A–List

I met Nick Lepard for the first time less than three weeks ago, but saw his painting in the spring 2008 graduation exhibition at the Emily Carr University.

The painting was a close-up of the face of a young man, possibly a self-portrait.  It was large in scale with bold colours and blush strokes.  It dominated the entrance hall of the art school.  although I didn't know who painted it, it left me with a very strong impression.

Later, I found that he was represented by the Diane Farris Gallery.  Around that time, I started entertaining the idea of photographing him.  I wrote a letter only a month ago asking him to sit for me for my project "Portraits of People in Arts and Culture".  I sent an e-mail to Diane asking her to forward the letter to Nick, for I didn't have any way of contacting him directly.  A few days later I received an e-mail from him accepting my offer.

I think what has made Bishop's restaurant so special for so many years, besides great food, is John's attention to detail.

His regular customers know that they can have a wonderful meal in a comfortable surrounding with beautiful art works on the wall and music that is never too loud, so that they can actually talk without raising their voices.  They receive seamless, consistent and non-intrusive service.  It feels very private even when the restaurant is full.  Bishop's offers quality in every sense.

The day I photographed John, he arrived right on time carrying an armful of clothes to change into during the photography session including a brand-new white shirt with a tag still hanging from it.  In this photograph , he's wearing a cashmere jacket with a Bill Reid gold frog pin on his lapel.  He always dresses impeccably but subtly.

White Spider is a dance production choreographed by Jennifer Mascall, set design by sculptor Alan Storey and music composed by Jeff Corness.  It  premiers at the Vancouver International Dance Festival,  March 12th and 13th at the Roundhouse Community Center and the Vancouver Playhouse Theater.

The production is inspired by Henrick Harrer's book White Spider that chronicles the history of many failed attempts to ascend the North Face of the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland and the eventual successful ascent by the Harrer's party in 1938.

Five years ago I met Barbara Bourget when she was rehearsing "SKIN à fleur de peau".  I was asked to photograph the production by Marguerite Witvoet who was its composer and vocalist, whom I had also photographed previously.  The costume and its set design were by the artist Lyse Lemieux.  These are all very active artists with plenty of talents.

Those days, Barbara used to shave her head, which made her look old and very young at the same time.  I learned she was a dancer and choreographer for the Kokoro Dance of which she and her husband Jay Hirabayashi were founders.  At the time I had heard of Kokoro Dance, but had never seen their performances.