This is not a blog...

by Rod Weatherbie, Editor

This is the typical welcome to our inaugural issue editorial.

I'm not even going to try and be clever with this thing, so I'll spare you the post-modern self-reflective comments or circular wordplay.

Welcome to the first episode of Gadzooks!.

What the hell is Gadzooks!? Well, Gadzooks! is an attempt to cover and provide insight into some of Toronto 's lesser-known artists, musicians, bloggers and other assorted criminal types. We will try to tell stories that may get missed by some of the art weeklies that litter the sidewalks of the city. We are electronic street corner pamphleteers.

Our main geographic area of “reportage” is the vital Queen West/ Roncesvalles/ Junction corridor of the city (please refer to our No Fly Zone map). Although not limited exclusively to it, this area of Toronto is one we feel is representative of what Toronto is. This is where high-end lounges and hotels abut detoxification centres and former industrial lands are transformed into vital urban landscapes.

This area of Toronto has always been a big part of the arts scene, but lately, I don't know if you've noticed, but holy shit, there is a lot of stuff going on. Atom Egoyan's Camera film house, the rejuvenation of the Gladstone and the continued presence of brick-and-beam artists in the Junction; the last bastion of live/work warehouses in the downtown.

But there is also an army of street artists that never receive any press at all. The Spirograph-inspired “original drawings”, buskers, jewelry makers and street-theatre absurdists--PETA. All of these deserve coverage. These are the people in your neighbourhood; you see them every day and you need to know their names.

In some small way our other goal is to make the neighbourhood more “neighbourhoody.” Ideally we should all have some central place where we meet as members of this community, a pub where we exchange ideas. Gadzooks! We intend to contribute to that public space.

To that end we present this web-magazine.

We will have recurring features weekly or monthly. We have a people in your neighbourhood section that profiles artists and their work; a weekly Gadfly section with quick hits about events big and small that we think should be seen; letters to the editor; and a daily neighbourhood picture.

All of this brought to you by our nimble bleeding fingers.

And we are interested in what you think. Beyond letters to the editor (ah, hate mail!); if you have an article that just needs to be written and MacLean's has turned you down, you may find solace here in our warm electronic embrace.

Just go to the contributors' page for our submission requirements.

Of course, we would never turn down your kind words, thank you for offering.

And, again, welcome to our first slim volume.

This is art critique...

by Lydia Shaw

Art criticism. It's a touchy subject for some and a boring subject for others.

When researching this brief, I stumbled across a funny website – The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator. After typing in a five digit number, I generated this phrase:

“Although I am not a painter, I think that the optical suggestions of the figurative-narrative line-space matrix threatens to penetrate the eloquence of these pieces.”

That pretty much sums up most peoples' impression of an art critic's observations. It's not generally true, but when you get a bad reputation, it's hard to kick.

Art review and response should be open and clear. It should be a combination of first impressions, observations and detail. It should not be simply statements of like or dislike but should be backed up by evidence and examples. When events or pieces are reviewed purely on opinion, without evidence, it's difficult for a reader to share the opinion of the reviewer, or even to disagree.

This publication's editorial mandate is to offer opinion backed by examples. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you're going to write about it, you'd better be able to back up your opinion. Or, in the words of the generator...

“I agree/disagree with some of the things that have just been said, but the aura of the sexual signifier contextualize the distinctive formal juxtapositions.”