#10ansvaleriedumaine

Last night Montreal designer Valérie Dumaine held a presentation for her fw13 collection and treated the guests with an accompanying retrospective of her past ten years.  Ten years already!? Time flies...

Above is a compilation of stills from the evening's the projected imagery created by experimental filmmaker Karl Lemieux.

Cinq visages pour Camille Brunelle

I was starting to get worried that I didn't enjoy theater anymore.
After leaving two shows semi-recently feeling lukewarm I began to question whether it was me who was not with it.

Then a friend called me up and proposed check out the new play by Guillaume Corbeil.
Ummm...ok! Third time's a charm right?

The play in question was Théàtre Pàp's Cinq visages pour Camille Brunelle directed by Claude Poissant at Espace Go.  I walked in with ZERO knowledge of the play, I didn't look it up, and I just shot a glance at the Vertigo-esque playbill.  The stage was covered in carefully laid out clothing and the backdrop was several large screens waiting for their projected images.  And then it started.

Five attractive people step in front of the stage, they are twenty or thirty-somethings and begin to introduce themselves, in a rapid monotone, grocery lists of likes, dislikes, movies watched, music listened to, personal style, and what they would do if they had 5000$ to blow.

And on it went, with Geodezik's projections of flash photography that (hyper) documented a night out-complete with selfies, clubs, bars, parties and one trendy vernissage.  Each character creating their social media identity from pop culture references, how many people they know and how to outdo the next person.  One of my faves (I'm paraphrasing):

person 1: I saw Funny Games
everyone: Ohhhhh!
person 2: I saw Funny Games (beat) in German
everyone: Ohhhhh!

That's the set-up and it takes several interesting directions that lift it from merely becoming a surface piece.  I'm sure you could guess by now that I loved the play.  As we were leaving I overheard a reaction from another theater-goer expressing that one had to be on Facebook to understand the drive of the piece and that she also did not understand why the actors were not expressing emotions.  While yes, the starting point to this piece lies within social media, but there is also (always?!) a larger picture. I found this person's review dismissive, lacking the awareness that we all participate in -whether or not it is on the internet- the creation and the definition of one's self identity through external signifiers.

That's in my own humble opinion of course.
Are you wondering why I thought the monotone was great?
Feel free to express your interpretation!
The show runs for another three days!
But it's sold out...
(keep your eyes peeled on Théàtre Pàp and hope they'll remount the show)

Corona Theatre

Oh Corona! It's been a while since I set foot in your ancient walls. More precisely, it's been since 2005 when I last saw a live show here and had the pleasure of doing the Time Warp on stage.  While old movie theatres in Montreal are going the way of the dinosaur, it's great to see some venues are still being cared for.

Some images within the space:

Nuit Blanche 2013

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on the blog side, I'll try to make it up with this post from this year's edition of the art-fun-all-night-long of Nuit Blanche!  While we wanted to hit up many of the venues from last year's romp, the flow of the evening took us to other spaces and places and empanadas.  Among the throngs and crowds of parties and hoe downs, many textures caught my eye.  This is what I share with you.

Look up! At the RVCQ's closing party a jam packed sweaty crowd took in the sounds of Artist of the Year.  Suspended above were geometric ice cave shapes that provided atmosphere in at the Cinématèque québécoise.

The backside of a giant Tava cut out at the Milky Way exhibit at ARTVstudio

Looking into the void, Ici a neon installation by Baillat Cardell & Fils

Look up! The ceiling at Place des Arts

Ton Sai, TH

Care to guess what was asked to me the most when I mentioned I was going to Thailand?

"You're gonna go climbing right?"

Ummm, yeah?  How could I not?!  While I haven't exactly climbed regularly in a while, that climbing bug was still nestled within my bones (at least to top rope that is!)  So off to Ton Sai we went.

Upon arrival you could see why many climbers decide to spend months in the area, there are many many many many gorgeous limestone walls/crags within the Tonsai/Railay/Phra Nang beach/bays area, and very accessible by foot.  The above image was taken right from the beach.  Also visible in the above shot is a lookout platform, see that yellow arrow? Yeah right there.  Accessible by one giant bamboo ladder and one sketchy rusted out metal one.  Admission: I'm kind of scared of ladders.  But I'm a sucker for a great photo op, so up I went.

looking down from the platform, stalactites galore

While I was up there and slightly fearful of the platform's stability, Mikel came scampering up like a billy goat-no problem.  We chatted for a bit and I admired his tattoos.  I exclaimed "It's Guernica!" to which he replied- "Yes, I am Basque." Mikel told me he got his piece done during travels in Edinburgh, Germany and Indonesia.  I said the art recalled to mind a French tattoo artist and he completed my sentence saying: "your meat is mine? Yes, I'd like to get a tattoo by him as well."  Small world.

I leave you with images of  the dramatic tide coming in at Ton Sai bay

Koh Lanta, TH

A view from Rasta Baby bar in Koh Lanta, Thailand, where I will be hiding out for the next few days.  An old friend has made Klong Nin beach home for the past few years and a promise to visit has finally been fulfilled. 

ALLKIN:Jason Botkin, LNDMRK

Jason Botkin, Galerie Yves Laroche, LNDMRK ( some members formally of Safewalls), and Station16 have come together to throw down ALLKIN, the second show to take place at Projet Beaumont after the inaugural INSA show in August of last year. Phew! That's a lot of links yo.  I asked Botkin how this exhibit came to fruition with the the many minds invovled:

"I've had the pleasure to work with the guys of LNDMRK many times in the past through the EN MASSE project. [...] They are very active members of Montreal's artistic community, from an underground arts perspective. I was thrilled when they approached me to take part in this new initiative with them...a rare opportunity for me to settle down for a bit and focus on my own shit!! "

Yeah! Lots of love here. Let's get to the art now!

As a highly anticipated show, the opening was packed with parka covered art goers checking out the large scale masks, prints, and one giant-all in brilliant technicolour. The show veered away from Botkin's signature black and white palette which has characterized not only his work for the past ten years but also recalls his work as one of the founders of En Masse.

Being greeted by a gaping mouth

installation view, Botkin's wild oversized masks

While whimsical and slightly creepy upon first glance, when I learned that the large faces on the walls were indeed "masks" I was curious about what these figures represented. A few words from the artist:

"Masks, marionettes, and puppets intrigue me enormously. I've always been drawn to these theatrical artifacts. They are interesting ways of addressing identity, acting as ‘second skins’. [...]  Masks are tools which enable us to change identities and assume new personalities. I think we all feel a deep need to change ourselves and the environment around us. I guess these works allow me a chance to offer up a different sense of my ‘self’. Not necessarly a 'truer' sense, but one that is at least often hidden away from sight. "

yeah, even the floor is awesome

Adam from station16 giving me the EV (edition variant) print tour-thanks!

the colourful and sinewy giant

paint on wood detail

party bonus! pop on those 3D glasses and watch the colours closest to magenta and cyan come out at you!

Want to know more? Lots of love here and here.
Get your art on! Until the 29th of March (so no excuses!)