WIGGED OUT: Linzy

“When dealing with a woman like Dinah and myself, you can’t give us all the things we really desire, we need to be challenged. Don’t treat us like queens, treat us like shit and we’ll love you. We’re wounded John Jay, save the romantic shit for girls like Sally Sue.” This isn’t a line from the latest romcom, but rather is taken from “Keys to Our Heart,” a take on The Colour Purple by video and performance artist Kalup Linzy.

Filmed in crisp black and white, Keys is just one of many videos on view as part of his latest show Recessed, Depressed... Child, Just Tell Me..., which opens at Parisian Laundry (3550 St-Antoine W.) tonight, Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m.

Using wigs, drag and voice-modulation software, Linzy transforms himself into characters like Labisha the diva, Katonya the emerging artist and Taiwan the drag queen, all of whom inhabit his videos and allow him to satirize everything from Days of Our Lives to the art world and popular music videos.

Tonight’s opening includes a one-night-only live performance of Comedy, Tragedy, Sketches of Me by Linzy himself. Not to be missed.

by SACHA JACKSON

Reflections of us

START ENGAGING: Sunglasses 3

We live in an age of attention deficiency. Gifted multi-taskers, we mediate our experiences through an ever-changing array of technological devices. As a result, we are often too busy or too distracted to stop and smell the proverbial roses. Such are the themes that dominate the latest exhibition at the Emporium Gallery (3035 St-Antoine W., #74).

Moments in Time, the series of portraits by local artist Gaetanne Lavoie, which opens this Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m., seeks to reconnect with the human imagination, exploring those fleeting instants that are “part of our existence, but are rarely realized.” As Lavoie explains, “we are over-stimulated by advertising, the media, and the inconsequential… moments in time are windows, often neglected, passed by and unacknowledged.”

With emotions that range from contemplative and serene to exuberant and downright ecstatic, Lavoie’s portraits strip away the detritus of modern life, focusing their attention on her subjects’ faces—all of whom are wearing sunglasses. Lavoie wants us to share in the moment of revelation, an engagement that is aided by our ability to see, or at least imagine ourselves as reflected in the characters’ shades.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

 

Long-distance love faked

Multidisciplinary choreographer Melissa Raymond created FAKE, her latest work, during a Montreal-Puerto Rico long-distance relationship. “I believe that I let my own life intoxicate and contaminate my work,” she explains. Her quartet investigates recreation and reproduction, and how “memories are ingrained in an object in order to conserve it.”

MODERN COMMUNICATION: FAKE

Dancers Patricia Allison, Lucy M. May, Abram G. Moore and Benjamin Read perform in this study of relationships and communication through the use of a video camera with a live feed, an audio recorder and various plastic objects.

Since Raymond is also interested in archiving and documentation, she and the dancers are blogging their thoughts and feelings during their creative process. After the performances, spectators are invited to leave their impressions and converse with the artists though the site.

The piece runs May 8–10 at Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #303). Visit projetfake.wordpress.com for details.

by MARITES CARINO

Beyond trippy

Pulsing with colours, patterns and hallucinatory iconography, you can call the works at the one-day Interdimensional Artshow “heavy, man,” but don’t call them psychedelic.

POSITIVELY PULSING: Dyer with his art

“Visionary” is the term preferred by curator and contributing artist Chris Dyer, of the Positive Creations crew, who insists the mystical, mind-bending mishmash of 30 local and international artists (plus craft fair, live painting, ital snacks, VJs and more) happening Saturday, May 9 at Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark) is “more than just trippy art done by stoners.

Many of the artists are pure spiritual beings who find these evolutionary images inside their meditations and focus their intentions and talents to help humanity reach new levels of higher consciousness.” Reach your own new highs at the show’s early-evening viewing, 5–9 p.m., $5, or the late-night blowout with music care of Speakerbruiser, Omie’1, Living-Stone and more, 9 p.m.–3 a.m., $15.

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

IS IT ART?

Totally Trampy: Who would’ve thought that at the ripe old age of 50 Barbie would finally join the ranks of the cool kids. “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos” Barbie comes with her own mini-skirt, boostier and stick-on tattoos, inviting kids to “be creative” with the doll.

But the fun doesn’t stop there: a tattoo gun and ink-pad, included in the package, ensures children everywhere will be able to emulate the icon with their own, albeit washable, tramp stamp.

Shockingly, sales of the doll, which retails on Amazon.com for $24.99 USD, have surpassed expectations and Mattel has no plans to stop production. Facelift Barbie, certainly. Totally Botox Barbie, even better. But Tattoos Barbie? Surely they could’ve picked something more age appropriate.

www.barbie.com

Arts hole

BOUND AND ABOUT TO BE FLOGGED: Conundrum Press celebrates the launch of their latest titles, Papercut Heart, a beautifully bound mini-sized collection of zines by Ian Sullivan Cant and The Undertaking by Michael J. Hind, a graphic novel about a family of undertakers during WWII. It takes place this Wednesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. at Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard W.). • OFF BNL MTL: Optica (372 Ste-Catherine W., #508) presents Rien de tout cela the latest installation sculpture by Serge Murphy. The show opens Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. and is part of the Off-Biennale Montreal programming.

Artistat

The age you have to be in order to enjoy Blue Light Burlesque’s latest show, Vegas Baby!, happening at Petite Campus (57 Prince-Arthur E.) this Wednesday, May 13 at 8 p.m.: 18+