Tattoo artists are fully booked as studios reopen. Why are people itching to get inked?
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 04, 2021

Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 04, 2021

Hi, art lovers!

 
It’s been a bit of a pokey week, what with the July 1 holiday and all, but I spent a few days on this story about the pandemic tattoo boom. It turns out CBC Newfoundland and Labrador just ran a short doc about one of the artists featured in that piece, Laura Casey. The owner of Lady Lo’s Custom Tattoos in St. John’s, Laura volunteers her time and talent through something called the Two Arrows project, which helps folks who want to cover their self-harm scars. Watch here.

More content for your weekend: seven intriguing CBC podcasts about Indigenous stories. As It Happens on that AI Rembrandt that was all over the news last week. On the subject of AI, is this Canadian company (among others) picking the next wave of pop stars? Or has big data done away with our interest in pop stars entirely? While I was congratulating myself for packing Lady Boss as a beach read, the world was still squawking about NFTs: meet the teen who crashed Christie’s; Beeple has a few “iconic moments in history” he’d like to sell you; and buy some (virtual) sh*t from a mysterious White Male Artist. 

Fear Street premiered on Netflix this weekend. I’m still holding out for their (surely) superior forthcoming Christopher Pike content, but out of pure nostalgia for Scholastic book fairs, I’m definitely adding it to the queue. I don’t know that the show will bring on a wave of ‘90s slasher fare like this essay argues. (And will the kids even watch something so aggressively xennial-core?) Whatever happens, the best thing about YA horror novels was the lurid book design. 
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo of a neon artwork. Pink neon lights form the shape of window shutters. Through a dark window two glowing pink eyes are visible in the darkness

www.karmakarma.org

Gonna guess that Alex Da Corte might agree with that last statement. This piece from 2018 is from an entire exhibition influenced by Fear Street and the series’ pulpy cover art. 

 
Collaged figure of a cowboy with his legs bowed and his hands on hips. The silhouette is composed of collaged photos. His chaps are a Rocky Mountain landscape. His torso is a map of Northwestern Canada. His face the black sky of space with rainbow details. His hat palm trees against blue sky.

Anna Binta Diallo

Selection from Wanderings by Anna Binta Diallo. Anna’s included in an exhibition I’ve mentioned before in the newsletter: the cut, the tear & the remix: contemporary collage and Black futures. (You can find it online through McMaster Museum of Art to July 22.)
 
Photo of a female figure in a blue dress seated alone at a turquoise diner banquette. She holds an oversized tufted rug in the shape of a woman's face, with purple skin, blue eyes and yellow hair. In the mouth, a pile of French fries appears to pour forth. A glass of white wine is perched on the table in front of her.

@dyreborgstudio/Instagram

So … is indoor dining back where you are? Textile art by Ina Dyreborg.
 
Photo of the inside of a sunlit room. Clear plastic filled wtih air envelops the space. It appears to be form towering pillars.

@strutsgallery/Instagram

If you’re near Sackville, N.B., this weekend, you can get a way better view of this project by Marcia Huyer. She’s installed inflatable sculptures inside a local house. Breathing Room runs July 2 to 4.
 
Photo of small green and pink berries against a black background. They are arranged to appear as though they are a rose design made of seed beads.

@daphnebboyer/Instagram

“Berries to Beads!” That’s how Métis artist Daphne Boyer describes the technique she used to make this piece. See more of her work at Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina July 3 to Sept. 10.
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Close up of a woman's tattooed thigh. her manicured hand (also tattooed) pulls up a burgundy skirt to reveal more of the horse design on her thigh.

Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

 

You're not the only one who wants a tattoo

Canadian artists are fully booked as studios reopen. Why are people itching to get inked?
 
Illustration of a stand-up comic with two long braids wearing facepaint, a blazer and red striped shirt. Behind the figure is row after row of empty red seats.
Cole Pauls/www.tundrawizard.com

'The best medicine'

 
Some of Canada’s top Indigenous comics sound off in this roundtable interview. Get their thoughts on the state of the comedy scene and the power of sharing a laugh.
 
Still from Netflix series Two Distant Strangers. Joey Badass (left) a Black man wearing a yellow sweatshirt, black backpack and gold rim glasses frowns and looks in the eyes of a white police officer (right) played by Andrew Howard, who is pulling Joey towards him by the backpack straps.

Netflix

 

Where are all the complex Black stories?

In some ways, Black representation on screen has never been better, but there’s a case for quality, not quantity, and Matthew Progress argues that even some of his favourite shows are peddling toxic stereotypes. The Toronto artist is this month’s guest columnist for Black Light.
 
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Laura Casey

@ladyloscustomtattoos
Closeup photo of a pale-skinned human limb tattooed with a whimsical drawing of a brown striped cat. Outlined with a medium-weight black line, cat appears to smile and is surrounded by small blue flowers.

@ladyloscustomtattoos/Instagram

Yep, she’s the same Laura I mentioned above. If you’re a fan of ‘80s fantasy flicks, her feed is definitely worth a scroll.
 

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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time!

 
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