Architecture and art intertwine seamlessly in Manual Báez’s life. From a young age he knew he wanted to become an architect. A chance encounter with his guidance counselor introduced him to a school in his hometown of New York, Cooper Union, which had an innovative architecture program. “Cooper Union made me change my goals as an architect. It made me see architecture from a very broad perspective. And it’s because of this experience that I’m doing what I do.”

He worked in NYC until receiving his license. Instead of committing to the “corporate architecture”  lifestyle, he decided to get his Master’s degree at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, which has an architecture program. That’s really where he got interested in replicating natural phenomena and patterns.

After a couple of part-time teaching gigs at Cooper Union and then the Rhode Island School of Design, Báez landed in Ottawa at Carleton University, where he had been invited numerous times for guest lectures. He’s now been in Ottawa for 12 years.

Báez considers art and architecture to be both very different and very similar. “Art allows me to investigate things without the concerns that would be architectural, like “is it going to be able to standup or withstand the weight?”. With architecture, you have to take into account a lot of other components, and there’s a clear purpose beyond art itself.” It’s important for Báez to have the practical outlet. “It’s nice to explore, he says, but eventually you have to put it out there, in a lasting way.”

Báez’ work draws from the natural world. He looks at natural systems to identify patterns that he models physically. It could be something like modeling the action of neurons or weather patterns, natural systems where you’d find natural structures in the way they are organized and function. There are patterns, and what’s interesting is that these patterns are not rigid – they are alive.

Manuel got linked to the HUB through Creative Mornings Ottawa, where he presented in June 2012.  The event was taking place at the HUB, and, following his presentation; HUB leadership approached Manuel to see if he was interested in doing an installation in the space. He came back with an idea two weeks later.

Resonant Currents is a woven structure that recalls a lot of the things you would put under the rubric of Canadian mosaic – aboriginal art, Arabic calligraphy and Celtic knotting come to mind. “It’s not trying to imitate”, qualifies Baez, ‘but in the way it’s put together, it recalls that. “

The 8-inch birch plywood used in the work is very malleable and allows for complex patterns. It will occupy the entire ceiling and include wiremesh highlights at several locations, such as at the central location of the main HUB reception table.Báez has worked with his students as part of his Crossings Workshop to create and build the structure. The students are Kaveh Baradaran, Ming Fu, Melhik Gebremichael, Arron Griffioen, Robin Woollacott, Macy Laporte, Mark Madera, Stephanie Murphy, Mateusz Nowacki, Maria Olmedo Franco, and Aigerim Shakanova.

Funds raised through the Indiegogo campaign will go to paying for materials, towards this amazing structure.

It’s a four track digital only release based on the story of Robin Van Helsum, or “Forest Boy” as he was dubbed by the press when he wandered out of the woods in Germany claiming to have lived in the woods for five years with his father. Aidan says he was reminded of the story when he saw a poster created for the band by fellow musician and friend of the band Reagan McLean.

“He tells all these authority figures that he’s all alone in the world. He doesn’t know who he is,” said Knight on the phone from London, Ontario last week. “He has this moment where he’s put in protective custody and he has this real chance to start his life over.”

The album is a creative solution to Knight’s situation and the album itself is fun to listen to.

It’s an entrepreneurial approach to the problem of making a living as an artist in Canada, something that Knight is thinking quite a bit about. “Going to shows in Victoria, a lot of it was do it yourself” said Knight. “When you would put on an all-ages show in a sweaty gymnasium you would essentially know all the people that were coming to the show and you’d be advertising to them directly and they would come to the show and support what you are doing.”

The newer models of crowdfunding still require support from the community, but that community has become more distributed and has moved online.

Knight has been able to raise the money he needed and the tour is in-progress, including a stop at the Blacksheep Inn on May 23rd.

Knight is no stranger to the Ottawa region. I, like many other Ottawans, first met Knight at the 2010 Ottawa Folk Fest where he played a great show and an impressive workshop. Knight has a new full-length album since that festival and he’s already toured much of Eastern Canada on this most recent venture off of Vancouver Island.

It should be a good show this week. Knight’s work is precise and impressive, offering up a fun mix of folky pop and intelligent lyrics.

You can download Telecommunicate (in any format you like) for six bucks on Aidan Knight’s Bandcamp page. Tickets to the show are available online. Doors open at 8:30 and tickets are $15 in advance.

How to score:
5 out of 5: News stud! I hear The Citizen is hiring…
4 out of 5: Cheater! You work at City Hall.
3 out of 5: Not bad, but you may want to check your #ottcity Twitter feed a little more often.
2 out of 5: Newspapers are dying, but you should still try to pick one up once in a while.
1 out of 5: Do you have the internet?
0 out of 5: Might as well be living in the Prairies.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Scott H. Wilson

Photo by Scott H. Wilson

It has been said that photography is a picture painted by the sun.  If this is true, then a talented photographer is someone who can capture the solar “hand” of the sky as it paints its living masterpiece.

This thought crossed my mind while thinking about the gorgeous work of Scott Wilson.  Originally from the Toronto area, he moved to the National Capital Region about 1 ½ years ago to follow his girlfriend who is doing her PhD at the University of Ottawa.

Currently living in Hull, his popular tumblr blog contains a stunning collection of images that capture the natural landscape in our region.  For instance, consider these wonderful photos from a stroll in Gatineau Park, or these breathtaking shots from the Champlain Bridge on the Ottawa River.

Photo by Scott H. Wilson

“I want to get out and shoot every day in order to get better,” says Wilson, who takes a good portion of his photographs while walking his dog.  ”I try to pick a different spot (each day) to walk.”

Wilson says that he aims to tell a narrative in his shots, rather than surrendering the lens to a specific subject. “The photographers that I follow are like that,” he says.  ”They are not about pose shots or portraits, they tell a story.”

While most of Wilson’s work focuses on nature, he does shoot urban landscapes, such as the photo above.  You can see more of his urban images here and here.  If you want to know more about his work and/or hire him for a shoot, you can go to his professional web site or follow him on Twitter.

In the meantime, here are more examples of his fantastic work: these winter photos are so vivid you can feel the snow; the fiery colours of autumn sparkle here; the joy of summer is alive here.

Chris Vanderwees (Street Photography and Other Snaps)

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

The soul of a city can be found in its music halls, restaurants, art galleries and bedrooms.  If you want to see a city’s face, however, then you can turn to the street, which is arguably the only place in society where all classes, ages, ethnic groups and personalities cross paths.

Chris Vanderwees’ wonderful photo-blog is like a mirror reflecting Ottawa’s visage.  In his fantastic collection of street shots, he captures the full palette of personalities that traverse through the Glebe, Centretown, Golden Triangle and Rideau Street neighbourhoods.

“I see people from all walks of life,” says Vanderwees, who is a PhD candidate in Carleton University’s English Department.  ”There are people who are pretty poor to people who are well off.  Different ages and different professions.”

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

Having first received a camera at the age of ten, the 29-year-old decided to chronicle the various characters that he saw while walking in the street after working on his thesis.

His images range from the touching (see the two women embracing and kissing on the cheek above), to the quirky/hip (see man with the glasses on the left), to the disturbing (see anti-abortion protestor below).

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

When asked how people respond to his camera, he replies that it varies.  ”The spectrum of reaction is interesting,” he tells me.  ”Some people are indifferent, while others will have the patience to let me take a half-a-roll of film.”

While observing his work, I felt as if I was becoming better acquainted with my fellow Ottawa residents. Whether it’s drug users, hipsters, the homeless, business owners, buskers, lovers or friends, his photos make you feel like you are strutting beside him, interacting with the wide range of personalities in the city.  The non-judgmental tone of the pictures also appeals to me, as they allow the subjects to be who they are, with their unvarnished glory and faults.

While Vanderwees’ blog is a labour of love, he says it might be possible to put out a photography book with a small publisher in the future.  For the time being, however, he is content to continue chronicling the city’s inhabitants as they live their day-to-day lives.

Brian Brooks

Photo of heavy horse show, Carp Fair, by Brian Brooks

It’s tempting when writing about art to pigeonhole people into distinct categories.  In the case of photography, one can classify images as landscapes, portraits, abstract shots, street photography or countless other genres.

If we resist the urge to define, however, and let photographs speak for themselves, we can sometimes discover that a single person can cover a lot of ground with a camera lens.  As a case in point, consider the tumbler site of photographer Brian Brooks, whose wide ranging work cannot be described in a single category.

Photo by Brian Brooks

Originally from Texas, the longtime Ottawa resident shoots everything from thoughtful profiles (see here), to intriguing rock formations (see here), to artistic shots that turn mundane objects into abstract forms (see left), to interesting urban landscapes (see discussion of Texas below). The location of his pictures also vary, as he has taken shots from such places as Mexico, Australia, Texas, Montreal and Ottawa.

“For a lot of the abstract stuff I walk down the street and it just happens,” says Brooks, when asked how he tackles different subject matters.  ”When it comes to portraits it’s planned.”

One of the things that I particularly love about his work is a series of recent photos that he took while travelling in his native Texas.  These photos include beautiful images, such as his shot of the the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas, which can be seen below (original here), to haunting shots of small towns in Texas that have been hard hit by the recession.

Photo by Brian Brooks

“You could see the impact of the economic downturn,” says Brooks, as he recalls his Texas trip.  ”Many stores on the main streets where closed down.”

While reflecting on his voyage to the Lone Star State, he made reference to a photograph of a church parking lot (see here for photo).  In the image, there is a parking spot that is labelled “handicapped” and which lies below three crosses.  The parking spot for the pastor, in contrast, is located a bit to the side.

This image, says Brooks, represents for him the religious idea that the weakest members of society should be looked after, a thought that comes to mind when thinking of the brutal economic impact that many regions in the United States have recently suffered.  This analysis, however, is unusual for Brooks, as he normally shies away from defining his photographs.

“I don’t want to tell you want it means,” he says when asked to comment on his work.  ”I don’t want to ruin it for you.”  This is another thing I like about his photos, namely, that he completely trusts his audience to make their own judgements.

“Damn right libraries shouldn’t be book-lined Internet cafes. They should be book-lined, computer-filled information-dojos where communities come together to teach each other black-belt information literacy, where initiates work alongside noviates to show them how to master the tools of the networked age from the bare metal up.”

The question of what a library should be is particularly topical as the Ottawa Public Library is launching a month-long public consultation on its future. Called Imagine, the campaign asks Ottawans to share their ideas about what roles the library should keep, which ones it should set aside, and what new roles it should play in the future.

In my opinion, the Doctorow blog post is a must-read when thinking about the possibilities of the library of the future. His key point is that, in an age of information overload, libraries and librarians are more important than ever. They can help the public navigate through the tons of chaff to get to the sweet kernels of real knowledge hidden in the internet. His next step for libraries is for them to become a place where people can go to truly understand the technology that increasingly rules our lives. Imagine students taking apart old laptops to see how they work, or old-timers like me getting up close access to a 3D printer.

The OPL’s Library of Today video posted above makes the point that, even today, libraries are more than just “book-lined internet cafes”. They teach people how to use technology, get media to housebound individuals, and give access to people who don’t otherwise have access to the web. They also ease access to real life places like museums or help people navigate processes like starting your own business.

If you have ideas about the library of the future, contribute to the OPL’s campaign by June 15th.

Music Writers

Most local bloggers probably don’t consider themselves to be journalists or writers in the strict sense of the word.  However, given that many music-related blogs contain interviews, previews of upcoming shows, reviews of new releases, insightful analysis and interesting bits of information, it is fair to say that many area bloggers are producing work that is comparable to traditional music journalism.

As a case in point, Ottawa Showbox, which we have mentioned before on Tour de blogosphere, is a great blog for music news. (I reviewed OS on my local blog recently).  Couch Assassin is another fantastic site where you can find, among other things, previews of upcoming shows and musician profiles.  For punk rock lovers, Ottawa Explosion (alternative tumble site here) is worth checking out, while those interested in reading about classical music can link to The Heckeler.  Music Inkorporated, meanwhile, is another blog that you can read to get news and music-related analysis.

Concert and Event Listings

Besides Apartment613, numerous local sites contain information about musical events in our region. If you are a fan of traditional Irish music, then the Irish Music Ottawa – blog is the place to go. Classical music fans can read Music and Beyond, while devotees of folk music should check out Spirit of Rasputin’s.  For blues fans, Ottawa Blues This Week is an indispensable source of information, with its extensive list of shows and events.

Birdman Sound is another good site where you can find upcoming shows, along with posts that contain musical playlists.  Hardcore and punk fans can read Ottawa Hardcore, while patrons of Raw Sugar Cafe can follow the hip cafe’s tumblr site to see upcoming shows. My Ottawa Show Listings was quite active last year, although it seems to be currently dormant.  That said, this site is worth bookmarking in the event that it starts up again.

Blogging Musicians, DJs and Radio Show Hosts

Ottawa Live Music bills itself as the only interactive live music show in the city, while Harmony & Groove, who mix pop, funk R&B and soul, also have a blog.  Ditto for local jazz vocalist and songwriter Renée Yoxon, who has a tumblr account, and piano player, singer and songwriter Tyler Kealey.

Local hip-hop innovators A Tribe Called Red have a blog, although it hasn’t been updated since this past January.   Similarly, Brad Turcotte, who performs under the name Brad Sucks, has a web site / blog, though it appears to have been last updated in mid-March.  The Souljazz Orchestra also has a site where they post news about their musical careers which is updated on a periodic basis.

Other blogs that you may be interested in checking out are the CKCU show Debaser, the site for DJ CPI, the blog of JayBizz LeFresh, and the one for DJ Hobo & Sweet Cheeks, who uses a SoundCloud account to post musical mixes.

Miscellaneous

Finally, Pearl Pirie, whose impressive blogging we have already profiled,  started earlier this year the music-related site earworm curation.

Know of any other local music blogs?  Please let us know in the comments section below.  In the meantime, if you want to know more about local bloggers, please go to The Ottawa Blogging Library, a blog that I created to accompany the Tour de blogosphere columns.

For in a world where 140-characters are all the rage, who has time to read hundreds of pages, let alone invest the mental effort to process a story full of complexity, nuance and wonder?

Fortunately for book lovers (and there are still many), English-born writer Edward Rutherfurd puts the lie to the view that epic literary sagas are passé.

“People are reading more than ever,” says Rutherfurd, when asked to comment on the popular claim that the novel is a dying art form.

Local bibliophiles can see his brilliance in person this coming Monday, May 13, when he speaks at Saint Paul University Amphitheatre at 223 Main Street.

For me, Rutherfurd is a fantastic writer who is the antithesis of the overhyped Tweet.  Known for writing long, epic novels like Sarum, a sweeping look at English history, or works like London and New York that tell the brilliant stories of those incredible cities, he has now released a new work of fiction called Paris, a riveting saga about the City of Lights that runs more than 800 pages and looks at Parisian history over a span of more than 700 years, from the 13th to 20th centuries.

The book moves back and forth across time by focussing on the lives of several families, whose political passions, love affairs, secrets and human dreams / frailties criss-cross with each other and the city’s history.  The captivating saga covers such moments as the building of the Eiffel Tower, the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral, the horror of the First World War, the upheaval of the Paris Commune, and the joy of the Belle Époque.

“I fell in love with Paris at a young age,” says Rutherfurd, who has regularly visited France throughout his life.  ”I have also fallen in love in Paris.”

His wonderful new book on Paris is a fantastic journey through time, which quenches the human desire (which has existed for thousands of years) for being entertained with dramatic stories. In fact, and notwithstanding our culture’s obsession with Twitter, popular culture is still filled with epic tales full of complexity.

“Look at Game of Thrones,” says Rutherfurd about the popular book and TV series.  ”This is old saga stuff.”

This interest in epic stories also exists with the millennial generation, who supposedly have the attention span of a two-year-old toddler.

“I have two children in their 20s,” says Rutherfurd.  ”It’s not that they have no attention span, but that they want instant gratification …. But even they, when you grab their attention (with a story), they get riveted.”

Looking forward, Ruterfurd reveals that he is working on a TV series that he would like to release in the future.  As well, he says that he has the professional goal of writing a novel that is his best yet.  In the meantime, you can see him this coming Monday as he talks about his wonderful new book.

Edward Rutherfurd will be speaking on Monday, May 13, at  Saint Paul University Amphitheatre at 223 Main Street.  General tickets are $15, reduced tickets $10, and the event is free for members of the Ottawa Writers Festival.  Ottawa-based author Charlotte Gray will be the moderator of the event, which is scheduled to start at 7 pm.

Our contributor Adria May took her camera on two different Jane’s Walk this weekend. The first tour was Arthur McGregor, owner of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, walk called  Folk on the Street.

“Ottawa has been ‘Folk City’ since the 1950s. Coffee houses like Le Hibou, The Wasteland, The Kitchen Cinq, Le Monde, and Roosters have highlighted some of Canada’s finest talent, a good portion of it local. Currently, Ottawa is the home of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, The Ottawa Folk Festival, The Canadian Folk Music Awards, The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (with their annual folk Conference) and the Canadian Folk Music Walk of Fame, aka ‘Folk Walk’. Come spend an afternoon in the neighborhood that hosts the Folk Walk and hear about the current plaques, the folk murals, and the state of folk music in our city. There will be live music.”

The second tour was presented by Citizens for Safe Cycling, and took participants around Dow’s Lake to tip toe through the… flowers.

“Ottawa has a strong historical connection to the Netherlands and the tulips, but the area also shows some of the change in land use, with different bridges and roads going across Dow’s Lake. The area is also a draw for cyclists, and we’ll talk about why.”

“If you wanna keep it going, you gotta keep it small.” These words of the gregarious Mr. So, owner of the So Good Restaurant, summed up the theme of Apt613’s Jane’s Walk through Ottawa’s eclectic little Chinatown: small businesses, community and people who care.

What? People who care – in Chinatown? Isn’t Chinatown just the place where you go for dim sum, where the unspoken agreement is to throw down a 10% tip and get scowled at in return? No wait, that’s Toronto – or, at least, going anywhere with my parents. This is Ottawa. Amongst Canada’s most inclusive, Ottawa’s Chinatown is for everyone: it is a small, tight-knit community of artsy coffee shops that double as nightspots, Asian supermarkets, Chinese restaurants and a legion of similarly named Pho restaurants.

Hovering over it all is the massive Royal Archway on the corner of Bronson and Somerset, our third stop, made in traditional Chinese style in Beijing, donated and opened by the Chinese Embassy in 2010. Ottawa’s archway is unique in that it contains nine separate “little roofs”, the highest number of little roofs on an archway and a sign of honour befitting an emperor, explained Grace Xin, Executive Director of the Somerset Street Chinatown Business Improvement Area. Those Chinese characters on it – the top says “Ottawa” and the bottom says “Chinatown”. Chinatown, we learned, was originally two stores on Bank Street that somehow found their way to Somerset.

As is the case with most of Centretown, a majority of the restaurants there today were residences decades ago and were converted into businesses in the 70s, which was also the time Ottawa’s landmark Chinese restaurant/social venue Shanghai was established. On Saturday evenings, Shanghai hosts karaoke night with local hosted by local icon Chinadoll (aka Ed Kwan), who let us in on the origins of the night… and her name. “Eight years ago, a girl had her bachelorette here, and they wanted me to sing, and I had this wig on, and my brother said go on… and call yourself Chinadoll!” Saturday nights were never the same again. Mild-mannered establishment by day, venue at night. This was another theme of the walk.

While Chinatown technically does not have any bars or clubs, there is no shortage of venues for nights out. We stopped at two relatively new cafés, The Daily Grind and Raw Sugar Cafe.  Though they use the word “café” – these joints are more like bar/café/music venue/art gallery/restaurant/community centre, as their offerings go far beyond typical café fare. Together with Umi Café, these three independent cafés form a triangle of community events. Into Tex-Mex and Heavy Metal? Then try the Daily Grind’s Tex-Mex menu, and then stay for the weekly metal party. Into playing board games and listening to beats? Raw Sugar hosts “Beats & Boards” on Tuesdays. Weekly music guests and special events dot Chinatown’s social calendar at these venues.

Our next stop was Zen Kitchen, which opened four years ago, owner David Loan explained, with the guiding philosophy of a place where everyone can dine regardless of dietary restrictions or moral views. Offering a strictly vegan menu, they use no animal products at all – not even honey or dairy products. “If we need something that approximates cream, we’ll make it with cashews.” I wasn’t sure how that would taste – but I want to try. Zen Kitchen supports the “Community Supported Agriculture” model: they give local farmers money to grow stuff, and in return, farmers give them the fresh stuff. This approach seemed to be held in high regard by others in Chinatown, corroborated by Mr. So, owner of So Good Restaurant. “People don’t understand where that extra dollar in the price goes – it goes to the ingredients. And we believe people will pay that extra dollar for something better.”

We also stopped at Highjinx and found out that it isn’t actually a store (as I thought passing it many times) but actually a centre for non-traditional social work. Highjinx owner Karen Neilson told us are more like a community hub for the down trodden, they offer food to the homeless, furnish the homes of the less fortunate – and they do it all by selling antiques that are donated!

But enough about all this feel good community stuff – let’s get down to the real questions: why are there are so many pho restaurants and and why are they are all called PHO BO GA? Pho Bo Ga La, Pho Bo Ga La 2, Pho Bac, Pholicious… the list goes on. The second last stop of the tour was with Pho-guides Don and Jen of Foodieprints. The reason, they speculated, is that Pho entrepreneurs just aren’t that creative. But here’s the basic breakdown: “PHO” is obviously the delicious noodle soup we all know and love, “BO” means beef, and “GA” means chicken. Noodle. Beef. Chicken. Ottawa’s pho is of high quality because like the rest of the venues visited, they actually make the stock and the pho is different in each one. Simple enough – but what about “LA”? I asked. That, they did not know – one of Chinatown’s many mysteries.

Editor’s Note: The trip also stopped by Purple Urchin Soap works and the Bridgehead Roastery, but Jason had to run as the Jane’s Walk was running long. Thanks to the owners for their participation.