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Death from above
HARMONY OR TRAGEDY: A photo from Wildlife Series #1
So a mouse from Mississippi, a fawn from Virginia and a moose from Newfoundland walk into a bar... Okay, they didn’t exactly walk in. What you’ll see at Boa bar (5301 St-Laurent) are actually photographs of the three animals, which, by the way, are in a state of rigor mortis. (Why the long face?)
Allen McEachern’s Wildlife Series #1 is a portrait series of dead creatures he’s stumbled across in his travels. “It started when I came across a small field mouse on a trail in Mississippi,” he explains. “It made me curious—I started to speculate about the cause of death and the mystery behind it. Still, there was this sense of harmony and peace in the situation, where it was being devoured by the smaller organisms dependent on its death to continue their lives.”
He can’t say the same of the fawn that met his maker on a Virginia highway. “With road kill, there’s a sense of tragedy, of sadness and even guilt,” he says, “I wanted to look at the differences, and this is all something we don’t see up close very often.” Exhibition opens today, April 19, 6–9 p.m., and continues until May 1.
by MATTHEW WOODLEY
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Occidental guests
CEREMONIAL SASHIMI: Drawing Restraint 9
Artist Matthew Barney brings his singular vision to town next week with his latest film, Drawing Restraint 9. The soundtrack is by Icelandic musician Björk, Barney’s real-life partner, who also stars opposite him in the film. The two are Occidental guests on a Japanese whaling ship called the Nisshin Maru.
The film has little narrative—the first words spoken are an hour and a half into the 145-minute epic—but it is filled with sounds and music. The scenes unravel in a succession of impressive shots, something we’ve come to expect from Barney’s big budget productions, but also with a reverence that brings to mind a kind of religious ceremony. Vaseline sculptures, hair and fur vie for our attention amidst thoughts about industry, culture and our animal nature.
All in all, it’s a meditative and pleasingly bizarre film, with a climax that finds the pair enjoying some fresh sashimi. Even if you don’t like the final result, at least the story, characters and costumes are not the usual rehash of the obvious. And it’s free! Presented by DHC/ART Foundation at the Imperial Theatre (1430 Bleury) on Thursday, April 26 at 8 p.m. No advance tickets, info: (514) 866-6767.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Flamenco meets tango
LATIN LINK: FlamenTango
“Flamenco is my life, it’s my way to express myself,” says Spanish choreographer-dancer Maria Serrano. But this didn’t stop her from exploring other dance forms in her show FlamenTango, which mixes Andalusian flamenco and Argentinian tango. “I had never danced tango before, and now I enjoy it a lot,” she says.
Serrano explains that blending the two distinct styles was her manager’s idea. “In the beginning, I was not really convinced,” she says. “But when we started to work on the project, the energy started to flow.”
In the work, six dancers and five musicians tell the story of a tango couple who leave Argentina for Spain to discover its national dance and music. “Tango and flamenco are very different at first sight,” she says. “But the emotional impact, the Latin element and the passion are all similar.”
For the diehard tango or flamenco fans, Serrano assures “there is a lot of pure flamenco and pure tango in the show so even purists can enjoy it.” The Compañia Maria Serrano stops here Sunday, April 22, 8 p.m., at Place des Arts (Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier), $25–$95
by Marites Carino
Boxing Alessandra
ORAL PERFORMERS: Lip Collective
“I’m more of an oral performer than a written-page poet,” says Lip zine founder and collective member Alessandra Naccarato. “I’ve always been able to do that at the shows, but it’s been hard to incorporate in the actual zine.” The solution? The latest DIY project from the Lip zine collective: AudioBox, an audio zine of spoken word, music and sound art.
“Our launches always have a lot of really talented musicians, spoken word artists and sound artists,” Naccarato explains. “We really wanted to put something out that represented that community.”
This Friday at Red Bird Studios (152 Van Horne), you can check out Naccarato’s spoken word chops, plus musical contributors Roshin of Notes to Self, Arowbe Arowbe Arowbe and Chris Quotes. There’ll also be a series of sound installations and film screenings by members of the Double Negative Collective. Hosted by Una Más, Friday, April 20, 9 p.m., $5.
by Vincent Tinguely
Is it art?
CELEBRATING BAD TV: A pony savant, a video Arnold Schwarzenegger  probably doesn’t want you to see, a ridiculous Quebec Nordiques song, a 500-pound cowboy, a Turkish cowboy fighting against Santo and Captain America... sound like YouTube? Think of it as WeTube, a collection of so-bad-it’s-good TV and film compiled for mass viewing as Total Crap 4 takes over the Lion d’Or (1676 Ontario E.) tonight, Thursday, April 19, at 8:30 p.m. Though the event is geared for a French-speaking audience (OuiTube?), the screenings bring together crap from all over the world, and the visual gags should be enough for everyone to share in the laughs. Tickets are $8.
Arts
hole
TREE HUG: In her video, Tree,
Shelley Niro pays homage to the
1970s “Keep America Beautiful” campaign,
in which a stereotypical Indian
laments the lack of respect people
have for the environment. “Even
though Iron Eyes isn’t native and the
campaign played on the ‘stoic representation,’”
she explains, “I feel this is
a representation we can look at as a
role model.” Niro’s video and photo
exhibition, Almost Fallen, continues
until May 12 at Oboro (4001 Berri
#301). GALLERY GRAB: More than
70 artists will be showing works in
Galerie B-312’s (372 Ste-Catherine
W., #403) fundraising exhibition
Résister—Succomber: Pour l’art
justement. The vernissage is today,
April 19, at 7 p.m., and the show continues
until May 5.
Artistat
Number of artists presenting works in a variety of media all inspired by one theme, Echo, at the Long Hall’s 6th Anniversary Thematic Art Party from April 19–29: 30
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