a makeshift setting of empirical observation, Bunte questions the motives behind these motion studies, while also creating absurd scenarios of everyday life.

Two Films About Pressure is at the Or Gallery until November 22. Visit orgallery.org for more information. Lettuce Partially Emerging From a Shopping Bag is at Republic Gallery until November 8. Visit republicgallery.com for more information.

SFU researcher develops allergy-fighting database

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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Getting a household pet might reduce your chance of developing allergies.

While you may be stuck with that annoying cat allergy for some time longer, the face of allergy research is about to change in a big way.

The Allergy and Asthma Portal (AAP), an online database and search engine developed by SFU’s own professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, Fiona Brinkman, will help uncover key risk factors in the development of asthma and allergies.

The AAP acts as a catalog for some of the information already known about the human body at the genetic and protein levels. As researchers add more information to it, they will be able to look for trends that might otherwise be invisible on a small scale.

With time, this means that the database will become more and more useful, allowing researchers to overlay their own findings in order to understand the big picture of what’s going on in the human body.

Similar resources exist for other diseases, such as cancer, but allergy and asthma are relative newcomers to the ‘big data’ scene. The AAP’s direct predecessor, InnateDB, was a resource used to help research the immune system.

“It’s essentially a natural progression for us to extend this to allergy and asthma, and we’re quite enthusiastic because it’s only the start,” Brinkman told The Peak.

The human immune system is made of dozens of cell types which sometimes overreact to something otherwise harmless, causing allergy or asthma. The AAP already contains over 4,500 of those cellular interactions, and over 3,000 genes that are implicated. These interactions could be used as specific targets for therapies that could prevent, or even reverse allergy.

Brinkman went on to say that “what we’ve found is by looking at complex diseases as more of a network [. . .] things become a little more simple.”

“One of the most protective things you can do to avoid developing allergies is to basically get a dog.”

Fiona Brinkman, SFU professor of MBB

However, Brinkman explained that another part of the picture is getting attention from the scientific community: “There’s a lot of information coming out showing the role of microbes in development of allergy and asthma and the importance of exposure, appropriately, to microbes as an infant.”

The principle, sometimes referred to as the ‘hygiene hypothesis,’ suggests that an environment that is too clean may actually cause disease in the form of allergy. In more economically developed countries, like Canada, allergy rates are significantly higher than in less economically developed countries, and this may have something to do with insufficient exposure to microbes in the environment.

However, according to a recent study of certain households, pets may be of significant help. “One of the most protective things you can do to avoid developing allergies is to basically get a dog,” Brinkman said, explaining the theory that a dog brings microbes from outside into contact with its owners, though there may be other factors involved.

While the AAP is set to integrate data on a vast scale, Brinkman stressed the importance of organizing data to make it legible and useful.

“One of the biggest challenges we have in biology is it’s becoming more of an information science, and we need to get that data properly organized and we need to get it more integrated,” Brinkman said. “We really want to find discoveries more efficiently.”

University Briefs

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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UBC Researchers develop test for vitamin B12 deficiency

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new testing method for vitamin B12 deficiency that only requires a single drop of blood. The technique is sensitive enough to work on anyone, including newborn babies.

“This minimally invasive approach helps us measure deficiency in an easier and more convenient way, especially in large samples of people,” says the author of the study, Yvonne Lamers, a professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and Canada Research Chair.

This method is important because it can be used to test and collect blood samples in rural or remote areas where elaborate lab equipment is inaccessible. Presently, the technique is being used in a research project in rural Indonesia.

With files from UBC News

University of Calgary opens energy research institute in Beijing

Collaborating with Chinese partners, the University of Calgary (U of C) has opened a jointly funded research institute in Beijing to take advantage of the country’s potential for gas development.

The goal, according to U of C president Elizabeth Cannon, “is to develop new innovative technology that we’ll not only bring back to Canada, but will help China move from a coal economy over to gas through unlocking some of their unconventional oil and gas reserves.”

One partner, industrial giant Kerui Group, will put $11.25 million in funding towards collaborative research and training programs to improve the extraction process for tight oil, natural gas hydrates, and oil-sands bitumen.

With files from The Globe and Mail

Musicians are better multitaskers

If you’ve ever had trouble trying to do homework while also watching TV, a new study from York University may make you want to add a guitar into the mix as well.

According to their research, trained musicians appear to have a “superior ability to maintain and manipulate competing information in memory, allowing for efficient global processing.”

The study was comprised of a series of tests that measured task-switching ability, and showed that musicians have a stronger ability to “shift flexibly between mental sets,” an advantage not found within other groups, including those who are bilingual.

With files from Pacific Standard

Students raise concerns over SFSS Annual General Meeting

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) met quorum for the first time in six years at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 22, but not everyone was able to get into the venue, which quickly reached capacity.

With over 400 students in attendance and many more lined up outside of the SFU Theatre, the venue filled up shortly after the meeting began at 1:30 p.m.

As such, not everyone was able to cast their vote on two motions concerning the Build SFU Student Union Building (SUB) and Stadium projects.

Several students in line voiced their concerns to The Peak. “It’s refusing members of the clubs the right to vote,” said Jesse Kazemir, a second year engineering science student. “It sort of renders the people who weren’t let in powerless in terms of the vote. They may not have changed it, but still it’s denying them that right.”

Many students also left after the Build SFU motions, resulting in a loss of quorum for the remainder of the meeting. Consequently, only regular business could be conducted from that point onward.

“The SUB wasn’t the only thing I was planning to vote on. There were a lot of concerns that a few clubs wanted to bring up in light of the SFSS’ policy towards clubs,” said Sarah Kim Dao, a first year computing science student and SFU business alumna. Because an inquorate meeting is only able to discuss regular business, “a lot of the things that the clubs wanted to bring up weren’t brought up at all,” she said.

Not everyone was able to cast their vote on two motions concerning the Build SFU Student Union Building (SUB) and Stadium projects.

At the SFSS council meeting on Wednesday, student representatives brought up their ideas for how to better accommodate students in the future. Suggestions included allowing students to vote online and planning for an overflow space with a live feed of the meeting to allow more students to follow the action.

Chardaye Bueckert, SFSS president, responded to council members’ concerns and explained that this was a problem that they had not anticipated: “In the past, for our AGM’s, it’s always been a huge struggle to achieve quorum of 250 students, and we booked the largest available inside space which was the SFU Theatre.”

She continued, “The only alternative that could have accommodated more students would have been Convocation Mall, but it was quite a cold and windy day so we made the call to hold the meeting inside, in efforts to try to attract more people, particularly in light of the fact that we hadn’t made quorum for many many years.”

Bueckert stated further that they did not turn any students away: “We just hit fire capacity and couldn’t let that many people in without it being incredibly unsafe [. . . and eventually] everybody who did wait did get into the meeting.”

The SFSS is considering what they can do to maintain these high levels of engagement and accommodate more students. “We do take these concerns very, very seriously and our hope is that going forward we will need a bigger space than the one that we had this year, because there’s going to be so much sustained interest,” Bueckert said.

SFU prepares for its upcoming 50th birthday

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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CMYK-SFU Architecture-SFU Archive and Record Management — Designed by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey, the university was built in 1965. Courtesy SFU Archive and Records.

With the university’s 50th birthday less than a year away, SFU administration is preparing a number of events that both students and faculty members can enjoy during the 2015 academic year.

Joanne Curry, SFU associate vice-president, external relations and chair of the 50th Anniversary Planning and Implementation Team mentioned that they “have a whole number of objectives for the 50th celebration, which will essentially take place [from] September 2015 to convocation June 2016.”

According to SFU’s 50th anniversary report, there will be a multitude of events called Signature Initiatives that celebrate a university that has “grown up without growing old.” These will include a World-Wide Week of Welcome, special SFU Clan games and homecomings, and a Burnaby Festival of Learning.

Annual events such as SFU’s Public Square, the Terry Fox Run, the Annual Alumni Gathering, and the President’s BBQ will also be linked to the 50th anniversary celebration.

Different faculties and departments plan to show off their unique initiatives during the anniversary year. For example, Curry speculated that the Faculty of Science might organize a brewing course in which they would brew a specific 50th anniversary beer. “It doesn’t have to be large, it’s up to each department to plan out what they would like to do,” commented Curry.

Curry explained that the university will “use this opportunity to talk about the history of SFU, because it has had such an interesting history, but also [about] the future of SFU.”

Events will celebrate a university that has “grown up without growing old.”

Simon Fraser University opened its doors on September 9, 1965 with an initial class of 2,500 students. The university was named after the explorer Simon Fraser, who discovered the Fraser River in 1808. Originally called Fraser University, the name Simon was added after the administration realised that the abbreviation would otherwise be F.U.

On the university’s 50th birthday, on September 9, 2015, there will be two events: a Morning Ceremony, which will include speeches by SFU president Andrew Petter and other significant community figures, and a Founder’s Ball. During the Founder’s Ball, attendees will be served dinner in Convocation Mall and have a chance to dance under the stars near the AQ Pond. A prominent artist will likely entertain the guests, as well.

Curry noted, “It is an engagement opportunity for the current students, alumni in different countries, prospective students, [and] for [the] community in general.” She stressed the fact that everybody will have the chance to be involved in some form or another throughout the anniversary year.

“It is a great opportunity to raise the profile of SFU. [. . . Some people] have a view from 20 years ago. So, it’s just a great opportunity to showcase SFU and all of its accomplishments and amazing people, students, staff and faculty,” said Curry.

She also noted that the 50th Anniversary Planning and Implementation Team is eager to hear what students would like to see or contribute for “student-led type events.”

Nicole Wong, an SFU co-op student who is helping to plan the anniversary festivities, said, “The anniversary year will be a special one, so be sure to go out and participate in the various events! [. . .] Participating in these events will definitely be a way to ensure that your time at SFU was memorable.”

Curry mentioned that schedules for the fall events will likely be outlined in the spring. “And again, any ideas are more than welcome,” she concluded.

Satellite Signals

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Peak Web

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November 2, 2014

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Woodwards:

Last Wednesday, October 29, in the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema, Benjamin Bratton delivered a presentation called, “The Stack: Design and Geopolitics in the Age of Planetary-Scale Computing.”

The lecture discussed how computation has grown to be a “global infrastructure that is changing not only how governments govern, but what government even is in the first place.”

Surrey:

SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences along with the Surrey Firefighters Charitable Society presented a lecture last Tuesday, October 28, on how to recognize and eliminate gendered and racialized violence in media.

Professor of women’s studies at the University of Victoria, Jo-Anne Lee gave the talk in the Surrey City Hall’s council chambers, with a reception following.

Harbour Centre:

This past Sunday, October 26, the SFU Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) gathered on Abbott Street to help those in need with the profits collected during the Havana Night event hosted on October 17 at the Highland Pub.

The ALAS executive team and volunteers prepared over 400 sandwiches and matched each sandwich with an apple and a water bottle to provide the hungry with a basic lunch.

SFU workshop discusses the politics of body image

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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BW - body image — The event addressed how participants might heal from and resist body shaming.

People of all different shapes and sizes gathered at SFU on Saturday, October 25 to discuss and engage in activities concerning body diversity and acceptance.

Hosted by the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG) in collaboration with Fat Panic! Vancouver, the event titled Body Size Diversity: It’s Just How We Roll! took place at SFU’s Burnaby campus.

The event engaged participants in discussions, writing exercises, and theatre activities to uncover what it is like to be overweight in our society. The team also highlighted how other forms of prejudice and discrimination, such as sexism and racism, interact in our society.

A total of 24 participants took part in the event, which lasted seven hours. Kalamity Hildebrandt, a social justice educator and consultant with SFPIRG, led participants through all of the activities.

“We started out considering the nature and impact of body shaming and body policing generally — looking at how many forms of injustice use these tools of abuse,” she explained. “Part of what we did during that process was a writing and sharing exercise in which participants completed a number of questions about how they had first been taught body shame, and what this had cost them in their lives, and how they are working to heal from and resist body shaming and policing.”

In the afternoon, participants discussed the politics of fatness in North American society. A theatre performance illustrated situations in which overweight individuals were harassed, and portrayed practical intervention strategies to alleviate harassment.

When asked about what this event means to her and to others, Hildebrandt said, “To me, events like this are incredibly important. I have been doing this work for around 20 years now, so I already know much about the countless ways in which systemic forms of injustice like fat oppression harm people, but I always learn more through what participants choose to share.

“It is always very touching to see how brave people can be in sharing their stories, sometimes for the first time.”

Co-hosting the event was Fat Panic! Vancouver, a group committed to bringing an end to the oppression of overweight individuals.

“It is always very touching to see how brave people can be in sharing their stories, sometimes for the first time.”

Kalamity Hildebrandt, SFPIRG social justice educator and consultant

In the past, Fat Panic! Vancouver has referenced an article written by Clinton Hallahan and published by The Peak in 2012, titled, “NO FATTIES,” as an example of commonly held views about body diversity; the group aims to displace these views.

According to their website, his article and similar opinions contribute to making the university campus a “more hostile, less inclusive place for many people.”

Together, Fat Panic! Vancouver and SFPIRG plan to host more events to inform people of the prejudice and discrimination towards overweight people, and the harm that this causes.

“Both organizations seek to build a better world — a world in which no one is taught to hate their own, or anyone else’s, body, for any reason,” said Hildebrandt.