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The Creative Space
Charles Pachter Location: Moose Factory, Toronto Charles Pachter, famous for his Warholesque work, takes Canadian icons and, as he puts it, “amplifies them in paint.” Describe the space for us. It’s a live/work facility under one roof: There’s a courtyard, a pond, a roof garden and, in the back, a messy old lane. I’m just 100 yards from the Tintorettos at the AGO. If, as a secular guy, art is my temple, then I’m really next door to Notre Dame. Sometimes I just go in there for an hour and I feel better. You have another studio, right? I have a summer studio on Lake Simcoe. It’s such a change from Chinatown and dim sum. It was an old ice house, where they’d store blocks of ice before there were refrigerators. When I get up in the morning, the lake is a diamond. What was this space before you renovated? In the back was a food warehouse; before that it was a motorcycle club and before that a taxi depot and before that a Jewish funeral home in 1901. It’s been nice to see the rewards for years of renovating dumps. It was like creating a piece of living sculpture. As sordid as these places might be, all they are is potential. For more information about this artist, visit cpachter.com
Louise T. Blouin MacBain Location: Louise T Blouin Institute, London, England Montreal-born art-magazine magnate Louise Thérèse Blouin MacBain recently opened this cultural institute, which explores the interplay between art and neuroscience, in a former coachworks in London. Describe the space for us. It is a beautiful building in a really dynamic part of London. The 78 windows are all lit by James Turrell and change colour. What drew you to this space? The flexibility of the building. Our goals are to encourage cultural dialogue and to enhance the way we think creatively, so it needed to allow room for debate, great art, science, education and interdisciplinary thought. What would your ideal creative space be? White spaces are important; they allow us to focus without distraction. Some of the neuroscientists we work with are really emphasizing this right now. What is your hope for this space? In the last week alone, we have had filmmakers, professors and artists here working on new ideas, exploring possibilities. We always wanted the institute to be a space that would inspire others. So far, so good. For more information about the Institute, visit ltbfoundation.org Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net |
