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Tanya Mars' Tyranny of Bliss: envy
It's been quite a day for art in Toronto. Tanya Mars' gigantoid performance,
Tyranny of Bliss dominated chunks of the downtown from 12-6pm. Eddo Stern was also talking and workshopping at InterAccess for the exact same period of time. I managed to take in some of each (despite the powerful draw of friends and patios in the gentle summer breeze) and will write something about Stern after I see his show at AGO that opens on Wednesday. For now suffice it to say that I'm thrilled the work is in town and very curious to see his new video.
Tanya Mars' Tyranny of Bliss: courage
Tyranny of Bliss was a behemoth. 14 tableaux, covering the 7 deadly sins and the 7 heavenly virtues, dotted the provincial legislature grounds and the big boulevard (University Avenue) that leads up to them. White limousines bearing audience, magicians and psychics drove around from site to site. I passed on the experience of sitting in ostentatious cars with strangers in favour of biking up and down on my rattley CCM. Despite spending a lot of time, enjoying myself enormously, and revisiting each site at least twice, I have not taken in the measure of this work. It's rambling and massive and I think each piece actually does belong to a comprehensive, intuitive whole that I can't as yet assemble. Highlights for me were Envy, Greed, Courage and Lust, as well as the rare urban experience of unearthing surprising, engaging art on familiar, traffic-laden streets.
Tanya Mars' Tyranny of Bliss: greed
