Omen’s
riposte

This is a rebuttal to Emma Kalso’s bullshit letter [“Art attack,” e-mail, July 11]. I’m so pleased to hear self-appointed art critics continue to shoot down artists in these turbulent times when being a self-supporting artist is almost impossible.

The free collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is the “religious bullshit” I was referring to, by the way. That same collection’s been there since I was, like, 10. I guess what I should have said was: “It’s sad that I won’t be able to see any touring LIVING artist’s work for free in this city or any other in North America (with the exception of the Smithsonian in D.C.). Because any art that is current and/or relevant is still NOT FREE!”
You’re also humorous in your views of art history. You claim that no self-respecting artist would ever profit off the backs of musicians or other artists. What about Warhol or Lichtenstein? Andy Warhol made a fortune selling other people’s photos as silkscreens and Roy Lichtenstein did the same with his oversized paintings of comic books. Or are they exceptions in your perfect art worldview?

I’m sure you came and saw my show, for which I thank you, because you couldn’t possibly be a self-aggrandizing armchair critic could you?

I’d love to chat more but I gotta go paint a urinal. Or has that already been done?
-Omen

RIP
Gord Sinclair
As a generation-Xer, I was very glad to read Gord Sinclair’s pithy obituary in the Mirror [Angel, July 18].

Yes, he may have been dubbed a cantankerous conservative, but Mr. Sinclair was creative, intelligent and had a captivating radio voice. Leftists and dissenters like me called in to discuss capital punishment and animal rights with him, and he always gave me ample time to present my arguments.

But what nobody in any publication mentioned was how he was an inspiration to all those who are fighting to stem the ever-increasing tide of ageism in our society. He could have retired comfortably at 65 but chose to continue at the job he adored until the age of 74 (despite failing eyesight). On air he was sharp as a tack until the end and proved detractors who called him “over the hill” wrong.

Face it, we all have to grow old one day and in our ageing society, Gord Sinclair showed that retirement in many professions should be a choice. In a murderously fast-paced society where nothing seems stable, some people and institutions are beautiful because they last so long. Yes indeed, he will be missed.
-Manish Patwari

Wellington St. blues
There’s the Kristian Gravenor perspective [“Wonders of Wellington,” July 18], and there’s how I see Wellington Street today.

On Wellington Street today there are panhandlers who handle panhandlers and young hooks who hook at the going down of the sun. And each second store sells second-hand goods to those who can’t even afford them. A place where the survivors survive from welfare cheque to welfare cheque and today is all that counts as tomorrow is but a passing fancy.

But it was not always this way. Verdun was always working class, but today the places that employed most of the workers are gone. They went day after day with the coming of the nationalists. As their children moved out, so did they to be near them. So all that’s left for the most part are the old and feeble.

Walk down Wellington any time, night or day. At one time in Verdun, mayors Wilson and O’Reilly ran the show. After they left it was all down hill. Back then there were thousands of people out on Wellington Street on a Saturday night; nowdays, it’s just a few stragglers.

The English are gone. Some say “good riddance,” but with them went the jobs that support Wellington Street. So now it’s but a shadow of what it once was. And is likely to remain this way until we have other people with a vision as its mentors.
-John C. Underwood