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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
cK's Art Exhibit at the AGO!
| CK TAKES OVER THE BIGGEST ART STAGE IN TORONTO WITH THE INTENSION EXHIBIT! |
It was a day that will be remembered as one of the Top 5 Best Moments of My Life. The day where I officially got to have my very own art exhibit opening at one of the biggest stages in Canada -- The Art Gallery of Ontario. The INTENSION exhibit, a collaboration between 6 artists that were given a second life at the gallery after being involved in the youth program during the last 10 years.
Myself, as well as the Big Black Machine, individually created art installations using High Definition video. We started working on the project since January 2009, and would meet every 2 weeks for workshops on video production, editing, camera techniques and so on that the AGO provided for us to create our video installations. The end result was revealed on Aug 12 2009 -- at a huge opening where people lined up around the city block, waiting in line to see what all the hype was about.
Many of my friends came from far and wide to be there for the opening. One of my dear friends skipped a flight going to Calgary, just so they could be there for the art opening!! (Thank you Jaclyn!) Other friends came who I haven't seen in years. (Ryan and Kelly!) My brother left work early so he could be there. (Thanks, Jonny!) Friends who just put it on their calendar to be there that day for me -- I can't thank you enough!! (Iq, Sarah, Andrea, Shelley, n8, JimmyVan, Luke, Mike, Robin, Lindsay, Vinh, Bo Wen, Warren, Jennifer, Aaliyah, Chris, Treesh, Nadia, Boyoh, Sondra, and so many more -- If I forgot to mention you, please forgive me!!!) It was a huge moment for me, that I'll never forget. Did I mention that already? Oh well, I can't get over it! Anyways, around 6pm -- the event started. There was a ceremony involving the President of Ericsson Canada, donating a huge cheque for $50,000 to the AGO's Youth Program. I was one of the few holding the huge cheque for the photo ops. After that, The Big Black Machine and myself said a few words about the program. We had to thank the main person for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the Art Gallery of Ontario back in 1995 -- she is none other than the matriarch of the Youth Program, Gillian McIntyre. The video below is how it went:
After our words, the ceremony was wrapped up and our group of friends came along for a mini-tour of the gallery spaces that inspired Gabe and I to create our installation pieces. We managed to squeeze about 30 people into the elevator which took us up to the 5th Floor, Contemporary Galleries. In this specific elevator, was a piece done by Vera Frankel that inspired Gabe to do his piece. The idea was to get everyone in the elevator to experience that trapped feeling and being told what to buy and what to shop for. After arriving to the 5th floor to view the piece that inspired my installation, we were turned back due to construction. So the next part of the tour was to go to the Salle Young Gallery and see our installations for the first time.
The entire group of us went to experience the INTENSION exhibit for the first time, myself included. There were a total of 6 art installations in the gallery, and the sound and video was fixed for it to work on a rotating loop. Which I did not understand! (However it has been changed) Anyways, Gabe's video came on first and everyone huddled around the 3 screens that presented his installation. His piece was a movie that he shot, produced, directed and wrote... all starring Yours Truly. It was a gripping movie about a person who gets trapped inside the AGO and told to shop... very similar to the Vera Frankel piece in the elevator. After it was done, Gabe got a huge applause. My installation started a while later. Everyone crowded around the screen to view my piece, which is based on society's portrayal of heroes. Based upon a piece created by Toronto artist, Anitra Hamilton entitled, "Wall Parade #3" -- I created my own version but as a video installation. After the video ended, there was a huge applause from the group. We all chatted and took pictures of each other. It was a fun time. After that, some of the group went around the gallery to view other stuff and some stayed around to socialize. For a celebration, a group of us went to have sushi next door. The food was great, we had a great time and had YELLOW WATERMELON for dessert. I kid you not. You can see it all in the slideshow below! Again, it was one of the best moments of my life and I'm so thankful and grateful for all the people that showed up for it. Thank you!!
For more information on the event, you can visit the AGO's INTENSION EXHIBIT page here or even click on the media's coverage here via Toronto Newsfix.
Myself, as well as the Big Black Machine, individually created art installations using High Definition video. We started working on the project since January 2009, and would meet every 2 weeks for workshops on video production, editing, camera techniques and so on that the AGO provided for us to create our video installations. The end result was revealed on Aug 12 2009 -- at a huge opening where people lined up around the city block, waiting in line to see what all the hype was about.
Many of my friends came from far and wide to be there for the opening. One of my dear friends skipped a flight going to Calgary, just so they could be there for the art opening!! (Thank you Jaclyn!) Other friends came who I haven't seen in years. (Ryan and Kelly!) My brother left work early so he could be there. (Thanks, Jonny!) Friends who just put it on their calendar to be there that day for me -- I can't thank you enough!! (Iq, Sarah, Andrea, Shelley, n8, JimmyVan, Luke, Mike, Robin, Lindsay, Vinh, Bo Wen, Warren, Jennifer, Aaliyah, Chris, Treesh, Nadia, Boyoh, Sondra, and so many more -- If I forgot to mention you, please forgive me!!!) It was a huge moment for me, that I'll never forget. Did I mention that already? Oh well, I can't get over it! Anyways, around 6pm -- the event started. There was a ceremony involving the President of Ericsson Canada, donating a huge cheque for $50,000 to the AGO's Youth Program. I was one of the few holding the huge cheque for the photo ops. After that, The Big Black Machine and myself said a few words about the program. We had to thank the main person for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the Art Gallery of Ontario back in 1995 -- she is none other than the matriarch of the Youth Program, Gillian McIntyre. The video below is how it went:
After our words, the ceremony was wrapped up and our group of friends came along for a mini-tour of the gallery spaces that inspired Gabe and I to create our installation pieces. We managed to squeeze about 30 people into the elevator which took us up to the 5th Floor, Contemporary Galleries. In this specific elevator, was a piece done by Vera Frankel that inspired Gabe to do his piece. The idea was to get everyone in the elevator to experience that trapped feeling and being told what to buy and what to shop for. After arriving to the 5th floor to view the piece that inspired my installation, we were turned back due to construction. So the next part of the tour was to go to the Salle Young Gallery and see our installations for the first time.
The entire group of us went to experience the INTENSION exhibit for the first time, myself included. There were a total of 6 art installations in the gallery, and the sound and video was fixed for it to work on a rotating loop. Which I did not understand! (However it has been changed) Anyways, Gabe's video came on first and everyone huddled around the 3 screens that presented his installation. His piece was a movie that he shot, produced, directed and wrote... all starring Yours Truly. It was a gripping movie about a person who gets trapped inside the AGO and told to shop... very similar to the Vera Frankel piece in the elevator. After it was done, Gabe got a huge applause. My installation started a while later. Everyone crowded around the screen to view my piece, which is based on society's portrayal of heroes. Based upon a piece created by Toronto artist, Anitra Hamilton entitled, "Wall Parade #3" -- I created my own version but as a video installation. After the video ended, there was a huge applause from the group. We all chatted and took pictures of each other. It was a fun time. After that, some of the group went around the gallery to view other stuff and some stayed around to socialize. For a celebration, a group of us went to have sushi next door. The food was great, we had a great time and had YELLOW WATERMELON for dessert. I kid you not. You can see it all in the slideshow below! Again, it was one of the best moments of my life and I'm so thankful and grateful for all the people that showed up for it. Thank you!!
For more information on the event, you can visit the AGO's INTENSION EXHIBIT page here or even click on the media's coverage here via Toronto Newsfix.
Please click on the slideshow to move to the next pic