 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | Ben Shannon/CBC Arts | | | Late last summer, I started asking the same annoying question to every person I met: What is the Cadillac Ranch?
Just so we’re clear, I already knew the answer, and if you’ve spent any significant amount of time in Alberta over the last 40 years, you probably know what it is, too. As for the rest of Canada? Well, I conducted a thoroughly unscientific poll, and the answers are in: nobody has a clue.
And that’s totally OK! Because what is it? The Cadillac Ranch is a corny line dance, a sequence that’s about as easy to learn as the Macarena. People do it at clubs and weddings and the Calgary Stampede. It’s baffled the prime minister of Iceland. It’s how to say you’re from Alberta without saying you’re from Alberta. And, crucially, it’s been taught in Alberta schools for decades now. As a product of that particular public school system, I was completely thrown when I realized this one weird dance craze is uniquely beloved in Alberta. The song it’s based on was never even a hit! That’s just one of the many details I turned up while compiling this exhaustive (maybe too exhaustive) history of the Cadillac Ranch. Australia has the Nutbush. Ireland has Rock the Boat. I guess Alberta has a dance craze of its own — a sort of “trauma bonding” through synchronized choreography, as this tweet puts it.
I guess you don’t recognize the quirks of the culture you grew up in until you’re older — and living thousands of kilometres from home. And that leaves me wondering just how many bits of regional lore are utterly obscured to me: dances like the Cadillac Ranch, or songs, games, slang, TV jingles. What’s something you grew up with that’s oddly specific to your city or province, something you were shocked to discover didn’t translate across the country? You’ve got to tell me. I’d be fascinated to hear! | | | | | And because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Hayley Chiu | | I love this painting from Snail’s Home, a series by Hayley Chiu. Hayley won the OCAD University medal for painting and drawing at this year’s GradEx. If you’re wondering about the title of the series, here’s a very sweet excerpt from her artist’s statement: “My home is where I fall asleep and where I wake; not defined by place, but my being. I’m always where I need to be with what I need to thrive.” | | | | |  | Gabrielle Schwartz | | Gabrielle Schwartz is another medal winner (illustration) whose work you can find at GradEx. Today’s the last day of the show, FYI! But if you can’t make it down to OCAD, there’s always the online version of the exhibition. Scroll away! | | | | |  | Hot Docs | | | | | I’m Just Here for the Riot explores how the mayhem was fuelled by the rise of the smartphone. | | | | |  | Frequent Flyer Films | | | | | He hid it for years and even smuggled it to Canada in a cookie jar. But according to a new documentary, the guy had his reasons. Dr. Thomas Harvey spent a lifetime guarding the world’s greatest mind. | | | | |  | Hot Docs | | | | | | | Director Omar Mouallem writes about the making of The Lebanese Burger Mafia, his definitive history of Burger Baron. | | |  | Kaori Izumiya | | Kaori Izumiya designed this CBC Arts logo for Asian Heritage Month. Based in Montreal, Kaori was born and raised in Japan. “Participating in Asian Heritage Month is a special opportunity for me to celebrate and honour my heritage, and to showcase the beauty and richness of Asian art and culture,” she writes. Learn more about her work in this Q&A. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
