BK-NYC

Crossing the Canadian/US border by car, the border patrol agent asked me where I was going.

I replied : "New York." 

To which he said: "You are in New York."

Why do I always get the snippiest guards?

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I said, New York City.

We were then waved through.

 a bike ride that took us from the Brooklyn Bridge to delicious pizza at Roberta's

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 loving some NYC architecture on Lafayette

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 water taps at La Colombe supporting Coffee For Water and Charity Water non-profits

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Betten adorned doors outside the McKittrick Hotel

My trips to New York are always quickies, a couple of days max, and never enough time to see all your friends (sorry!), go to a gallery or two, shop, or see a show. This time around chilling with my sister was key, exhibits lost out (sorry!) and considering I haven't seen a show in NY since I was seventeen, Sleep No More (finally!) won out big time.

mural festival '14

This year's Mural Festival saw fourteen new walls go up along St-Laurent and surrounding side streets.  In addition to the remaining fourteen murals from the 2013 edition, the art installations and the usual street sale cacophony there was a lot to see and do.  Above: Alexis Diaz's intricate crosshatched creature.

I only caught Kashink's giant man-creature in progress-a repeat visit to view the final wall is in the plans.  Fun and colourful at first reading, dig a little more and learn that Kashink uses her art as activism with a sense of humour. Check out 50 Cakes of Gay and enjoy.

Oh man, this one is a good one.  This is Bezt from the Etam Cru.  I had a chance to sit and talk with Bezt while he contemplated the scarf's color and pattern which had gone through a couple of incarnations.  At first grey with pattern, then brown with flowers, an attempt at a skull motif followed before it became the textured brown scarf seen above.  Loving this.

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photo by mark unterberger

The above piece is by an awesome friend, artist Kevin Ledo whose portraiture skills just blow my mind.  The image is of an Edward Curtis photograph taken in 1923 of a Hupa woman.  Ledo's figurative body of work often focuses on feminine icons, divinity and holiness.  Ledo's newest wall fits right in.

I can't show the whole Mural Festival contingent to you, as these walls are way more amazing in real life, but if you're in Montreal you can find the rest here.

weekend

It was a particularly summery Montreal weekend, lots of meandering, encounters and art.

a quick stop at a new wellness studio Espace Yama Naka for some kobucha to start my day

All in Eyewear event at Les Montures

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a stroll up the mountain...

...to check out Chromatic festival. Above Jason Botkin and Jeremy Shantz's giant Mr. Potatoheads on acid.

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installation by La Camaraderie
#vscocam
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works by Sébastien Lafleur
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dans le chalet du Mont-Royal
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a bike ride to the east end for an atelier/birthday party complete with smoked meat sandwiches and a mechanical bull. enough said.
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winding it down with the incredible Watermark by Edward Burtynsky and heartbreaking La Vie d'Adèle

bright lights

1. grill and neon lights at Le Chalet on Mont Royal

2. a very pink bar at Dulcedo's 5th anniversary bash last fall

3. sculptural light table at Arsenal during SS14 shows

thin black lines

Everyday symbols

1. women's washroom sign at the Phi Centre

2. on the wall at Cafe Falco: bicycle cart, unknown (to me) triangle, and a siphon coffee maker

anyone want to let me know what the middle symbol is?

a tent with an ottoman?

a tunnel in a mountain?

a tea light holder?

other ideas?

**UPDATE 27.01.13: a clever reader just clued me in that the mystery symbol is an onigiri.  Thank you.**

Holidaze

1. major frost nipping at my window

2. holiday "baking" of chocolate almond butter cups

3. lights and decor on Coloniale ave.

happy new year!

Phone Booth Cranes

I was walking down ave du Parc when this Bell phone booth caught my eye.
Oh my goodness gracious, I exclaimed out loud.  This, my friends, made my day.  Oh, and how the 'e' was added to the name, so in fact this booth had become 'belle'?! Nice touch.  Who is this origami ninja!?  How can I give you a high five?! Behold, what simple joy a bunch of origami cranes can bring.

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Shoes on a Line - Part Two

I wanted to call this post "shoes on a line-the return!" but that would imply that they have returned to the same spot as last year's apparition.  These are in the same neighbourhood though, I saw them as I was biking and u-turned to take a snap.  What is it about these that are so captivating?

CN Rail Yards and Bâtiment 7

Montreal does not have any shortages of dilapidated industrial spaces living in limbo of development that can help or hinder its neighborhood.   The former CN rail yards in Pointe-Saint-Charles is 35 hectares of land that was sold to Group Mach in 2006 for 1$.   Propositions for the space have included big box stores and a casino, both of which have been nixed in part by opposition efforts of several citizen-led community groups. In more recent news, the 90 000 square foot building Bâtiment 7 has been given ownership to the collective 7 à nous and the Darling Foundry to develop the building into artist spaces, a gallery, a café and more.  Hooray!!  Read more here.

Recently, I got to poke around the compound while on a shoot.  We were one of three shoots that were on the rail yard site that day-a commercial and a film were also taking advantage of the photogenic area.  The following photos are from the smaller warehouse adjacent to Bâtiment 7.

the model's feet in a shallow pond of accumulated water drippings, pigeon poop and algae

Parc Olympique

The facilities of the Parc Olympique de Montréal were built for the 1976 Summer Olympics and its crown jewel was the Olympic Stadium.  Despite a history plagued with poor construction, running over budget and general decay, the Parc Olympique has chugged along, the tower was completed in the eighties and as a Guiness World Records holder, continues to be a popular tourist attraction.

Earlier this month the Parc Olympique unveiled its new branding and slogan "let's rekindle the flame," to further revitalize the grounds with performances, outdoor activities and events (First Fridays anyone?)  It is with this in mind that we erase the Montreal cynicism of the past and remember that it is one of the reasons that this city is pretty rad.  Shall we?

 

looking up at the tower-pretty dramatic eh? 

 

the funicular on its way down

series of stairwells

the curves flow from one facility to the next

inside the biodome, looking up at the former velodromes' roof

now home to seagulls

the towers of the planetarium, the grounds' newest facility

each tower houses a domed screening room

gotta love this town