Comments on: Elegance

By: raincoaster

raincoaster — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:30:48 +0000

Agreed. That getup? That is TRULY frightening. (PS it’s in our Caption Contest this week, if anyone feels like snarking).

By: marvel

marvel — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:45:43 +0000

I’m not knocking the quality of the institution or the art, nor the characters or intelligence of the artists; the gallery sounds a remarkable place, and some of the images of the art posted on the website are impressive. Those suffering from mental illness often have a deeper and different relationship to the experience of being human, and I’m sure their artistry could be both profound and informative.

I was trying to imagine what it would be like to be physically trapped for an unspecified period of time inside the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic, as revealed by art–I would think both illuminating and disturbing.

Well seem to have wandered a bit from the original topic. I continue to feel sorry for that poor child in the picture you posted here. How old is she? 5? And ought to be in shorts and a t-shirt outside making mud pies.

By: raincoaster

raincoaster — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:12:24 +0000

Oh, as more than one of the immortal philosophers has pointed out, if you’re not suffering from anxiety and dread, you simply do not have all the facts.

The art there is actually quite exceptional, as is the program administration.

Gallery Gachet is a unique artistic institution founded in Vancouver in 1992. Named after Vincent Van Gogh’s homeopathic doctor, Paul Gachet.

Gallery Gachet strives to provide a focal point for dialogue amongst outsider/dissident artists.

We aim to use the canvas of the outside work to educate and demystify the public on issues related to mental health and to advance the artistic discourse around these issues.

We provide the artists informed by mental health issues with opportunities to exhibit, curate, perform, read, teach and to develop their leadership skills.

Located at 88 East Cordova Street, close to the diverse populations that reside in Vancouver’s neighborhoods.

Actually, I ran into “Minotaur Dude” today at another opening. He’s a great guy.

By: marvel

marvel — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:56:50 +0000

@Raincoaster: This one? http://www.gachet.org/
The fairy tale dude sounds a little disturbed, as did the “self portrait as minotaur” artist. Then I noticed in the “about us” page that the gallery provides exhibition space to artists who are “informed by mental illness.” Are all the artists who exhibit there “informed by mental illness?” In which case, “powerlessness, distress and alienation,” indeed!

By: Glinda

Glinda — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:49:56 +0000

No, their mothers don’t dress flashily. Some girls are just born with the frou-frou gene, even if it skipped a couple.

And for the record, I don’t think play-dressing counts for this. Dress-up is all about the bling, and rightly so.

By: raincoaster

raincoaster — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:29:51 +0000

@ Glinda: what do their mothers look like? Maybe they come by it naturally.

By: raincoaster

raincoaster — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:25:44 +0000

It was the Gallery Gachet and the imprisonment was more alarming than prolonged. I’d meant to spend some time there anyway.

I think girls and even grown women get a pass to wear whatever they like when playing dress-up. It’s even one of Mme Dariaux’s recommendations, that you put on every single thing you own and look at it. I don’t think she meant at once, though.

By: marvel

marvel — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:33:16 +0000

To clarify, I think one must distinguish between the style in which a parent will dress a little girl, that in which a parent allows a little girl to choose to wear outside of the house, and that in which a little girl will array herself in when playing “dress up” in the confines of home. Because they are three different conditions, and given this post I shudder to think what the outfit my daughter was wearing when I got home yesterday bodes for her future. (She was playing princess dress up, and a yellow princess nightgown, purple corduroy hat adorned with a plastic tiara, a maroon clutch bag, blue socks, pink fuzzy slippers, and a random bead necklace, do not an elegant appearance create. Though she was quite adorable, in that “look mommy I’m playing dress-up” way. But she would not have left the house in that outfit.)

I also think it is important that children be allowed to make some limited decisions, so I always let her pick out her socks (blue, pink, yellow, lavender). This often results in inelegant mismatching, but she is young, and I think the importance of allowing her some control over her dress outweighs the importance of being all matchy-matchy.

But when I select her outfits, I do try for restraint, in both palette and frou-frou quotient.

Which art gallery? And I hope the imprisonment was not too prolonged.

By: Glinda

Glinda — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:26:35 +0000

You know, it all depends on the girl, because I do know girls that like to overdo things, but in my mind, simple is best.

By: Mr. Henry

Mr. Henry — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:38:51 +0000

Such smart advice, raincoaster.

In Mr. Henry’s experience, little girls tend to be smart about fashion, actually. They sense when Mommy (or more often, Grandmother) has over-dressed them and they bolt.

In dress, in decor, and even in cuisine, simple usually does translate as chic. All you need to add is a smidgeon of confidence.