Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche, an indoor/outdoor art collective of performance, installation, and various other artist interventions in Toronto, happened this past weekend; I walked through it from its beginning (Saturday, September 30th, 7:01pm) to its end (7:00am, the next morning).
Unfortunately for me, the previous night had been a “go to bed at 5:30” drink fest, so even before my night had started off, I was in zombie mode. This is why I began my all-night voyage at the disco swimming pool, a community swimming pool converted into disco club, called Night Swim, curated by Christie Pearson. DJ’s pumped the hard techno beats into the luke warm water while the ambiance of green and purple lights helped me rejuvenate my energies for the long night walk that was waiting. CBC said that there were 12 000 people alone through there over the course of the evening... and because I don’t like getting foot warts, it makes me glad I was one of the first to pass through.
After my splash in the pool, I began following my provided map through the three different zones of art in Toronto. My first area of travel was the stretch of Queen St. W. with its many little contemporary art galleries and of course the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art. At the MCCA, one piece that I really enjoyed was the 24 Hour 3 Stooges by Paul Collins. It was cut and pasted Three Stooges clips from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, slowed down into a creepy and violent video sequence. I watched the horrific, drawn-out action clips for several minutes before moving on but one of the things that was mesmerizing about it, was the transition of my idea of the 3 Stooges; they are supposed to be stupid and comical, but by slowing the video down, we see how deliberate and insanely masochistic they are. They no longer seem like sweet and simple beings, but dangerous and twisted murderers.
It seemed as though many of the works that I liked had to do with eeriness and suspense, like the Fastwurms piece in the collective: Dark Hart. This work was situated in the ancient Hart House pool, UofT, with stone walls and vaulted ceilings. A strange and dark video of colours and images was projected on the far wall for people to watch in seats around the room. It must have been about half an hour that I sat with my eyes transfixed to the projection and my ears taking in the ambient trance-like sounds. The whole affair was very Fastwurmesque with the twist of Wiccan energy and envorionment. Upstairs form this was what the artists known as Instant Coffee had put together: Do It Yourself Disco, which was a great way to keep awake after I had been walking for quite some time.
FastWurms, DarkHart, Hart House Pool
I had already missed the Warhol exhibit and was not prepared to miss Carlos Garaicoa at the ROM so that was my next destination. This show was of particular interest to me because I have been trying to create work in St. Catharines dealing with its once important role as a port town (as it was for people passing through the Welland Canal) and also a GM city (who employed its population) to the sate of things now. One question that is raised in Garaicoa’s show is whether a culture is defined by what it aspires to be, or what it appears to have become (taken from catalogue). This is an interesting question when looking at his Sin Titulo photography series. These are a series of black and white photographs of Cuba that he has gone over with red and blue thread; the thread draws out where once prestigious buildings stood, but are now in rubble congruent with the typical Cuban landscape today. In response to this question, I believe that cultures define themselves and are defined by other cultures at the same time. If we look at the American empire, for instance, we would define them as proud perhaps or maybe even arrogant but this is certainly a cross on how they view themselves and how they are viewed by others.
Note: Carlos Garaicoa will be speaking at Prefix Photo on November 30. 5 bucks for students + all you can drink Steamwhistle beer and wine.
After the ROM, my night started to downfall. Going through the rest of my map in the upper downtown area was a little like shopping at Winners, it took time to find anything good and the spaces between projects were becoming bigger. But that could have been my sleep deprivation, because, by this point, it was already 4am.
Most of the other galleries that I saw were all commercial with mismatched paintings of poor taste (in my own opinion). Roving around the late streets of Toronto had become tiresome, but it was interesting to see Toronto so late at night. The post-12am Toronto was turning out to be much different than it was in the daytime and I was enjoying the lights and sounds of the city. And following my map around like a treasure map was like a game of streets and number because some of the works of art were very subtle.
At approximately 6am, I began walking to the downtown bus terminal to catch a ride home. And I wrote a little in my note book and when to sleep in the bus for the ride home.
Unfortunately for me, the previous night had been a “go to bed at 5:30” drink fest, so even before my night had started off, I was in zombie mode. This is why I began my all-night voyage at the disco swimming pool, a community swimming pool converted into disco club, called Night Swim, curated by Christie Pearson. DJ’s pumped the hard techno beats into the luke warm water while the ambiance of green and purple lights helped me rejuvenate my energies for the long night walk that was waiting. CBC said that there were 12 000 people alone through there over the course of the evening... and because I don’t like getting foot warts, it makes me glad I was one of the first to pass through.
After my splash in the pool, I began following my provided map through the three different zones of art in Toronto. My first area of travel was the stretch of Queen St. W. with its many little contemporary art galleries and of course the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art. At the MCCA, one piece that I really enjoyed was the 24 Hour 3 Stooges by Paul Collins. It was cut and pasted Three Stooges clips from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, slowed down into a creepy and violent video sequence. I watched the horrific, drawn-out action clips for several minutes before moving on but one of the things that was mesmerizing about it, was the transition of my idea of the 3 Stooges; they are supposed to be stupid and comical, but by slowing the video down, we see how deliberate and insanely masochistic they are. They no longer seem like sweet and simple beings, but dangerous and twisted murderers.
It seemed as though many of the works that I liked had to do with eeriness and suspense, like the Fastwurms piece in the collective: Dark Hart. This work was situated in the ancient Hart House pool, UofT, with stone walls and vaulted ceilings. A strange and dark video of colours and images was projected on the far wall for people to watch in seats around the room. It must have been about half an hour that I sat with my eyes transfixed to the projection and my ears taking in the ambient trance-like sounds. The whole affair was very Fastwurmesque with the twist of Wiccan energy and envorionment. Upstairs form this was what the artists known as Instant Coffee had put together: Do It Yourself Disco, which was a great way to keep awake after I had been walking for quite some time.
FastWurms, DarkHart, Hart House Pool
I had already missed the Warhol exhibit and was not prepared to miss Carlos Garaicoa at the ROM so that was my next destination. This show was of particular interest to me because I have been trying to create work in St. Catharines dealing with its once important role as a port town (as it was for people passing through the Welland Canal) and also a GM city (who employed its population) to the sate of things now. One question that is raised in Garaicoa’s show is whether a culture is defined by what it aspires to be, or what it appears to have become (taken from catalogue). This is an interesting question when looking at his Sin Titulo photography series. These are a series of black and white photographs of Cuba that he has gone over with red and blue thread; the thread draws out where once prestigious buildings stood, but are now in rubble congruent with the typical Cuban landscape today. In response to this question, I believe that cultures define themselves and are defined by other cultures at the same time. If we look at the American empire, for instance, we would define them as proud perhaps or maybe even arrogant but this is certainly a cross on how they view themselves and how they are viewed by others.
Note: Carlos Garaicoa will be speaking at Prefix Photo on November 30. 5 bucks for students + all you can drink Steamwhistle beer and wine.
After the ROM, my night started to downfall. Going through the rest of my map in the upper downtown area was a little like shopping at Winners, it took time to find anything good and the spaces between projects were becoming bigger. But that could have been my sleep deprivation, because, by this point, it was already 4am.
Most of the other galleries that I saw were all commercial with mismatched paintings of poor taste (in my own opinion). Roving around the late streets of Toronto had become tiresome, but it was interesting to see Toronto so late at night. The post-12am Toronto was turning out to be much different than it was in the daytime and I was enjoying the lights and sounds of the city. And following my map around like a treasure map was like a game of streets and number because some of the works of art were very subtle.
At approximately 6am, I began walking to the downtown bus terminal to catch a ride home. And I wrote a little in my note book and when to sleep in the bus for the ride home.
posted by Luke Ghyselincks at 10:14 AM
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