Short dances
from all over
GREEK MOVES: “Selon désir” by FoniadakisSix years ago, Philippe Cohen, took over the reins as artistic director of the prestigious Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. Since then, he’s given the company a complete makeover and prioritized creating new works for the company repertoire. The 22 dancers are in town this weekend for the first time ever with a handful of short works.
“The three pieces talk about humanity and each one has a strong personality,” says Cohen from his hotel room in Quebec City.
The company’s current touring program is composed of a trio of commissions for the ballet created between 2002 and 2005 by big-name international choreographers, some of whom Montreal audiences are already familiar with.
Take Japanese movement maker Saburo Teshigawara, whose 22-minute octet Cohen describes as “slow, poetic and meditative.” In contrast, the eclectic Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui uses humour and storytelling with the entire company in Loin. Lastly, new to the Montreal scene, Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis presents a piece set to J.S. Bach. It all takes place Feb. 5–7 at 8 p.m., at Place des Arts’s Théâtre Maisonneuve (175 Ste-Catherine W.), $24.
by MARITES CARINO
Making sense of conflict
TOY SOLDIERS: From “Magic Never Ends”
This Wednesday, Feb. 11, Galerie la Centrale (4296 St-Laurent) plays host to the vernissage for Sayeh Sarfaraz’s MFA project, Magic Never Ends—a reflection on the brutality of armed conflicts around the world, and an attempt to show how this violence invades our daily lives.
Born and raised in Iran, Sarfaraz obtained her BFA in France before travelling to Montreal to complete her graduate degree at UQÀM. Compelled by questions of cultural identity and differences, she is informed by her own experiences: “of my life wandering through foreign lands, of my belonging to the Iranian diaspora, and thus of my own exile.”
When viewed from afar, the naïve style, which characterizes Sarfaraz’s drawings belies the seriousness of her project. Rendered in bright colours and clean lines, the illustrations can seem childlike in their simplicity—but this is no accident. The theme of childhood is always present, for it is “a space without censorship, powerful enough to create and build new forms,” she explains.
Resonant in the work is the freedom of this approach: the ability to see with fresh eyes, and to offer representations that offer that same opportunity to the viewer. Until February 15.
by STACEY DEWOLFE
Get your heart-on
Tattoo artist Nat Jean wants her fellow artists to rip their hearts out and put ’em on display for all the world to see for Le He(art) Show this Saturday, Feb. 7, with a joint launch party for Degeneration Overdrive at Katacombes (1222 St- Laurent). A daunting task, perhaps, but one met with enthusiasm by the likes of photographer Susan Moss, graffiti artist Omen, painter Bob Scott and Mirror contributor and comic creator Rick Trembles, among others.
Inspired by a similar show she attended in Philadelphia, Jean assembled 30 artists and gave each of them a roughly 8x8-inch wooden heart to decorate as they deemed fit. The pieces will be up on Katacombes’ walls for the month of February, and for sale once the show’s over (maximum $250 apiece) for those who want to, as Jean says, “pick up a one-of-a-kind valentine.”
But what becomes of the brokenhearted? “People either love Valentine’s Day, or they hate it. Worse comes to worst, you can have a tear in your beer and watch a couple of bands.” $8.
by TRACEY LINDEMAN
Azar Nafisi in MTL
Iranian author and scholar Azar Nafisi first caught the attention of North American readers in 2005, with her memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran. The book, which became a bestseller, documented Nafisi’s experience of starting a women’s-only book club in the Islamic Republic.
Despite the public praise, Nafisi’s work has been criticized by fellow Iranian scholars, including Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi, for having  neoconservative and colonialist leanings, a debate that is sure to be rehashed with her latest title, Things I’ve Been Silent About.
Nafisi’s second memoir is a deeply personal book that delves into the author’s life in in the time leading up to the Islamic Revolution, her relationship with her family—in particular her parents—and her eventual emigration to the U.S. in 1997.
Nafisi will be in Montreal this week to read from Things I’ve Been Silent About, in an event presented by The Blue Metropolis Foundation and hosted by the CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi. It takes place this Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Concordia University’s Hall Building (1455 Maisonneuve W., rm H-110). Admission is free.
by SACHA JACKSON
Is it art?
WHO’S HUNGRY?: There might be a lot of starving artists, but there aren’t  many artists whose goal is to make YOU hungry. Enter Joy Kampia O’Shell, a dedicated foodie artist in the ultimate sense. O’Shell doesn’t prep a steaming bowl of chili for photos or make a perfectly cooked turkey for use in a Butterball ad, but rather creates the food by crocheting it.
From sushi to fried eggs and bacon to a 28-inch sub, O’Shell crochets just about every kind of food out there. Her most impressive works, however, are her wearable designs, like a donut necklace, a dress in the shape of an ice cream sundae and a hamburger dress, which appears above, with all the trimmings.
joykampia.com
Arts
hole
ADVERTISING AS ART: The McClure Gallery (350 Victoria) presents Mediascapes by Robert Walker, a photo exhibition that explores the overload of visual information that infects our urban landscape. The vernissage takes place tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.. • DOWN TO EARTH: The work of José Luis Torres kicks off the ’09 visual arts program at the MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) with a new installation of wooden and earthen cast sculptures and accompanying video projections called Continente. The vernissage takes place tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m.
Artistat
The year Body Fragments, which opens at Théâtre la Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique) tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. and runs until Feb. 7, was
produced and mounted at the Venice Biennale by German company Theatrelabor: 2005 |
