A SISTER

Acknowledged your brother, why mention someone else first.
Names in the sidewalk your forefinger barely had force.
Coax something terrible, out of your youth like a coach,
a last splashing cannonball, original Breeders records.

Both don’t make a sound,
There’s no locks on the doors
and no grown-ups around.

Canvass with photographs the 5 cents you’d charge for a look,
through your magic eye or your 3-D, pop up books.
Connect the cracks, a smoking crawl to the ceiling,
another contest we’ll see who goes longest without breathing.

Back on the corners come fall,
lost in the shadows
of a demolished hospital.

Coloured dividers decorated all of your binders.
X’s for eyes in the purples and blues of shiners,.
Sedatives taken the same way you’d tear your own denim,
your wallet dropped out somewhere around Glenlake and Clendennan.

Whole sidewalks are gone,
washed out, like where’d you get
your fiancés from.

(source)

Bizarre Beyond Belief: As a photographer who began to work primarily as a hobbyist, when did you realize that this would lead into a lucrative career path?

Norman Wong: It was definitely Elmer Olsen and his team (Richard Campbell and Ryan Greenwood at the time) who really started to push me towards the career I have now. Elmer runs one of the best modeling agencies in the country, and he definitely pushed me to realize that what I do can turn into a wonderful career!

BBB: Many photographers attend institutions or use various methods of training to gain recognition in the field, do you feel as if these are necessary steps considering your success without it?

There is no right or wrong in attending any institutions, as long as you are passionate and skilled with a good attitude, you will succeed in anything you choose to pursue.

BBB: Arts & Crafts and Elmer Olsen are highly regarded companies, what was the origin of those relationships and how did they form?

NW: I got introduced to Arts & Crafts through my relationship with Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene. I met Jeffrey Remedios who runs A&C and his team very early on, and they really did welcome me right away. It wasn’t until Brendan Bourke, who joined A&C briefly, really started commissioning me to do press photos for some of the A&C projects.

Elmer Olsen on the other hand, took me under his wing very early on, and he was really the one who gave me my big break. I photographed a test for a fashion designer I got recommended to by a friend, and she used one of Elmer’s models – he literally called me the second he saw the photos and brought me into his office. He was the first one who started to pay me to do test shoots for all his models – he firmly believed in me and I am forever grateful for that. It was Elmer, Richard Campbell and Ryan Greenwood who really helped bring me up into becoming a working photographer, and Broken Social Scene/Arts & Crafts who helped me stay interested and engaged with my work and helped me evolve. I never wanted to be a photographer, but meeting these people helped push me to this insane career.

BBB: As a Canadian photographer, do you feel it’s a more difficult community to achieve success as opposed to larger cities like London or New York?

NW: I can’t really say, I’ve never tried London or New York although sometimes I wish I was born in those cities. I would say there isn’t too much of a big difference, since people are breaking internationally here without being in London or New York. Take a look at people like The Coveteur and Tommy Ton – they have made big waves in the fashion world without being located in any of those cities, and they’re all from here!

BBB: Considering you work with a variety of different publications that vary immensely in style and aesthetic, what are some of the challenges, if any, you face when completing works for the different companies?

NW: I’ve never had an official website, so I would sometimes get confused as to what attracted a publication to assign me a project. I really just sometimes have to ask them directly how they would like me to spin this story, but most of the time they just give me free range and I work accordingly within their world.

BBB: Working with both the fashion industry and the music industry, how does your approach to the subject differentiate?

NW: Fashion is a little trickier because it serves a purpose and an objective: to show garments. It’s a fine balance you have to dance with when working with fashion clients, between finding the right vibe or mood that works with the objective. On the other hand, music is all about the vibe and mood and it’s about the artist or band. This is speaking from my experiences working in Toronto, it’s a different story elsewhere.

BBB: As a man who works with very well-known and established musicians and models, do you find that the creative process is more difficult than if you were to work with lesser recognized individuals?

NW: Not one bit.

BBB: Considering the magnitude and exceptional success of the Arts & Crafts label over the past 10 years, what does it mean to you to be included in this event?

NW: It’s a very special moment for me; I’ve been working on these portraits for over the past 8 years and I did them for myself. It’s a very personal collection.

BBB: We know what you will bring to the table in regards to photography, are there any other surprises that you, or Arts & Crafts have in store for the 10th year anniversary?

NW: I’ve been hearing talks about some interactive/video projects that have been developing in relation to a special album, but that’s all confidential.

BBB: Has there ever been a time in your career where you have needed to jeopardize your artistic integrity to make ends meet or is it more important to create work you truly love?

NW: Both – I do work all the time to make a living and I do work all the time that I truly love, it’s all about balance. I often finding myself taking on assignments that have no relation to my personal work, but take the opportunity to make the best of it and use the money to fund my own personal projects.

BBB: Your work is generally created in black and white, is there a particular reason in your decision to work in such a method as to colour?

NW: This is mostly relating to my personal work, my commercial work is actually quite colourful and bright most of the time. I really do enjoy working with black and white film – it has a tone and texture I can’t achieve with anything else. It’s hard to convince some publications I work with to use black & white film, but I’m happy to have a nice separation between my personal and my commercial work sometimes.

BBB: We understand you have a highly anticipated upcoming show for the Scotia Bank Contact Photography Festival, what else does Norman Wong have in store for the near future regarding projects and events?

NW: I’m going to take time to work on another book about my friend Dana Wright, which will be a long and ongoing process. Otherwise, I’m going to try to finally launch a website.

Toronto Underground Market to curate Field Trip culinary experience
Adding further excitement to the Field Trip Music & Arts Festival, it was today announced that Toronto Underground Market (TUM) will join the festival, guiding a unique culinary experience for attendees. The popular local market has a social, community-based approach to sourcing vendors to participate in their regular food markets and is recognized as Canada’s first social market, spawning successful food entrepreneurs like Rock Lobster Food Co. and La Carnita.

In keeping with past tradition, TUM will host a sample day to choose vendors, and ensure festival goers have a selection of dishes that represent the diversity of flavours and variety in Toronto’s culinary community. To participate in sample day (Saturday, April 27) hopeful vendors can register online at yumtum.ca/vendor (choose ‘Field Trip Sample Day’ when registering).

About Norman Wong:
Canadian-based Norman Wong is an emerging photographer recognized for his work in the fashion and editorial worlds. He is a regular contributor to many international cult magazines like Bad Day and ‘Sup. In Canada, Wong shoots for Flare and Toronto Life magazines. Wong discovered his love for photography while working in sales at a commercial film production company. What began as a personal hobby photographing on set developed into a photography career working with Broken Social Scene through Arts & Crafts, and breakout models with Canadian model agent Elmer Olsen.

Website: Kathiz.com; normwong.tumblr.com

About Toronto Underground Market:
The Toronto Underground Market (TUM) is Canada’s first and only social food market designed to give budding food entrepreneurs, chefs and home cooks a platform to test new food ideas to an eager market. Since its inception and through popular monthly events, TUM has evolved into an event-oriented food business incubator.

Website: yumtum.ca
Twitter: @TOundrgroundmkt

About Arts & Crafts:
Arts & Crafts is an independent artist services company, offering expertise as a record label, management firm, merchandiser and publisher in Canada and worldwide. Launched in 2003 by Jeffrey Remedios and Kevin Drew with the release of Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People, Arts & Crafts has become one of the most influential and progressive voices in independent music.

Arts & Crafts Online:
Website: http://arts-crafts.ca
AC10: http://arts-crafts.ca/AC10
Facebook: Arts & Crafts
Twitter: @artsandcrafts, #AC10
Instagram: @artsandcrafts
Tumblr: http://arts-crafts.tumblr.com