DEAR JANE: Christiane Cellier in Prenez soin de vous

The art scene was abuzz last Thursday evening when an impromptu set by Feist enlivened the vernissage for Sophie Calle’s Prenez soin de vous at DHC/ART (451 St-Jean).

Feist—along with two puppets, one bird and 104 other women of note, including Peaches and local petrochemical chanteuse Poney P—was asked to interpret an e-mail received by Calle a few years ago, with a request from Calle to “comment on it, dance it, sing it... understand it for me.”

The message conveyed was painful: despite our great love, this relationship cannot continue; take care of yourself.

Calle, a darling of the 2007 Venice Biennale where the show had its premiere, allowed the women free reign and the results are mixed, but the show as a whole stands as a stunning accomplishment, and a testament to the universality of loss and the labour of mending a broken heart.

This is not a show to pass through quickly, because it is only in spending time with the photographs, videos and texts that their full impact is felt. Luckily, there is no admission at DHC/ART which means you can visit as often as you like before October 19.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Bulls on parade

LOAD OF BULL: Toro

Driving through the Latin Quarter next Wednesday or Thursday (July 16–17) evening might prove tricky since there’s a surrealist bullfight scheduled to hit St-Denis at 9:43 p.m. each night.

Featuring 45 performers, live flamenco music, pyrotechnics and a metal bull, Toro is the latest contribution to the Just for Laughs festival from French street performance troupe Oposito.

“It’s a creation that exists in the imagination of the audience. We play with the imagination of the people,” says Jean-Raymond Jacob, artistic director of Oposito. 

The group says the show is not so much about bullfighting as playing with the rituals of another era and exploring the meaning of the bull in different cultures.

“It’s very Spanish and Mexican, but it’s also a little of reminiscent of Picasso,” says Just for Laughs artistic director André Pérusse. “It’s really a study of the parade. Instead of just looking at the parade, they join it.”

This will be the fourth time Oposito has taken part in the festival. Their 2001 performance, Transhumance, featured accompaniment by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

The parade departs from the corner of St-Denis and de Maisonneuve at 9:43 p.m. on the dot. For details, see www.hahaha.com.

by MATT JONES

Spontaneous dance

If you’re planning on seeing dance at the Théâtre de Verdure (Parc Lafontaine) this summer, arrange to get there early for a choreographic aperitif. Before every main stage dance performance, choreographer Marie Béland presents a roaming site-specific dance piece on the outskirts of the outdoor theatre.

NOT A GAG: Les Précédents

The UQÀM dance grad says, “We want to provoke curiosity and make people interested in going to see more dance on the stage.” Her piece, Les Précédents, un projet d’architecture chorégraphique, aims to “create a bridge between people in the park and the dance shows on stage.”

Since May, Béland has been rehearsing with her five dancers and a musician who sports a megaphone. Some of the outdoor rehearsals have been challenging, recounts Béland, because they’ve been heckled with “Get a life!” or had bystanders thinking “they were victims in a Just for Laughs Gags episode!”

The free half-hour show explores the idea of spaces and shapes in the park and runs until Aug. 7. For the complete schedule, visit www.maribe.ca.

by MARITES CARINO

 

Pop-out videogamescape

The artist-run centre Articule (262 Fairmount) has closed its doors for the summer, but fear not Mile-End art mappers and gallery strollers, for its annual window project is on view until Aug. 7.

FANTASMAGORIA: Konami Komando

Created by local artists and noise makers Alaska B and Ruby Kato Attwood—formerly of Lesbian Fight Club, but here operating under the moniker Yamantaka // Sonic Titan—Konami Komando is a cartoon phantasmagoria, a pop-out book-ish installation described as a parody of the “cultural death-and-birth cycle of the artists’ own, personal Asian identity in North America.”

The title, Konami Komando or command, is a reference to a videogame cheat code introduced in the mid-’80s to extend the lifespans of gamers playing Nintendo’s infamously difficult game Gradius.

Here, it functions as metaphor, assisting in the project’s investigation into identity construction and the significance of cultural symbols, both real and imagined.

Resembling the set pieces used in their April noise opera performance Yamantaka // Sonic Titan I, the large-scale sculpture exists in space and time, its playful creatures suspended as though in mid-game, held captive in this videogamescape, both enemy and friend, wordlessly beckoning the viewer to enter into their fantastic dream world.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Is it art?

CLUBBING FOR A CAUSE: With going green on everybody’s mind, one club in London, England is doing its part.

The club, which remains nameless, opens tonight and is the first eco-nightclub in the country, promises to make good on its eco-friendly tag, offering organic spirits and powered by renewable energy.

Along with plans to install a recycled water system, the owners are working on an energy-generating dancefloor, which would convert the pounding of the clubbers’ feet into electricity. Though the club charges a 10 pound entry fee, it promises free entry to anyone who can prove they walked, biked or used public transport to get there.

But don’t consider this a fly by night fancy: before you can clear the bouncer, partiers will be asked to sign a pledge, promising to work towards reducing climate change. www.club4climate.com

Arts hole

SWING OUT BROTHER/SISTER: Swing l’été is back with its second event of the summer this Saturday, July 12 next to the Municipal Greenhouses of Verdun (6875 Lasalle). Swing dancing will happen outdoors all day long from 12:15–5:30 p.m. with a free introductory class offered between 12:15 and 1:30 p.m. • HOMEMADE HEAVEN: Drawn & Quarterly and Atelier Wooden Apples presents Pomme-Pomme craft and zine fair this weekend at Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), July 12 and 13 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Stick around on Sunday, July 13, for music by Shapes and Sizes, Elfin Saddle and Brave Radar. The show starts at 9 p.m., tickets are $8

Artistat

The number of objects including sculptures and ceremonial masks currently on view at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as part of The number of objects including sculptures and ceremonial masks currently on view at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as part of Sacred Africa: Ancient Art From Sub-Saharan Africa: 45