books and writings
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The Invention of Perspective
by Philip Kummel
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https://my.syncplicity.com/share/6os0dl6mtznqilj/The%20Invention%20of%20Perspective%20-%20Philip%20Kummel
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Under the Gardiner
by Philip Kummel
coming soon…
THE INVENTION OF PERSPECTIVE is an 80s novel about a postpunk band called that. It follows the adventures of the band members and their friends Pull, Willona, Brad Tax, Collette, Clive Jive and the rest as the band plays venues like the Rivoli, the Beverley Tavern, the Paddock in Toronto. As the band starts to get radio traction, weird things start to happen and Queen St. West goes cashless in a book that features early ware-housing, ghosts, Marshall McLuhan, beer, magic, slam dancing, beer. And of course the music.
It is a moving, slightly experimental read from a compassionate and sometimes humorous point of view (see more below)…
Text by Philip Kummel; illustrations and painting by Wendy Hammacott
The Invention of Perspective follows the development of a post-punk band around Queen and Bathurst Streets. Centered in the warehouse flophouse known as the Vanishing Point, the story tells of the emotional struggles of outwardly tough and cynical punks weathering several deaths and fighting the powers in the music media. A ghost narrates (“Brad Tax”, loosely modeled after Toronto punk musician Brat X).
Central slouch “Pull” remembers the beautiful but dead friend “Colette” amidst all-permeating radio music and a constant haze of drugs and alcohol. Chipper dialogue amongst the cartoonish band members leads us through the superficialities of street talk to the substance of beauty and relevance in artmaking and lovemaking under the neon light of a comfortless urban nightmare.
The band members find a way to be themselves, and the end of the grieving process marks the spring of these youths’ adult lives.
Features six original drawings and one painting for the cover by Toronto hipster painter Wendy Hammacott (bought and paid for).
This book is a snapshot of early eighties Toronto with a dash of near-future speculative ideas such as the cash-free economy, taping audio-books for money, and a neo-primitivism that seems to have become mainstream in some music genres.
The Invention of Perspective (also photocopied as “Punks on Queen” and sold at poetry readings in the basement of the Paddock Tavern) was written in Paris, France in 1986 following the death of the author’s close friend and partner Michele Cherrington (more or less the “Colette” character). I wrote it while in residence at Shakespeare and Company, in their writer’s room, on the banks of the Seine. For some reason, being abroad made the book about Toronto clearer in my head. At the time, the band Killing Joke was popular in France.
res ipsa loquitur
res ipsa loquitur
res ipsa loquitur
metrophilmusic 