Bombed cars and
raging bulls
BOTTOM-UP BULL: David Spriggs’s The Paradox of Power
Cal Lane, Judith Berry and David Spriggs present three very different and fascinating exhibitions that defuse powerful forces at Galerie Art Mûr (5826 St-Hubert). New York-based Lane turns our assumptions upside down with her beautiful interventions involving car parts and shovels.
The installation Filigree Car Bombing, as its name would imply, confronts us with a visual paradox. Ripped, smashed and burnt car parts are strewn about the gallery, yet each metal piece is delicately pierced with a blowtorch—turning its surface into an intricate floral pattern. Even the dirt surrounding the debris has been sifted through lace to continue the motif across the floor. The combination of opposites creates a state of emotional confusion and a haunting work of art.
The second gallery holds the magical paintings of Berry. These large landscapes turn the forces of nature into fanciful biodegradable playgrounds. And in the back gallery, Spriggs uses sheets of plastic and paint in a very original way to create a raging, upside-down, three-dimensional bull that makes Damien Hirsh’s animals seem rather weak and passé. Exhibition runs until May 26, info: (514) 933-0711.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Food for thought
“I hope to bring attention to the paradoxical reality that the 20 fresh  foods that fill your shopping basket have travelled over 100,000 miles before they reach your table, despite the fact that many of these items could be sourced locally,” writes Diana Shearwood of her exhibition Behind the Mall. The attention grabber is a series of photographs she’s taken of the food transportation industry—an 18-wheeler with a McSandwich the size of a truck plastered on its side, milk propaganda and other means of expressway food advertising that say anything but healthy. Though Shearwood’s message won’t do much for your appetite, all of her photos come off in the same clean, candy-coloured hues that the ads do—all industry, no organic. The show’s vernissage, at Articule (262 Fairmount W.), is on Friday, May 18, at 7 p.m. The show runs until June 17 with an artist talk on June 2 at 3 p.m.
by MATTHEW WOODLEY
Words, music and
Jeff Buckley
New York dancer and writer Jane Gabriels discovered her performance chops in the singer-songwriter scene at the Sin-e Café on 8th Street. “I used to go to every Jeff Buckley concert there,” says Gabriels. “These poem-songs and singing all really started to come about after watching Jeff perform, because I had never met anyone like that before. It’s like he showed me an idea, in real time, and at a time when I was ready to see that idea.” The Sin-e scene also yielded studio engineer Jack McKeever, who produced this year’s First Out the Door CD, an experiment in layering sound with vocals.
This Sunday at Words and Music at the Casa, Gabriels will perform with musical friend Julia Rappaport. Other guests include Kathy Kennedy and members of the Hum, poet Rae Taylor with David Gossage, songwriter David Young and MC Ian Ferrier. May 20, 9 p.m., 4873 St-Laurent, $5.
by VINCENT TINGUELY
Is it art?
CHEERS TO GREEN: Drinking green is no longer just a St. Patty’s beer-guzzling tradition, but is also an everyday, earth-friendly, pollution-reducing goal, which is, for the time being, limited to water  consumption. +1 Water (www.plusonewater.ca) are the first to introduce (to Canada) the artistry of bottling locally-sourced, natural spring water in completely biodegradable “bio-bottles,” which are made from corn-based derivatives that can be naturally broken down.
+1 will let the H2O flow at la Gaillarde’s eco-fashion show on May 23. EcoAd, a zero-carbon project, will also be on hand, planting trees to offset the carbon waste accumulated by the commute to and from the event.
The green bottling technologies do not work for carbonated beverages as of yet (because of gas leakage), but for those of you who want to drink yourselves green, the Container Recycling Industry suggests Budweiser, if you can stomach it, as they offer one of the lightest cans in the beer industry.
Arts
hole
PROJECT PROM: Thursday, May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia and to mark it, Project 10, an organization that offers support to queer youth, has organized a fashion show fund-raising event. Gay Proms Through the Ages will feature clothing from Mad-Âme boutique-atelier and items made by youth from Project 10. (6 Weredale Park, 6–8 p.m.) ARTICHOKE ART: Polish-born and Montreal-bred, Aleks Bartosik has exhibited her art across much of Europe and Canada. Her current show, Borrowing Artichoke-Hearts, is a collection of her recent work combining drawing and painting to express dream-like narratives. The vernissage is today, May 17 at Usine C (1345 Lalonde), 5–7 p.m.
Artistat
The age that Pointe-à-Callière (the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, 350 Place Royale, Old Montreal) will be turning on May 17, 2007, kicking off two weeks of birthday celebration events: 15
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