
The 10th anniversary of Block
Starting Block If you are an avid reader and consumer of Block magazine, first, thank you, and second, you may notice this issue is a bit different than the rest.
Cityscape by Camille Jodoin-Eng
Photo by Dexter Forbes–Wavelens Media
ON THE COVER: Artist Camille Jodoin-Eng contributed our 10th anniversary Artist’s Block. Cityscape is made of two-way mirror, wood, papier mâché and melted glass. Jodoin-Eng chose to photograph the work outside to contrast with the block’s surreal contents.
There was our inaugural block (Issue 2, 2013) by Sara Cwynar, a clear acrylic cube loaded with tropical fruits. Jennifer Murphy’s block (Issue 4, 2014) was an entire ecosystem — of birds, cocooning moths, grasshoppers and spiders — living in delicate harmony. Contrast that with Naomi Yasui’s clay block (Issue 14, 2017) emerging from a bucket of silty water or Dean Drever’s perfect cube constructed of one-eighth-inch birch dowels (Issue 17, 2018). And then there was Katie Bethune-Leamen’s so-called cuddly cube (Issue 16, 2018) featuring ceramic arms embracing a hunk of nubbly bits.
“I think a good block is identifiable as a work by that artist and shows what is unique about their practice,” says Catherine Dean, Block’s long-standing photo and illustration editor. Dean has been key to casting a wide net and sourcing contributors, from Cwynar back in 2013 to the present day. “It helps to have an example by a well-respected artist when you’re asking other artists to contribute,” says Dean when asked how Cwynar’s block set the stage. “It shows that artists can work in their own style and that the block form is the only constraint.”
For Dean, choosing a favourite from the catalogue is a harder task, “especially since there’s so much variety,” she says. “We’ve been fortunate to work with so many incredible artists over the years, and every block is unique and surprising,” a decade-long testament to the creative mind and spirit and the capacity to take a simple assignment and turn out something entirely original.
“That’s the best part,” she says. “Artists see things in ways you can’t anticipate.”
As noted in our 10 x 10 (p. 11), Block’s very first issue featured a different, more difficult, ask. Artist’s Block, as we know and love it, arrived in Issue 2, inspired by the block symbol at the end of every story.
ISSUE 3 – James Nizam
ISSUE 4 – Jennifer Murphy
ISSUE 2 – Sara Cwynar
ISSUE 5 – Orest Tataryn
ISSUE 6 – Ciara Phelan
ISSUE 7 – Chrissie Macdonald
ISSUE 8 – Tammi Campbell
ISSUE 9 – Jimmy Limit
ISSUE 10 – Vanessa Maltese
ISSUE 11 – Dorian FitzGerald
While Dorian FitzGerald’s block appears minimal —even ascetic — the Toronto-born artist is better known for his “monumental paintings of materially excessive situations.”
ISSUE 12 – Jaime Angelopoulos
ISSUE 13 – Jeremy Laing
ISSUE 15 – Dean Baldwin
ISSUE 14 – Naomi Yasui
ISSUE 16 – Katie Bethune-Leamen
Dean Baldwin’s block looks good enough to sip. The installation artist has historically created works that are part art, part life and part bar, asking viewers to inhabit, query and imbibe.
ISSUE 17 – Dean Drever
ISSUE 18 – Celia Perrin Sidarous
ISSUE 19 – Jonah Samson
Montreal-based Celia Perrin Sidarous’s artistic practice is all about creating assemblages. So, too, is her Artist’s Block, an arrangement of eucalyptus within glazed stoneware, set against blue silk.
ISSUE 20 – Alex McLeod
ISSUE 21 – Laurie Kang
ISSUE 22 – Winnie Truong
ISSUE 23 – Shaheer Zazai
ISSUE 25 – Karen Kraven
ISSUE 26 – Kelly Jazvac
ISSUE 24 – Michelle Ashurov
Michelle Ashurov of Reverie Deli is a graphic designer turned cake artist. Her contribution to our canon was the magazine’s first and only truly edible block.