In our review of Canadian arts magazines, I've spent the past three days looking at the literary-oriented This Magazine, The Canadian Forum and Geist. Now I'm going to turn to something a little more timely in this visual era, and spend the next two days looking at two very hip publications.

Fuse is the work of a Toronto-based art collective. The editorial decisions are largely made by the board, members of which step in to guest-edit. It's supposed to be a quarterly, but it has no dates and from what I can glean from the ads in the latest issue, they might be a couple of months late on publishing a spring or summer issue. A lot of the ads are for shows back in the early winter months.

But that doesn't mean the content is dated. The cover story, in fact, is a timeless look at the struggles of Inuit artists to create video programming to counter the heavy diet of American and Toronto-centric television they receive on satellite from the big broadcasters. It's a fascinating story of a culture trying to survive, and to say it's a microcosm of the struggle all Canadian artists face almost trivializes the Inuit community's unique problem.

But much of the writing in the mag is heavily laced with artspeak and academic footnotes. While it provides a fascinating view of the little-seen world of alternative visual arts and performance arts, it can be a bit much to wade through. Nevertheless, you read about things you'd never see in the papers, such as a piece about the problems of heavy tourist traffic through Auschwitz, technological art about fears of artificial intelligence. This latest issue features a popout bonus: a postcard with art by Paul Lamothe, who has created a unique mythology for the nickel city of Sudbury.

I don't think magazines like Fuse are ever going to make it in the mainstream, but they sure are interesting to pick up once in awhile.

You can see a table of contents and some bare details on the Fuse website

Tomorrow, a look at a funkier version of Fuse, with a really cool website.

Earlier:
Monday This Magazine
Tuesday Canadian Forum
Wednesday Geist
Discussion: Do you know of any good Canadian literary mags?

MultiCulti Music
George Sapounidis sings in eight different languages and is a virtuoso on the Greek bouzouki. Considering his mastery of all these languages, Sapounidis certainly stands as a walking emblem for the diversity of Canadian culture. In fact, he's been called both "a modern day Theodore Bikel" and an "all around musical ambassadeur du monde." He'll be performing tonight in Ottawa:
National Library of Canada
Auditorium 395 Wellington Street Ottawa
Box office: (613) 236-5196

Tonight at the TSO
Are you looking for the rare opportunity to hear Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.3? This particular concerto is a wonderful showcase for hearing the composer balance high drama with intense lyricism. Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, composed during World War Two, is refreshing reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in such dark days. Canadian composer Barbara Croall's When Push Came to Shove, wrestles with the notion of force, feeling that it is an crucial catalyst for change. All three works sound challenging, addressing the light and dark aspects of the human experience. If you miss tonight's show there will be additional performances June 8th & June 12th . Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts, with Alexander Toradze on piano.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Barbara Croall: When Push Came to Shove
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 3
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Drop me a line.