Me 'n Lance are like this

Howdy!

Actually, the title should be more like the Was (not Was) song, "I feel better than James Brown." I got one of my bikes back on the road yesterday, and not only does it feel wonderful but I think I can even make it into something about Art here in Montreal.

First of all, one of the shows that put the gallery on the map was the V-Low show that was held here in August of 2000. We took 17 lowrider bikes, suspended them from the ceiling at extremely aggressive angles, and let things go. I would estimate that we got about 230 people in for the vernie, and it had enough of an impact that a full three-years later it was still nominated as one of the best exhibits for 2003 in the Montreal Mirror. Or perhaps someone took way too many drugs and still thought that it was 2000.

Anyhows, last month I hauled out to the Art Gallery at Stewart Hall, where they were doing "Le Design Contemporain au Qu�bec." And one of the pieces that they had prominently displayed was a Marinoni bicycle.



Now, why they didn't go and display any of the following?





Or if they wanted solely stuff made in Quebec then, these:







Don't you think that they all are real purty?

In between last night and this morning I rode a total of 12.5 miles, and the part that was the most fun was that going in between 156 Roy and Old Montreal, I actually paced my companion, who was driving a car. Although as the ride from the gallery to dinner was mostly uphill, I definitely was feeling the lack of experience in my legs and neck. But it was wicked cool to be back on the bike.

The Army Dude reads

Howdy!

Last night I got to see Guy Larmee's "Biblios the last book." In short it was wicked cool! Kick-ass! And very interesting to boot. The press release sent out by UQAM starts with the "Biblios" definition of a hole: "vide avec quelque chose autour" Which is also how Dunkin' Donuts discovered Munchkins, and Tim Horton's created TimBits.



It then goes on to quote Borges. To which I would respond with a quote from Ambrose Bierce:

DICTIONARY, n.
A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic� - link

While Borges' story riffs off an idea of an infinite library, and M. Laramee makes up very effective sculptures to illustrate it. Bierce, too, makes up a whole whack of stuff intended to illustrate life in the late nineteenth century. Using one (Bierce) to reflect upon the other (Laramee) is only going to leave a bitter taste in your mouth, which while not my aim, is going to be a unintended side effect.

There are three sculptures in the exhibition, going from left to right, you have Laramee's architectural model of Borges' Library of Babel.



Then smack dab in front of you as you walk into the smaller gallery in UQAM, M. Laramee has made another model, this one an artistic interpretation of the Colorado River or perhaps the Snake River. (Or as I assume M. Laramee is Quebecois, perhaps some gorge, ravine, fjord in Northern Qu�bec or maybe the Gaspe, I don't know enough about my Qu�bec geography to nail it). But the wicked cool amd kick-ass thing about it, is that it is made entirely out a couple of old editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica, sandblasted to look like what you would imagine Montana, would look like if God had been a reader instead of a writer.



This is where the Bierce comes in handy. When you sandblast, there is a humongous amount of dust, you (in this day and age) are obligated to wear a mask over your nose and mouth.

ERUDITION, n.
Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull. - link

Now, I'm not implying, nor should you infer that M. Laramee's skull is empty, quite the opposite, when he was sandblasting he probably kept all the holes in his skull covered, and covered well. But by attempting to show what Borges' Library of Babel looks like, he is in fact deceiving the viewer. Back to Bierce:

SOPHISTRY, n.
The controversial method of an opponent, distinguished from one's own by superior insincerity and fooling. This method is that of the later Sophists, a Grecian sect of philosophers who began by teaching wisdom, prudence, science, art and, in brief, whatever men ought to know, but lost themselves in a maze of quibbles and a fog of words. - link

Which then leads us to the third object in the room, which is a bizarre approximation of a nineteenth century desk, complete with all sorts of nooks, crannies, shelves, drawers and doo-hickies, with a single light coming from one shelf at 12 o'clock as you sit at the desk. Now while in Borges' story he makes no mention of a workspace, it becomes pretty obvious that all the librarians would need someplace to work within the library, which leads us back to Bierce:

LANGUAGE, n.
The music with which we charm the serpents guarding another's treasure. - link

Which ends up being my point (having taken the long route around) it is all a pack of lies.

But they are very pretty lies.

Upon reading the press release, I would have preferred to see something that made specific reference to the three hard drive failures that M. Laramee had experienced, and instead of sandblasting, perhaps delving into biology and trying to culture the mold that attacks his books. But jeez, if I was suggesting that then maybe I should become the artist. Or without having read the press release, the landscaped books could have benefited from some pattern (Borges himself touts the helpfulness of patterns) or more model making.


(no, this wasn't in the exhibit, but it gives you an idea of the other stuff M. Laramee is capable of doing.

And I am still not quite certain of how the desk relates to the other two pieces, but this is mostly a history of my thoughts about the exhibit, which leads us back to Bierce:

HISTORY, n.
An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools. - link

Is there a photographer in the house?

Howdy!

A recent issue of Art News published an nice easy article listing what they called "The Top 25 Photo Collectors: The most active, committed�and obsessed." In a nutshell these are them:

Claude Berri
c/o Renn Productions
10 Rue Lincoln
75008 Paris

Henry Buhl
114 Greene Street, 5th floor
New York, New York 10012-3829

Rich Silverstein & Carle Emil
141 Tamalpais Ave
Mill Valley, California 94941

Robert Fisher
2523 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, California 94115

David & Danielle Ganek
29 Hillside Rd
Greenwich, CT 06830-4834

Sondra Gilman & Celso Gonzalez-Falla
POBox 3069
Kingsland, Georgia 31548

109 East 84th Street
New York, New York 10021

2101 Glen Oak
Corpus Christi, Texas 78418

Ydessa Hendeles
778 King St. W.
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1N6

Matthew Isenburg
1 Ford Drive
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475

Elton John
1 Blythe Road
London W14 0HG

Thomas H. Lee & Ann Tenenbaum
322 East 57th Street, #PH
New York, New York 10022

Dr. Bruce Lundberg
HOIT Unit
Hospital of Saint Raphael
1450 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Martin Margulies
445 Grand Bay Drive, #PH1
Key Biscayne, Florida 33149

Michael Mattis & Judith Hochberg
219 Fox Meadow Rd
Scarsdale, NY 10583-1643

Richard & Ronay Menschel
660 Park Ave
New York, New York 10021

John & Lisa Pritzker
3265 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, California 94115

Paul Sack
3820 Washington Street
San Francisco, California 94118

Gary B. Sokol
RCM
Four Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111

Gary & Sarah Wolkowitz
3 The Pines
Roslyn, NY 11576-1814

Apologies for missing the addresses of the Wilsons, Thomas Walther, Sheikh Saud Al Thani, Howard Stein, Saundra B. Lane, and Baroness Marion & Baron Philippe Lambert but I'm not infallible. For reference, I used a combination of the Federal Elections Commission's web site along with the White Pages, Map Quest, and Google to track all of these down.

Now from my perspective (and the reason I did the research, and then posted them here) is what's the point in Art News publishing just their names? It ain't like these people need their egos boosted. But if you are a photographer, or have some kick-ass art, it would be worthwhile to make them aware of it, right? I make no claims to them being the correct addresses, but from my perspective, it is most definitely worth the price of the 20 stamps if you're having an exhibition. Let me know how it goes, ok?

Picking up the pieces

Howdy!

Apologies for the slacking off over the weekend. Between Revised Edition (a band that played here last night) and in general, sleeping late, I didn't have anything worthwhile to write about. But, my mom brought this article to my attention. Combining that with what I wrote back on the 5th of February, I figured we have what could be called a follow-up!

Now, I'm all for Costco selling art, good art, great art, prints, originals, sculptures, anything that turns their crank. And I'm all for Terry Teachout writing about how wonderful it is to buy art. But the problem I have with both of them is pretty much the same problem I have with Celine Dion, Friends and Lord of the Rings. It is called sheep-like behavior, becoming a lemming, or turning off your brain.

Costco works on high volume, low margin. Celine Dion works on humongous volume, and rather good margins, Friends works on a basis of standard issue brainwashing, and Lord of the Rings falls in between Friends and Celine. Or more succinctly, Celine Dion sells about 50 million copies of her CDs, Friends is watched by about 25 million people in the US every week, and each of the Lord of the Rings movies has grossed about $1 billion dollars (if you assume that the average movie ticket costs $10, then that's a cool 100 million people who have paid to see LotR, so it should be more correctly, Celine who is in between LotR and Friends).

And Mr. Teachout's choice in art,




while it might have certain restrictions imposed upon it (as he mentions, wall space and money being the main ones) is not pushing any boundaries.


"Nice" would be my choice of adjective for the stuff he chooses. Costco ain't gonna be pushing any boundaries either.




If you start pushing boundaries, by definition you're not going to have mass-appeal (convincing those 25 million people to see your stuff is not easy if you're edgy).

Then to get back to my point, mass appeal is not, in and of itself a bad thing, but it just isn't something that I want to be doing. When you're into the millions, being able to have a personal and individual connection with each and every person is impossible. And if you're going to be making art to change the world then those personal and individual connections are the only way you're going to be able to do it. One person at a time.

Now, I gotta get back to my nap, rant off.

64. Galerie de l'UQAM, Universit� du Qu�bec � Montr�al, & 31. Centre de cr�ativit� du Ges�, 1200 Bleury., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 3J3

Howdy!

I just got in the mail, invitations to UQAM's latest and greatest, they are obviously either feeling the effects of budget cuts. One-color invitations, that gives the artist's name, title of the show, and dates. Or perhaps, in a less gracious manner, they believe that if you're on the mailing list you should be completely aware of the contemporary art world here, so that any other information would just be pandering to your baser instincts. I've met Louise Dery, and I'll stick with budget cuts.

That all being said, Dominique Blain and Guy Laramee the 26th of February, the fun starts at 5:30. I'll see you there, with bells on!

UQAM's gallery is the epitome of a white cube, two of them actually. One really really big, the other merely large. The thing that I particularly like about it, is that they comfortably straddle the line between a museum and an art gallery. In other words, you're always going to get something published in conjunction with whatever they are showing. The documentation is always easy, clear and readily available. And the people who work there (mostly students) are quite friendly and willing to chat about the stuff on the walls. The easiest entrance is from the corner of Berri and Sainte Catherine, walk up the passageway until you hit the door, open and enter. The shows that I have seen there have been mostly hit and miss. As it does seem to be Ms. Blain's month, I'll give a full review next week.

Then yesterday, I was wandering around downtown, and took advantage of the situation in order to check out the show at the Centre de Creativite Gesu. While most people I know are aware of the theater and music that happens there, and the Raelians meet there once a month, I have never, ever seen anybody in there looking at the art. It is by the way, number 31 on the list below.

They have two galleries, one that is about 500 square feet, and another that is maybe 300 square feet. They also use the walls along the entrances to exhibit stuff. They have something happening right now called "Les rencontres interculturelles 2004." It appears that it is loosely affiliated with Black History month. One problem and why I write loosely affiliated, is that it started on January 14. That's sorta like celebrating La fete Saint Jean, on July 1.

The other problem that I found was that other than the artists being "artists of color" I couldn't find any other reason for the selection of artists. If any of you know what Cheryl Daniel, Christopher Kane, Carlyle Williams, Ivan Livingstone, Robert Dufour, Nancy D. Samberg, and Serge Emmanuel Jonge have in common besides skin tone, let me know, ok?

But, some of the stuff that they have there is quite cool. Mr. Kane makes masks in a sorta African/Aboriginal style using clothespins - they are absolutely exquisite, and amazingly graceful. Ms. Samberg seems to like canvas, and I think that she likes it an awful lot. She liberally coats it in thick paint, after having cut it and glued it onto other larger pieces of canvas. Sometimes she gets some interesting effects and juxtapositions, and when she does it kicks butt. But other times, it would be better served by twisting in the wind.

Ivan Livingstone makes (at least what is shown here) small paintings that remind me of the Rev. Howard Finster, you know the guy who did the painting on the cover of the Talking Heads "Little Creatures." I haven't quite decided if I like the titles of the paintings painted onto the painting itself, but they did make me smile. I can't remember any of Cheryl Daniel's or Serge Emmanuel Jonge's stuff, so I guess it wouldn't be such a good idea to discuss it - but I do believe it was there. And then finally there's the Robert Dufour stuff. You gotta literally follow a maze to the back of the church in order to find it, and then it is stuck in the small room, which by its very size does give a sense of claustrophobia. If the room was a tad more comfortable, the art would be better served, it is the sort of stuff that could quite easily be contemplated for more than the five minutes I allotted it, but if the room was bigger than ten feet by ten feet, with seven foot ceilings I'd be mighty surprised.

Then, finally, it has nothing to do with local art, but over at Modern Art Notes and the Los Angeles art blog (see the column on the right for the list of out of town Art Blogs) they're having a whale of a time discussing what's good (not much) and what's bad (an awful lot) about your generic commercial galleries. I highly recommend reading it, if only for the vitriol, I'm going to stay clear of the discussion, and save my venom for the Canada Council.

Mail call

Howdy!

About once a month (ok, maybe once a week if I'm good) I get around to opening the mail. A significant chunk of it is invitations to vernissages. Now, my general attitude is that vernies are and should be good parties, but they aren't the place to see Art. So for the most part, I'm not disappointed if I open an envelope and discover that the vernie was last week.

I do my best to see all the exhibitions to which I am invited. But, as you can see from the list below, there are a whack of places in this town where you can see art, trying to do all of them, while managing the gallery here, is not like falling out of bed, more like swimming upstream.

That all being said, my preferred means of being invited to a vernie (ie, more than a 50% possibility that I will go) is in person. The second is by mail, with a stamp. And the best way to guarantee that I won't likely show up is by email. You get too much email, I get too much email, if you're really serious about getting me out of here, don't be emailing me, please.

Then the next most important thing is the where and the when. If the vernie is in Ahuntsic, it is extremely unlikely that I will be making it (on the other hand, offering me a lift there, or arranging a carpool would increase those chances exponentially). If it is across the street, then it makes it way easier to go.

And you can't forget the timing, either. Saturday afternoons, while fine for most people with 9 to 5 jobs, are not great for me, I have a gallery to run, a fair number of our citizens wander in through the doors on Saturdays. Doing a 5 a 7, again, seems to work for the 9 to 5 crowd, but normally I don't get out of here until about 8 pm or so. In a nutshell, when thinking about the vernie, think about the type of crowd you want to get (I realize that I don't make a crowd, and in certain cases would even detract from the crowd there) and make sure that you're making it easy for them to be there.

All of this (392 words) as an introduction to the most recent invitation that I have received in the mail. It seems that I have been invited to the Shirley Katz exhibit "Les Demoiselles" at Espace Trois of the Saidye Bronfman Center. The vernissage was on the 10th of February, so it is obvious I'm not going to be there. The invite itself, is fairly standard. It has what I assume is a reproduction of one of the paintings in the exhibit, it has a whole whack of necessary information (hours, hours of the vernissage, address, phone, website, and metro stop) in a clear and easy to read manner. However, it only uses one side of paper (obviously an indication of lack of funding) which to me, means that even more information (such as the title of the piece, medium, size, date, etc.) could have been included. If they had decided to use that blank side for the address, then it would have been acceptable, but they decided to stick it into an envelope! The reason for this, is probably because they wanted to include the press release (I don't know if everybody gets the press release, but I think it is likely). Now, I'm not a big fan of getting press releases, it means that there is more paper that I have to deal with, I end up feeling guilty if I don't read it, and as I write press releases myself, I am very wary of the stuff that is written in them.

Now from previous experience, I like the shows at Espace Trois, it is a haul to get to, but I particularly like the idea that they are supporting an exhibiting local artists. This particular one, only piques my interest, because I recently had an exhibit of portraits, and it seems that Ms. Katz has done something similar. If I make it up there, I'll let you know, ok?

184. Wilder & Davis, 257 Rachel E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 1E5, (514) 289-0849

Howdy!

Now as far as I can tell, I have promised follow ups on the Terry Teachout article, I have links to samples of some of the prints that he has bought. I also want to review the Kamila Wozniakowska show at the MACM. I also have about half a dozen articles for "normal" blog entries, and there are about another round of exhibitions that I have been invited to. But they will all have to wait for at least another day. I liked writing about M. Devlin's gallery so much yesterday, that I figured I would try another.

Tom Wilder and Mr. (or Ms.) Davis are luthiers. Or for the heathens in the crowd, they make and deal with stringed instruments. More about that later, what they also do is present exhibitions every other month, from the web site:

Gallery Mandate
Wilder & Davis Gallery is an alternative art gallery space that was established in 1995 and is dedicated to promote upcoming local and regional artists.Focusing primarily on previously undiscovered artists, the gallery holds bi-monthly exhibitions in a wide range of media including photography, painting, sculpture and some installations. The gallery is situated within an impressive century old, grey-stone building on the Plateau and presents a unique experience in visiting a violin workshop where skilled craftsmen restore and make fine stringed instruments. Wishing to extend to a diverse public audience of all ages, Wilder & Davis also holds contemporary music concerts, poetry readings and performance art. For more information please contact the Gallery Coordinator/Director: Elizabeth Barbosa. - link

They have their vernissages on Fridays, which means that I cannot generally make them, but the few times that I have been, they have been tons o' fun. The wine is great, the food is scrumptious, and the company wonderful. But that's not why one goes to a vernissage, right?

What makes the place special is the art, and the way it gets integrated into the building. As Ms. Barbosa mentions above, Wilder and Davis is "situated within an impressive century old, grey-stone building on the Plateau and presents a unique experience�" quite the understatement. Besides your standard issue walls upon which to hang art, there are a couple of nooks and crannies (technical art terms for cool spots that you can hang things in) that make for fun viewing. Then, unlike your standard contemporary art galleries in town, this is split up into about six different rooms. The splitting of the exhibition into different rooms gives (in a similar sensation to this here gallery) a "lived in" style to whatever is being shown. Although someone like Rene Blouin wouldn't be caught dead turning his gallery into something like Wilder and Davis, I would bet an unlimited amount of money, that his clientele lives in spaces that are much more similar to Wilder and Davis than they are to M. Blouin's gallery.

But the really special part, is unless you're a fiddle player, it is even more unlikely that you will have been inside a luthier's than an art gallery. Seeing all those violins, violas and cellos next to each other, hung like so many ties, is just wicked cool. If the art isn't so hot, the violins (at elast to this non-musician) are - and as a consequence I always try to make Wilder and Davis a stop when I am going to check out Art.

72. �ric Devlin, 1407 Saint Alexandre, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 2G3, (514) 866-6272

Howdy!

Since I copped out yesterday and didn't write much of anything, I've figured that I can make up for it today (and in the future, too) by writing about certain galleries on the list. Today I've decided that number 72 is the lucky winner!

M. Devlin opened his gallery in 1988 (I think). I've heard rumors to the effect that he initially was one of the three points in Galerie Trois Points, however I have never confirmed this with him. His gallery is about 1,000 square feet in what used to be Stornoway, which was pretty much a party-hearty type of place that would throw some art on the walls just to look official. I've also heard rumors to the effect that his rent is so cheap that you'd be hard pressed to be able to eat at McDonald's if you were his landlord, but as it is winter, subsistence on Beets is possible.

I've been there a bunch of times, and one of the things that I like is that he pretty much ignores my ass when I walk in the door. It enables me to look at what I want to see, and get the hell out of Dodge. On the flip side, having one's ass ignored is never a comfortable situation, as the room (it is a one room gallery) is pretty much a square shape, I attribute this to the genetic coding implicit in owning a White Cube Gallery. He also might be ignoring me because I am not Y-Chromosome challenged, and/or because he has me pegged (correctly, too I might add) as a non-purchaser. I've seen him be very friendly (very very friendly) to people of a more rounded persuasion, and I imagine if I was wearing a Rolex prominently, he might get up from behind his desk to say "hi" to me.

But all of that is pretty much irrelevant to the Art that he shows there. [Full Disclosure: I know one of the artists he represents personally. Although I have never seen an exhibition of his at �ric Devlin.] He seems to stick with stuff that would be considered cutting edge for people who invest in mutual funds and drive Oldsmobiles. None of what I have seen, seems likely to change the world, or my life, but it tends to be technically well done, and because it veers towards being large, impressive. But then again, there ain't no couches hanging around, so the stuff that he is selling (prices seem to be in the mid-four figures) is meant to be bought and then built around.

For people who are allergic to dogs, be forewarned, he's got a particularly friendly pooch that hangs out with him more often than not. The shows that he presents, tend towards about a dozen pieces all hung about a foot off of the floor (I told you that he liked big stuff) and the times that I have remembered to look at the price list, it seemed that about half of the works had been sold. Given the prices, and the rent, he obviously doesn't need to ride a bike to work. I've never been invited to, nor have I ever crashed a vernissage of his, so I can't comment on the quality of the wine, or the crowd. But, I do have a non-vague idea of what both of them would be like (cheap, and not, respectively, but I have been wrong before). He as well, has never stepped foot in this here gallery (as far as I know) so his thinking might be along the lines of "beer?!?! And what's with all the piercings? I don't like.")

On his web site he lists the following artists: Andr�-Pierre Arnal, Louis-Pierre Bougie, John Brown, Mich�le Delisle, Richard Desch�nes, Oliver Dorfer, Marbod Fritsch, Fran�ois Jeune, Sophie Lanctot, Fran�ois-Xavier Marange, Jean-Marie Martin, Guido Molinari, Marc-Antoine Nadeau, Dominique Paul, Denis Pellerin, Leopold Plotek, Thibaut de Reimpr�, Martin-M�ller Reinhart, Marcel Saint-Pierre, Horacio Sapere, Francine Simonin, Marc-Andr� Soucy, Ariane Th�z�.

What else would you like to know?

Places you should go see

Howdy!

I'm working on updating the database, as a consequence, I figured that I could post MY list of galleries and places to see art in Montreal. If you know of any that are not on this list, please let me know, thanks.

1. Galerie 1040, 1040 Marie Anne E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2B4
2. Galerie 1637, 1637 Sherbrooke O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3H 1E2, (514) 846-3008
3. ABC Artbooks, 372 St. Catherine W, #230. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
4. Art & Culture, 227 Saint Paul O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2y 2A2, (514) 843-5980
5. Art 45, 3440 du Mus�e, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2C7, (514) 843-5024, art45@total.net
6. ART en majuscule, 950 Ottawa St, MONTR�AL, QC, H3C 1S4, (514) 879-1117
7. Art M�r, 5826 Saint Hubert, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2S 2L7, (514) 933-0711, artmur@sympatico.ca
8. Artexte, 460 Ste-Catherine O, #508, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7
9. Articule, 4001 Berri, #105, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 4H2, (514) 842-8686, articule@cam.org
10. Artoth�que de Montr�al, 5720, Saint-Andr�, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2S 2K1, (514) 278-8181, artotek@cam.org
11. Artrope, 1751 Richardson, #7135, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3K 1G6, (514) 932-0998
12. Artus, 988 Rachel E. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2J3, (514) 523-4179
13. ArtXpo, 2116A Bleury, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 2K3, (514) 933-5135, artxpo@bellnet.ca
14. B-312, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #403, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 874-9423, b-312@galerieb-312.qc.ca
15. Bernard Desroches, 2125 Crescent. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2C1, (514) 842-8648, gal_bdesroches@hotmail.com
16. Bernard, 90 Laurier W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 2N4, (514) 277-0770
17. Blow Up Gallery, Tour de la Bourse, #001, CP 11, 800 Place Victoria, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4Z 1A2, (514) 874-0404
18. Borduas, 207 Laurier W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 2N9, (514) 271-6886, borduas@borduas.com
19. Bourbon Lally, 371 Rue Dowd, Montreal, QC, H2Z 1B6, (514) 866-1356
20. Caf� Rico, 969 Rachel E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2J4, (514) 529-1321, sevanne@sympatico.ca
21. Canadian Centre For Architecture, 1920 Baile, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3H 2S6
22. Canadian Guild of Crafts, 1460 Sherbrooke Street West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1K4
23. Canif, 255 Ontario E, #A10.22., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 1X6
24. Centrale Powerhouse, 460 Ste-Catherine W, #506, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7
25. Centre culturel de Dorval, 1401, chemin Bord-du-Lac, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H9S 2E5
26. Centre culturel de Pointe-Claire, Stewart Hall, 176, chemin Bord-du-Lac, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H9S 4J7, (514) 630-1220
27. Centre culturel de Verdun, 5955, Bannantyne, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4H 1H6, (514) 765-7170
28. Centre culturel Kirkland, 16950, boul. Hymus, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H9H 3W7, (514) 630-2741
29. Centre d'art et de diffusion Clark, The Fashion Plaza, 5455 De Gasp�, #114, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 3B3, clark@cam.org
30. Centre d'art public, 4888 rue St-Denis, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2L6
31. Centre de cr�ativit� du Ges�, 1200 Bleury., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 3J3
32. Centre de design UQAM, 1440 Sanguinet, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 3X9, centre.design@uqam.ca
33. Centre des Arts Contemporains, 4247 St-Dominique., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 2A9, (514) 842-4300, cacqm@videotron.ca
34. Centre d'exposition de l'UdM, Pavillon de la Facult� de l'am�nagement, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3C 3J7, +1 (514) 343-6111 x 4694, andree.lemieux@umontreal.ca
35. Centre d'histoire de Montr�al, 335, Place d'Youville, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 3T1, (514) 872-3207
36. Champ Libre, 1050 Ren�-Levesque Est, #105, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 2L6, (514) 393-3937, francois.cormier@champlibre.com
37. Chan Gallery, 3499 Lorne, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 2B2
38. Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, 100, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 1C3, (514) 872-5338
39. Ch�teau Ramezay, 280 Notre-Dame E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1C5
40. Christiane Chassay, 358 Sherbrooke Est, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 1E6, (514) 284-0003, chassay@cam.org
41. CIAC, 405, rue Sherbrooke Est, room 505. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 1J9, (514) 288-0811
42. Cin�math�que Qu�becoise, 355 de Maisonneuve E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 1K1
43. Circa, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #444, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
44. Clair Obscur, 1389 Laurier Est, Montr�al, QU�bec, H2J 1H6, (514) 596-0943, galerieclairobscur@hotmail.com
45. Clarence Gagnon, 1108 Laurier West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2V 4N9, (514) 270-2962
46. Clarence Gagnon, 301 Saint Paul E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1H1, (514) 875-2787, clarencegagnon@videotron.ca
47. Claude Lafitte, 1270 Sherbrooke West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1H7, (514) 842-1270
48. Cobalt Art Actuel, 4474, avenue Des �rables, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2H 2C8, (514) 526-6251
49. Commensal du Mus�e, 5122 C�te-des-Neiges., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3T 1X8
50. Concept Art, 130 McGill, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2E5, (514) 875-8327
51. Conseil Des Metiers D'Art Du Qu�bec, 350 St-Paul E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1H2
52. Constant, 460, rue Ste-Catherine, #403, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 395-8540, sdouglas@canada.com
53. Coral Reef, 4560 Saint Catherine O, #38, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3Z 1S2, (514) 935-2213
54. CV Photo, 460 Saint Catherine W, #320, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, cvphoto@cam.org
55. Dare dare, 460 rue Ste-Catherine O. #505, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, daredar@cam.org
56. Galerie d'Art d'Outremont, 41 Saint Just, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2V 4T7, (514) 495-7419
57. Galerie d'Art Yves Laroche, 4 St-Paul E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1G1, +1 (514) 393-1999, yves.laroche2@sympatico.ca
58. Galerie d'Arts Contemporains, 2165 Crescent., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2C1, (514) 844-6711
59. D'Avignon, 102 Laurier W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 2N7, (514) 278-4777
60. Dazibao, 4001 Berri, #202, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 4H2, dazibao@cam.org
61. de Bellefeuille, 1367 Greene Ave, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3Z 2A8, (514) 933-4406, art@debellefeuille.com
62. Galerie de la ville, 12001 de Salaberry, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H9B 2A7, (514) 884-1012 x 298
63. Galerie De L'Isle, 1541 Sherbrooke West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2S8, (514) 935-9885
64. Galerie de l'UQAM, Universit� du Qu�bec � Montr�al, Case Postale 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3C 3P8
65. DIFFUSION i MeDIA, 4580 de Lorimier, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2H 2B5, dim@CAM.ORG
66. du Maurier Arts Council, 3711 Saint-Antoine Street, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4C 3P6, +1 (800) 398-1141, info@dumaurierartscouncil.ca
67. �cole des Arts Visuels, UQAM, CP 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3C 3P8, poulin.serge@uqam.ca
68. Elca London, 1196 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1H6, (514) 282-1173, info@elcalondon.com
69. Elena Lee, 1460 Sherbrooke O. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1K4, (514) 844-6009
70. Elle Corazon, 176 Bernard West, Montreal, Qu�bec, H2T 2K2, (514) 273-3933
71. Entre Cadre, 4897 Saint Laurent, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1R6, (514) 845-9650
72. �ric Devlin, 1407 Saint Alexandre, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 2G3, (514) 866-6272
73. Espace 234, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #234, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 875-9500
74. Espace David Farsi, 4095 Saint Laurent, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 1Y7, (514) 842-6805
75. Espace PEpin, 350, Saint-Paul Street. W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2A6, (514) 845-0337
76. Espace, 4844 Saint Laurent, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1R5, (514) 284-6720, lau.tin-yum@uqam.ca
77. Esse arts+opinions, C.P. 56 succ.Delorimier. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2H 2N6
78. Exart, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #418, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 868-2037
79. Fasken Martineau, Stock Exchange Tower, #3400, POBox 242 Victoria Square, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4Z 1E9, (514) 397-7441
80. FMR, 609 Valois, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1W 3L6, (514) 526-1456, gbis@sympatico.ca
81. Fokus, 68 Duluth East, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 1G8
82. Fonderie Darling, 745 Ottawa, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3C 1R8, (514) 392-1554
83. Fovea, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #311, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
84. Gala, 5157 Saint Laurent, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1R9, (514) 279-4247, gala@qc.aira.com
85. Gora, 460 rue Ste-Catherine O., #305, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 879-9694, art@goraart.com
86. Graff, 963 Rachel E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2J4, (514) 526-2626, graff@cam.org
87. Groupe Intervention Video, 5505, Boul. St-Laurent, # 3015, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1S6, giv@cam.org
88. Guilde Graphique, La, 9 St-Paul W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Y6, (514) 844-3438, guildegraphique@jonctioninter.net
89. Han Art, 460, rue Ste-Catherine, #409, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 876-9278
90. Iegor - H�tel des Encans, 1448 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montr�al, QC, H3G-1K4, (514) 842-7447
91. IFVA/AVCI, 4550 Garnier, 2d floor, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 3S7, (514) 522-8240, ifva@cam.org
92. Jean-Pierre Valentin, 1490 rue Sherbrooke O, #200, Montr�al, QC, H3G 1L3, (514) 939-0500
93. Kaleidoscope, 1331 Ontario E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 1R8, (514) 525-6262
94. Klimantiris, 742 Decarie., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4L 3L5
95. L'Art qui fait Boum!, 1124 Marie Anne E, #12, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2J 2B7, (514) 844-4388 x 225
96. Landau Fine Art, 1456 Sherbrooke St. West. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1K4, (514) 849-3311
97. L'Atelier Circulaire, 5445 De Gasp�, # 503, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 3B2, (514) 272-8874, atelcirc@colba.net
98. Le Bourget, 34, Saint-Paul Street West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Y8, (514) 845-2525, nbourre@galerielebourget.com
99. Le Royer, 51 Saint Paul O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Z1, (514) 287-1351, contact@galerieleroyer.com
100. Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2P4
101. Les Modernes, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #424, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, lesmodernes@videotron.ca
102. Lieu Ouest, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #523, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
103. Lilian Rodriguez, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #405, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 393-2245
104. Loto-Qu�bec, 500 Sherbrooke Street West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 3G6
105. Luz, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #420, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
106. Lydia Monaro, 34 Saint Paul O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Y8, (514) 849-6052, galeriemonaro@sympatico.ca
107. M du B. F. H. & g., 372 Ste-Catherine W, #512, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
108. MAI, 3680 Jeanne Mance, #103, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 2K5, (514) 982-1812, machartrand@videotron.ca
109. Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville, 10300, rue Lajeunesse, 1er �tage, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3L 2E5
110. Maison de la culture C�te-des-Neiges, 5290, chemin de la C�te-des-Neiges, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3T 1Y2, (514) 872-6889
111. Maison de la culture Frontenac, 2550, rue Ontario Est, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2K 1W7, (514) 872-7882
112. Maison de la culture Maisonneuve, Ch�teau Dufresne, 2929 avenue Jeanne-D'Arc, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1W 3W2, (514) 872-2200
113. Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay, 6052, boulevard Monk, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4E 3H6, (514) 872-2044
114. Maison de la culture Mercier, 8105, rue Hochelaga, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1L 2K9, (514) 872-8755
115. Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Gr�ce, 3755, rue Botrel. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4A 3G8, (514) 872-2157
116. Maison de la culture Pointe-aux-Trembles, 14001, rue Notre-Dame Est. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1A 1T9, (514) 872-2240
117. Maison de la culture Rivi�re-des-Prairies, 800 Gouin Est. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1E 1B5, (514) 872-9814, maison_rp@ville.montreal.qc.ca
118. Maison de la culture Rosemont-Petite-Patrie, 6707, avenue de Lorimier, Studios 1 et 2. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2G 2P8, (514) 872-1730
119. Maison de la culture Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, 911 Jean-Talon Est, #229, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2R 1V5, (514) 872-6131
120. Maison De La Culture, Plateau Mont-Royal, 465 Mont Royal E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2H 1W3, (514) 872-2266
121. Malbork, 215 Saint Paul O., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2A1, (514) 286-4244
122. Martine H�nault Encadrements, 430 Saint Fran�ois-Xavier, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2T3, (514) 287-1064
123. Mazarine, 1448 Sherbrooke W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1K4, (514) 982-6566
124. McCord Museum Journal, 690 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC, H3A 1E9, (514) 398-1000 ext 234, info@mccord.lan.mcgill.ca
125. Michel-Ange, 430 Bonsecours, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 3C4, (514) 875-8281
126. Montreal Beer Museum, 2063 Stanley., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 1R7
127. Musee d'Art Contemporain, 185 Ste-Catherine O., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 3X5, (514) 847-6226
128. Musee de beaux-arts de Montreal, POBox 3000, Station H, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2T9, (514) 285-1600
129. Mus�e des ma�tres et artisans du Qu�bec, 615 Sainte-Croix, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4L 3X6
130. Mus�e Marc-Aur�le Fortin, 118 Saint Pierre, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2L7
131. Mus�e Pointe-�-Calli�re, 350, Place Royale, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 3Y5, (514) 872-9150
132. Museum of Decorative Arts, 2200 Crescent., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2B8
133. National Bank of Canada, Tour De La Banque Nationale, 600 De La Gauchetiere O, 4 ieme etage, Montreal, QC, H3B 4L2, (514) 394-8495
134. Oboro, 4001 Berri, #301, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 4H2, (514) 844-3250, oboro@oboro.net
135. Observatoire 4, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #426, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
136. Occurrence, 460 Ste-Catherine W, #307, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 397-0236, occurrence@vif.com
137. Optica, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #508, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2
138. Parchemine, 40 Saint Paul West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Y8, (514) 845-3368
139. Pierre-Fran�ois Ouellette Art Contemporain, 372 Sainte Catherine W. #216, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 395-6032, info@pfoac.com
140. Port-Maurice, 8420, boulevard Lacordaire, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1R 3G5, (514) 328-8585
141. Power Corporation, 751 Victoria Square, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 2J3
142. Propos d'Art, groupe conseil, 6192 G�rin Lajoie. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1M 3J7, : (514)251-8326, lbeaudry@ican.net
143. Quartier �ph�m�re, 735 Ottawa, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3C 1R8, (514) 392-1554, caroline@quartierephemere.org
144. Raphael Essebag, 460 Ste. Catherine W., #611, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 875-9233, raphael.essebag@sympatico.ca
145. RCAAQ, 3995, rue Berri, bureau 100, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 4H2, info@rcaaq.org
146. Redpath Museum, 859 Sherbrooke O., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 2K6
147. Relais des �poques, 234, St-Paul Ouest, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Z9, (514) 844-2133
148. Ren� Blouin, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #501, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 393-9969, g.rb@videotron.ca
149. Richelieu, 7903 Saint Denis, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2R 2G2, (514) 381-2247
150. Roy Street Collective, 111 Roy Street East, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 1M1, (514) 284-5211, roystreetcollective@freshfruitarchitecture.com
151. SAI, C.P. St-Andr�, B.P. 32032, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 4Y5, (514) 987-3000, sai@sai.qc.ca
152. Saibam, 5259 Boul. St. Laurent, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1S4, (514) 321-9951
153. Saidye Bronfman Centre, 5170 Cote St. Catherine, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3W 1M7, info@thesaidye.org
154. Saint Dizier, 20 Saint Paul W, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1Y7, (514) 845-8411
155. Salon Alterna-tif, 122 Bernard O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 2K1, (514) 948-3573
156. Samuel Lallouz, 1434 Sherbrooke O, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 1K4, (514) 849-5844, gsl@six.net
157. SAS, 372 Saint Catherine O., #416, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 878-3409, info@galeriesas.com
158. S�guin Poirier, 1541 Sherbrooke West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2S8, (514) 989-1529
159. Simon Blais, 5420 Saint-Laurent, #100, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1S1, (514) 849-1165, gal.simonblais@videotron.net
160. Skol, 460 Ste-Catherine W, #511, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 398-9322, skol@skol.qc.ca
161. SNC-Lavalin Inc, 455 Ren�-L�vesques Blvd. West, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Z 1Z3, (514) 393-1000 x 7354, gillian.maccormack@snclavalin.com
162. Soci�t� des Arts Technologiques, 305 rue Ste Catherine Ouest, CP 1083 - succ. Desjardins, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H5B 1C2, (514) 844-2033
163. Sous le Passe-Partout, 5276 Notre-Dame-de-Grace W., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4A 1K9
164. Stewart Hall Art Gallery, 176, chemin Bord-du-Lac. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H9S 4J7, (514) 630-1254, millarj@ville.pointe-claire.qc.ca
165. Studio 261, 261 Saint Jacques, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2Y 1M6, (514) 845-0261
166. Studio 303, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #303, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 393-3771
167. Studio M, 7769 Querbes., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3N 2B9
168. Studio xx, 338 Terrasse St-Denis, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 1E8
169. Sylvain Poirier, 372 Sainte Catherine O, #234, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 875-9500, poirier.sylviane@qc.aira.com
170. Tranchefile, 5251 boul. St-Laurent. Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2T 1S4
171. Tremblay Monet, 460 Saint Catherine O., #300, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 393-0844
172. Trois Points, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #520, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 866-8008, j.aumont@galerietroispoints.qc.ca
173. Turbulence, 2035 St-Laurent 2i�me �tage, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 2T3, (514) 844-4428
174. Usine C, 1345 Lalonde., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2L 5A9
175. Va-et-Vient, Le, 3706 Notre Dame O., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H4C 1P7, (514) 940-2330
176. VAV Gallery, 1395 Ren� L�vesque, VA-033, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3G 2M5, (514) 848-7388
177. Vie des Arts, 486 rue Sainte-Catherine O., Suite 400, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A6
178. Vision d'Art, 4128 Ste-Catherine E., Montr�al, Qu�bec, H1V 1X2
179. Visions sur l'Art, 3680 Jeanne-Mance, #313, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 2K5, (514) 350-5520, vsaq@qc.aira.com
180. Visual Arts Centre, 350 Victoria, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3Z 2N4
181. Vox, 460 Saint Catherine O. #320, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A7, (514) 390-0382, vox@voxphoto.com
182. Waddington & Gorce Inc., 372 Ste-Catherine W, #214, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 933-3653, wadgorce@videotron.ca
183. Walter Klinkhoff, 1200 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 1H6, (514) 288-7306, info@klinkhoff.com
184. Wilder & Davis, 257 Rachel E, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2W 1E5, (514) 289-0849
185. Yergeau, 2060 Joly, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H2X 3G9, (514) 843-0955, celny@videotron.ca
186. Yves Le Roux, 372 Ste-Catherine W, #413, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3B 1A2, (514) 868-1717, yvesleroux@hotmail.com

Another day, another show

Howdy!

It occurred to me that I had given Kamila Wozniakowska, short shrift, and her show deserves as much attention. However, right now, I have a very short attention span, so a review is going to have to wait until later. As my mind is beginning to frift already, I figure that it would be a good idea to write about the Daniel Hogue show up at the Centre d'Arts Contemporain du Quebec a Montreal.

I don't think I have ever seen a horrific show at the CACQM, and while this one didn't change my life, it is impressive. Basically, he has taken a humongous hunk of metal, stuck some candles behind it, hooked the candles up to some tubes, and then carried the light way up, all the way up. There is some Braille involved, and I was extremely disappointed to realize that there wasn't any Braille-French-English dictionary.

I entered just as he was apologizing for something breaking down, although I couldn't figure out what it was. Everything seemed in working order to me. There is obviously a tremendous amount of thought that went into the piece, and being able to go back when there aren't 40 other people milling about is something I'm looking forward to doing.

Beyond that, I've added (down on the right) a list of blogs that seem to be doing the same thing that I'm trying to do (or in other words talk about local art) in other cities. If you know of any others that aren't there, don't hesitate to let me know.

OK, now I'm off to bed.

Michel Hellman and Real Lussier are wrong

Howdy!

I just got back from the MACM and boy-oh-boy do some people just not get it. M. Lussier, the curator of the show in the text on the wall as you enter the show says theat Ms. Blain's work does "not fall under the heading of propaganda and serve[s] no ideology." Which strikes me as diplomatic gobbledy-gook, that only underscores the inability of the museum to take a stand for fear of offending people. And M. Hellman said in his review on Saturday,

Le message est clair mais tend a s'essouffler rapidement. Cette vision manicheenne du monde peut agacer, et certaines oeuvres semblent trop souvent suivre une formule et ne degagent pas veritablement de profondeur. Malgre cela, on reste seduit par les compositions habiles et ce langage visuel fort, propre a l'artiste - link

. This roughly translates (machine-wise, at least) into:

The message is clear but tends to be blown quickly. This vision machine-like of the world can aggravate, and certain works too often seem to follow a formula and do not release truly of depth. In spite of that, one remains allured by the skilful compositions and this visual language extremely, specific to the artist.

Which is like saying Dr. Strangelove is a forty-year-old black and white comedy, or that Lenny Bruce is a dead guy who used to tell stories.

OK, now that I got those things off my chest, Dominique Blain's show at the Musee d'art Contemporain kicks-ass from here to Timbuktoo. The 31 pieces exhibited (my count, I might have missed one or double counted one or two, the catalogue was selling for $0.50 a page and I almost bought it, but then thought I would ask Ms. Blain if she would see a penny from that sale before buying it, my guess is that the museum scoops up all the cash.) range from absolfuckinglutely brilliant, to merely very good. The merely very good suffer by comparison to the absofuckinglutely brilliant, as tends to be the case when you are placed next to genius.

The Absolfuckinglutely Brilliant Pieces (in alphabetic order) Balance, The Buddhas, Croix, Details, Grozni, An Intelligent American's Guide to the Peace, Rug, and Village (for those keeping track that translates into an OPS of 1.032, not quite as good as Barry Bonds, but better than Hank Greenberg). And there might be another one in there, my notes are kinda hard to decipher. Now for my questions (pity I can't be there tonight at 6 in order to ask them in public). In Village, there are a whole whack of allusions, from Francoise Sullivan on down, I was able to pick out articles from the New York Times, Liberation, Le Monde, and La Presse. As Ms. Blain lives in Montreal, I assume that Le Devoir, and The Gazette, are in there, too. But it struck me that it might have been cool to have used (or she might have used, and I was just blind) The Washington Post, The Guardian (and now I show how damn provincial I am) whatever the major newspapers are in Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Mexico City, Rome, etc. While the visual effect is stunning, and should be relished for as long as is humanly possible - I'm personally jealous of the guard who gets to turn on the lights in the morning (or evening) because after I'd turned off everything else, Village would be the last piece I'd shut down, and I'd be a very happy camper.

Upon a closer look, it raises a bunch of questions, which I realize is the nature of the piece, but jeez! It doesn't talk back, and the tag next to it is of no help what so ever (does anybody out there know what "bulds" are? And how they are used in the piece?) By choosing what seems to be a very limited palate of news media, attempting (and succeeding to make) a very specific political focus, Ms. Blain is in effect putting up a wall around the very village that she is trying to capture. Had it used a more varied set of newspapers, or incorporated door-types that are common in the country of origin, the effect might have been even more obvious. But then again, maybe not, that's why I'm not an artist. None the less, I would have liked citations for all the newspapers used, and I hope that someplace there is a list, just so that the inevitable PhD student can have fun when they do their thesis on Ms. Blain.

While I was at the museum, there were four guards on duty to whom I spoke, 2 of them thought that Balance was the best piece in the show, and two of them thought that the Rug/Buddha combo kicked butt. I would agree with all four of them (not one of them asked me which was my favorite piece, and if I had been asked I wouldn't have been able to pin it down to one - how's that for being diplomatic?) Although because of the Rug, in an oblique sort of way, I wonder what was M. Lussier thinking when he hung the "Dans la Maison Blanche" and "Au Palais des Nations Unies" right across the hall? From the nature of how humans look at things, they are at least going to scan the two pictures before they ever even realize that the Rug is there. And if you are unaware of the Rug's existence, then you absolutely need to have two PhDs in American and International Poli-Sci and have been an intern at the White House and to Kofi Annan if you're going to be able to understand the pieces. From my perspective, a much better way of hanging them would have been to take Denatured Africa and move it to where the two pictures are, and then place the two pictures where Denatured Africa is. (And since I'm mentioning Denatured Africa how could the editor not have included a section titled "Who"?) That way everybody would have seen the Rug, and then upon looking at the pictures would have been able to say "Aaaah! I get it!" Or taking it out of the Buddha room entirely, and placing it directly under the two pictures, either way it would have been like getting hit in the gut by Lennox Lewis, instead of the effect that it does give which is like a raised eyebrow from Mr. Bean.

Now, to continue about the Rug, I could only identify 20 land mines on it, but I have been known to be utterly blind when it comes to important stuff, but I did try really hard to get all 26. And Mine Games doesn't give any help either, because it only has 21 different mines in it. But I can say I successfully walked on the Rug, and didn't get blown up!

Then, as long as I am mentioning Mine Games, the only quibble that I have with Ms. Blain's work is that the pieces she does that involve digital manipulation, are like bloop single, while effective and resulting in something good, there is a sense of not really having done the best work possible. Especially upon being able to turn around and see the homeruns that she has hit. While they are consistent in the found object/collage-nature of the way she works, her facility with the objects is not a fluid as it is when she is working with real, 3-D things. I imagine that as she gets more 'puter learnin' the pieces will start going over the fence, instead of just eluding the reach of the shortstop. M. Lussier, in his role as manager could have been much more judicious in making out the lineup card - apologies for all the baseball today, but it is only 8 days until pitchers and catcher report, and I'm getting excited.

OK, I'm at something like 1,321 words here, and I have succeeded in only mentioning 4 pieces. I initially thought that it might be a good experiment to try and keep my review to the length that M. Hellman or M. Delgado are allowed, but then said, "naw, nobody's paying me to write this stuff, so why am I going to artificially constrain myself?" Suffice it to say that if I was writing for somebody who paid, I'd be giving this 4 stars or 10 thumbs up, or more my style, say it was like Vladdi. Feel free at anytime to bail, and get back to work, just make sure that you do take the time (it is up until the 25th of April) to see it.

But, to get back to the matter at hand, as I mentioned, half of the guards on duty were creaming their jeans (ok, they weren't wearing jeans, but you get the idea) about Balance, and I am pretty darn jealous of whoever is the lucky stiff who gets to have it in their home (it mentioned "Private Collection" on the tag, I think). While on the surface, it is disarmingly simple; it is so perfectly done that you'd have to have a heart of stone, or be a blind, deaf, mute not to glom onto its meaning instantaneously. And while Mr. Hellman seems to think that this means that it blows quickly, he does not quite grasp the concept of being able to make a point so succinctly that any extraneous stuff would only muddle things up. While I'm not a big fan of Haiku, when they hit the nail on the head, what are you going to do, complain that they aren't a sonnet, or an epic? Gimme a break! Balance is a visual Haiku, perfectly executed. Or if you're like me, a pearl of a piece.

Now, I've been deliberately avoiding any description of the pieces, a) in a very obvious attempt to get you to the museum yourself, and b) because I am writing a review, and not a catalog text, any allusions, or deeper meanings would need a whack of research, which I currently don't have the time to do. But in An Intelligent American's Guide to the Peace, I'm going to have to. It is a book of the same name resting on top (edited and with an introduction by Sumner Welles (Former Under Secretary of State for FDR) published by Dryden's Press in 1945) and resting on a bunch (sorry, I didn't count 'em) of what I think are 30.06 cartridges. Given the current state of affairs, the piece can work much the same way that that guy from "This Hour" got George Bush to say "poutine." Short, swift, and very effective, or in other words, a killer punch line, sorta like "so they can hide in a bag of M&M's." But once you get beyond the surface, recognizing that the Springfield rifle has a humongous history of use (none of it peaceful, unless you call shooting elk peaceful) and is quite possibly the most popular cartridge ever made - jeez! I hope that I got the bullet right, if I didn't I'm gonna look like a bigger fool than I am normally. And that the guy who wrote the book not only was instrumental in getting the United Nations formed, but also was forced to resign from his position because he was gay (which was a crime in the US in the 40s), talk about whiplash. Eh? This is to me dead-on-balls-accurate as to what Art (notice the capital "A") is supposed to do. Make you think. What M. Hellman only sees as a "tee-hee" is in fact a multi layered, piece that will cause you to sit up straight and wonder about things.

Now, I've spent about two hours writing this entry, and I dearly would love to slap in the links, but I do have to get back to work, so they will have to wait until a future day [eds note: Links aer done, now.]. However, if you've made it this far, can I bring your attention to the new feature? I now have a comments section, fell free to use for good or bad, ok?

Next review

Howdy!

Since I am going to go see the shows, I figured an easy post tonight (by the way does anybody have a preference as to when I post?) would be commentary on the review of the Dominique Blain and Kamila Wozniakowska exhibitions in this past weekend's Le Devoir. Given that I have not seen them (I just participated in the vernissages) I relish the idea that I am commenting on the commentator without having seen the original. It should make my post tomorrow that much more interesting.

Now, as I have already said, 500 words ain't gonna get you diddly-squat as far as a serious discussion of the art. So, I can pretty much tell you what I will be writing tomorrow: "Kick-Ass!" However, those rules don't apply to Michel Hellman. First off you should go read his review, if you can't read French, you might want to try Babelfish.

Now the first thing that gets me about his review, is that he says "mais il �voque avec consistance le m�me message � caract�re social et politique." Or if you want it in the bastard translation "but it evokes with consistency the same message in social and political matter." Just from my quick glance last Wednesday, I can tell you, that a line like that is the equivalent of saying that because someone is Catholic, they agree with the Pope. Or that because the Pope is for worldwide peace in a big way, all wars are currently happening on the planet are the result of heathens run amuck. Ummm, can you say wrong? I thought that the readership of Le Devoir was more hip and savvy than that. Man! Claude Ryan dies and everybody's brain goes all soft - oops! He died yesterday, and this was written on Friday. Sorry my brain must've gone soft.

Next big boo-boo, "l'effet provoqu� par la mise en sc�ne est tr�s important." Or for the blokes in the audience "the effect caused by the setting in scene is very important." Now I have insider information about the "mise-en-scene" and while it is something that is important in all shows, if the effect was so damn important and the dialogue between the works was first and foremost in everybody's mind then why were there only two minds doing the thinking?

So far this is boiler plate material that hasn't told me anything about the show that I am going to see. 177 words wasted, a full 20% of the review. But it appears that we are getting to the meat of the matter, M. Hellman actually refers to some of the work done by Ms. Blain, I am going to refrain from disagreeing with his points and ideas about the work, as I haven't seen them fully yet. Tomorrow.

Then finally he concludes that Ms. Blain's work is superficial, but skillfully made. My guess is that he might be one of those heathens who has run amuck.

Fireworks tomorrow, don't you think? And then finally if you have the time go see Marc Couroux tomorrow night at La Chapelle, or if you're busy then the vernie at the Centre d'Art Contemporain du Qu�bec a Montr�al on Thursday at 5 pm, ok?

Tomorrow's Plans

Howdy!

I'm going to go the Musee d'Art Contemporain in order to see Dominique Blain's and Kamila Wozniakowska's shows the way that I want to. If you want to join me, you're more than welcome, look for me at the main desk (where you pay your bucks) at 11 in the morning.

Or swing by the gallery at about 10:30, ok?

Reading locally

Howdy!

On Friday it became obvious that there are certain things that are more well-read in this town than this here blog. Back on the 23rd of January I gave a brief snapshot of the various Arts reporters in town. Then, while talking with a friend over the weekend, I realized that unconsciously, I have always been trying to get the artists who exhibit here written about in places other than the "Visual Arts" section of the various media outlets. The reason for this being that there are more people who read general stuff, than who flip to, and then devour the "Visual Arts" section.

But then today, I was going through La Presse, specifically to see if there was anything that lent itself to a rant, and Bingo! I found it. hence my preamble. Jerome Delgado wrote about exhibitions by Dennis Ekstedt and Dominique Goupil [the link is a joke, too] in Sunday's paper, and believe it or not the article runs 409 words. That isn't a review, that's a nice mention in local newspaper. I don't blame anybody if they simply note that "oh, there's a show happening at Art Mur, or MdC Frontenac (or was that Simon Blais?")

In his 171 words about Mr. Ekstedt's exhibition, M. Delgado says something along the lines of � Figurative Painting is back, Dennis Ekstedt paints cityscapes that might be pointillism, but are extremely dark, because he paints the city at night. His show at Art Mur consists of a bunch of oil paintings on wood that give one a sense of softness. Hmmm, almost makes one want to read some multi-syllabic words. Almost.

Now I'm not in the habit of reading movie reviews (except for those written by John Griffin) But it strikes me that someone at La Presse has decided that Art reviews should take up about the same amount of space as a movie review. I'd suggest that they go all the way, give the various shows stars, and realize that attempting to give an analysis in less than 500 words ain't going to work. Give an overview of the exhibition (equivalent of plot summary) explain the technique used (equivalent of explaining how the special effects are created) mention if there are any naughty bits (the obligatory parental warning) and at the end tell if it works or doesn't. Simple straight forward and easy.

Trying to balance between the two sides (serious criticism and fluff for the general public) in under 500 words in a medium that is designed to be for the general public just ain't gonna happen.

The difference between the G&M and the NYTimes

Howdy!

First read this and then read this and if you would like my original commentary, try this. Get it?

About last night

Howdy!

Due to the kindness of two people, I got invited to the vernissage at the Musee d'Art Contemporain last night. Not only did I get to see the exhibitions, but I also got to smoke inside the Museum! Sometimes it helps having friends.

First and foremost - the exhibitions are "kick-ass." I only briefly scanned them, but it was sufficient to make me pick my jaw up off the floor many, many times. As it was the opening, there were a bunch of people there, so it was sorta difficult to get any real good sense of the art, but I will go back, and give a full report. Promise.

But the things that I found most interesting where the social politics and dynamics that were happening during the vernissage.

ver�nis�sage \'ver-ni-"sazh\ noun [F, day before an exhibition opens reserved for artists to varnish and put finishing touches to their paintings, lit., varnishing, fr. vernis varnish � more at varnish] (1912)
: a private showing or preview of an art exhibition
(C)1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Or in plainer language a Party! In this case hosted by a certain Marcel Brisebois. Now while I wasn't keeping an eye on him the entire night, I never did see him step foot into any of the galleries, but he might have when I wasn't looking. Then, if a vernissage is going to function as a private showing, or as a preview, then there should be some sort of distinction, between it, and the rest of the time that the exhibition is up on the walls. Although they did manage to sell about 20 beers, and a dozen glasses of wine, there were by my estimation about 250 people there. Now, last I heard aficionados of contemporary art were not the same as members of Alcoholics Anonymous. And while it seems that the trend in government-sponsored art is to separate with Art from the alcohol, it still doesn't explain why so many teetotalers.

That might be the influence of the Soci�t� des relationnistes du Qu�bec. For some unknown reason they were there in full force to launch their recruiting campaign. My initial thought upon hearing that they were there, was "what?!? The museum needs to host two completely different events in order to make sure that they get sufficient numbers of people to make the place look like it is full?" Not cool in the least bit. Especially when there is yet another speech that needs to be listened to before we get to see the art.

Speaking of speeches (and the certain Marcel Brisebois) I cannot understand why he has not availed himself of the second floor as the place from which to make his speeches. It would be a natural, gazing down fondly upon the gathered masses, with a paternal familiarity.

But the fun really started after I got ushered upstairs to what had initially the air of some top-secret meeting between Oliver North and the Nicaraguan contras, but quickly degraded into a variation on a badly organized high school reunion. Beyond the magnetic thing-ys designed to keep the riff-raff from storming the palace, there was the certain Marcel Brisebois shaking the hand of everybody coming in, next to him was Manon Blanchette. I said "Howdy!" to both of them, and that was the extent of my interaction with the majordomos of the museum. Yes, you can call me chicken.

Now, normally if I'm hosting a party, I try and make sure that everybody is happy, and that everybody is comfortable. This particular bit of snobbery was happening in the museum's offices. They had been shorn of almost every computer (which must've taken a major amount of work) and a thing that I found fascinating was that there wasn't a single piece of art anywhere in sight. (Now, I might be blind, and I didn't go around checking into every closet, but, you'd think that there might be some kick-ass something or other hanging out, even if it was only the conference room section of the museum). And while I attempt to make the gallery here as comfortable and inviting as possible, most offices aren't, on first blush, the sorts of places where a person would want to kick off their shoes and do a shimmy on the shag. (and in yet another in an endless list of asides, there wasn't any music there either - when was the last time you were at a great party where there wasn't any music?)

Now we get to the food, apparently it was duck, salmon, couscous, and a cold pasta salad. Yes, I ate some, but I had to rely on friends in order to identify what I was eating. It was done buffet style, and the only table that would have been suitable as a dinning room table (the conference table) was designated as the serving table, leaving everybody to eat at and around various work stations. My guess is that it probably cost the museum in the neighborhood of $25 a person, and there were about 25 people there. So we got a bill of $718.90 for the food (can't forget the taxes!).

Now, if they had taken that money and invested in a case (or two) of wine that could have been served downstairs in the hallway leading to the exhibitions, and then if Mme. Blanchette, discreetly gave the artists 50 tickets each, to be passed out among friends and acquaintances, each ticket good for a glass of wine, I think that it would have been money much more wisely spent.

The crowd (if it can be called that) at the party seemed to split up into three distinct groups - the artists' friends, museum staff, and government mandarins. There wasn't any mixing between the crowds that I could see, and I am certain that the artists' friends would have been much more impressed with the museum's generosity if they had the potential for getting snookered on the museums' tab.

Then, as they did have a case or two of wine, they could have taken the money that they spent on that and taken the artists out for a really nice dinner at a fancy-ass restaurant with one or two mandarins, and I am certain that both artists, and the mandarins would have been much happier. But then again, I could be entirely wrong, too. After all, I don't think like those people, and the mandarins and museum staff might actually have been having the time of their life.

Now, I realize that I am running on here, and I probably should try to close things up, so I'm going to have to leave some details aside (nothing juicy, but remind me to tell you about the smoking in the museum, and how they treat junior management, ok?) However, there is one truly bizarre moment that I must pass on to you, and then I can call it quits for the day.

After the festivities were over, and everybody realized that it was time to go home ("hey! Where'd everybody go? Why are you cleaning up? Things were just starting to get fun!") We all were capable of finding the elevators on our own. But once we got down to the entrance, it became obvious that getting out of the museum would be best accomplished with the help of somebody who knew their way around. Eventually a security guard (I hope a supervisor) showed up and directed us to the top-secret passageway between the museum and the PdA underground plaza. What took my breath away was that on these white-painted cinder-block walls, was a whole whack of the museum's collection. As we were all interested in leaving, there wasn't any time to read the tags, and my knowledge of contemporary Quebecois art isn't sufficiently up to snuff, that I could've id'd them right then and there. But I wondered aloud, whether or not, that these pieces were special enough that the support staff of the museum had been designated for a treat, or that this was some sort of purgatory for bad purchases. Nobody was able to give me an answer.

And as an aside, if you're reading this here blog for the first time, and you're reading it because you first read the Gazette then the blog entry that Mr. Perusse referred to is here.

Trying to make a spark

Howdy!

First off, I can tell you that some of you will not be pleased to hear that I am about to link to a right-wing publication. Apologies, but as I such a voracious reader of everything that is printed (joke!) I only just discovered that a certain Mr. Terry Teachout not only writes one of the few blogs dedicated to things aesthetic (sorry about the big word, but I gotta practice for the vernissage tonight). But he also writes for (and probably gets paid for it, too!) a magazine that would make a mother see red. On the other hand, there are a couple of people I know who probably think that it is too soft. As it is likely to cause consternation, I will refrain from referring to it by name, ok?

So much for the lead in. Well, Mr. Teachout takes four and a half pages (six if you count the ridiculous amount of space left for the headline and the advertisement at the end) this month, in the un-namable magazine to explain to his readers how and why they should buy contemporary art, and how and why it does not have to be expensive. On the surface, a very nice and easy public service announcement worthy of the American Ad Council.

But like some of those PSAs, taking a centrist view glosses over and ignores some very significant points. In short; Mr. Teachout tries to join the "serious" art crowd, by touting all his recent purchases. OK, now if you are so inclined you can go back to work, or whatever else you were doing - that is my point, but, I'm probably going to use something like a gazillion and a half words to hammer it home. Something about the sense of frustration that I've been harboring for a couple of days now.

While he says at the beginning of the article "Today, though, my involvement with the visual arts is a passion." He then spends the last three pages making excuses for not buying more that range from "I need to take a pause and learn more than I know now." To running out of wall space, which contradicts the PSA nature of the piece, and makes it read much more like he wants the 27,000+ readers of the un-nameable magazine to congratulate him on his magnificent purchases.

Mr. Teachout then makes it entirely obvious who he is writing for, by bashing The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness by Virginia Postrel. Choosing to focus on her line "Crate & Barrel sells framed reproductions of Mark Rothko paintings for $499." Instead of "Some just want a more attractive living room." Just slightly above it. His distinction between "serious" art and by extension, what I would assume is marginal art, only serves to puff up his feathers. He himself states "I would have wanted to own [Piazza Rotunda by Willaim Bailey] simply because of the way it looks. In fact, that is the only good reason to buy a work of art: so that you can look at it every day, as often as you want." Mr. Teachout sounds pretty darn convincing that Piazza Rotunda is making his living room a prettier place. Even though he continues to write "I was nonetheless forcibly struck by how little her words correspond with my own experience." Going that extra step and implying that his living room is better and prettier than a living room with a $500 reproduction of some Mark Rothko painting is the equivalent of dissing Bela Fleck because he hangs out with the Dave Matthews Band. - Which is something I do (dissing Bela Fleck because he hangs with DMB, I just don't get much of that Jam Band stuff) but when I do it, people stop paying attention to me.

Making a distinction between serious and marginal in any artistic endeavor is only going to come right back at you and bite you on the ass. From his writing I would assume that "a mediocre lithograph... by Joan Miro or Marc Chagall" would qualify as "serious" art despite his reservations about it - and last I heard philography is a pretty damn cool hobby.

Then to tie this thing up Mr. Teachout continues: "To begin with, Postrel seems to think that the only people who buy "serious" art instead of mass-market "framed reproductions" are snobs out to make money and impress other snobs. Had those been my motives, I would have failed dismally." From the tone, namedropping, and medium in which he writes, I can only imagine that Mr. Teachout was has, in fact, succeeded quite well.

There are a couple more juicy tidbits in the article, specifically "When neither scarcity or fashion is at issue, what accounts for the difference in price between roughly similar objects?" But, I'm going to have to leave them for later. Perhaps much later, as tonight I'm heading over to the Musee d"art Contemporain to check out the vernie for Dominique Blain's show. I'm looking forward to the potential chemical reaction that might happen when White Cube meets Anti-White Cube!

Sorta provocative stuff

Howdy!

Well, I got one grant application off, and it has been received by good ole Doug Sigurdson. Now, I can attempt to get back to real life.

Don't ask me how I came across this, but I did. The Chicago Tribune is not on my normal list of publications to read. OK, if you really must know the truth it went like this: I was procrastinating and skimming through ArtsJournal.com, where I then ended up at Andrew Taylor's blog, which is part of the web site. He had an entry that spoke about Chris Jones' column, and instead of reading Taylor writing about Jones, I figured it would be better to go straight to the source, which is what I did.

Read the article here.

Now that I have decided to try and out do Mr. Taylor (Hand writing about Jones) it probably would be a good idea to mention what I think of the article. In a nutshell, he seems to be trying to come up with an explanation as to why the North American public is seeing fewer movies and buying fewer CDs. In his first paragraph, Mr. Jones, suggests that John Naisbitt (the guy who wrote Megatends) accurately predicted it, and it is due to decentralization. Yeah, right.

But then it gets sorta murky. He (as Mr. Taylor points out) seems to be confusing consuming culture, and creating things of cultural significance. While having the choice to view (and hear) stuff when and where you want is a good thing, it does not translate so easily into creating what you want to see or listen to.

Having the tools to create stuff is great. Being able to use those tools appropriately (or inappropriately) so that other people are attracted to it, and interested in it is significantly different. The only way that I know of to accomplish that is time and practice. Right now, I can't draw to save my life, but I am fairly positive that if I decided that I did want to draw, and I armed myself with a boatload of pencils and a whack of paper, I eventually would be able to create something that did look like a tree.

It is the commitment that separates the snow from the flakes. Other people tend to use far different methods than I do to id dedication. Hence the reviewers, curators, and other intermediaries that get placed in between a consumer and the art. I tend to veer towards the side of trying. I figure that it is unlikely that viewing a painting will kill me, nor will listening to some new music. And it makes life way easier when I have only my reaction that needs interpretation by myself, instead of trying to decipher what somebody else thinks about art and then gauge whether I would enjoy it because of their thoughts.

The only problem that arises out of my process is that there really isn't enough time in the day to try everything. But I'm working on it.

Apologies

Howdy!

Sorry about the lack of an entry yesterday. It was a particularly ugly day.

Crass commercialism

Howdy!

So I'm in the midst of filling out a Canada Council grant application, and going to see if I can't get two of them out by tomorrow at 9pm.

The first one is for "Grants to Professional Artists - Independent Critics and Curators." The second on is "Music Project Grants: Artists and Community Collaboration Fund." If you have any other suggestions as to other places that are in the habit of giving out money to arts organization (or weirdos) I'd be more than happy to hear about them.

Now on the face of it, grants are contrary to everything I stand for and believe in. But you who have been reading this blog (and there are a bunch of you) have not been clicking that button to the right and buying raffle tickets. So, I figure that it can't hurt to try. But, man, oh! Man, is it boring as all get out! Basically, I'm going through the archives and putting onto disc absolutely everything that has ever happened here. In a nutshell: 39 Art Exhibitions, 69 concerts/CDs, and 52 poetry readings, book launches, artist markets, waffledude performances, and other sundry events. That's a lot of stuff to document. My guess is that I'm going to attempt to overwhelm the jury, your standard issue Zeke's Tsunami. In a prefect world, after the waves come crashing over them, they come up gasping for air, and say "OK, we'll give you the cash, just give us a towel or something, please!"

According to the business plan that I am in the midst of writing, it should cost something like $200,000 to run this place. So if I get the $15K from being an independent curator, and the $15K for being a musical community that still leaves me 34,000 raffle tickets short - click early, click often. Hint, hint, hint. Or if you don't want to give any money to PayPal, come by the gallery and save yourself the extra quarter.

Some other ways that you can help in a very concrete manner: Buy a membership. Every level gives you the exact amount of money you pay back in coupons good for purchases of art here. Then on top of it, y'also get CDs, catalogues, a special cool surprise, and the fancy-ass membership card. Or you could buy art here (we do have a bunch, and while Kristi's show is doing very well, thank you, there are still some paintings available). Or if you're cash poor (business term for "broke") there's the whole Freedom Fighters gig, where you earn upper level membership packages by doing stuff as simple as bringing someone to the gallery, or getting a drink. Not too tough, eh? Again, swing by the gallery to pick up your truly smashing Freedom Fighters card.

End of commercial, but I gotta admit that writing these applications has got to be one of the most tedious things I've ever done (and I have watched paint dry�). Sorry for unloading on you.