I first met “Canada’s Premiere Outsider Artist” Menno Krant in 1995 when he, I and several other self-titled “Outsiders” exhibited at Tableau Vivant Gallery on Queen West. We had formed a casual collective and placed ourselves apart from the mainstream gallery-elite in Toronto. Not hard, considering the group was composed of ‘folk’ or naïve and underground artists whose work spoke directly to social justice issues, some participants even questioning their identities as artists. Generating an electronic-based piece, distanced me from the Outsider realm of art making.

Legend has it that Menno at that time was living in his car and resting his canvasses on the trunk to paint; dipping his pieces in the lake and letting them dry on his car roof.  Menno says it didn’t occur to him that he was even painting. He was primarily “passing time” and not in contact with any one in the art world. Through his association with folk art/antique dealer, Phillip Ross in Toronto his raw, gorgeous work was discovered by a New York Dealer and he became an art sensation.

Menno, rather reclusive, “invisible, a ghost” in his own words, is currently enjoying a new kind of celebrity. His works are being studied and written about in the form of a Doctoral Thesis by Mr. Peter A.L. McCormack, of London England, who suggests that Menno can no longer be classified as a ‘traditional’ Outsider Artist.

What makes “Outsider Art” truly ‘outside’? French wine merchant and occasional painter Jean Dubuffet, a champion of “L’Art Brut”, coined this term in 1948 to describe the art of the untrained, marginal or mentally disturbed. The term is often a “catch-all” phrase, miss-applied regardless of content and context, although Outsider Art definitions are changing and expanding. Cabbagetown’s rather anonymous shopping-cart installation artist is a fine example, leaving his beautiful, fugacious offerings tied to lampposts.

Outsider Artists, such as famed Scottie Wilson, a one time Toronto resident, or Aloise Corbaz, tend to make art obsessively and may generate thousands of pieces in their creative lives. Many suffer what is called “Horror Vacui” a tremendous fear of leaving empty space on the canvas. Typical of outsider art is a completely art-covered surface. Only since the 1920’s has L’Art Brut been given the merit it deserves as genuine avant-garde expression.

Although Menno’s repetitive imagery and high productivity are typical of outsider painters, Mr. McCormack, an art historian, places Menno as a kind of Modern Outsider. This means Menno’s work, because of its anthropological nature could be placed within the boundaries of Modern Art, in a sense, putting Outsider Art inside Modern Art.

Menno Blue; Menno’s latest exhibit, “ …explores themes of isolation, identity and attachment…” says curator Jodie James Elliot. The works; some 50 canvasses, were generated from the artist’s involvement with online Smurf collectors and “…examine issues of legitimacy and authenticity, gender politics, anxiety, mistrust and the collapse of empires…” Menno’s transition from outsider to authority within this virtual community provides intriguing information regarding this new body of work, which may be considered rather subversive, even in the Modern Art community.

“We are all brothers and sisters,” says Deva Gunaseelan, principal dancer and choreographer of The Gunaseelan Dance Company, “despite our differences, dancing expresses the divine in us, it transforms, inspires and educates us.”

Scholar, yoga instructor, theatre advisor, costume/prop-maker and painter, among numerous other advanced talents and skills, Deva presents his expansive, energetic dance works regularly in many venues, internationally and here in Toronto. Based in Cabbagetown with wife and company administrator, Kavitha and young daughter Rajitha, Deva Gunaseelan is the creator of The Flow Technique, a modern approach incorporating Yoga principles and practices, kinesthetics and contemporary themes, to the rigorous Bharatanatyam form of classical Indian dance, which enables dancers of all ages, sizes and levels to experience the joys of dancing, without injury to the body.

Originally from Chennai, South India, Deva began his studies in classical dance at age five. His first teacher was his Mother, Mrs. M. Gnanambighal, dancer, soloist, choreographer and professional vocalist of Carnatic, or South Indian music. Her father was the famous Guru Konnor Mahakavi V.V. Murugesa Bhagathavar and the coordinator of CSI Educational Schools, India, and her teacher. Deva is a seasoned performer of some twenty years.

A Theosophist, Gunaseelan studied the revised dance modality as taught by Rukmini Devi Arundale, a Brahmin woman, who in the 1930’s modified this ancient dance form by removing some stylistic and thematic components, notably the “Sringar” or Tantric aspects considered objectionable in some circles of the day. After the departure of the British from India in 1948, classical Indian dance was reinvested with many religious aspects specific to Hinduism.

Arundale founded the Kalakshetra School of Dance, in Chennai, South India, which taught all aspects of Bharatanatyam; balance, grace, intelligence, hard work, steadiness, special instruction in expressions of the face, clarity of speech, singing and more. She was greatly influenced by Anna Pavlova, the Great Russian ballerina and The Theosophical Society of India, which espoused a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of caste, sex, race, creed, or colour. Today, Bharatanatyam and other Indian dance forms, such as Kathakali, are performed all over India and internationally, by people of all religions, races and genders.

The central expression of arts in India is contained in the concept of Bhakti, or devotion. The Carnatic music that accompanies it is inseparable from the dance form. In Bhakti, Bharatanatyam, “Bha” (Bhava or expression), “Ra” (Raga or melody) and “Ta” (Tala or rhythm), celebrate the divine, manifest in the body. It consists of graceful and elaborate gestures or Mridu Angaharas, sentiments called Rasas, emotional states referred to as Bhavas and actions or Kriya. Deva works with each individual dancer incorporating classical and modern aspects of dance, as he assists them in bringing to bear their unique expression of all the elements of Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and dramatic story telling.

Gunaseelan uses diverse, universal themes, folklore and modern concepts in the development of his choreography. He and his company have danced for peace and dedicated an evening’s programme to the 9/11 tragedy. He has also performed Tamil “Street Dances” or Theru Koothu and many other South Indian dance styles. Gunaseelan has a fine reputation for his unique approach to dance, his very active and extensive community involvement and his generous and compassionate teaching technique.

“We have both dancers and students of all ages and professions and we encourage people of different levels of fitness to come to classes as well,” Deva states enthusiastically. Gunaseelan wants his students to enjoy themselves, especially young ones. He and Kavitha both feel the universal aspects of dance are necessary for young people to experience. “They need to be given positive encouragement to express themselves,” said Kavitha, “to set them in the right direction.”  Kavitha, smiling, admits that although Deva may be a man of few words, he expresses much of himself through dance.  “It’s hard sometimes to talk about personal things with him, he dances instead of talking!”

To sign up for classes or for more information, call 416.944.2392 or

emailgunadance@yahoo.com.