Category Archives: Québec

Outfits from a New Era at the Biosphere (Part One)

Howdy!

I’ve been meaning to write this one for a fairly long time, since August actually. But seeing as how I took 104 pictures, getting them all organized, uploaded and labelled seemed like a daunting task, so I did what anybody else would do, I put it off. Until today. If you click through to see all the pictures, it’s going to take a while to load, sorry in advance.

Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant and Bullet Dress By Geneviève Dumas and Geneviève Flageol
Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant and Bullet Dress By Geneviève Dumas and Geneviève Flageol

In short, since the Biosphere is an “Environment Museum” it only makes sense that they mount exhibits designed to promote environmental awareness. And some bright wag decided to commission 16 clothing designers (I think all women) to create dresses using refuse material.

Now while I am an environmentally aware person and keep a fairly sustainable lifestyle, I’m not big on preaching about it. As a consequence what really struck me about this exhibit was not its Green-ness, but that while everyone was going gaga over the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal here was a truly original fashion exhibit that was not getting any press anywhere.

Light Switch Wall Plate autographed by David Suzuki
Light Switch Wall Plate autographed by David Suzuki

And while I might not proselytize about sustainability, like certain people, I do champion the underdog and Outfits from a New Era at the Biosphere is definitely underdog material if there ever was. The museum probably counts the number of daily visitors in the high two figures, has some breathtaking views of Montreal and is a charter member of the Cult of Bucky. What more do you need?

Anyhows, while I do not consider myself a fashionista, nor an authority on fabrics and style, instead of viewing these as liabilities I figured (like usual) that instead, if I approached this as a learning opportunity it shouldn’t be a hindrance to writing about it and taking some pictures. Right?

Mermaid Skin By Geneviève Bouchard
Mermaid Skin By Geneviève Bouchard

To me it was more of a compare and contrast situation. While it seemed like everyone and their mother was raving about how original and inventive M. Gaultier’s dresses were, here were some truly original and inventive dresses that weren’t getting any attention whatsoever. And while I’m certain that at some point M. Gaultier did in fact actually touch the dresses on exhibit that bore his name, I’m fairly convinced that he didn’t actually do much (if any) of the sewing, knitting, weaving, embroidery or any of the other tasks involved in making the dresses.

Whereas even without doing serious research, I’d bet my bottom dollar that each and everyone of the designers who made the “Outfits from a New Era” was significantly involved in the actual fabrication of their dresses. And while I am all for the artist-as-thinker-and-not-necessarily-creator concept (see Andy Warhol’s Red Self-Portraits One, Two, Three, Four, Five , Six, Seven and Eight for a fascinating insight into the attribution of artwork)

Detail from Dress the Part By Isabelle Bérubé
Detail from Dress the Part By Isabelle Bérubé

If I’m going to make one complaint (actually as I’m less than halfway through, I imagine that there will be other complaints, let’s just call this one the first. Which is not to say or suggest that the exhibit is bad, just that there is always room for improvement). This contemporary fad, or what I hope is a fad, for Dramatic Lighting! (with the capital “D,” capital “L” and an exclamation mark) drives me up a wall. In general when it comes to art/culture/things to look at or watch, you have two choices if you’re indoors; A white cube or a black box.

White Cubes tend toward being bright and Black Boxes (as you might expect) tend to be dark. Since they are dark, the Black Boxes use highly focused spotlights to draw your attention to stuff that the exhibition designers want you to look at. In contrast to the White Cube where, for the most part, your eye is free to roam where you wish. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I can’t stand exhibits that are housed in Black Boxes. And Outfits from a New Era is, unfortunately in a Black Box, pity.

I don’t know if it is because my eyes don’t react well to large contrasts in brightness, or if because I’m in darkness for the most part I don’t get the nuances of color as well as I would if it were brighter, or if it has something to do with my glasses. But whatever it is, Dramatic Lighting! (with the capital “D,” capital “L” and an exclamation mark) bugs the heck out of me.

Chapter Ten: Words & Wonder By Geneviève Oligny
Chapter Ten: Words & Wonder By Geneviève Oligny

Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin

Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin
Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin

I think you can see what I mean by a lot of nuance being missed because of the Dramatic Lighting! (with the capital “D,” capital “L” and an exclamation mark) in the picture above. Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin is a light, wispy and diaphanous something or other that to my mind would be appropriate in a boudoir or a pornographic film shoot. Apparently made from 2,500 light bulbs and 66 meters of stripped copper wire.

Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin
Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin

One of those garments that professes to show more than it hides, in French it is called “le grand courant lumineux” or in a hackneyed translation “the great current of light,” it was initially called “Le grand souffle” which has more to do with breath and wind than electricity. Which gives a much better idea of the “wispy and diaphanous something or other nature” of the garment.

Detail from Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin
Detail from Light Flow By Chloé B. Fortin

You can see better detail pictures here> I’m fairly certain that it doesn’t light up or get illuminated from within. But beyond the wispy nature of it, I’m not quite certain what to make of it. While the use of the light-bulbs is alright, there isn’t really anything in it beyond the use of non-traditional materials that pushes any boundaries. And given what has been already done with LEDs and clothing, I’m inclined to think that’s it’s kind of like the clothes your sister’s friend in high school wore. Something designed to make her look good, not making any real statements and not that different from what everyone else was wearing.

Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant

Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant
Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant

This little frock caught my eye, although I don’t know if it was because it’s black, and as you know, black is the new black. Or if it was because it was strapless and since I am not y-chromosome challenged, bare shoulders always make me shiver slightly, even during the summer, even on a faceless mannequin. Or what. I’ll leave it up to your imagination.

Detail from Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant
Detail from Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant

Anyhows, this was the first one, where I thought to myself: “I’m not so certain that they actually used stuff from the garbage to make this…” Seeing as how it is made from those plastic bags you take with you when you’re walking your dog and you’re playing State Farm and being a good neighbor and picking up after your dog and everything.

None the less, I like how it incorporates the paw print motif from the bags, is over the knee and has some sort of petticoat action happening. Kind of like being post-modern and anti-nostalgic at the same time.

Detail from Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant
Detail from Bag Garment By Mélanie Casavant

Although I’m not certain I want to know what’s in the bag…

More tomorrow.

The International Orchid Show

Howdy!

I know diddly-squat about orchids, nonetheless I went to the International Orchid Show last weekend and took some pictures. They’re pretty…

Continue reading The International Orchid Show

On the side of the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée

Howdy!

I find these utterly charming…

Baseball player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Baseball player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
A sportsman bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
A sportsman bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Canoer bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Canoer bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Tennis player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Tennis player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Skiier bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Skiier bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Football player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Football player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Hockey player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
Hockey player bas-relief above an entrance to the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée

Talking about Quebec and Canadian Art in the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion of the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal

Howdy!

Earlier this month I was a guest on the CBC Montreal radio show Cinq à Six with Pierre Landry. We discussed the opening of the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion of the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal and their new hanging of Quebec and Canadian Art.

If you’d like to hear it,

Or if you’d like to download it, click here.

Obscure War Memorials

Howdy!

It’ll be interesting to see what monuments get built here in Montreal to remember the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan… Back when things were black or white it was much simpler. You died trying to kill other men with guns and they carved your name in stone.

Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Close up of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Close up of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.

Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.
Detail of the Monument Aux morts Francais de Montreal et aux Volontaires Canadiens de L'armee Francaise.

From the time when only the Canadiens spoke French.

Entrance to the Currie Gym
Entrance to the Currie Gym
The base of the flagpole for The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
The base of the flagpole for The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
The base of the flagpole for The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
The base of the flagpole for The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
The Monument to the McGill students (and perhaps professors) who died in World War I
William MacRae and Ralph Willoughby
William MacRae and Ralph Willoughby
Mervyn Jones and Reginald Fraser
Mervyn Jones and Reginald Fraser
Lionel Oliver and Edward Beckwith
Lionel Oliver and Edward Beckwith
Morrey Cross and Duncan Chisholm
Morrey Cross and Duncan Chisholm
Eric Fraser and William Hamilton
Eric Fraser and William Hamilton
Harold Suttie and Alfred Emmerson
Harold Suttie and Alfred Emmerson
Hugh MacDonald and Wayland McRitchie
Hugh MacDonald and Wayland McRitchie
Guy Ambrose and Graeme Anderson
Guy Ambrose and Graeme Anderson

Canadian Art Auction at Patrick Blaizel’s La Maison des Encans de Montréal

Howdy!

On Sunday I went to Patrick Blaizel‘s La Maison des Encans de Montréal to see his auction of Canadian Art (and other things as well). I was only able to stay for 127 lots. By my count only 11 lots didn’t sell, which is a very big difference from the results at Iegor – Hôtel des Encans, where they only sold 46% of the lots.

By my calculations they grossed about $175,000 on those 116 lots. (Once again, take any figures I give with a grain of salt, trying to juggle a video camera, pen, paper and keep track of what happens is fraught with the possibility of making mistakes.) – All prices noted here include the 15% buyers premium and all local sales taxes. All the lots and how much they sold for are here.

The Auction Rules at Patrick Blaizel's La Maison des Encans de Montréal
The Auction Rules at Patrick Blaizel's La Maison des Encans de Montréal

Some of the highlights were paintings by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté

A pastel painting on paper by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté
A pastel painting on paper by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté

and A.Y. Jackson.

Oil painting on panel by A.Y. Jackson
Oil painting on panel by A.Y. Jackson

Which sold for $3,930.41 and $22,272.34 respectively.

A gouache on paper painting attributed to Cornelius Krieghoff and a bronze sculpture by Louis-Philippe Hébert.

A gouache on paper painting attributed to Cornelius Krieghoff
A gouache on paper painting attributed to Cornelius Krieghoff
A bronze sculpture by Louis-Philippe Hébert
A bronze sculpture by Louis-Philippe Hébert

Which sold for $2,358.25 and $6,812.72 respectively.

An oil painting on board by R.W. Pilot.

An painting oil on board by R.W. Pilot
An painting oil on board by R.W. Pilot

Which sold for $9,170.96

An oil painting on panel by Marc-Aurèle Fortin.

An oil painting on panel by Marc-Aurèle Fortin
An oil painting on panel by Marc-Aurèle Fortin

And an oil painting on panel by J.W. Beatty.

An oil painting on panel by J.W. Beatty
An oil painting on panel by J.W. Beatty

Which sold for $12,446.31 and $10,088.06 respectively.

The altar with all the expensive pieces
The altar with all the expensive pieces

The lowlight of the auction had to be this painting by André Bergeron, which even when the opening bid was lowered down to $50, did not get a single bid.

A print by André Bergeron
A print by André Bergeron

But besides the obvious differences between the auctions of M. Blaizel and M. de Saint Hippolyte, M. Blaizel sold real estate, furniture, collectibles and other things besides the art, the thing that fascinated me was the differences in their style of selling art. M. Blaizel clearly points towards the current high bidder, talks with the audience, offers certificates of authenticity, tells the audience when something doesn’t meet the reserve price and in general is much more transparent in how he does business.

And it appears I’m a YouTube superstar, I’m all over this video from Iegor – Hôtel des Encans, that’s me in the white t-shirt with the glasses on a string.

Armand Vaillancourt at the Galerie Lounge TD

Howdy!

Last week I went to see the Armand Vaillancourt exhibit at the Galerie Lounge TD in the Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan. Off the top; I think that M. Vaillancourt is the bomb. Kick-Ass. About as close to godlike status you can get when you’re agnostic, atheistic or just can’t be bothered. So as advance warning, it is not likely that I am going to be objective.

The first thing that surprised me was that I wasn’t the only person in the gallery. I had heard that there had been some sort of peinture-en-direct event the week previous and figured that the folks behind the Jazz Festival, the Francofolies, the Hydro-Quebec festival of electricity (now that I write that name in jest, why hasn’t any Jewish, Hindu or Persian organization raised a fuss about Spectra completely co-opting Hanukah, Diwali and Chaharshanbe Suri? – For the agnostics, atheists and folk who just can’t be bothered in the house, Hanukah, Diwali and Chaharshanbe Suri some fairly heavy duty religious holidays that are also known as Festival of Light. The Spectra folk do this thing called the “Festival en lumiere” in order to rationalize how much money Hydro-Quebec gives them, that happens in February. Not that I’m saying anything. But just saying…

But I digress. Apologies. As I was saying, I completely and utterly expected to be the only person in the room, seeing as there hadn’t been any advertising that I had seen talking about how this was your last chance to see the Armand Vaillancourt exhibit. You know, the kind we’re about to be bombarded with for the Jean-Paul Gaultier show at the MBAM… But I wasn’t. There was actually a healthy crowd. I would venture a guess of about two dozen folk wandered in and around me during the hour that I hung out there. But as long as I’m being the extreme cynic, I’m convinced that all of them, all two dozen were heathen tourists from beyond our borders who wouldn’t know kick-ass art if it hit them in the ass and just were mindlessly following some hack tourist guide book that had taken journalistic shortcuts by republishing press releases issued by Spectra. Or maybe Spectra has started publishing tour guide books. I don’t know, but it was very surprising.

What wasn’t surprising, was that most of the work being exhibited was for sale and at very healthy prices I might add. Unfortunately I didn’t see any red dots signifying works that had sold. But that just might mean that the Spectra folk who are responsible for the gallery don’t know about red dots and how they are used to signify that a particular piece of art has in fact been sold. Although when I inquired at the desk (which thankfully was not staffed by a 20 year-old woman in a black micro mini skirt and 12 inch heels) if there was a list of all the works in the show, I was told that all the information was on the wall tags. Which would lead me to believe that if I had indeed (or one of the tourists) wanted to purchase a piece I would have been given M. Vaillancourt’s telephone number and told to contact him myself. So my best guess would be that a) nothing sold and b) that the Spectra folk don’t know about red dots.

But enough about the organization of the show, what about the art? Well, it was mostly made up of painting and prints. There were a couple of sculptures scattered about the room along with a couple of political pieces as well. The paintings and prints expressing quite clearly that M. Vaillancourt is an amazing sculptor. The political pieces show he has a great sense of humor but is better served earning his living as a sculptor than as a stand up comedian.

Installation view of the Armand Vaillancourt exhibit at the Galerie Lounge TD
Installation view of the Armand Vaillancourt exhibit at the Galerie Lounge TD

There’s not much that can be said about the colorful abstract paintings. Well actually there is an awful lot that can be said about them. Things like the colors, the method of application to the canvas, the density, the patterns that they create and lots more. So if I were to be more precise, there’s not an awful lot that I want to say about the colorful abstract paintings. And even less about the monochromatic abstract prints. They are perfectly suited for hotels, large corporations and benefit auctions, all places where people like having “serious” art but really don’t spend all that much time looking at it and where the name “Armand Vaillancourt” will elicit sage head nodding and depending on what benefit auction or large corporation certain feelings of Quebecois pride.

American Imperialism by Armand Vaillancourt
American Imperialism by Armand Vaillancourt

One look at the political pieces and you get the point. They’re the proverbial one-trick pony. Which depending on your point of view is either exactly how they are supposed to work; get the point across quickly, easily and forcefully. Or their downfall; simplistic, lacking any depth and cartoonish. I tend to think of them as both. Sort of like a three-dimensional editorial cartoon designed to bring attention to some cause through the use of M. Vaillancourt’s name. It would be nice to have shown some of the more obscure causes that M. Vaillancourt supports instead of going for well-known and easy ones. But no one asked me.

Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)
Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)

Which pretty much leaves us the maquettes or sculptures. There were four of them. If I remember correctly, they were called something like “Place Publique” or something else equally memorable (as an aside I made the complete and utter faux-pas of neither taking notes, nor taking pictures of the wall tags. I was totally unprofessional. Does anybody have a wet noodle handy? And sorry, I promise it won’t happen again.

Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)
Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)

But now that I have that out of the way, I gotta say that despite the silly cutouts of people from magazines, that they were drop-dead gorgeous and amazing. I, honest to god, caught myself on a couple of times doing one of those reverse whistle intakes of breath and even once letting out a long low whistle. If they hadn’t been playing so much music from the 1980s in the place where I’ve been writing this, I might have even gone so far as to quote the band Berlin.

All but one were on stainless steel bases and used (what I presume) were recycled bits of metal to create forms based on symmetry and repetition. They kind of prove (to me at least) that M. Vaillancourt is a master of the form (or should I write that Master of the Form?) At some point I’m going to have to ask him how he came up with the ideas for them and how difficult it was to make them. From the monochromatic prints it is possible to see how they would lead to the maquettes. And I truly hope that they are indeed maquettes and not fully realized sculptures, because they would be breathtaking if blown up to monument size.

Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)
Place Publique by Armand Vaillancourt (I think)

Unfortunately my snapshots don’t do them the justice that they deserve. Some of them were placed directly in front of windows and I haven’t quite figured out what buttons I need to push on my camera when objects that I want to photograph are back lit and I also am not in the habit of carrying around a set of lights with me. Next time, I promise.

Beyond that, there wasn’t much. It kind of left me torn, one one side I really really liked the maquettes or sculptures. On the other side everything else kind of seemed “meh.” And while “I think that M. Vaillancourt is the bomb. Kick-Ass. About as close to godlike status you can get when you’re agnostic, atheistic or just can’t be bothered.” This show did nothing really to support my belief. I dunno, maybe the out and out commercialism in the “Galerie Lounge TD” or the way that everything was set up more as if it was a store than an art gallery had a stronger influence than I would like to admit.

Out of White by Jane Mappin and two dances by Francoise Sullivan

Howdy!

Back on Thursday I went to see Out of White by Jane Mappin and Je Parle and À tout prendre by Francoise Sullivan as part of the Quartiers Danses festival at the McCord Museum. As you might have suspected, the crowds was sparse.

I presume that the idea of having a dance in a museum was part of the dance in unusual places shtick. Unfortunately outside of the museum and in the museum lobby, atrium and auditorium aren’t all that unusual. It would have been nice to see some of the dances take place in some of the galleries, now that would have been unusual. But obviously there were some logistical challenges that were insurmountable, pity.

The short synopsis of the evening. Out of White is an ensemble piece that started outside the museum with a dozen dancers improvising slow movements, in a parade. Kind of like a warm up as they lead the viewers into the museum. There’s a short pause and then it starts up again. This time choreographed in (if I remember correctly) three basic parts. One is the group moving and marching around the space (in this case the very small atrium at the McCord museum) then, Jane Mappin shows up and dances a solo, then Francine Liboiron comes on a saves the day. Then there’s a whole second part that also is saved by Ms. Liboiron.

Je Parle is a short piece where Ginette Boutin spins around in a canvas smock while reciting something. À tout prendre is Daniel Soulières and Ms. Boutin traipsing around picking up pieces of junk and clipping them onto each others’ overcoats while Rober Racine bangs on a variety of metal objects. Overall, it was a successful evening’s worth of performance. But if that was all you wanted to hear about it, it is unlikely you would be reading this…

According to the program notes, Ms. Mappin was inspired by some paintings by William Perehudoff (no, I have no idea how to pronounce it either) and somehow wanted to make something where the dancers and the audience worked together to make some sort of living gallery.

La représentation se dessine comme un galerie vivante dans laquelle les spectateurs s’intègrent pleinement à l’expérience visuelle de la mise en scène.

Ummm. It didn’t work out that way at all. and it wasn’t only because the McCord Museum is a history museum and not an art museum.

William Perehudoff Mural
William Perehudoff Mural

First off, I had some time to kill so I swung by early to pick up my tickets, and was told that the performance started outside around 7:45 pm. I found it odd, that all the information about the performance stated that things started at 8:00 pm. I didn’t quite understand why someone would start a performance early (I don’t like it when things start late, but in advance just doesn’t make sense to me).

The YouTube playlist of all eight short videos of the Intro to Out of the White by Jane Mappin.

Then when I arrived, Deborah VanSlet was videotaping things, there also were about three other professional looking photographers. All of which combined to make for a definite barrier between performers, documenters and audience. Then as the performers’ led the audience parade-like into the museum there was no interaction between any groups. Finally, when the performance restarted in the atrium, the audience was instructed to take seats in the space as if they were in a regular theatre.

As for the performance itself; it was a bunch of dance students moving in space, along with a man (Barry Meyer) who looked to be about twice the age of the other dancers. I never could quite figure out why he was there. Although now in retrospect, it might have been to highlight the difference between dance students and people who have been dancing for their entire life.

After a bit, Jane Mappin (or a person who I assume was Jane Mappin) took the stage and moved around as well. Nothing terrible spectacular, but nothing too horrible either. The rest of the dancers came back on the stage and then Francine Liboiron shows up and really makes it obvious how much experience matters in dance. At the end there was polite applause and at was over.

Things quickly got better after that. Ginette Boutin came on stage in her smock and started reciting and spinning. I became pretty transfixed by Je Parle mostly due to watching the hem of her smock as it rippled in the air. I’m not certain if this was an intended effect or something unintentional. But either way it was riveting. I’m certain that a deeper understanding of the piece could be had by knowing what was said (especially since it’s called “I speak.”) But that’s obviously going to have to wait for another time.

We were then asked to wait a little before entering the auditorium for À tout prendre (I’m not certain logistics are a Quartiers Danses specialty). After about five minutes we were allowed in and discovered that the stage was strewn with a bunch of garbage. I don’t think that there is any real story to À tout prendre, but it’s fun enough and silly enough and short enough that watching it is not a bore. Again, according to the program notes, it’s supposed to be some sort of reflection on “our times and our society” (Une réflexion encore très actuelle sur notre temps et notre société.) I also found it strange that it used the same title as an award winning film Claude Jutra. Not having seen the film (which someone on wikipedia considers the first modern Quebecois film) I have no idea if there is any connection or if it was purely happenstance. But the upshot of all of this being, I think I’m going to have to go and see more dances by Francoise Sullivan.

And then the tour-de-force. The beginning of part 2 of Out of White. It was the same as what I had seen on Monday and written that it was “Francine Liboiron lying on her back making her legs act like hand puppets.” Which is completely and utterly, 100% wrong. On Monday, the theatre seats weren’t raked, and there were a bunch of heads obscuring Ms. Liboiron’s body. So all I could see was a little bit of her calfs, and her feet. Which from that perspective did look like hand puppets. But that was the wrong perspective to be seeing it from.

At the McCord, the seats are raked (and there weren’t too many people, either) so it was quite easy to a) see all of Ms. Liboiron and to see her from a very good perspective. Instead of moving her legs like hand puppets, imagine some sort of hybrid combination of a swan’s neck, really thick syrup being poured and something else that has those similar liquid, yet gracefully properties, like the veil on The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino in the Cappella Sansevero.

Basically she moves her legs in an incredibly fluid and graceful manner while lying on her back with her legs extended 90 degrees into the air (picture her body in an “L” shape). Every now and again she would raise her arms, and get all four appendages moving like each one was a separate dancer while still moving in unison (I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time and as a consequence was left completely slack-jawed at what Ms. Liboiron was able to do). Honest to god, it was drop-dead gorgeous.

Beyond that, there was some video and I’m fairly certain that there was some music as well, but I can’t remember it for the life of me, so it obviously wasn’t that memorable. However, I will for a very long time remember Ms. Liboiron movements.

Opening Night at Quartiers Danses

Howdy!

Back on Monday (who schedules dance performances on a Monday?!?) I got to see the opening night festivities for Quartiers Danses. Now as an aside the current scuttlebutt is that dance is the poor bastard child of the arts and gets absolutely no respect, no press and no one cares about it. Well I think that Quartiers Danses is the poor bastard child of dance festivals.

This was the first time in my life that I had seen an opening night where the theatre wasn’t even half full. and they had even taken up a bunch of space with tables replacing chairs, so to begin with there weren’t an awful lot of seats to fill.

Anyhows, since it is quite likely that you’ve never heard of it, Quartiers Danses is a festival that has its mandate to bring dance to the people. Instead of Mohammed going to the mountain, the mountain comes to Mohammed. Unfortunately given the crowd, it was more like a hill or a mound than a mountain.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying “pity.” Because for the most part it was quite good. There were four short pieces performed; L’Absense by Marie Brassard, danced by Sarah Williams. Sente by Lucie Grégoire. Dédale by Françoise Sullivan, danced by Ginette Boutin. And an excerpt from Out of White by Jane Mappin, danced by Francine Liboiron.

I gotta hand it to whomever programed the evening (I presume it was Rafik Hubert Sabbagh) they kind of knew what they were doing. For the first time in my life I thought that the evenings programming went as well together as a well done set by a DJ or a well curated exhibit at a museum. You know the sensation you get when you suddenly sit up and say “Hey! Those things not only only go well together, but they compliment each other and actually make more sense together than apart”? Kind of like that.

I hear y’all asking “why?” (Or my preferred question: “How come?”) Well, they are all variations on the same idea. Basically one woman swaying in space with a focus (more or less) on one part of the body. In Sente it’s the hips, Dédale the arms, and in the excerpt from Out of White it’s the legs.

There were also a couple of cool moments in L’Absense due to the backdrop sort of looking vaguely floor-like and Sarah Williams’ ability to contort herself so despite lying on the floor, it appears as if the audience is hanging from the ceiling – just like one of those photographs by Alain Paiement.

It all really kicked in with Dédale (Daedalus for the people in the house who only read one language, yes that Daedalus). In my lifetime I must’ve seen a 63 year-old dance, but for the life of me I can’t remember one. And I’m fairly certain I’ve never seen a 63 year-old dance done in the presence of its creator. Because yes, Françoise Sullivan was in the house (and yes, I was too chicken to go up and talk to her).

The backstory: Françoise Sullivan first performed Dédale on April 3, 1948, the same day that Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan and the very same day that Arlette Cousture was born. For reasons that I won’t go into here (you can find the details elsewhere) it’s a fairly significant piece of of work within the context of Quebecois culture.

I don’t know if it has ever been performed since then (my guess would be yes) but either way, it’s still pretty gosh darn cool to see a dance that was made way back then. For the most part dance eats its young and not an awful lot of it survives to adolescence, let alone old age.

Nine minutes long, it starts with Ms. Boutin tapping on her hip and then expanding on that movement ever so slightly over time until she is rolling about on stage. Even if you don’t know the story of Daedalus it works. And as a connecting piece between Sente and Out of White it works even better.

Sente is basically a woman swaying to some fado, while a woman recites something over it (apologies, but I wasn’t really paying attention to the monologue. I’m certain it was important and would have aided me greatly in gaining a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the performance, but I was kind of getting a kick out of watching Lucie Grégoire move. Sometimes a superficial and simplistic appreciation is all that is needed).

And then in the excerpt from Out of White you get Francine Liboiron lying on her back making her legs act like hand puppets. It’ll be interesting to see how that little bit fits into the larger piece which I am going to see on Thursday, I think.

None of the dances have any elaborate costumes or fancy lighting. The soundtracks (when there were any) were either completely ignorable, as was the case with Sente or completely forgettable, as was the case with the others. So basically what you got was dance. Movement in a fairly controlled and focused state. And when it’s done well, it definitely deserves to have more than a half empty house watching.

One suggestion that I would make to the fine folk who organize the Quartiers Danses, is to switch the time of year when they present it. Trying to compete with all the other season opening events is not working. I’ve followed it now for about three years, and each year (this one included) I’ve always thought “how can I squeeze it in?” Most other dance organizations kick in with big-budget press and marketing at the beginning of September (how many of those Rodin/Claudel ads have you seen?) and trying to compete is obviously not working.

Moving it to March or April would seem to me to be a no-brainer. While most marketing budgets will have been spent by then, the buds on the trees and the weather getting warmer and better make everyone more inclined to do things, get out of the house if you will. It worked for the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, I’m certain it would work for Quartiers Danses.

Bad Public Art: Horloge solaire by André Mongeau

Howdy!

I’ve always been fascinated by Horloge solaire by André Mongeau. According to the Palais des congrès’ websitea laser beam makes the color of the fibers change according to the sun’s intensity.” That would have been so cool, if it ever worked…

Horloge solaire by André Mongeau
Horloge solaire by André Mongeau

Plucking from L’Action (a weekly newspaper published in Joliette), he’s an artist

Ses œuvres cherchent à traduire l’essentiel. Peintre-architecte de l’espace cosmique, il crée par une myriade de points, colorés et lumineux comme autant d’étoiles dans l’univers, une constellation de signes qui invitent à partager une magie sombre et étincelante, silencieuse et féerique.*

Or if you prefer in The King’s English; His works seek to capture the essence. Painter and architect of cosmic space, it creates a myriad of points, colorful and bright like stars in the universe, a constellation of signs that invite you to share a dark magic and sparkling, quiet and magical. [machine translated by Google, it does a wonderful job on artists’ statements]

Horloge solaire by André Mongeau
Horloge solaire by André Mongeau

As far as I know it was built as part of the first phase of the Palais des congrès way back in the 1980s. Given that at the time the city was going bonkers for Melvin Charney‘s work, and the supports are rather genericly thin struts of steel, I for the longest time, thought that Mr. Charney had in fact made it. But I was very wrong. And doing a little more Googling on M. Mongeau, it appears that he lives in the wonderfully named town of Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie.

Horloge solaire by André Mongeau
Horloge solaire by André Mongeau

And as far as I can tell, the current overlords of the Palais des congrès don’t even like it anymore, as this picture taken on axis from the Palais des congrès looking towards Complexe Guy Favreau shows, they have strategically placed trees in the way, so you can’t see it.

I vaguely remember seeing it working once, a long, long time ago.