Reflections on Art

I was in the Vancouver art Gallery this afternoon, and I had what is perhaps a nerdy but very intense experience. While looking at the painting "the letter" by Vermeer, more commonly known as the love letter, I was struck by feeling as though I was actually inside the painting, I could almost feel my hand on the heavy velvet curtain while I played the unseen role of the voyeur.

Ever since reading the book pictures and tears, a book about people who cry in front of art I have tried to be more open tot he visceral reactions that art (in so many forms) inspires in me. My years in a psychology degree kind of wrecked art for me because I was convinced there was no way to quantify what I was feeling. However, some recent research has shown that we do have physiological reactions to art, along with our emotional and philosophical responses.

Which explains why when I was looking at some of Emily Carr's paintings in the same gallery I was overcome with a sense of claustrophobia. Not the same claustrophobia I get when in crowds, but a comforting feeling of enclosement and protection, I have always felt very safe in forests.

I love being an academic and I have sometimes toyed with the idea of studying more about art history and interpretation, but I think I will hold off on that. For the time being, I want to enjoy my immediate responses and not think so much about them. Sure I will always dig for facts and history about art, but I don't think I will ever start letting people tell me how art should make me feel

One more brief thought

Have you ever desperately wanted to change something and felt like a moron every time you tried? I am really trying to create a writing style that is a dialogue with the sources and tells a story, but I seem to constantly revert back to choppy facts and analysis because it is where I am most comfortable. I know I am a good writer, but I feel like i could be an excellent one if only I could get a little more flow and style to my work.

Yukon in a Rush

I am in the airport on my way out of Dawson city as I write this, by the time I get to internet (and cell phone reception) again I will be in BC with the Yukon far behind me.

I said before that New Brunswick is the province that everyone forgets, perhaps the Yukon is the province that feels the most forgotten. There are 33,000 people in this province, 90% of them live in Whitehorse, it is kind of hard for me to believe that the whole province is about the same population of a University in Ontario.

I think there are three words (well four if you want to be technical) that sum up my experience in the Yukon best ice cream, dust and attitude.

I know the ice cream one is counter intuitive, but it kind of represents a few things. First, the weather was hot the entire time I was here, however since it is cold the rest of the year, there aren’t really any public pools or even that much air conditioning so you eat ice cream to cool down (if you just aren’t comfortable drinking beer for 12 straight hours). Second, ice cream also represents climate change. Every year since people came up here searching for gold, yukoners have bet on when the ice on the Yukon river would break up. As it turns out, these records show that every year the ice has broken up sooner and sooner. The elders here say animal migration routes and habits are changing, and mudslides and other disasters are becoming more prevalent. I know a few people who deny climate change; they need to talk to some people up here where it is a constant reality.

Dust, well one reason I could not live up in Dawson city is that I don’t think my body could handle sneezing every two minutes from the dust on the road, and I don’t think my neuroses could hadn’t the fact that I would never again have a clean car. They tried to introduce swiffers up here and they were a complete failure, people just complained that they went through them too fast and they were filling up the dump. Several people told me you just have to accept the dust as part of life. Dust is also representative of the gold. To be honest if I never see gold again it will be too soon, honestly, the fascination wears off after the first time you hear the gold rush story, by the 20^th, you really just don’t know what the big deal is with shiny metals. It was more than educational to see a mine (something I have never seen before), I never realised the impact they have, and melting permafrost can’t be a good practise.

Finally attitude, yukoners (claim to) have an independent spirit, this despite the fact that the existence of the province is pretty much completely reliant on government funding (90% of the jobs up here are government jobs). At least 8% are tourism, and there is attitude about the tourists. Yukoners like Canadian tourists, it is pretty flattering when other people decide to come here from the rest of the country, however there is a little tension between American tourists and Canadians, but you have to dig to find it during the tourist season, apparently in the winter it is openly talked about. It seems all we Canadains have our myths we like to believe about ourselves.

So those are my reflections on the Yukon. Its been a great trip, but the Yukon has taught me that I am a wuss and was therefore made for Southern Ontario, and I think I am perfectly OK with that. I am now on the home stretch of my trip. I will be heading back into BC tomorrow and then home through Calgary and back as fast as I can.

On a side note, I am collecting a lot of interviews, I plan to be done all my data gathering by the first week in October, then it is ten straight months of writing and analysis. So, if over the next year I become grouchy, gain a lot of weight and generally don’t see anyone, I promise it will get better again next August! I plan to finish this thesis in 4 years if it kills me (and it probably will). I’ll see you again soon when I back with the Internet.

Saskatchewan in Wheat Shaft

OK, I am a bit behind on this, mainly because I have been having trouble coming up with inspiration about the province. I think I have come up with a few useful observations though that will help non-travellers get a sense of the province.

First, yes Saskatchewan is flat, lets get this out of the way. You watch thunderstorms come in for hours, you watch dogs run away for days, and it is torturous to drive into cities as you can see them hours before you are even close. In fact the province is so flat, the closest thing it actually has to hills appear when you are at the bottom of Qu’Appelle valley, and even then the locals will vehemently deny that they are hills. “They aren’t hills” agitated locals will tell you, “You are just at the bottom of a valley”. I say to let the definitional debate on what exactly is a hill begin here.

Second, there is more to Saskatchewan than just flat farms, there is Boreal forest, the great valley, its cities are pretty hopping and there are lakes everywhere, a boaters dream. One lake is so big that it even warrants its own lighthouse (despite the fact you can always see the other side of the lake), but who am I to criticize the placement of lighthouses in Saskatchewan.

Third, going to Saskatchewan will teach you patience. While everyone there is a good person, they do tend to have some misconceptions about us people from Ontario. Here is a list of things people from Saskatchewan seem to think we did not learn in our overcrowded and underworked Ontario schools:

• · Food grows in dirt and needs rain (I know this surprised me too, next they will be telling me that cow poo helps our food grow…ew)
• · Hail storms can kill said crops, as can strong winds, oh and by the way, dark clouds mean thunderstorms and that bright thing in the sky is a sun, plants need that too.
• · The white fluffy things are sheep, the brown and black lazy things are cows and the tall things with long thin legs are horses.

Fourth, although people in Saskatchewan will never ever admit it, they are a lot like Albertans, if Albertans didn’t have oil. They are also a lot like Manitobans, if Manitobans weren’t close enough to Ontario to actually hate province instead of just knowing very little about it.

Fifth, Saskatchewan is a little scary. Like any good Canadian, I like weather, I talk about it (all the time), check the forecast (several times a day) and hypocritically complain that it is too hot in the summer and to cold in the winter. However, there was one storm while I was in Qu’Appelle valley that lasted two days. I was scared the valley would fill up, two days of heavy rain and loud thunder and insane lightning. The kind of storm that would last 5 minutes in Toronto until the weather changed to something else. I have never been afraid of a thunderstorm before that.

And when it is sunny, there is nowhere to hide. Saskatchewan has crazy friggin’ weather (this coming from someone who has seen a Tornado)

Sixth, and finally, be prepared to have a list of reasons why you love Toronto (or Montreal or Vancouver). Be prepared to tell people you actually don’t mind the crowds and that the city does not prevent you from getting to nature. Interesting little fact, even people in rural Saskatchewan will drive sometimes two hours to get to a particular lake or campground on the weekend. Sounds a lot like a certain Toronto ritual doesn’t it?

Anyway, I do love the province, and enjoy the people there. Just go in armed with education and ready to slow down (but not on the highway, the limit is 110, but the standard is 140, 150 on unsafe gravelly roads) and you can’t help but have a good time in Saskatchewan.

Midway Musings

Well, nothing super deep or funny today, just some updates to let people know where I am and how I am doing.

I have made it as far as Saskatchewan and I spent today working in a science lab while my friend Carol did end of year stuff at her school. It was weird being back in a high school classroom, also disconcerting though as they were much more technologically advanced some of my university classrooms. The smartBOARD is a thing of magic, and I hope if I ever get a professor job, my university will give me access to one of these devices, they are like powerpoint but a million times better.

We had a great thunderstorm today, and I have had a few since I have been on the road, and for the record I have gotten 6 blackfly bites, 10 mosquito bites, eaten 8 peanut butter and jam sandwiches for lunch 8 days in a row. I have driven over 4000 kilometers, spent over 600 litres of gasoline (Ugh, carbon footprint). Done 15 interviews, slept at 3 different universities, and yes the Jetta is still working (now will everyone please touch wood).

My favourite city thus far (independent of the people I visit like Carol) has been regina, I really like the dorms, the city and the people, and I had a great meal there.

My Canadian history is getting better and better as I go to more and more places, even that is not monolithic, every region seems to have their own spin on Canadian history, it is quite eye opening.

I get to see my sister next week which has me excited and I have overkilled a little on Alberta Museums. I have started transcribing like crazy so that will be the next big project once I am done all my research. I miss my husband and my family and my friends but I am enjoying travelling on my own schedule. Oddly I have no trouble making myself do schoolwork, but I do hate recording my expenses and milage at the end of everyday. Running has been hard too, after along day of sitting and driving I can walk for hours but getting up the energy to run is tricky (and I have big fears of getting lost).

So those are some Midway musings, nothing earth shaking but it lets everyone know where I am and how things are going. I am off to Edmonton tomorrow, I will have a summary of Saskatchewan up as soon as I have access to internet again.

And thanks Carol for letting me crash, once a year is not nearly enough.

Manitoba in a Minute

Yes, I have fallen behind in these posts, you drive 6 hours a day and tell me if you can do better.

Manitoba, thus far, has been my biggest surprise in Canada. While I hated it when I first got here, it grew on me once I started exploring, and not in the fungus way (it's too cold here for many mushrooms to grow).

The original slogan for Manitoba's license plates was "Manitoba, its people are friendlier than its climate." They soon realized that this really wasn't that big of an accomplishment, and shortened the slogan to "Friendly Manitoba". The people here were very friendly, I attribute this to the large mennonite population, because everyone knows mennonites are awesome.

I divided my time between three areas, Winnipeg, Steinbach and Brandon. I have nothing to add about Brandon, you can drive through it and pretty much get the point (this isn't to say it isn't a good point, just an easily understood point). Steinbach is a small town outside of Winnipeg mostly inhabited by Mennonites. The interesting thing, I think this might be the skinniest town in Canada, which makes no sense. I ate at a Mennonite restaurant (which was very similar to a japanese restaurant in that I pointed at the food I wanted because I couldn't say the names). I could feel the fat in the food, but it was delicious, but all the Mennonites who claimed to eat there every day were, well...stick thin. However, I don't think there is a low German word for vegetarian yet, just a caution for my more fastidious vegetarian and vegan friends.

Winnipeg, well, it's a city with a slow seduction, and a city that has worked hard to make itself beautiful, there is art everywhere on the streets, most of it quite good. If you get off of portage (FYI to french people, plug your ears when they pronounce this street) the city is quite lovely. The red river gives you a new appreciation for the power of mud, but even that is surrounded by decorated polar bears. Saint Boniface is just cool.

Winnipeg also is home to something called confusion corner (really, this is the most accurate nickname in the world....ever), I think this here Winnipeg deserves the award for worst urban planning. To rectify this I would like to make an introduction, Winnipeg, meet the roundabout, roundabout, meet Winnipeg. Winnipeg I know you are generally suspicious of "Eastern Influences" but I promise that the roundabout was one great thing to come out of europe, and soon you will love it as much as you love bad british pub food.

On my way out of Winnipeg towards the next province (sassafras or something), I learned the quirky joy of the side road. Museums in what look like war bunkers and beautiful parks in the middle of no where (and wicked ice cream ten minutes outside of nowhere). I think what this really means is all those Winnipegers who found out I was from Toronto and told me to get lost, they really were just being friendly, good old friendly Manitoba.

Awkward questions

There are two questions I get repeatedly that I always feel a bit weird answering (well there are many questions, but I will discuss two for now).

Question 1: When will you finish your thesis?

I hate this question because I have a goal, but if I don't reach it ultimately I am a failure. So for this one I have a very simple solution. I lie, to my advisor, my friends, my spouse, my parents. I think this is a good long term solution, the trick is to lie on an individual basis. My husband wants me to finish ASAP, but I know he will forgive anything so I hedge with the "just a few more months" answer. My advisor, I always say the deadline he has given me, because if I go over it there is no real skin off his back and (for now) it is sufficiently far enough away into the future that he still thinks I can do it!. Complete strangers, I say "any time now" This way I am never really tied dow to a date and I no longer feel awkward, just guilty for lying.

Question 2: Do you have funding for your project?

My project is big, and no I don't have funding..thanks for bringing it up. I am a complete failure who has not one a single scholarship and by the way I can't ride a bike and I came in 5th out of 7 in grade nine spelling bee. Seriously, I am not that bitter,but it is a hard question to answer, I usually end up saying something about a sugar daddy or how I really don't eat that much or a kidney I sold on the black market.

So I guess the real lesson is not "don't ask these questions" but rather "don't believe the answers."