This & That, Ceci et Cela

Interesting Toronto Life magazine article by Mark Kingwell on Toronto’s lack of a visual architectural identity. “The $195-Million Scribble” comments partly on the celebrity architect/designer phenomenon, which reminds one of Canada’s lack of support of local talent. Wouldn’t Canuck candidates have done better with such cultural landmark commissions like the ROM and AGO? And they would have cost less too. But noo, the museum boards/lackeys had to lust shamelessly after “big namers”, not that it resulted in any increase of world respect of Toronto as a city. If anything, Libeskind’s ROM commission wasn’t even included in a major retrospective of him in Berlin.

Ah well, it brings to mind the saying: “he who hesitates is Canadian”. They hesitate until their burgeoning stars leave, make it abroad, they they start claiming them in magazines, offer them “keys to the city” and other such useless platitudes.