Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  What came first, the Chicken or the Dog? In the case of Canadian art expert Chris Finn and myself, it was the pigeon. It was 1970—way back in my second year at the University of Windsor. I picked up a gig to pose for a sculpture class for a whole semester. I needed the money. The class of about 12 undergraduate Fine Arts students had a choice: sculpt me or a live pigeon (I lied about the chicken). Everyone picked me. Only Chris Finn picked the bird. Probably a wise choice. The next year, my wife and I moved to Toronto. I got my degree in Journalism and didn’t see Chris again until I got some part-time work at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. It was 1999, and I kept the gig for 16 years. Small world—Chris was the resident expert there on Canadian Art. I promoted a number of shows he was involved in. No end of fun, no end of pigeon jokes. I moved on and took on some work with the Brampton Art Gallery after that. Chris eventually retired from the McMichael and moved back to hi...

Paradise Lost is found on one side of PAMA the Brampton Art Gallery Yesterday, Brampton's Main Street received a striking makeover as a massive two-story art piece found its place outdoors on the side of PAMA, the public art gallery and museum located on Main Street, just across from Gage Park. This awe-inspiring creation, named "Paradise Lost," is the creative art of Caribbean Canadian artist Chris Louis and Dillon Douglas ( pictured ), and it promises to inject a new level of intrigue into the daily commutes of motorists. "Paradise Lost" is a triptych artwork spanning three outdoor banners, portraying a journey from a thriving, healthy Earth to a desolate wasteland. Bursting with repetitive and overlapping motifs, some whimsical and others peculiar, Douglas and Louis guide us through a humbling exploration of monumental human failures. Their intention is to serve as a stark warning of the grim potential for our own future. The official launch of "Parad...