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Romania’s Brâncusi in Paris and New York

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Brancusi's Sleeping Muse

“Ce qui est réel n’est pas l’apparence mais l’idée, l’essence des choses.”—Constantin Brâncusi 

Today Google is celebrating the 135th birthday of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncusi (1876-1957) with a doodle that features seven of his sculptures.

Brancusi was born February 19, 1876 in Romania and died March 16, 1957 in Paris, my hometown.Brâncusi is considered one of the founding figures of modern sculpture and one of the most original artists of the twentieth-century. His groundbreaking carvings introduced abstraction and primitivism into sculpture for the first time, and were as important as Picasso’s paintings to the development of modern art.

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Brancusi's sculptures googled

Brâncusi grew up in the village of Hobisa Romania, close to Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, an area rich in a tradition of folk crafts, particularly woodcarving. Geometric patterns of the region are can be seen in his later works.

His parents were poor peasants who earned a meager living through hard labor. As a boy Constantin herded the family’s flock of sheep. He showed talent for carving objects out of wood, and often ran away from home to escape the bullying of his father and older brothers.

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Constantin Brancusi

Brâncusi trained initially as a carpenter and stonemason. When Brâncusi was 18, an industrialist, impressed by Brâncusi’s talent for carving, entered him in the Craiova School of Arts and Crafts (Scoala de meserii), where he pursued his love for woodworking. He graduated with honors in 1898, then enrolled in the Bucharest School of Fine Arts, where he received academic training in sculpture. One of his earliest surviving works, under the guidance of his anatomy teacher, Dimitrie Gerota, is a masterfully rendered écorché (statue of a man with skin removed to reveal the muscles underneath) which was exhibited at the Romanian Athenaeum in 1903. Though just an anatomical study, it foreshadowed the sculptor’s later efforts to reveal essence rather than merely copy outward appearance.

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Toulouse relaxes by the Seine with Notre Dame behind

Eventually Brâncusi traveled to Munich and then settled in Paris in 1904, where the avant-garde community of intellectuals and artists openly welcomed him. He worked for two years in the workshop of Antonin Mercié of the École des Beaux-Arts, and was invited to enter the workshop of Auguste Rodin. Even though he admired the eminent Rodin he left the Rodin studio after only two months, saying, “Nothing can grow under big trees.”

Drawing inspiration from African and oriental art in addition to Rodin’s work, Brâncusi found his own unique voice in the simple form. Reminiscent of the clean poetic strokes of Canadian Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris, Brâncusi was a “purist” who sought to reduce his art to a few basic elements. His art was subtle yet complex, like a deep pool waiting to embrace you. Complexity lay coiled inside each polished piece, poised to reveal the poetry of its deepest intimacy. “Witness the studied serenity and distilled eroticism of Sleeping Muse,” proclaimed Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson in their book World’s Greatest and Most Popular Artists and Their Works. This 1910 bronze (pictured above) can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—another one of my favorite places—and maybe one of yours.

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Toulouse enjoys the Met in NYC

A reconstruction of Brâncusi’s studio in Paris is open to the public. The Brâncusi Atelier lies near the Pompidou Centre, in the rue Rambuteau. It’s worth a trip and while you’re at it, check out the Pompidou Centre.

Brâncusi’s sculptures are very fetching; what I mean is they fetch a great deal! In 2002, one of his sculptures named Danaide sold for $18.1 million. It was the highest that a sculpture piece had ever sold for at auction. In May 2005 one of his pieces from Bird in Space broke that record, selling for $27.5 million in a Christie’s auction. Then in February 2009 in the Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé sale his sculpture Madame L.R. sold for  €29.185 million ($37.2 million), setting a new historical record. Well, don’t look at me. I didn’t buy it…(but I know who did…meow)!

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Brancusi's Le Baiser (The Kiss)

I’m Toulouse LeTrek, the COOL Travel Cat! Meow…

“Munceste ca un sclav, porunceste ca un rege, creeazs ca un zeu.” (work like a slave, command like a king, create like a god)– Constantin Brâncusi 

 

This site is powered by donations. For your reading pleasure I do not clutter it with advertizing; nor do I charge any of these fine establishments, events or places for my reviews. If you are a patron who enjoys my articles or at the receiving end of one of my reviews you can show your appreciation with a donation (see right top sidebar). 

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Places to Go around Chicago: Fermilab

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View of Fermilab site from Wilson Hall

When I was in Chicago a while ago, participating in a conference on cosmic phenomena, I decided to visit the Fermi National Accelerator Lab just south of Chicago. It’s named after Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who in 1938 was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in induced radiation. He’s best known though for helping develop the first nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1) and for his contributions to quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics. It’s no wonder that the National Accelerator Lab in Batavia Illinois was named after him.

Consider that a lot of what we know about matter and energy—even how the universe began—was discovered over the last four decades at Fermilab. Did you know, for instance, that 95% of the universe consists of dark matter and dark energy? That leaves only 5% left for the “normal” visible matter like quarks and leptons. And what IS dark matter and energy, anyway?

Scientists at Fermilab are conducting some serious and very cool experiments to help reveal the nature of dark matter and dark energy, understand the origin of mass, search for extra dimensions and find out what role neutrinos play in the evolution of the universe.

I knew that Fermilab offered daily tours.

Full of questions like “are neutrinos the reason humans and stuffed animals exist”, I easily navigated my way to

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Fermilab site with view of Tevatron

 Batavia, Illinois; I’m not the most spatially challenged traveler (that would be my friend, Nina Munteanu the SF writer—she might as well be blind on the highway; but she makes up for her lack of internal GPS with a very cheerful attitude; I, of course, have both… :-3).

The Fermi complex comprises of several particle accelerator rings, associated linac, labs, offices, auditorium and visitor centre that sprawl at the centre of a sprawling 6800 acres of wetland/marsh and restored tallgrass prairie. It’s hard to miss Wilson Hall, which houses the main labs and offices. Twin towers of this elegant cathedral-like building rise 16 floors, taper like two hands in prayer toward the heavens and provide a scenic view of the Illinois countryside. The towers are joined by crossovers beginning at the seventh floor and offer the

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Inside Wilson Hall

breathtaking expanse of one of the world’s largest atriums, soaring to the top of the hall. Robert R. Wilson, who was Fermilab’s founding director, designed the hall based on the Gothic cathedral in Beauvais, France. A renowned physicist and an accomplished artist and sculptor, Wilson believed that a research laboratory should be a cultural center for the community and the nation. He reminded me of Jonas Salk, whose similar vision spawned the unique design of the Salk Institute in California.

When I got there, it was quite late in the afternoon and the last of the regular tours had come and gone. The place was basically shut to the public.

Refusing to give in to defeat, I considered my next step. It came serendipitously, as usual: the concierge recognized me.

“I know you!” he expostulated joyfully. “Weren’t you one of the Sorbonne

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Toulouse explores the bubble chamber

 delegates at the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment in CERN several years ago?”

“No,” I said, eyes twinkling. “You mistake me for another gray stuffed cat with intelligent eyes.”

“Oh, no!” he insisted. “Monsieur Toulouse, it’s you!” He then suggested that I join the restricted science tour still in session on the fifteenth floor. I thanked him with a bow and took the elevator to unobtrusively join the tour, with a spectacular view of the Tevatron Ring, Fermi’s accelerator. The Tevatron accelerates beams of protons and antiprotons to ultra-high energy until they collide inside 5,000 ton particle detectors. The particles circle the four mile ring 47,000 times a second! The Tevatron is responsible for the technology at the heart of MRI scanners and is used to find evidence of an entirely new class of sub-atomic particles as well as the first signs of new dimensions of space-time.

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Inside the Tevatron

We passed a demonstration of the Tevatron superconducting electro-magnets that conduct electricity without resistance. I lingered too long and found myself left behind. I scrambled into the open hallway and found no one. Was Fermi experimenting with teleportation in their space-time research?

My keen nose took me down to the Linac, which consisted of arrays upon arrays of WW-II vintage electronics: dials, switches and lights that performed their tasks admirably, even if they did look like a Fritz Lang version of modern technology. I found myself wandering into a vast room and instantly realized I was not supposed to be there. The hairs on my entire body

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The Cockcroft-Walton generator

 rose and I’m sure I resembled an unkempt tribble. It was as though I’d stumbled back in time onto a 1950’s SF movie set: gigantic metallic structures with coils and beams and wires loomed several stories high, gleaming like giant robots from outer space. Did I imagine an electric current running through my little stuffed body?

I’d, in fact, discovered the Cockcroft-Walton Generator at the head of the Linac, which helps get particles up to speed at the Tevatron. Lucky for me, the generator was not operating at the time (there are two of them) and I didn’t get zapped into a tiny piece of popcorn. I considered the Linac and its science-fiction generator my highlight as I rejoined the tour outside.

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The linear accelerator room

I left the lab inexplicably energized and wandered the premises, smiling. The Fermilab site covers 6,800 acres of wetland, grassland and prairie, which supports a healthy herd of American bison. What are buffalo doing at a physics laboratory? No, they don’t serve the equivalent of the canary in the mineshaft—living Geiger counters to warn of radioactivity. I was assured that “Fermilab does not present a radiation hazard and Fermilab buffalo do not glow in the dark.” Robert Wilson brought the American bison to Fermilab in 1969 to strengthen Fermilab’s connection to America’s prairie heritage.

The mixture of protected ecosystems makes the Fermilab site a

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Wilson Hall and friend

 good refuge for many species of animals including lots of mammals and birds. Wildlife abounds in this cool place where I felt oddly at home. As if to corroborate that notion, one of the scientists invited me to join them at their local on-site watering hole, Chez Leon, for a light supper, where I enjoyed several margaritas and played pool with physicists, computer scientists and engineers.

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Quantum questions

All in all, it was a good day. I’m Toulouse the COOL Travel Cat!

This site is powered by donations. For your reading pleasure I do not clutter it with advertizing; nor do I charge any of these fine establishments, events or places for my reviews. If you are a patron who enjoys my articles or at the receiving end of one of my reviews you can show your appreciation with a donation (see right top sidebar). 

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Walking Trendy Yaletown Vancouver

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Yaletown waterfront

After my cockapoo friend Oli travelled across Canada from the Maritimes to trendy Yaletown in downtown Vancouver on the west coast, I knew I had to find an excuse to go visit. My opportunity came early when my good friend, SF writer Nina Munteanu, flew to Vancouver for Christmas. So, I tagged along and as Nina visited with family and friends in various suburbs, I hung out with Oli in hip Yaletown.

Yaletown got its name in the 19th century when the Canadian Pacific Railroad moved its rail yards and repair facilities from Yale in the Fraser River canyon to the north shore of False Creek—now called Yaletown. Called Vancouver’s little “Soho”, this old industrial part of town experienced a face-lift in the 1980s and emerged as downtown’s trendiest residential neighborhood of urban professionals. The popular seven-block area now provides a landscape of quality restaurants, cafés, boutiques, spas and galleries to local yuppies who live in industrial-retro studio flats and tourists who like to eat great food, experience a health spa or visit an avant-gard art gallery. Old brick warehouses have morphed into lofts and railway loading docks now serve as patio space for martini bars.

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Yaletown with view of Vancouver Library

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The Vancouver Public Library

Oli lives in a high-rise condominium on Homer Street with a view of the avant-garde coliseum-style Vancouver Public Library. He introduced me to his new friend, Slimey (a rather limp and lanky but well-stuffed frog who was soon to become much leaner).

“This is my new friend, Toulouse!” Oli barked between a mouthful of green slime. We greeted one another in the way that stuffed animals do—with a slight nod of respect. Slimey was Oli’s Christmas present and it looked like Oli had already introduced Slimey to the place—in the Oli way; I noticed little fluffy bits of stuffing here and there and it looked like Slimey was developing a sore throat.

That was when I suggested we go for a walk. Oli danced around the apartment, overjoyed to show me his new neighborhood and the sites. He proudly took me down the elevator to the street and we struck left into the heart of Yaletown.

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Toulouse drinks exquisite hot chocolate at Blenz

We strolled past the crowded Blue Water Café & Raw Bar on Hamilton Street, which serves a delicious selection of seafood from raw oysters to bouillabaisse. Oli pointed out Milestones Grill & Bar, George Lounge and Capones, which serves great spicy pizza. We stopped at Blenz Coffee on Helmcken Street, one of Oli’s favorite places. Besides a generally decent coffee, Blenz offers a nice heated patio where we sampled one of the richest hot chocolates in the country.

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Oli introduces me to Slimey

Further down the street, near the corner of Davie Street, I pointed out the Hapa Izakaya to Oli. He stared. “Hapa what?”

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Oysters at the Oyster House in Yaletown

I laughed. “It’s a Japanese bar that serves finger-snacks, something like a tapas bar but with liquor.”  Izakayas are the hottest new style of Japanese eating establishment in North America and sprouting in all the trendy parts of cities in North America. They focus on visiting and socializing; a style that is growing in trendy parts of town.

Oli then led me down Davie Street, past Urban Fare, Yaletown’s gourmet grocery store, to the waterfront: one of his favorite places. And I knew why… I’d never in my life seen so many well-dressed dogs in one place! Yaletown is known for its yuppy canine population. Go check out the gourmet pet stores! 

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Gourmet groceries at Urban Fare

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The cafe walk in Yaletown

Upwardly mobile and preppy in their bright and filigreed walking outfits, these ritsy dogs carry some serious “attitude”. Oli had come a long way from his Maritime roots in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. He’s still learning the ropes, I pondered, as a little chiwawa in a red cashmere turtleneck chased Oli in circles. Poor git; he’ll get it eventually. It’s a whole other culture.

After his typical exercise of chasing birds and introducing me to some of his extremely well dressed dog friends, Oli asked me if I wanted to take the little ferry boat across  to the Granville Island market.

I was tempted. Granville Island is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. But just watching Oli had tired me out. We called it a day and went back to Oli’s flat to drink Fonseca Porto, eat brie and croissants and re-stuff Slimey for another day.

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"Where'd Slimey go?" asks Oli...

I’m Toulouse the cool travel cat.

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Refurbished industrial buildings house shops and bistros

This site is powered by donations. For your reading pleasure I do not clutter it with advertizing; nor do I charge any of these fine establishments, events or places for my reviews. If you are a patron who enjoys my articles or at the receiving end of one of my reviews you can show your appreciation with a donation (see right top sidebar). 

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Letters from Oli: Toulouse in San Diego and Beyond

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Maverick Ranch, Alpine CA

Here’s my response to my friend Oli’s two letters from Quebec and Ontario in his cross-Canada trip:

Hi Oli,

I’m happy that you’re having a grand adventure traveling across Canada. Isn’t it a beautiful country? You are seeing it the right way: through a road trip. You can meet people, smell the changing landscape, taste the water and follow the clouds.

Well, you may be wondering what I’ve been up to during your adventures. I’m having my own adventures. I’m Toulouse the COOL Travel Cat, after all…

I’m writing you from San Diego! That’s in California, Oli, in the

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Maverick Ranch, Alpine CA

United States. I was invited to serve as “animal consultant” for a series of educational dog videos being shot outside San Diego, in Alpine, CA. We know that cats are from another planet, so they aren’t included.  The videos are obedience training for owners of dogs. And, no, silly! I know what you’re thinking: and I don’t mean teaching owners to be obedient! But, they are certainly involved in education as much as the dogs are. It’s an equation that relies on a two-way relationship. Happy Dog + Happy Owner = No Dog Shelter. We like that.

The Sofia Hotel & the Currant Brasserie…

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Toulouse Savors the Currant Salad

I met my film crew at the Sophia Hotel in San Diego, just blocks away from the avant-garde San Diego Conference Centre. We decided to chill at the Current, The Sophia’s brasserie, which serves elegant food, appetizers and desserts. Its bold avant-garde art nouveau take on a “classic historic” look really works: which includes checkered tiles, chandeliers, sofas, soft lighting and artwork. It’s classy, elegant and relaxed, with far-reaching columns and spacious windows and open doorways that draw in the San Diego sun and fresh air.

We settled in the patio outside and dined on sophisticated food and drink. One of the crew pointed to a waiter carrying what he thought was a fancy ice-water container and lamented that we hadn’t received one. He said that several other happy customers had received one.

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Toulouse Sips His Absinthe

All we got was glasses. I glanced over and recognized what he was pointing to: it was an absinthe fountain filled with ice-water and complete with spigots for Louching. Absinthe was popular this evening.

When Francisco, our waiter, returned with our order, he explained: Friday night was “absinthe minded Friday” at the Currant, where you can enjoy a lucid absinthe cocktail for $8 (all day!)… Not that YOU would like it, Oli. It tastes like licorice. Everyone turned to me: I was French, after all. It was obvious that they wanted to try it and were deferring to my wisdom to select the best absinthe of the several that the restaurant offered. I chose le Tourment Vert, distilled near Cognac, France, since 1934. It’s an approachable absinthe with a less bitter palate, suitable for my friends, and a lovely sage and mint finish. Absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as “grande wormwood”.

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Avante Garde Elegance of the Currant Brasserie

Francisco returned with our absinthe fountain and other things to Louche the drink: first he placed a lump of sugar on a flat slotted absinthe spoon, perched over the rim of the glass; then he poured the green-tinged absinthe in, drizzling a bit over the sugar. The sugar takes some of the bitter edge off the grand wormwood and releases the aroma of the plants, the perfume of the flowers and brings out subtleties originally over-powered by the anise. With the panache of a true Bohemian, Francisco set the sugar ablaze then doused it with ice cold water from the fountain. The absinthe turned slightly milky, liberating its essential oils and herbs from which it’s made; substances like anise, fennel and star anise that aren’t soluble in water.

The film crew sure enjoyed the show! Then it was time to drink our absinthe. Ooh La La! It was good!.. But you wouldn’t like it, Oli…

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Toulouse chills with friendly Sophia staff (aka Dr. Evil and cronies)

You’d like the Sofia, though! It’s more than pet-friendly. Thanks to its general manager, Andrea Winslow, the Sophia Hotel welcomes animals. Several of the staff bring their dogs to work with them. And they serve tasty biscuits in the lobby too! The staff are friendly, helpful and very very cool (as shown in this picture…meow). The Sofia Hotel belongs to a group of heritage hotels established by the National Trust in 1989, which identifies quality hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture and ambience.

This boutique hotel is both comfortable and elegant, Oli. It used to be called the Pickwick Hotel and was a broadcasting company with studios and transmitter. The famous broadcaster, Art Linkletter, began his career there in the early 1930s with “the voice of sunny San Diego”. This place started out as a stagecoach company, Oli. And speaking of stagecoaches and horses…

 

Maverick Ranch & filming dogs…

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Toulouse cools off from the 105 degree heat

The next day the film crew and I drove to Alpine, half an hour from San Diego and set in the picturesque rolling mountain chaparral northeast of San Diego, under a baking 105º sun. This is ranch country, Oli. Where horses roam. Where the hot breeze carries the intoxicating scent of sage. Where succulent cactus plants thrive and bloom and the odorous monkey flower mugs at you from the side of every road. I wished I hadn’t left my cowboy hat at home…

When we reached Maverick Ranch, owners Rachel and Henry greeted us warmly along with their bevy of sleek whippets, one-month old puppies and friendly border

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The view from Maverick Ranch

collie. Rachel is an accomplished dog trainer and she demonstrated a lot of great methods to keep your cool and keep a good relationship going between dog and human. You’d like her, Oli. She’s firm but consistent and strict but compassionate. And here’s the best part: she gives her dogs those awesome “Pampered Pet Treats” all the time! BONUS! Like I said, you’d like it here. :-3

We filmed Rachel doing her cool training with several dogs over several days. The crew

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The film crew relaxes over wine after a long shoot

labored and sweated under the blazing 105º sun, while the “stars” (and animal consultant) basked in the cool shade, where the light was superior for filming. By the end of the day, everyone was pooped except me.  But our hosts always came through and we ended each day’s shoot with fine wine and great conversation. This beats a Disney film any day!

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Toronto Adventures: The McMichael Art Gallery and the Group of Seven in Kleinburg

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Main Street Kleinburg

Are these new Canadian painters crazy?—Bridle, Canadian Courier 1920

I was looking for adventure away from the typical tourist route and borrowed a ride north on Islington Avenue all the way to the village of Kleinburg, about 50 km northwest of Toronto. This charming tourist destination forms a pleasant lacework of outdoor cafés, bistros, and ice cream parlors guaranteed to taunt, titillate and treat. I decided to taste my way along Main Street, ambling from café to gift shop and café again.

The village nestles amid rolling hills between two branches of the Humber River and is surrounded by agricultural land. John Kline, a German/Canadian settler, founded Kleinburg, which translates to “small town.” In truth, Kleinburg could equally be named after its landscape (in which case it would have to be spelled “Kleinberg” for “small mountain”). Kleinburg’s annual fall festival called Binder Twine has its roots in the town’s agricultural history and draws 25,000 people each year. The village has attracted many affluent visitors and residents, including Canadian author Pierre Burton and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Kleinburg is also the home of Toronto International Film Studios and a popular locationAugustus

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A.Y. Jackson's Red Maple

for shooting films and TV shows.

On the south end of town I steered off Main Street along a winding road through lush forest to the cloistered McMichael Art Gallery. The gallery is devoted to Canadian art and is the spiritual home of the Group of Seven. It was founded by Robert and Signe McMichael, who began collecting paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries in 1955.

I entered the high-ceilinged lobby where master native carver Don Yeomans had created an eclectic totem pole entitled “Where Cultures Meet”. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that he’d carved a laptop as the “foundation” of the totem.

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White Pine by Tom Thomson

Whiskers tingling, I passed the glass doors into the Group of Seven exhibit and stilled my breaths: I was in the presence of magnificence. There they were: the sweeping, bold strokes of Lawren S. Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael and A.Y. Jackson.

The Group of Seven contributed significantly to the identity of “Canadian Art” during the early 20th Century. They clearly helped define the Canadian “persona” and its rugged landscape when their “exotic” art exploded to equal applause and condemnation in a May 1920 exhibit in Toronto—not unlike the reception received by the French Impressionists in the late 19th Century when their art first appeared in Paris. The Group was initially drawn together by a common sense of frustration with the conservative and imitative quality of most Canadian art at the time. As with the European fin de siècle symbolists and post-impressionists, the Group rebelled against the constraints of 19th-century naturalism in Canada.

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Mountain by Lawren Harris

Just as with the Impressionists before them, The Group shifted their emphasis from the conservative imitation of the natural towards the expression of their feelings for the natural.

The Group of Seven blended the palettes of Art Nouveau, Neo-Impressionism, and Fauvism into a genuine celebration of the unique Canadian wilderness. It was a kind of “primitive” style that matched the equally primitive landscape they had chosen to capture. They used broad brush strokes with liberal application of paint to portray the wild beauty and vibrant color of the Ontario landscape. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the art of Tom Thomson, who died in 1917 (before the inaugural Group of Seven exhibit) but who has remained synonymous with the Group of Seven. An avid outdoorsman, Thompson incited A.Y. Jackson, Frederick Varley and Arthur Lismer, to paint the unkempt and unruly part of Canada with bold displays of feeling.

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A hard choice for Toulouse!

With time, Harris, MacDonald, Carmichael and even Varley simplified their colors and layouts, using thin pigment and stylized designs. By the mid-1920s Harris had simplified his paintings into monochromatic forms and ventured into abstraction soon after.

Viewing art always makes me hungry. I celebrated my tour of the Group of Seven with a fine lunch on the patio of the Gallery Café, where waiter Sayima Kaya served me a tender and flavorful maple-pommery glazed Atlantic salmon, served on buttery mashed potatoes and garnished with roasted green beans. I selected a Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, whose intense aroma and sparkling taste of Golden Delicious apples danced a wonderful tango with the wild salmon dish.

From the gallery, I strolled along Main Street and something made me stop at Desserts of Distinction. Of course, my superior nose and whiskers had steered me right. Maria Montinaro, the owner of the café, served me a decent Americano and a raspberry and chocolate mousse tart with

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Toulouse emerges with his Prize

cassis (black currant) nappage gélatine. The Black currant glaze topping was drizzled with white chocolate drops and fresh berries. I sipped my Americano and savored the cassis tart, which had my whiskers stand on end. The tart was not overly sweet, which allowed the vivacious notes of black currant and fresh raspberry to emerge through the creamy chocolate. The chocolate mousse tart was only one of many delectable pastries, tarts and pies offered at Desserts of Distinction.

The quaint village of Kleinburg provides a full day of Canadian fine art and culture, augmented with a pleasant stroll through history and a fine dining experience.  Don’t miss the dessert!

See, taste and linger. And tell Maria that Toulouse sent you!

Contact Information: Desserts of Distinction is located on 10462 Islington Avenue, #3, Kleinburg, Ontario; www.dolcini.ca

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