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International
Art Treasures Web Magazine September 2004 |
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Through the Looking GlassAlice, Rabbits, Caterpillars, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are all found at Toronto's The Looking Glass, something that the patrons will enjoy along with a succulent feast. Gourmet
Sunday's brunch menu includes Eggs Benedict with choice of spinach, peameal bacon or Smoked Atlantic salmon. The Looking Glass offers several appetizers, including a wonderful Smoked Salmon accompanied with zesty herb cream cheese. Several salads are available such as a delicious Mediterranean salad. Bolognese is prepared with a slightly spicy roma tomato meat sauce with the option of vegetarian instead. The adventurous will love the Cajun Fried Catfish with a delicious mixture of spices to temp those who enjoy Louisiana cooking. The entrees are served with a choice of side dishes, including mash of the day, which includes the best garlic mash potatoes in the city. Blackened Atlantic Salmon provides a generous portion that is perfection on a plate. GalleryThe Looking Glass selected one of Canada's preeminent mural artists to make their restaurant a visual splendor as well as a culinary delight. Continuing the theme of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, the back patio of the restaurant is a kaleidoscope of colorful characters and imagery straight from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.
"When I was 5 I painted on a brand new white bedspread my mother had just made. Instead of spanking me she cut it out and framed it and I have it to this day." This was the beginning of B C Johnson's artistic career. He attended art school as a child. Unfortunately the school rejected him, advising him he would never be an artist. The school clearly has been proved wrong. B C or Berg as he likes to be called, has exhibited works at the National Gallery of Canada, The Royal Ontario Museum, the Smithsonian in Washington and many other venues. Berg creates his own paint from plants. This isn't unusual it was the way painters had to do it in the past. Michelangelo and Da Vinci both created their own paint and their works have lasted for centuries. "I like to go into the woods and collect berries and roots and boil them down to get certain colors. Not every plant has a color. Blueberries do not have blue, instead they are jet black and after about four days the color disappears and becomes nothing so its worthless to use them." He went on to teach this method to others. Berg explains, "I taught watercolors and showed [HM Queen Elizabeth,] the Queen Mother how to make colors from plants from Scotland. I taught her how to make the most beautiful blue from heather." The Looking Glass took about four months. It is an outdoor work which made the creation challenging at times for Berg. "I had to paint during the winter and it was snowing and later was sunny and rain. My paint dries very quickly, it's a special kind of paint, the same as is used to put lines in the road." He adds, "It's weatherproof, it will not fade." Berg discussed the murals at The Looking Glass. "Alice, I took directly from the book. The ladies who own the restaurant wanted a twelve year old Alice, so I had to research it fully before I started. Putting her on glass was very difficult, given it was raining most of the days that I started Alice. It rained constantly everyday. I used the 18th Century dress design for girls. She had long hair. She had white stockings that kept bleeding because of the rain. I used a hairdryer around my neck at the time and I got a couple of good shocks. Alice came out. Her face was difficult for me to paint. I had to paint from a model who was 6 years old and make her appear 12 years old." The artist had extra obstacles to overcome as sometimes happens to the best of creators. "I was bitten by a squirrel." He also dealt with an angry customer who mistook a bird's gift on her clothing as paint from Berg's creation. He assured her it was an act of God and not his paint. The mural continues along the back of the restaurant which includes the fire escape. "The fire escape is pond lilies. I thought that looked good and pulled your eye up to the top. It has nothing to do with Alice. There isn't really a pond in Alice." He adds, "At the top of the fire escape behind the lilies is the Mad Hatter. I was going insane from the rain and the snow, the near electrocution and needing tetanus shots because I was bitten by a squirrel. I nearly quit but I'm so glad I did it." "There was a lot more that I forgot. Most importantly I forgot the Cheshire cat. He is not here yet. I want to paint him so he will only show at night time." There was a great deal that Berg includes. Several of the table have hand painted circular place mats including scenes from Alice in Wonderland. "The only problem with painting the scenes on tables is that the black squirrels seemed to enjoy the taste of the paint and they chewed and ate off some of the images." The Looking Glass sometimes has jazz performances and Berg found inspiration. "The toadstool is the famous story about Alice and the caterpillar. I found the caterpillar to be very creepy crawly, the face that was in Alice in Wonderland. I used Edith Piaf's face for the caterpillar. She has her hookah and I put sparkles on to it so at nighttime the image glows. The whole wall glows." The very back includes a bar with front panels of the rabbit as Alice first encounters him and as he appears after he descends into Wonderland. Berg explains his creation for the bar panels, "before the rabbit was transformed, there is the original rabbit and then the hole in the center. You can see the rabbit is checking his time and he is waiting for Alice. He's giving her just a few seconds to get down the hole and then he's going to take off and run up that hill." He adds, "I followed everything in the book, right down to his jacket and his umbrella because it was going to rain that day. It was raining when I painted." Berg is a Canadian citizen but originally is from Norway, in a location that is 500 miles from the North Pole. "I am classified as a white Eskimo, not an Inuit, they are only in Canada." He adds, "I came here as an exchange teacher. In 1970 I taught forensic sciences at the University of Toronto. I was the youngest person at the time to do this I was only fourteen. I got into forensic sciences because both of my parents were police officers. In fact my entire family were police officers." Illness prevented Berg from joining the force. He wouldn't have passed the exam. "I used my art and created medical encyclopedias." He has many charity interests. "I've raised money for Casey House, which is a hospice for Aids. I've worked with Battered Women's Society, MS Society, Cancer Society. I raised money for the homeless. I hiked from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Tobermory and back. As I went I painted and after I finished my walk I sold the paintings. Instead of paying cash for my paintings you were to buy the same amount of food. If the painting cost $500 then I asked them to buy $500 worth of food and I donated it to Second Harvest." Berg is thrilled he completed the mural because everyone at the Looking Glass, "are very good and the food is 100 percent amazing. I love the food here. I recommend the Bruschetta."
The Looking Glass Unfortunately the restaurant has closed. |
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