Gwartzman’s on Spadina, just up the street from the Victory Burlesque. At one time, Spadina was the spine of the garment district. It was affordable. Gwartzman's is still there, but the Vic is long gone. The image above is from their current website.
I remember newspaper ads for the burlesque when I was a kid and I remember thinking the day will come when I'll see what goes on in there, and all the mysteries of manhood will be revealed to me. I never did go to the Vic, but I went to Gwartzman’s for another kind of growing up.
The first time I went in. I was a second-year art student standing at its door hesitating for a moment, feeling a strange awe, a sort of mild fear and desire at the same time. Peering in, it looked dark and dusty, with rolls of canvas standing short and tall. It definitely looked like it meant business. It was serious. It was the real deal: “Gwartzman’s”, it's name had been quietly passed between students down through the generations like the unnamable. It was where the artists went.
I was really broke, but I needed a big canvas more than I needed a lot of other things. I was going to attempt my first big painting. I needed to know if I could deal with a big blank. It had to be faced. But even when you think you have a good plan, you find out that you didn't know what to do when that big space stared you down. I was drowning in influences, reaching for my own voice.
Experience teaches the difference between an idea of something, and the process of making it. That difference seems obvious but we don't feel it. We don't believe it until we experience it. You don't know what your voice is beforehand, but you’ll know it when you see it.
And don't forget about my book. If only you knew about it, you'd probably want it.
An imaginary author named André Questcequecest has made his writing career by almost exclusively quoting other writers. This fair-use collage of ideas produces an expanded understanding of Western cultural history and an individual's immersion in that context. The quotes range from the Pre-Socratics to contemporary art theory, along with numerous artists, poets, composers, philosophers, theorists, mystics, and an assortment of unexpected eccentrics.
S. E. Armstrong is a visual artist, writer, and former Editor/Publisher of the art magazine Wegway Primary Culture. André Questcequecest was the magazine's Quotes Editor, and Wm. F. Krendall (also imaginary) was Wegway's Mysterious Advisor. Krendall contributed a preamble and introduction to this volume. [“Questcequecest” is French for “What's that?” with all the apostrophes and hyphens removed].
This is a collection of four works collected in one 229 page book: Gathering Thoughts 2021 , The Pomposius 1995, The Science Wars 2004, and The Communist Manifesto with all Words Functioning as Nouns Removed 2001 to 2010.
Spoiler: The final words in the book are, “And so ends the old world. Peace be with you.”
It’s now available for sale for $20 USD, $24CAD, 14.50 EUR, 12 GBP, $23 AUD.
If you buy it through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Ingram they will take approximately 90% or more of the cover price, but if you buy it at lulu.com the split is closer to 50-50.
Thank you