Rain Pain and Love

The previous post was about November rain. Seems this November brings rain in the form of tears...tears that come straight from the heart. A month that has stormed in with an unexpected trial of life with an upheaval of memories of our dear Sarah Amelia. In the last days of her life she also suffered lung pain, but many of us never realized just how severe this pain could be. It's that cliche that declares 'you don't know until it hits home.' You may think you know, but not until you witness the effects up 'close and personal' ..it really tugs at the spirit of the human soul.

It's about pain and suffering. It's about love. It's about not being able to be in the place your heart dwells. It's about life. It's about physcial, emotional and psychological pain. I believe most of us have suffered at least one if not all three at some point in our lives.

As I write, a very dear and close friend is suffering from a 'spontaneous pneumothorax' and from my past nursing experience and recent research I know and understand that the pain associated with this is one of the most excruciating and debilitating types a human is asked to endure. Loved ones witnessing this suffering are held captive by their inability to take the pain away. They suffer too. This morning I wondered which pain is worse. It should be simply stated that 'physical' pain is far worse, but I would challenge that right now. They're different forms of pain, one no less nor greater than the other. Equal in their own right pehaps. A reminder of how FRAGILE we are...oh how fragile we are. We watch as he lays with 1 1/2" diameter tube protruding through the most tender of skin. A tube forced in by surgically incising an area as it enters between two ribs in order to drain and remove air buildup...as each day goes by, as each x-ray is completed we wait and hope for good results. One day becomes two and so on. We pray. We encourage. We cheer him on, but inside our hearts the rain does fall. His pain is our pain. We endure together. He is not alone although there are moments when this feeling of isolation sets in. We must be ever present to let him know how much we love him.

How fragile we are.

Get ready for the all nighter!

Nuit Blanche Toronto: Curators & Artists Announced!

Get ready, Toronto!

This year, the city’s much-loved “All Night Contemporary Art Thing”, Nuit Blanche, takes place on October 2, 2010 from 7 pm to 7 am.

Norico Sunayama, A Sultry World, 2006
Image: Kazuki Suzuki - C Halper Nuit09 ZoneC 327

It should be good, with a great lineup of curators, each of whom will curate a section of downtown. We have high hopes for McMaster’s choice of The Open Ended Group, Anthony Kiendl’s choice of Dan Graham and Christof Migone’s choice of French artist Davide Balula, in particular. And we’re sure Toronto boy Darren O’Donnell (of Haircuts for Children fame) will not disappoint.

GERALD MCMASTER from the AGO will curate the area in and around Yorkville, from Yonge Street to Avenue Road. The artists McMaster features include French artist Agnès Winter and New York’s digital artists The Open Ended Group (Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar and Marc Downie).

ANTHONY KIENDL, Director of Plug In in Winnipeg, will curate the west side of Yonge from College Street to Queen Street West. His exhibition includes a new collaborative work by Leah Singer and Lee Ranaldo of the band Sonic Youth, and a new work by the excellent New York conceptual artist Dan Graham.

SARAH ROBAYO SHERIDAN, co-director of Mercer Union, will curate the east side of Yonge from Gerrard Street south to Queen Street West. Sheridan will be working with the United Kingdom’s Ryan Gander and Toronto’s Darren O’Donnell, among others.

CHRISTOF MIGONE from the Blackwood Gallery, will curate the Financial District, straddling Yonge Street from Queen Street to Front Street. Migone’s exhibition features artists such as France’s Davide Balula and Halifax artist Michael Fernandes.


For more on Nuit Blanche, please click HERE.