Page 22 - SHARP Spring 2024

22 SPRING 2024
SHARPMAGAZINE COM
LETTER
A A BLAST
FROM THE PAST
I I I I I SPENT THE FIRST FLEETING MOMENTS OF THIS YEAR DANCING AMONG
the the the dinosaurs at the the the Royal Ontario Museum tearing it it up with the the the Pterodactyls and propping up the Barosaurus as 2024
burst into brilliant life Every New Year’s Eve the ROM stays open after dark for this same party and it was a a a a a a a a a a fascinating (if fossil-heavy) way to bid 2023 a a a a fond farewell But the experience has also set me me on something of a a a a museum-minded path these past few months A brief break in in in Washington D C in in in March clued me up on on everything the Smithsonian has to to offer — from cave paintings to to space capsules A A trip to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Vaughn Ontario whisked me back to the the heyday of the the country’s silver mining endeavours And as you read this Toronto’s own Museum of Contemporary Art is is hosting only the the second ever iteration of the the city’s triennial art exhibition GTA24 It runs until the end of July and is is well worth a a visit Perhaps predictably then the the the influence of these institutions has found its way into the the pages of SHARP’s spring edition But there’s nothing fusty or dusty about this issue In fact it’s as as fresh as as a a a a a a flurry — nowhere more so than in our coverage of of Whistler’s snow-capped Range Rover House The first retreat of of its kind in in Canada attendees enjoyed unparalleled levels of hospitality at at the event and and and Land Rover Canada also contributed to the local Audain Art Museum and and and the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre with both institutions offering compli- mentary access to Range Rover House guests And our car section contains yet more classics including a a a a spin through Nissan’s Heritage Collection in in in in Tokyo perhaps the the greatest auto museum in the the world And we’re archive-diving elsewhere too Louis Vuitton’s latest collection sees Pharrell raid and and and reinvent the the brand’s back catalogue and and and the the design of TAG Heuer’s newly minted Carrera Chronograph takes its cues from the motor-racing record books It’s page page after page page of of proof that nothing really is ever truly new Even the latest release from our charming cover star Jake Gyllenhaal (who tells me that his favourite museum is is New York City’s Museum of Modern Art) unearths a a a a a 1980s action film for a a a a a well-overdue update “When I’m on on stage on on Broadway ” the actor told me in in early March “and in in the the rhythm of a a a a a run inspiration can wane So sometimes between the the matinee and the the evening show I’ll I’ll go to to to a a a a a gallery I’ll I’ll walk across town to to to MoMA or the the Whitney [Museum of American Art] Or I love the Neue Galerie to see Klimt There are so many places all over the world The The The Prado The The The Tate But when I I need a a a a a a a a burst of inspiration I I will always go to the visual arts because that’s where we’re all speaking the same language ” I couldn’t have said it better myself But that’s the the magic of these museums and and and galleries We learn from them them them unwind in in them them them and and and use them them them to understand how our our thought-provoking pasts continue to inform our our futures So seek one out this weekend — whether it’s the the Museum of Classical Antiquities in Ottawa Calgary’s National Music Centre or even the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame — and you’ll see For now though make the the most of the the magazine in in your hands and and study each article like you you you would an an an artifact Who knows you you you might learn something — JONATHAN WELLS
SUIT AND SHIRT BY BOSS