Creatures of a day! What is a man? Man is the dream of a shadow.
-Pindar
SUPERCRAWL is upon us again! North America’s fastest growing festival is in its 8th year, and is set to be bigger and better than ever. Which is why we are so excited to announce our latest runway show entitled {NEW KINGDOM} to close the Designer Showcase in the Maker’s Market Fashion Tent at 9pm on Saturday, September 9!
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This collection is inspired by the palette, modernity, and of course, glamour of Ancient Egypt and is a nod to a new society who embraces the {past} to invigorate the {present} and propel us all into the {future}. We are featuring both menswear and womenswear, and most of the designs utilize vintage materials for a truly one of a kind statement.
We’ve been preaching for years, but its a still a huge issue! We fill our landfills with so much wasted fabric that its killing our planet. If we can work towards helping reduce this footprint in any way- we are vigilantly dedicated to this cause- and if more people could follow suit, who knows what could change?
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You are only a spirit
-Djehuti {ancient egyptian proverb}
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So if you’re around this Supercrawl weekend in Hamilton, ON make sure you swing by the Fashion Tent at James and Murray and check out some of the city’s best fashion, and of course, our {NEW KINGDOM} at 9p on Saturday, September 22!!!
If you’re in the #HamOnt area this Friday for the last {Art Crawl} of 2016 (December 9), be sure to stop by VOLVER STUDIOS at 126 James St. N between 7p and 11p for a chance to chat and shop with The Eye of Faith!
We are curating a cool collection of bold and exciting vintage pieces at incredible deals, making this the perfect stop for finding those awesome holiday party season styles, as well as one of a kind gift opportunities.
You will also be able to peruse the immaculate craftwork of Rosa Patriquin/ VOLVER who makes designer crochet accessories, clothing, and pieces; the chance for our collaboration in this capacity has been a long time coming, so don’t miss out!
‘Concision in Style, Precision in Thought, Decision in Life”
You may have noticed those immortal words when browsing through our ABOUT US page, although the phrase is more like this:
+ CONCISIONEM STYLO, ACCURATIUS CORDE, IUDICARI VITA +
Since our inception, these words have helped build the foundations for creating The Eye of Faith, and we never forgot them along the way.
Wise words from an icon in his own right, Victor Hugo (and I’m not too sure if he would be one for musicals ) . . . but none the less, his “concision in style, precision in thought, and decision in life”, have made him and his work relevant to this very day!
It’s quite wild how the past comes and goes, and is brought back to life again. Inspiration finds it’s way through the cracks of your mind to infiltrate your thoughts and create something special. This comes into play every time you make your way into your own wardrobe, for example. You stare at your clothes and an idea might come to your mind, and thus a new look, and a new you is born!
While our motto CONCISIONEM STYLO, ACCURATIUS CORDE, IUDICARI VITA (it just sounds so F***ing good in Latin) has carried us far the past year, most mysterious 2014, we have a few new thoughts for the year ahead, and some new virtues we want to inherit and inspire for 2015.
+KNOWLEDGE+
+KNOWLEDGE+ has always been an important piece of the puzzle here at The Eye, and for our frequent followers and visitors, you have come to expect in our approach an appreciation for history and all it’s secrets and quirks. We love to expose the {PAST} and examine where it fits into the {PRESENT} and hopefully, using our age defying wisdom, we can summarize a likely {FUTURE}.
Much like the alchemists and sorcerers of the past, the gaining and collecting of knowledge, every little bit no matter how esoteric, is a vital aspect of one’s true power, for when the time comes and all you are left to is you and you alone, you can count on yourself to follow through! Whether we’re talking life or fashion, no one is ever going to blame you for knowing too much.
We hope to continue in this vein, and bring you more and more vintage memories and musings that can both inspire and inform.
+INTEGRITY+
Since we began creating The Eye of Faith, we have been told a million and one things we should be doing instead. Everyone and their mother has had an opinion on our vision, without even asking what that vision may be!
We came into this game knowing full well who we were, and what we intended to accomplish. You don’t see another site quite like The Eye of Faith online, and that is a good thing. We are not trying to fall into place behind other fashion blogs (most of which look the same) who recycle content from site to site, but we wanted to be true innovators on the scene. This dedication to our vision, and always standing by it without changing it to appease naysayers is why we have ruled +INTEGRITY+ as a continuing priority here at The Eye of Faith.
The Eye of Faith was conceived as a portal to the past with many seemingly disparate items, articles, and stories coming together to create a well-rounded vision of how little things have changed, and how cool the past really was! This will continue NOT to change.
We will also not be picking any random articles of vintage clothing to add to the collection. Nothing is arbitrary, and each piece speaks to a certain story or style we are aiming to incorporate into the vision of the collection as a whole. Believe us, it’s not as easy as it sounds! It’s called +INTEGRITY+
+COURAGE+
The Spirit of Contemplation (1901) by Albert Toft {1862 – 1949}
+COURAGE+ has always been our silent leader when it came to creating The Eye of Faith. In fact, the whole idea of the The Eye of Faith encapsulates this virtue entirely.
The Eye of Faith is an age old symbol of +COURAGE+, and by the pure belief in matters at hand, and some proper insight, one may be given sight to see the way to get to one’s destiny. It’s a silent pathway, but a strong one, and without proper reinforcement your trail could just wither into the wind before your eyes and you would be left to find your way without the guidance of the fates. . .
The latter is a path many of choose in life, but since we are beings with a choice, we definitely chose to trust that The Eye of Faith will get us where we belong.
It took a lot of +COURAGE+ to stand up and tell those we know and love our belief in it, but it definitely seems to be paying off, with everyday us getting stronger and stronger.
+STRENGTH+
+STRENGTH+ comes in many forms. We need it constantly; in the physical sense, to keep up the hustle of getting our pieces from one place to another, and even more so in the emotional and spiritual sense, when it seems like you’ll never figure it all out.
Truth is, you’re never going to figure it all out, so best stop wasting your energy on that one . . .
Having +STRENGTH+ of mind is more powerful than any fist when it comes to life. Creeping deep down into oneself and building +STRENGTH+ from within is your best start. From there, everything else will seem like a cinch!
+IMAGINATION+
I once read somewhere that +IMAGINATION+ is more important than +KNOWLEDGE+
But I don’t think that is quite true, as much as learning to utilize both to one’s advantage can be the most powerful tool of all.
+IMAGINATION+ is quite literally the God-Sense in all of us. If you seek the divine in the everyday all you need do is open a pad of paper and sketch, or write for an hour about any old thing, even messing about your wardrobe will suffice. It is simply that beautiful magical moment where your brain has decided to create something new, and completely you.
You are a well of ideas and inspirations, and once you are able to tap into that spring, you might find your true self overflowing!
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So there you have it!
Our five newly anointed principles that can be used not just for your style sensibilities, but use them in life, as well. If you use them right, the transformations will happen almost immediately.
Feel free to adapt our Rules to fit your own life, or simply come up with a few of your own.
What means most to you? In the end, that’s all that matters. We know what we need to do to survive, and we’re going to definitely be making it happen! So hopefully some of our words of wisdom have rubbed off a bit, and we can all make things happen together!
Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait on Folding Bed (1963)
The latest exhibit from the AGO gives us Moore with a side of Bacon, and we want seconds!
“Francis Bacon & Henry Moore: Terror and Beauty” which runs at the AGO from April 5 to July 20 is a compelling retrospective overview of the two artists’ parallel lives and works, and how they were affected by the evolving world around them. Impacted by war, society, and religion, their works went on the become some of the cornerstones of modern art, and the images we see in our mind when we think of it.
+FRANCIS BACON+
Francis Bacon, Second Version of Triptych 1944 (1988)
Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait VI (1953)
We have always been huge fans of Francis Bacon’s work so it was such a treat to get to see some of his most iconic and monumental pieces in plain sight. His use of colour and his treatment of form are to this day as raw and exciting as they were over fifty years ago when they first made their premiere to the world at large. His vivid triptych, with its monolithic expanse, as well as his haunting portrait and studies of the Pope are alive with wonder, and indeed, beauty and terror.
Bill Brandt, Henry Moore in His Studio (1940)
Henry Moore, Spanish Prisoner (1939)
Henry Moore, Falling Warrior (1956 – 57)
No stranger to the work of Henry Moore, the AGO has always housed an impressive collection of his work since first stepping foot in the museum as a child, and has since remained a pleasure to gaze at. His contorted figures which resonate with an almost ancient wisdom and mystic mystery were given new life juxtaposed amongst Bacon’s equally amorphous figures and mysterious backdrops.
Curator Dan Adler has done an excellent job of showcasing equally the similarities and discrepancies between the two artists, and is sure to bring fresh views on both artists’ life and works.
Not only does the show offer a comprehensive and distinct juxtaposition of the artists, it also lends the viewer a greater vision of the world as a whole, and how history and the events therein contribute to the creation of our culture.
Some of the most stunning, but quiet works include Moore’s beautiful depictions of sleeping figures inspired by the surrealistic memories of the thousands of people who made their ways to the underground during the London Blitz.
These sketches, and photographs of London during the blitz provide further insight into our own world today, and the devastating affects they have had on our society, and the musings these travesties have inspired.
The most interesting thing about the show was that although the artists’ aesthetic similarities are plain to see, it is impossible to ignore the individual voice of the artists and seeing the differences between the two. The mind easily deciphers them, and while so much in their lives run parallel, I never felt like there was a true intersection. Henry Moore was very much in his realm, and Bacon very much in his, and it’s these differences that really sing throughout your time walking amongst the spaces filled with their individual iconographies.
We hold them both very close to our hearts now, and no doubt, our soul will be pumping with the inspiration the AGO has brought forward with this exquisite showing of two of the world’s finest architects of the mind.
We also can’t wait for what they have in store for us next!
Rumor has it: MICHELANGELO!!
In the meantime, lets invoke the spirit and seek our style inspiration from the master of modernity himself-
+FRANCIS BACON+
Here he is rocking out a black PVC trench coat in front of one of his wicked fine masterworks. The classic mens trench coat is given an ample boost of modernity and edge crafted from oil slick black vinyl, giving the look a dark cool that is the epitome of Bacon’s style. He wears it with slim cut trouser and a black turtleneck for a sophisticated and timeless togetherness.
A journey that started at night, this is a tale of wandering; wandering thoughts, wandering hearts, and wandering souls.
The city can bring together strangers, while it can also tear those closest apart. Amongst the storefronts, sidewalks, lane ways, and hidden passages – you are bound to find that sacred recluse you have been seeking to find.
Inspiration was taken from wild nights had late at night on the street, rebel gang boys and bad girls of the 1950s, “Rebel Without a Cause“, and the work of film master Wong Kar Wai. We threw it all together for one hell of a wild ride on the neon streets and shadows of the Junction.
As promised, we decided to preview some of our women’s collection in this shoot so all our faithful lady friends definitely have something to look forward to! We will be photographing and adding our women’s wear over the next few weeks, so keep your {EYE}s open on our {SHOP}.
We were also lucky enough to have our good friend Lydia join us for a shoot, which was more than a pleasure! She is a fantastic model with amazing abilities, so it was pure magic to have her with us on set. Lots of love, Lydia! Lots of love!
So enough messing around, please take part and check it all out! After all, we made this for you!
Let E.O.F. take you to the “DAZE OF BEING WILD“.
Hope you all enjoy!
Would love to hear your feedback on the photos and looks, so please leave your comments below. Make sure to let your friends know what they are missing!
Like any legitimate secret society, we here at The Eye of Faith are dedicated to the sole purpose of bettering our world. We often refer to our mission in terms of style and through education of the {PAST} to help inform the {PRESENT} and thereby shape the {FUTURE}.
Apart from this, we’re also dedicated to the reduction of waste in landfills by reclaiming vintage pieces to be reincarnated and re-appropriated to today’s fashion scene, and enjoy a a new life in our {SHOP}. This green initiative is luckily something on many minds these days, and doing your part for the cause can help dramatically shift our destiny.
Another brand who has taken to the green is the wicked start-up MIJLO, which aims to not only provide well-tuned, timeless accessories for the world, but hopes to also make an impact on the environment through a dedication to sustainability.
Here’s what they have to say:
At MIJLO, we believe that fashion doesn’t have to be fast, or disposable, or temporary….We believe a product’s lifespan should be as timeless as its design – simplicity and sustainability were an integral part of our design process.
Headed by designer Daniel Eckler, the brand is quickly making grounds in launching their product through a campaign on Kickstarter, and is already closing on $75,000 to get the wheels in motion.
And again, it doesn’t cost a million bucks to go green – in fact, only $39 and you get an exclusive Eco Print made from seed paper to literally watch your investment grow. How fucking cool is that?
I know I’ll be getting myself one of these this Christmas, and not only would you be getting a really rad knapsack for yourself or someone special, but you’ll also be helping an innovative team of design intellectuals grow, but you might just also save the planet.
It’s that time of year again – October, our favorite month, not only for all the fun you can have with Fall Fashions, but also for all the creepy cool stuff that begins to emerge with Halloween in our midst!! And with Halloween and all that ghoulishly good inspiration all around comes the re-emergence of GHOST HOLE, the all-night art extravaganza which will take place on Toronto Island in its fifth incarnation.
Also exciting is that yours truly will be taking part in the goings-on this year with an art installation entitled “Voodoo Beach” which will bring light to Toronto’s dark slave history with the imagined rituals and romance of voodoo in all its many faces.
This Friday join the curators of GHOST HOLE, and some of Toronto’s best bands for a fundraiser for the event which will provide much needed $$$ to pay for this one of a kind wild night of art and horror, and help provide some much-needed income to the night’s artists’ who have come together to choreograph this wickedly wild experience that you will never forget.
Check out bands Fresh Flesh, Doctor Ew, Wake Island, CRHYMES, and Rambunctious at Double Double Land (209 Augusta Ave) in Kensington Market with a suggested donation of $5 and plenty of cheap drinks to be had all the night through! Sounds like a blast, right?
Be there or be square. Check out this wicked promotions video by the ever-talentedBrandon A. Dalmer for the night’s event to help get you in the mood. . .
GHOST HOLE V will take place on Toronto Island at Artscape Gibraltar Point on October 26 and runs deep into the night.
Ai Wei Wei is currently the world’s leading bad ass.
Arguably the world’s most influential contemporary artist (no doubt, the most popular), Ai Wei Wei has made a name for himself with politically charged works that bring insight into the current politics of his Chinese homeland by fusing elements of the {past} and {present} together to incite change for the {future}.
The seed is a household object but at the same time is a revolutionary symbol.
-Ai Wei Wei
His works go far beyond the physical art he creates with teams of talented craftsmen who use thousand-yea-old techniques to create many of his most intricate works, but also stems into the world of photography and new media using video and cell phone imagery to capture significant moments of his life and the world around him.
This god-like attention to the details of his environments have gotten him into major trouble with the government of China which have their own god-like attention to detail when it comes to censoring sensitive subject matters they would rather seen brushed under the rug and forgotten. Ai Wei Wei creates works so that we we will never forget.
He knows the importance of the truth and works like “Snake Ceiling” and “Straight” aim to bring awareness to matters the government would rather leave in the dust.
“Straight” acts as a catalyst to remember the tragic earthquake in the Sichuan province of China which killed over 90,000 people. Wei Wei salvaged the rebar of various buildings that were destroyed in the earthquake and had teams of craftsmen painstakingly straighten each bar by hand, and used the revamped rebar to create a piece reminiscent of a series of waves (perhaps invoking the wave-like motion of the earthquake).
The piece is part of the Ai Wei Wei: According to What? exhibit which is making its North American debut in Toronto at the AGO. The piece provided curators of the exhibit a specific challenge as the sculpture was delivered in 40 crates each weighing 2,500 lbs requiring the gallery to seek critique from engineers to ensure the building’s safety during the installation. The entire installation process took 70 hours over a period of six days to complete. The challenge of the piece is a testament to Ai Wei Wei’s relentless vision that sees very little bounds.
“Snake Ceiling” is a beautiful, organic sculpture created entirely from backpacks to commemorate the more than 5,000 children who were killed in the Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008 due to clumsy engineering and construction of schools. While the government refused to release the number of children killed, Ai Wei Wei conducted his own citizen’s investigation into the incident to uncover the names of the children killed which were celebrated in a spoken-word performance called “Say Their Name” which was performed at the AGO on August 18, 2013 in conjunction with the “Ai Wei Wei: According the What?” exhibit which runs at the AGO from August 17 until October 27.
Censorship is saying: ‘I’m the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine.’ But the internet is like a tree that is growing. The people will always have the last word – even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power fill collapse because of a whisper.
-Ai Wei Wei
According to What refers to a series of lithographs created by one of Ai Wei Wei’s own personal idols – Jasper Johns, and is a poignant phrase that encapsulates Ai Wei Wei’s own personal mentality to always question authority and the things people tell you are true, and to be responsible for your own life and destiny without the interference of others to tell you what to do.
One of the most powerful pieces in the exhibit is a blown up ink-jet print of a brain scan of Ai Wei Wei’s own head after being bludgeoned by police during a protest. Other pieces like beautiful marble sculptures of security cameras and hand-cuffs are also a powerful reminder of the heavy weight of authority and the permanence of the damage this authority can do on individuals.
To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.
– Ai Wei Wei
Being a child of the People’s Revolution and seeing his own father, a poet, detained for his beliefs- Ai Wei Wei has never been a stranger to police detainment or having alternate beliefs to that which his government demands of his people, and for 80 days was detained in complete isolation with the company of two guards at all times which he has immortalized in a righteous music video called “Dumb Ass”.
He sees no fear, and this quality is very important, and is something to be looked up to in an idol. Don’t back down from your beliefs, and if you see something wrong – point it out and say it. What is the point of being afraid to be arrested or detained for doing what is right. If this is the case – the truth will be known, as is the case with Ai Wei Wei who is almost always in trouble with the Chinese government. What can they do, though? They detain him and arrest him, but in the end, they have nothing against him but the fact his beliefs are not in line with what they want him to believe. It’s an impossible cause on their part, as we, as humans, were born free. Never forget this.
While his politics are front and center of his work and persona, its some of his other pieces which really strike a chord with The Eye of Faith. Pieces like “Grapes”, “Kippe”, and “Divina Proportione” (after a study in geometrics by our own master and mentor, Leonardo Da Vinci) use antique furniture and pieces from dismantled Qing dynasty temples, as well as century-old woodworking techniques to create masterful sculptures that can make a man weep in its craft, care, and detail. These pieces take from the history of his culture, his past and memories, and create something new in the now that hopes to also provoke future generations to look at art and history in a revolutionary way.
Above all, the ultimate example of this revolutionary fusion of {past}, {present}, and {future} has to be his Colored Vases series which takes ancient Chinese vases (between 1,000 – 4,000 years old) and has them dipped into brightly colored house paint to make something completely new from the very, very old. While this technique has been seen as controversial, it’s another form of fearlessness, and a bold statement on the history of his culture, and the call for rebirth and perhaps even rebellion.
You can take a lot from Ai Wei Wei, and we were so lucky to get to see so many of his pieces up close and personal at the AGO. If you have the chance to see these works, please do go. While much of contemporary art can come off as superfluous and unrefined – Ai Wei Wei’s work is sophisticated both intellectually and aesthetically, and each and every piece cries out in its importance and significance in the grand scheme of art and our growing global culture.
Style isn’t always about what you wear. It’s a lot about what you do. The most important thing you can take away from it is the power to ask “According to What?”, and see the ever growing power of art and thought in our contemporary culture.
A nation that has no music and no fairy tales is a tragedy.
The exhibit which originally premiered at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London was a record breaker, and I’m expecting to see the same thing happen here in Toronto! {theEye} is getting an exclusive preview of the show next week, and will be sure to let you know all about it, but until then, we wanted to load you up with some David Bowie inspiration so you can skip the line and see all of Bowie’s dazzling duds and fascinating personal articles up close and personal without making a dent in your wallet!
