World War whimper

“This is the way the world ends/This is the way the world ends/This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper.”

These are the last four lines of T.S. Eliot’s poem The Hollow Men. Written in 1925 about the horrors of the First World War, this poem is the inspiration as well as the title of a video installation by French media artist Chris Marker now showing at Dazibao (4001 Berri, #202).

When I was young, WWI seemed present in our collective memories, but with the passing of time and the individuals who witnessed it, our link to that defining moment of the 20th century seems to be slipping away. Marker, born in 1921 and a child of WWI, reconnects us to the past through this moving work. The only drawback is that the eight monitors used to display the piece are so small, I felt like an old man myself, squinting to better make out the images. The Hollow Men runs through this Saturday, Dec. 16, info: (514) 845-0063. —Christine Redfern

Holla-day helpings

This weekend, Indyish and Pop Montreal join hands to generate a cyclone of arts, crafts and hiphoppery. “We wanted to create a fun and exhilarating way to see what people are up to,” says indyish.com crew rep Risa Dickens. The festivities include a 24-hour video-making contest that kicks off at noon on Saturday, an “Insta Indyish” boutique open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons and a party Sunday night. The winning videos will be screened, and underground hip hop talents Giselle Numba One, Bold Saber and ThunderHeist will perform. “There’s a weird open mic over electro beats being made by Adam and Tyler from Telefauna,” Dickens adds. “It’s a hip hop holiday party, so we decided that spoken word would be a really wicked thing to do.” At Club Lambi (4465 St-Laurent), boutique open noon–4 p.m., Dec. 16–17, free. Show Dec. 17, 9 p.m., $7. Visit indyish.com/events for more info. —Vincent Tinguely

Gay art history

Giving new meaning to the term “hot off the presses” is the new edition of 1972’s Gay Art: A Historic Collection, out this week from Arsenal Pulp Press ($29.95). The book was originally compiled and written by Felix Lance Falkon, but had been updated by local queer historian and author Thomas Waugh. Reprinted are a stunning collection of erotic sketchings and drawings, mainly from the ’50s and ’60s. This anthology is beautiful, with many of the images coming across as both raunchy and innocent at once. Among the artists are Steve Masters, Jack Bozzi and—surprise!—Tom of Finland. It’s a telling glimpse into a more repressive time, but also a snapshot of the gay erotic imagination, pre-AIDS. A perfect stocking stuffer for those looking to get stuffed. —Matthew Hays

Dancers drive

This week, we’re up to number 18 in Danse-Cité’s longtime series Traces-interprètes, which turns the tables and gives creative control to the dancer instead of the choreographer.

Two years ago, Dance-Cité founder Daniel Soulières approached multidisciplinary artist Marie-Josée Chartier to head up a project, prompting her to explore the work of visual artist Betty Goodwin and the idea of memory traces on the mind and body. Chartier assembled a team of collaborators and invited two choreographers to use her themes as starting points in her choreographic diptych Bas-Reliefs.

Toronto-based dance maker Guillaume Bernardi speaks first in his improvisational theatrical piece for Chartier and dancer-actor Dan Wild. In the second half, Ginette Laurin takes over and animates the duo in a more physical and structured style à la Laurin. The fruits of their labour are on display nightly at Espace Libre (1945 Fullum) until Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. While waiting for the show to start, take in the photography exhibit by the work’s photo and video designer Jeremy Mimnagh. Info: (514) 521-4191. —Marites Carino

Is it Art?

COOL SHIT: Sprinkle Brigade pretty up lonely pieces of urban dog poo and take photos of their work. The organization recently settled on the motto “Just leave it. We got it,” edging out “The streets will never be the same again,” “The Fabergé of feces,” “Ignorance is bliss” and “When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.” While they hunt for a publisher for their new book, you can enjoy a browse through their logs at sprinklebrigade.com.

ArtsHole

DAWSON COLLAGE: Fifteen students from the graduating class of Dawson’s commercial photography program showcase the fruit of their labour in a year-end exhibition, with half of the profits going to the Anastasia De Sousa memorial fund (a financial-aid program for Dawson students) at the Warren G. Flowers Gallery (4001 de Maisonneuve W.). The vernissage is Dec. 19, 6:30–10 p.m., and the show runs until Dec. 21, same hours. • TURNED ON: Seven up-and-comers from Concordia’s graduate Studio Arts program show their work in Ignition, running until Jan. 7 (but closed Dec. 23–Jan. 2) at the university’s Ellen Gallery (1400 de Maisonneuve W.). Works include Olga Chagaoutdinova’s photos documenting the effects of globalization on middle-class Russian identity, Esther Choi’s destablizing optical-trickery videos and Pall Thayer’s live action installation where a computer mines the flurry of streams of texts and images moving through the Web through Flickr.com and Blogger.com

ARTISTAT: Number of years that comedy-music-performance-eccentric institution Kiss My Cabaret will be celebrating at their next show, this Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m., at la Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), $10: 5

>> Arts Listings