Deer in the
headlights
WAX ANIMAL MUSEUM: zoon ambiante
“Humans have a very limited sensorial range, and yet we hold ourselves up as the measure of all things,” says local artist jake moore when discussing her exhibition zoon ambiante at Optica (372 Ste-Catherine W., #508). This installation consists of a deer, an incredibly appealing little rabbit, and a bunch of deer’s ears hanging from ropes attached to the ceiling.
The animals are made using taxidermy forms covered in dripped beeswax; they gaze at the viewer through realistic looking artificial eyes. You can’t put your finger on it, but there is something disconcerting about this encounter with “nature.” Perhaps it is the lighting: a combination of warm and cool fluorescent lights glowing at floor level. The light together with the wax bathes the room in an unnatural, yellowish hue. Or it could be the soundscape that moore has created by attaching microphones to amplify the ever-present hum of the fluorescent lights.
The doe-eyed deer, the hare, the feedback and the lighting repels and attracts the senses simultaneously—drawing the viewer in to contemplate a scene that is both otherworldly and familiar.
Until Dec. 8, info: (514) 874-1666.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Skating and street art
INTO THE FIRE: Alvaro Nightmare by Alvaro Perez del SolarIt’s pretty easy to write off so-called skateboard art. Too much of it is created by people who at some point likened their skateboard to a paintbrush and the streets to a blank canvas. So when video editor Frank Lam and graf writer Zema organized their own show, La Paria, two years ago, it seemed natural to go beyond, well, skateboarding. In that time, the show has grown to include design, graffiti, video and photography.
“The crew is getting bigger and bigger,” Lam says of the La Paria collective. And though graffiti writer Labrona and skate photographer Félix Faucher may seem stylistically disparate, Lam says that’s really not the case. It’s all street art, produced surreptitiously, devoid of clichés.
Graffiti and skateboarding are both “art forms that you would practise by yourself,” he explains. “And if you compare the Dogtown and Z-Boys guys with the guys from Style Wars, you can see, really, something similar.”
From Dec. 3–7 at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, (255 Ontario E.) Vernissage this Monday Dec. 3, 6–10 p.m., info: www.laparia.ca.
by LUCAS WISENTHAL
Bashing bard
Dave Bidini’s a rock ’n’ roll musician who happens to be a writer—or maybe he’s a writer who happens to rock? Either way, the two sides of his creative mojo work well together.
 “Writing is mostly done alone, in the glorious sadness of one’s small space, while rock ’n’ roll or songwriting has always been, for me, a community thing. The songs are conceived alone, but they’re bashed out and torn apart with others,” Bidini explains. “I actually think it’s a pretty comfortable balance: the interior vs. the exterior, getting way deep inside one’s thoughts for prolonged periods, then basically puking up your emotions on stage.”
Bidini’s been doing some therapeutic post-Rheostatics puking up, as chronicled in his latest book, Around the World in 57 1/2 Gigs. He’ll be in town reading excerpts and playing some tunes this Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent), free.
by VINCENT TINGUELY
Three men and a river
“It’s too simple to say it’s about three men,” says choreographer Emmanuel Jouthe of his new work, Staccato Rivière.
The trio, in which Jouthe performs with dancers David Flewelling and Masaharu Imazu, explores “three different characters, three different bodies and three different ways to be a man and how they meet on stage,” explains Jouthe.
“David is like a calm, fixed river, Masa is like an animal crossing it, and me—I don’t know if I’m a swimmer trying to swim,” says Jouthe, laughing. “Actually, I’m trying to make a link between these two men.”
It’s the first time Jouthe has written a structured choreography, which incorporates a wooden table and three wooden heads for the all-male cast.
The piece runs tonight, Nov. 29–Dec. 1, and from Dec. 4–8 at 8 p.m. at Théâtre la Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique).
A final tip, after the shows on Dec. 4–5, popular author and psychoanalyst, Guy Corneau, will lead a discussion with the public.
Info: (514) 843-7738.
by MARITES CARINO
Is it art?
Rock Relics: What better way to tell your favourite music nerd, “You’re the best!” than with an authentic Depeche Mode coffee mug from their Modern Rock Marathon tour ($35)?
 The glory days of rock ’n’ roll might be behind us, but Wolfgangsvault.com is filled with enough relics—everything from a Bryan Adams gym tote ($59) to a vintage photograph of Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight Festival ($1,500)—to transport you back.
Named after legendary promoter Bill Graham (born Wolfgang Grajonca in pre-WWII Berlin), the site pulls from his collection of rock artefacts, which he meticulously collected and preserved. Included in the on-line store are concert and interview downloads, as well as magazine articles and even a Vault Radio, so you can listen while you search.
Some of the pieces look a little worse for wear (see the Ms. All-Bare America tee with sweat stains, $66), but in true rock style it only adds to the authenticity.
Arts
hole
SOLD! For the starting price of $499.99, artists Catherine Lescarbeau and Nadège Grebmeier Forget will dig you a hole! This spadework is part of artist-run centre Dare-Dare’s fundraising auction, Artistes à emporter, taking place tonight, Thursday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. (280 Beaubien E.), with the work of several local artists on the block, www.dare-dare.org. • CRAFTY MARKET: This Saturday, Dec. 1, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., the Flea Affair takes place at the Centro Gallego de Montréal (4602 St-Laurent), with everything from puppets to jewellery on sale and all with an eco-friendly vibe. • UNCOMPLICATED: Miriam Towes, whose novel A Complicated Kindness won the 2004 Governor-General’s Award for fiction, will be reading tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the J.A. de Sève Theatre (1400 Maisonneuve W.) as part of the Blue Metropolis Literary Series. Free.
Artistat
Number of years the McCord Museum has been hosting its annual craft fair, which takes place this Tuesday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. at the museum (690 Sherbrooke W.) and where you can pick up handcrafted jewellery, pottery, folk art and more from artists based in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario: 13 |
