Gone fishin’
BINGO HALL: Paul Goes Fishing
Montreal artist Michel Rabagliati grew up reading and copying the finest of French comics, Spirou, Tintin and Asterix. But it wasn’t until he was asked to design a logo for then-brand new comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly in 1990 that he came in contact with the emerging world of English comics publishing.
By the time Rabagliati was designing logos, he was already an accomplished graphic designer and commercial illustrator, a career that is mimicked by the character Paul in his semi-autobiographical writings.
In the opening pages of Paul Goes Fishing, the fourth installment in the series, Rabagliati charts the evolution of graphic design from an industry reliant on typographers, film strippers and colour separators to an industry at the mercy of the personal computer and its god, the MAC.
In one jaw-dropping sequence of panels, Paul estimates he handed over at least $40,000 in a 12-year span to the computer company, “And what for? To wind up glued to the screen, straining my eyes, slumped over and slack-jawed for the rest of my professional life?”
“We really got screwed.”
Rabagliati launches Paul Goes Fishing with a book signing this Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at Drawn & Quarterly bookstore (211 Bernard W.)
by SACHA JACKSON
Videos to go
ONLY ACTING: KnockSTOP. is the second and final exhibition by Christof Migone in his role as visiting curator of contemporary art for 2007–’08 at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery (1400 de Maisonneuve W.). This group show includes work by Samuel Roy-Bois, Thérèse Mastroiacovo and Charlemagne Palestine, amongst others.
Palestine is a minimalist composer and performer from the New York’s ’60s and ’70s downtown music scene—a contemporary of Philip Glass and Steve Reich. This all may sound very highbrow, but don’t be fooled, his videos bring you back in time and are pretty funny with their classic hippie counter-culture feel.
In the piece I saw, Palestine straps the camera to his motorcycle and drives around an island while humming and mumbling along with the roar of the engine. There will be a special screening of Palestine’s videos from this era on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at the J.A. de Sève cinema, located on the same floor as the gallery.
Another experimental work is by Simone Jones and Lance Winn. They present some really bad acting, combined with some interesting new robotic technology, in their video installation Knock. The video projector moves, making the video projection travel across three walls and the floor.
Until March 1, info: (514) 848-2424 ext. 4750.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Alone time
Since embarking on her path as a choreographer, Jocelyne Montpetit says she’s always been propelled by the ideas of change and metamorphosis in her creations. “Finding a way to transform the body and soul through something in space. This is how I’ve been working for many years.”
Montpetit, who has been veering towards solo work for the past decade,  explains her creative process as very intimate and rooted in her many years of working with butoh masters Kazuo Ohno and Tatsumi Hijikata.
“I need a lot of solitude to work, and my work needs a lot of solitude on stage,” she explains. “But I don’t call my dance butoh.”
Montpetit’s newest solo, Faune, which she describes as a “poetic essay,” was created while in an artist residency in Italy last year, around the personal writings of Russian dance great Vaslav Nijinsky.
“He is not a poet, but his words are so human and based on the soul searching for something true. I try to dance as an echo of Nijinsky.” Montpetit performs at 8 p.m. nightly, from Jan. 31–Feb. 9 at l’Agora de la Danse (840 Cherrier).
by MARITES CARINO
Perverse voyeurs
One of Montreal’s most talented duos is at it again. Stephen Lawson and Aaron Pollard present the world premiere of their latest multimedia performance piece, Phobophilia, Feb. 9–10 at Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #303).
The work will be performed three times each evening in a small space that only  holds 20 people. Where that actual space is, on the other hand, I don’t know. When I spoke with Pollard and Lawson earlier this week, they told me that the audience will be blindfolded and then led to “an undisclosed location” to act as “perverse voyeurs.”
Phobophilia is the arousal from fear or hate. This work grew out of Lawson’s and Pollard’s questioning of their role as artists and our role as Canadians in this age of terror. They call the performance “very dark,” but also promise it “still contains our previous sense of humour about the world, and camp.”
After Phobophilia comes Apophenia, a two-week workshop hosted by 2boys.tv to help participants create transdiciplinary performance pieces that will be part of the upcoming Nuit Blanche on March 1.
For Phobophilia tickets or for more information on the workshop, go to www.studio303.ca or call (514) 393-3771.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Is it art?
SKETCHY: Facebook may have cornered much of the things-to-do-while-putting-off-work market, but it’s not the only site that lets you compete with strangers for the hell of it. Sketchswap.com is a little friendlier, and much more artistic than your regular Scrabulous or Boggle.
The concept is simple: you sketch a line drawing, you submit it and you get a  random drawing back in return.
Created by Dominik Schmid and Philip Lenssen, the site has a few ground rules. Any text must be written in English (in order for them to approve the drawing, they need to make sure the drawing won’t offend anyone), no shameless self-promotion (participants cannot simply add their URL), and lastly, no submissions of anything a child wouldn’t be able to look at.
This is kids stuff, after all.
www.sketchswap.com
Arts
hole
BOOKWORMS: Galerie Articule presents Titles III, a travelling exhibition featuring newly created book works by artists, architects and designers. Using new or existing titles as inspiration, the participants were asked to create a piece whose form and content have a relation to the chosen title. The creation will be shelved under a traditional bookstore category and in alphabetical order. The vernissage takes place Saturday, Feb. 2 from 5–7 p.m. at Librairie l’Écume des Jours (125 St-Viateur W.) and runs until March 2. • ART LOVER: The latest exhibition at Usine 106U, EROS, runs from Feb. 4–29, with the orgasmic works of artists such as Mimi Traillette, Daniel Erban, Chloé Beaulac and Brent Kluke. The vernissage takes place Thursday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. (111 Roy E.)
Artistat
The top age of applicants who can compete in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal’s first choreographic competition, which focuses on discovering new talent and supporting creation in the world of classical ballet (deadline April 18): 30 |
