Art, laughter, dancing
and maybe sex

SINK OR SWIMMERS: By Aurélie Grand

Bridging the transatlantic franco diaspora, French Fourch is a loose team of Gallic graphic artists who make some neat little books. And posters and t-shirts and stuffed animals and porcelain sculptures of wild game.

The artists’ styles range from indie-cutesy—embodied by Aurélie Grand’s happy bathers—to cheerfully nauseating, as in Tristan Pernet’s monstrosities à la Ren and Stimpy.

After the founding artists met in 2007 at an online forum for illustrators, they decided to enter the world of self-publishing. With a few books on the market at some pretty prestigious sales locations in France—the Palais de Tokyo and the Centre Pompidou among them—French Fourch is looking to make some waves on this side of the ocean.

That’s where the launch party comes in. Du French Fourch plein la bouche, featuring the works of six artists and a large mural installation, takes place tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 25 at SNAP! (4064 St-Laurent) from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Montreal-based Fourcher Sylvain Martet knows how to catch our attention: cheap art and a good time. “It’s obvious we’re gonna laugh really hard,” he says. “There will be music and booze, so I guess dance and maybe sex afterwards. Can’t miss it.”

by DAVID LEVITZ

Epic BGL installation

BIRD BRAINED: BGL

There is a great deal of mystery and excitement surrounding the opening of BGL’s latest work Postérité-Posterity at Parisian Laundry (3550 St-Antoine W.). With a press release describing a journey of mock-epic proportions, and a Facebook message citing an urgent need for volunteer “guides” to lead “tourists” through the installation, anticipation is running high.

Tomorrow night’s vernissage, Friday, Sept. 25—which has an uncharacteristically late start time of 8 p.m.—is an invitation to become immersed in yet another one of BGL’s fantastical worlds. Those who saw their magical installation, À l’abri des arbres, at the MAC in 2001 may recognize familiar imagery and themes in the Quebec-based trio’s latest project, as this one continues to investigate society’s fragile and unpredictable relationship with the natural environment.

For those unfamiliar with BGL—whose name is drawn from the last initials of its three members, Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère and Nicolas Laverdière—the project promises an array of sensorial delights. From the ornamental tree factory that will inhabit the gallery’s bunker, to the “flea market” with its collection of studio ephemera, the exhibit uses recycled and recontextualized materials to address the themes of ownership and consumerism.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Get cultured

If you shy away from things like the arts, or are generally ignorant about neighbourhoods in which you don’t reside, then this weekend (Sept. 25–27) offers the perfect opportunity to explore the city’s historic and cultural hubs.

Now in its 13th year, the Journées de la culture kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. with an opening party featuring turntablists Le Rossignol et Lafrance at the SAT (1195 St-Laurent). On Saturday, ArtAnywhere takes you on a trip to search out emerging artists in unexpected places. Hop on the free shuttle at the Place du Quartier des spectacles (11 a.m.–5 p.m.).

If you’re into time travel, check out Blacksmith Days at Forges Pelli Design (11535, 5th Ave. Rivière-des-Prairies), where they’ll be demonstrating different ironwork techniques and giving tours of the workshop (Sat. 1–4 p.m.). To discover that the Mile-End isn’t all hipsters and cafés, delve into the neighbourhood’s history during a walking tour, rain or shine (Sat. at 1 and 4 p.m. corner of St-Viateur E. and St-Dominique). In the Old Port, DHC/ART (451 St-Jean) celebrates the last weekend of Michal Rovner’s exhibit Particles of Reality with free guided tours, Sat. and Sun. at 12, 2 and 4 p.m.

For the full schedule and details, go to: journeesdelaculture.qc.ca

by SACHA JACKSON

Street yoga

If you happen to be strolling down St-Viateur this Saturday, Sept. 26 and catch a glimpse of yogis on grass in the middle of the street, you’re not seeing things. Musician-composer Jason Sharp and yoga instructor-dancer Elizabeth Emberly will be leading free outdoor Naada yoga classes, a practice the duo have developed with sound at its base to facilitate harmonious breathing and movement.

“Naada is Sanskrit for sound and Naada yoga is the yoga of sound,” says Sharp. “In its traditional form, it’s purely a sound meditation, but coming from our backgrounds, we’ve combined it with Hatha yoga,” elaborates Sharp, who accompanies the class on woodwinds, and is joined by Stef Schneider on percussion and Bill Hesselink on tabla and percussion.

The event is part of an international outdoor street fest called PARK(ing) Day that turns metered parking spaces into temporary parks. For more info about the outdoor afternoon yoga workshops, visit naada.ca, and for other street happenings, check out my.parkingday.org.

by MARITES CARINO

IS IT ART?

TOY INSTRUMENTS: It’s rare that childhood career ambitions come true, but New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya has achieved just that.

Known as the Brick Artist™, Sawaya has created everything from a giant cookie to Mount Rushmore and even a life-sized version of Stephen Colbert, exclusively out of LEGO. While other artists work with mediums like pencils and clay to make sketches of miniatures of their ideas, the Brick Artist™ crafts his creations with the help of special graph paper known as BRICKPAPER™, which enables him to thoroughly plan out his projects.

For his latest creation, Sawaya went above and beyond, crafting an entire working cello out of the children’s toy. It might not find a place in a professional orchestra but the cello can still sing.

brickartist.com/large-sculptures/cello-1.html

Arts hole

ECO-AUTUMN: Boutique La Gaillarde (4039 Notre-Dame W.) invites local, environmentally friendly designers Deborah Adams, Dita & Bella, Estrella bijoux and Supayana to show off their best looks in a fall/winter fashion show. It takes place Saturday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m., cocktails at 4 p.m. • TWO ABSURDIST VIEWS: Jaynus O’Donnell’s entertaining and thoughtful collages are on view next to the folkloric paintings and drawings of Luc Paradis in Cut and Dry, the latest show to hit the walls at Red Bid Gallery (135 Van Horne W.). It opens with a vernissage tonight, Thursday, Sept. 24 from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Artistat

The number of medical masks that have been transformed into works of art and will be on display at the collective show Since I Breathe Green... at the Mile-End Library (5434 Parc), which opens Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. and runs until Oct. 4: 120