Remember radicalism? A time when the Toronto art scene was in formation?and destruction? The period saw artists receive national and provincial funding to open their own galleries and show their work, but with this new privilege came fiery political controversies. Beyond the art politics, art itself was politicised in its contents and context. Art's political dimension was continually polemically posed?or postured?by artists in these years. It was also a period rich in invention of new forms of art. Punk, semiotics, and fashion were equally influential, not to mention transgressive sexuality. It was the beginning of the photo-blow-up allied to the deconstructed languages of advertising. Video and performance aligned in simulations of television production as the 'underground' mimicked the models of the mainstream for its own satiric, critical purposes. With no dominant art form and the influence of New York in decline, there were no models and anything was possible: even the invention of the idea of an art community as a fictional creation. 'Is Toronto Burning?' has a remarkable ability to mesh the grotesque with the humorous. Get radicalised! 70 colour and b/w illustrations
