A Peak into the Gallery

Selected installation shots of Constructions of Femininity by Ingrid Mida show a sampling what is currently on display at Loop Gallery, Toronto.

Just prior to the opening an elderly man banged on the window, pointed at the sculpture, Bernice, and asked me "What does this mean?" I replied: "Women used to play hockey wearing long skirts and it helped stop the puck". He said "Good" and continued on his way.

I'll be at the gallery this afternoon from 1 to 4 pm.

Constructions of Femininity

My art show/installation Constructions of Femininity at loop Gallery opens on Saturday, May 26, 2012. Work on this project has been underway for more than a year, and has happened in fits and spurts as I've juggled a myriad of research papers, speaking engagements and other things. It has been one of the busiest years of my life and at times I've wondered why I took on so much. I didn't know how I would juggle it all and I've been tempted to walk away this opportunity more than once, but my biggest fan and supporter, my husband, believed that I could do it and would not let me quit.

Constructions of Femininity is an exploration of the artifice of feminine dress and identity. This work juxtaposes the extreme silhouettes of 18th century dress with the armour of the modern day hockey warrior and was inspired by young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power. Hockey equipment has been transformed with feminine signifiers of ribbon, sequins and beading paired with silhouettes such as a romantic tutu or panier made out of armour-like mesh.

The choice of materials is designed to invoke a Canadian identity: mosquito mesh for a tongue and cheek reference to our mosquito infested north, aboriginal beading techniques referencing the trading practices which founded our country, and hockey equipment as a reference to our national sport. This work is intended to be a whimsical celebration of the power of sport to redefine femininity.

The photo that I used for my invitation only suggests at what will be on display, since the details of the beading are not evident in this photograph. There are seven hockey related sculptures, each unique in defining the construction of femininity.

Toronto Life Magazine picked my show as one of five art shows to see in Toronto in June for their Going Out column. That is a real coup..... and I couldn't be happier. Getting this kind of publicity in the visual arts is a rare happening.

If you are in Toronto, please join me for the opening reception at loop Gallery on Saturday, May 26, 2012 from 2-5 pm. I will also be at the gallery on Sunday, May 27th from 1-4 pm. The show runs until June 17th, and that afternoon there will be a Question and Answer session from 2-3 pm.

Loop Gallery is located at 1372 Dundas Street West, Toronto. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 5 pm and Sundays 1 to 4 pm.

Opera Atelier in Versailles

Jake Rennie as Armour and Peggy Kriha Dye as Armide
Opera Atelier 2012, Photo by Bruce Zinger 2012

Soprano Peggy Kriha Dye said she felt a little bit like Cinderella after her triumphant performance as Armide in the Opera Atelier's production of Lully's Armide in Versailles, France on Friday night. Dressed in a lush, long red velvet gown by Magpie Design for the after-party, she told me that she was moved by the standing ovation and repeated curtain calls demanded by the audience. She also said she was glad that she hadn't known in advance that Armide has never been performed in Versailles before. Her performance set a standard that will be hard to follow, as did all the members of this Toronto-based troupe, who performed as if their lives depended on it.

Words can hardly describe the beauty and majesty of watching the talented group of artists of Opera Atelier perform in Versailles. Led by Marshall Pynkowski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Opera Atelier incorporates ballet and performance into the opera. The performers do not simply stand on stage and belt out libretto. They act, they emote, and they move across exquisite stage sets designed by Gerard Gauci. Unfazed by the challenges of performing in a royal venue, not to mention jet lag and different voltages, Opera Atelier has already been asked to return to Versailles in 2014.

Going to Versailles to see a performance is an event in and of itself. Tiptoeing across cobblestones in my high heels wearing a slim fitting Prada sheath dress, I was glad at least that I did not have to wear a pannier or a train. It was an evening I'll never forget.

After today's matinee performance, Opera Atelier will return to Toronto for a rest before heading down to the Glimmerglass Festival in New York where they will perform Armide for a summer run. If you have a chance to see them perform in Glimmerglass, don't hesitate to buy a ticket, as this is opera as it was meant to be - rich, lush, and enchanting.

Prada and Schiaparelli: Impossible Conversations

Surreal Body Gallery
Prada and Schiaparelli: Impossible Conversations
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

At the press preview yesterday for the Prada and Schiaparelli: Impossible Conversations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it seemed like there were three times as many press in attendance as compared to last year. It was a standing room only situation during the presentations by curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, and inside the galleries, it was an elbows out scenario. Perhaps after the McQueen blockbuster, fashion in the museum has gained a new level of respect by the press. Seen in the crowd were Hamish Bowles, Robin Givhan, Bill Cunningham and Tavi Gavinson. My review for Fashion Projects was posted last night and can be read here.

Prada and Schiaparelli: Impossible Conversations opens to the public at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 10, 2012 and will run until August 19, 2012.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for May 2012?

May will be a hectic month, with the opening of several must-see exhibitions:

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute in New York on May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the affinities between Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada will be considered. Taking inspiration from Miguel Covarrubias's "Impossible Interviews" for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, curators Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda have orchestrated conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their work. 

The exhibition will feature approximately ninety designs and thirty accessories by Schiaparelli (1890–1973) from the late 1920s to the early 1950s and by Prada from the late 1980s to the present, which have been selected from from The Costume Institute's collection, the Prada Archive, and private collectors. I'll be attending the press preview on May 7th and writing a review for Fashion Projects. 

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum 2012

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto presents Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection beginning May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the work of Roger Vivier, one of the 20th century's most important shoemakers, will be displayed for the first time in North America. Loans from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have been obtained to create a full picture of the work of this master shoemaker. I will be attending the opening party for this event on May 8th.

Armide by Opera Atelier, Photo by Bruce Zinger 2012

The spectacular production of Lully's Armide by Opera Atelier travels to Versailles, France and opens on May 11, 2012 in the Palace's Opera Royal for three performances. Shall we meet in Versailles or perhaps in Paris?

My upcoming exhibition at loop Gallery in Toronto opens on May 26, 2012. Constructions of Femininity is an exploration of the artifice of feminine dress and identity. This work juxtaposes the extreme silhouettes of 18th century dress with the armour of the modern day hockey warrior and was inspired by young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power. 

The Costumes and Wigs of Semele

Costumes from the COC production of Semele, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2012

In a fusion of Chinese theatre and European Baroque, the costumes of the Semele, an upcoming production by the Canadian Opera Company, are sumptuous in their rich colours and luxurious fabrics. In a behind stage press preview, I got to see them up close as well learn more about the making of this opera. After what I've seen, I'm predicting it will be a spectacular run.

Costume from the COC production of Semele, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2012

Handel's Semele is a rare opera that was composed in English and audiences at the premiere in 1744 were shocked by the erotic nature of the story. This version presented by the COC has been directed by the famed Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Huan.

Ming Dynasty Temple detail, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2012

Not limited by convention, Zhang Huan has brought a 450 year old temple to serve as the stage centrepiece. This is not a recreation, but an actual Ming Dynasty temple that has been painstakingly reconstructed. When Zhang Huan purchased the temple in 2007, he had it moved, piece by piece, to his studio in Shanghai. During that process, he discovered the diary written by the temple's previous owner, Fang Jixin, in which he records his anger and frustration over his wife's infidelity. Fang Jixin murdered his wife's lover and then was sentenced to firing squad. To reflect the duality of reality and theatricality, the wife of Fang Jixin has actually give a part in this production.

Wig from the COC production of Semele, photo by Ingrid Mida 2012

This COC production has all the elements of opera that I love - spectacular costumes, magnificent sets, top notch performers, plus the added drama of the opera itself intertwined with history.

Semele runs for eight performances only at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on May 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22, 24, and 26, 2012. Tickets are available at the box office and online at the COC website.

Art, Fashion and La Parisienne

Exhibition poster designed by Ingrid Mida 2012

I've been quiet on the blog front of late, because I've been deep into my research for my thesis, which I hope might one day become a book. I created these two posters to illustrate my project which is entitled Art, Fashion and La Parisienne. 

My work was inspired by a painting called La Demoiselle de Magasin (The Shopgirl) by James Tissot which is in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. I soon discovered that this painting was one of fifteen large scale works in a series called La Femme à Paris painted by Tissot in 1883-85. Tissot made plans to issue series of etchings of the paintings, which were to be accompanied by short stories by leading authors of the period, including Émile Zola, Paul Bourget, Charles Gounod, and Alphonse Daudet. Despite Tissot’s earlier success as a painter, this series of highly polished paintings was not well received in either Paris or London. Tissot abandoned his plans to create prints of the paintings and the accompanying short stories.

La Femme à Paris  is a provocative series of narrative works showcasing the modern Parisian woman during a period of rapid change in the nineteenth century.  The series illustrates women from a range of income levels and occupations, rendered in precise detail using high key colours.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century, fashion and art were closely linked in Parisian society. Fashion was a subject of study and inspiration for artists, playwrights and poets. Descriptions of outfits worn by society women to the theatre, the opera and other social gatherings were routinely reported in the press. Many artists in France were influenced by the writings of Charles Baudelaire on fashion and modernity, especially his essay “The Painter of Modern Life” which was published in instalments in 1863 in the newspaper Le Figaro. In this essay, Baudelaire identified fashion as a way that artists could capture the processes of modernity in their work.

Using James Tissot’s series La Femme à Paris from 1883-85 as inspiration, my research will encompass an analysis of a selection of artworks, fashion plates and gowns from 1874-1886 to illuminate the intersection of art, fashion and modernity in the theme of la Parisienne.

I'm heavily immersed into my research, and I find the work utterly captivating. I now understand the origins of the modern icon of la chic Parisienne, images of which regularly grace the pages of blogs like French Essence, Fashion, Art and Other Fancies, Style in the City and of course, The Sartorialist.  

Although my blog posts might be a little less frequent, you can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.

Opera Atelier: The Spectacle of Armide

Olivier LaQuerre as Chevalier Ubalde
Photo by Bruce Zinger

Opera Atelier's production of Armide, a tragédie en musique, is, in my view, a spectacle worthy of Versailles. First performed in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on February 15, 1686, with scenery by Bérain, the Toronto-based Opera Atelier has layered the Middle Eastern aesthetic of the story over a Baroque sensibility, creating a feast for the senses. Captivating from start to finish, this production opens tonight in Toronto and runs until April 21, 2012. In May, the company takes Armide to Versailles, followed by a summer run at The Glimmerglass Festival in New York. 


Set during the time of the First Crusades, the story centers around the Muslim warrior princess Armide who captures the Christian knight Renaud with her magic spells. Instead of killing him, she falls in love with him and casts a spell to make him love her in return. Conflicted by her emotions, she calls on the Goddess of Hate to release her love for Renaud, but instead is condemned to eternal love. Renaud's spell is broken by fellow soldiers and he escapes from Armide. Even though he declares his love to an unconscious Armide, he abandons her. Tormented and despairing, Armide destroys everything within her reach, except for her love for Renaud. 


The interplay of cultures and time periods within this complex story has been masterfully handled by set designer Gerard Gauci (who also happens to be one of my favourite artists). Taking inspiration from the rich jewel tones, complex patterns and burnished gold elements of Persian miniatures, the set creates the illusion of courtly splendour for a complex story defined by passion. Playful use of scrims during the dream sequences adds another dimension of temporality to the production. 

Jake Rennie as Love, Peggy Kriha Dye as Armide
Photo by Bruce Zinger

The costumes highlight the spectacle of passion on stage and create the illusion of courtly splendour. The female characters and dancers are dressed in beautiful gowns of rich jewel tones lavishly decorated with gold trim. The male characters don velvet breeches and jerkins ornamented with "jewels" which catch the light and sparkle with vibrancy. In one scene, male dancers wear skirt panels that whip around their bodies as they twirl, highlighting the power of their energetic movement. Costumes are built as separates, allowing for multiple changes of look as the characters add or remove layers. And the wings of Love (shown above) are truly god-like in their exquisite other-worldly beauty. 


After attending a dress rehearsal preview of this production earlier this week, I believe that Opera Atelier's production of Armide is an opera that will appeal to both seasoned opera goers and opera "virgins". The lavish costumes and sets, the use of dance to develop and enhance the story and the passion and power conveyed on stage by the performers, all come together to create an enchanted spectacle. This is an opera worthy of Versailles. 


Tickets to Armide (April 14-21) are on sale at ticketmaster.ca. Tickets for the Glimmerglass Festival are available here 


Photos provided courtesy of Opera Atelier and are subject to copyright. 

My Upcoming Show at Loop Gallery

My upcoming exhibition at Loop Gallery in Toronto is entitled Constructions of Femininity and will run May 26 - June 17, 2012. In this exhibition, I explore the constructs of feminine dress and identity through photography, sculpture and textile works.

In this piece called "Samantha", hockey equipment has been transformed with feminine signifiers of ribbon and sequins and paired with a romantic tutu made out of armour-like mesh. The hockey-themed sculptures have been created to honour the young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for April

April looms large on the museum calendar with the opening of two concurrent shows in Paris at the Musee Galliera de la Mode  -- Comme des Carcons: White Drama and Cristobal Balenciaga, Collector of Fashions.

Comme des Garcons: White Drama
Photograph copyright of Paolo Roversi

In Comme des Garcons: White Drama, designer Rei Kwakubo has choreographed an installation in which the drama of fashioning life's events - birth, marriage, death, and transcendence - is celebrated through the use of pure, ceremonial white of every hue. The exhibition includes: budding flowers, layered handkerchiefs, overcoats, a wedding gown like the silky cocoon of an insect, and other "fashion architecture" created by Rei Kawakubo.

Cape du soir haute couture 1963, Archives Cristobal Balenciaga
Photograph copyright of Schelteris & Abbenes

In Christobal Balenciaga, Collector of Fashions, items from the private archives of Balenciaga, including stays, boleros, capes, bustles dresses, mantillas, embroidery samples and other items, are presented alongside forty haute couture coats and dresses designed by Balenciaga from 1937 to 1968. The exhibition also includes photographs and sketches as well as books on art and costume history as evidence of the designer's passion for history.

Curated by Olivier Saillard, these two exhibitions promise to be visually and intellectually enchanting, and will open to the public on April 13, 2012. I was invited to the opening party. but will not get there until later in the spring to write my reviews for Fashion Projects.

Both shows are at Les Docks - Cite de la Mode et du Design.
34 quai Austerlitz
75013 Paris
Tel: 01 76 77 25 30

April 13 - October 7, 2012
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, except public holidays.

God Save my Shoes

The Bata Shoe Museum hosted a preview of God Save My Shoes, a documentary film about women's passionate and often obsessive relationship with shoes. The film features top shoe designers Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahink,  and Bruno Frisoni, as well as women shoe lovers/collectors from New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Milan, including Dita von Teese and Fergie. Experts, including Dr. Valerie Steele, Director and Curator of the FIT Museum, and Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum, give thought-provoking interviews on women's obsession with high heel shoes.

This movie looks at the reasons why 5-inch stilettos have become contemporary symbols of femininity, embodying pleasure and pain, sensuality and seduction, but also effectively hobbling women's gait and impeding their mobility. Elizabeth Semmelhack compared such shoes to the chopines worn by women in Renaissance Italy as well as to "hooker" shoes, showing actual examples thereof. Although some people might argue that high heels are a symbol of women's power, she suggested that if such shoes really represented power then men would also wear high heels.


Some of the quotes from the film:

"A shoe tells who you are."  Fergie

"These are S and M shoes. Stand and model only." Christian Louboutin salesman

"For me, a high heel can never be too high." Christian Louboutin

"Sexual commodification is an important part of high fashion today." Elizabeth Semmelhack

"There was a time in my life when I was really unhappy and the only thing that made me happy was a pair of new shoes." Beth Shak, Shoe Collector

The documentary DVD premiers in New York tonight - March 30th, 2012. See it if you can. It is a beautifully crafted and thought provoking film written by Julie Benastra.

Creative Process Journal: My Double

My Double (Work in Progress) by Ingrid Mida 2012

This is the doll that I have decided is my double. I found her in Paris and she is normally dressed in a burgundy knee-length sheath dress with a matching coat and pill box hat. She is smaller than a Barbie, not as tall, not as busty nor as curvy. Her hips are narrow and she is petite, as I am. Her glasses are a match for my own.

My research -- into the uncanny, fashion dolls, wunderkammer, and the museum as a metaphor -- will be translated into designing two outfits for my double that will be placed inside a glass "coffin". The outfits will be constructed from scraps of material from my mother's dresses that I photographed in the series "My Mother/Myself".

My Mother/Myself #3, by Ingrid Mida 2010

My Mother/Myself #1 by Ingrid Mida 2010

These dresses will be fit for my double and then laid inside the glass coffin with archival tissue, like in a museum.  The glass "coffin" is a metaphor for the museum and for my ultimate death. For we shall all die, and my greatest fear is that I will die like my mother, as a prisoner of my body.

Progress on the dresses has been slow. My double is petite and I was careless with the first version of her dress, shown in the top photo above. The fabric is silky and frays easily and I made some errors in handling it. It looks okay but it is not perfect and I am making it over. I will construct a muslin toile for the next attempt because I have very little fabric to play with. My drive for perfection permeates all that I do and my double deserves no less.