The thrill after the hunt

To celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday in 1967, the TD Bank amassed a collection of Inuit Art. For the exhibition ItuKiagâtta! at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 51 pieces have been selected from this collection that currently contains 610 artworks. Last week, I spoke with TD curator Natalie Ribkoff, who shared with me some interesting facts about these works created principally between 1950–1966.

Many pieces are carved by women, she told me, as they were skilled with knives from preparing whatever game was caught on the hunt. Works that were purchased for $25–$50 in the 1960s, now cost $60,000 to $70,000 at auction, so TD rarely adds to this collection. These works were carved by the last generation to be born and raised on the land, so they also provide an historic record of beliefs and customs that have long ago disappeared. Most Inuit sculptors today continue to copy these traditional themes, for that is what the public buys. Apparently, nobody wants a skidoo carved out of stone. Spend time with these inspiring pieces, on view until Sept. 24, info: 285-1600. —Christine Redfern

Stetsons,sausages, singin’ ’n’ swiggin’

You can bet your horse there’ll be lots of people driving around Montreal, honking their horns in nationalistic World Cup fury this Saturday, but it won’t be the Albertans. Nope, they’ll be eating free pancakes and sausages, listening to country music and getting good ’n’ drunk at Théâtre Ste-Catherine.

Le Petit Déjeuner Stampede is a local version of Calgary’s storied annual Stampede Breakfast, back for its second edition with twice the pancake batter and three times the bands. This year’s line-up, lassoed up by Pop Montreal, includes Lake of Stew, Katie Moore, the Dudes, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, L’il Andy, the Cockroaches and more. Dress western and set your alarm—it starts at 10 a.m. —Matthew Woodley

Hooked on clotheslines

Poetry lovers will want to be at Zeke’s Gallery (3955 St-Laurent) this evening for the launch of Out to Dry in Cape Breton, an unusual collection inspired by war, the paintings of Alex Colville and clotheslines. Award-winning author Anita Lahey explains: “The book contains a big suite of poems that draw on an obsession with clotheslines that has gripped me for many years. The way they hint at the lives of people and the way they appear like surprises, like accidental suspended artwork, in bits of neighbourhood sky in all sorts of communities.” Hosted by Signal Editions editor Carmine Starnino, the line-up also includes Asa Boxer, winner of the 2004 CBC Literary Award for Poetry—July 6, 7:30 p.m., free. —Vincent Tinguely

Mixed messages

An interesting coming together of works by 12 contemporary sculptors is on right now. Archipel does not have a central theme, but consists of looking at the work of this diverse group of artists in two different spaces. Each artist displays their more monumental works at the airy Parisian Laundry (3550 St-Antoine W.) and smaller works in the more intimate setting of Galerie Orange (81 St-Paul E.).

Participating artist and curator Jean-Pierre Morin describes his selection process: “I chose what was the farthest away from me… in light years.” The result is a nice mixed bag of sculptural practices, such as Jean McEwan’s steel pieces (well situated in the basement of the PL), Mathieu Gaudet’s wood constructions, Bill Smith’s electronic mobiles made from found objects and Guy Laramée’s mixed media pieces. Runs until July 22 at the Laundry, July 15 at Orange, info: 989-1056 and 396-6670. —Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

Mouse game: Today’s competitive mousepad market is a rat race of companies trying to one-up each other with clever new designs for the finicky gamer. Popular pads like X-Ray’s Thunder9 and Aqua2 come with high-tech surfaces, ABS bases and comfortable carrying cases, but can they hold a candle to SteelSeries’s Steelpad 5L? Here, the L is for layer, and the 5 translates to a top plastic coating over a strip of strong cloth, soft ployisoprene, a hard plastic compound and, finally, a rubber elemental base. The 11-by-15-inch pad is compatible with all mouse technologies and, though we haven’t had a chance to review ours yet, Techgage.com reviewer Rob Williams sums it up nicely in his test run: “I have to say, this mousepad feels like a cloud or a real soft cushion.”

ArtsHole

OIL ON ASTROPHYSICS: Seventy-year-old American astrophysicist, author of The Physics of Consciousness, holder of 11 patents and art pioneer in some eyes, Dr. Evan Harris Walker brings Postmodern Ana to Galerie Gora (279 Sherbrooke W., #205). The exhibition features a series of oil-on-canvas paintings inspired by computerized variations of his original watercolour portrait of Ana. Vernissage Wednesday, July 12, 5–7 p.m., and the show runs through July 29. • ISLAND MUSIC: The acoustically exquisite Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa) becomes a canvas for sound with the seven-artist installation Montreal Sound Matter, opening Thursday, July 6. All recordings were done in this city. The exhibition continues until Aug. 27, with a concert on July 27—www.quartierephemere.org for details.

ARTISTAT: Number of independent fashion designers, furniture makers, visual artists and more taking part in the Headquarters Galerie & Boutique (1649 Amherst) Grand Opening Art Show Celebration, Saturday, July 8: 30+

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