Encountering
artists

INFORMAL DANCE: Alyson Wishnousky

Artist and producer Jane Gabriels says that one of the best things you can do for your artist friends is to give them a deadline. With that in mind, Gabriels “loosely curates” artistic evenings to encourage meetings and exchanges.

Artist Encounters is the latest event, taking place this Monday, June 28 at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent) at 9 p.m., $8. Expect an evening filled with stories, Spanish poetry, dance, French rap, hip hop, performance photography and Russian performance art that somehow involves vodka.

“It’s a way to get everyone together and see what they’re up to artistically,” says Gabriels who will also be performing. “It’s a way to increase conversation…mixing it up, and inspiring people to go for it. That’s what I like.”

For a more movement-specific evening, Gabriels also puts together a dance happening. Check out Informal Showings at Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #303) this Sunday, June 27 at 5 p.m., $7, which features short new works from eight choreographers including Alyson Wishnousky, Keven Lee and Reena Almoneda Chang.

by MARITES CARINO

The universe & everything

PHOTO MONTAGE: From “Album VIII”

In 1982, Douglas Adams published the third book in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy: Life, the Universe & Everything. Last weekend, when perusing Tableaux Vivants and the hundreds of images that comprise Luis Jacob’s latest photographic opus, “Album VIII,” at Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa), I was reminded of that fantastic title. For Jacob’s massive collage project, which is having its Canadian premiere after shows in Germany and Ireland, seems to be about just that: life, the universe and everything else in between.

Culled from various sources, the images are installed so that the relationship between each photograph—be it thematic, aesthetic or narrative—is heightened. The result is an exhibition that is great fun for the viewer because it functions on a number of levels. First, one can meditate on the work’s many themes or trace the narrative through images of public and private spaces and the people who inhabit them. Or, as was suggested by the folks around me, one can participate in a game of “name that photo,” further deciphering the work as a whole by identifying the origin and original photographer of its parts.

Tableaux Vivants is on view until Aug. 29.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Cult sunshine

Fans of cult cinema will get a long-needed boost this weekend with the opening of Blue Sunshine (3660 St-Laurent), a screening room dedicated to the finest in underground film. Founded by Kier-La Janisse, a programmer who’s honed her craft in similar venues from Austin to Winnipeg (she’s now working with Fantasia and as the Mirror’s newest film critic) and writer David Bertrand.

“Our goal is to screen films that have never screened theatrically in Montreal—including at festivals—and that are not commercially available on DVD via the usual outlets,” explains Bertrand. The opening films are tax-shelter era Ivan Reitman horror spoof Cannibal Girls (Friday, June 25, 8:15 p.m.) and Trent Harris’s Beaver Trilogy (Saturday, June 26, 8:15 p.m.), an indescribably unique project in which Harris made a documentary about a small town outsider, then remade it twice with Sean Penn and Crispin Glover in the respective leads.

Along with trash classics and avant-garde rarities, the programming includes music films and strange TV artefacts (including When the Laughter Stopped, a movie-of-the-week about the travails of the Diff’rent Strokes cast, July 9), with workshops and art shows thrown in for good measure. For a complete list of the events to come, check out blue-sunshine.com.

by MALCOLM FRASER

Art park indoors and out

When I first moved to Mile End in 2001, one of my favourite things to do was wander by the abandoned lot at the corner of St-Urbain and Van Horne and see if there was anything new in the art park. At that time, self-taught sculptor Glen LeMesurier was installing his fantastic large-scale sculptures under the cover of night, so that city workers would be none the wiser.

Things have changed since then. A few years ago—after much back and forth with the city and a promise to create a fully accessible public space—LeMesurier was given free reign to further develop the park. And this month, his work is being given its full due with Histoires Métallurgiques, an exhibition at the Côtes-des-Neiges Maison de la Culture (5290 Côtes-des-Neiges) until Aug. 21.

As befits an artist committed to working in the public realm, the sculptures have been installed in both the gallery space and in an adjacent garden. The work itself is magical and surreal, triggering childhood memories of imaginary lands, yet is grounded in reality. LeMesurier’s work, which is created entirely from found objects and materials, speaks to the urban history of the city.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

IS IT ART?

RONALDO ON YOUR CHEST: World Cup fever has taken over the city’s streets and bars, but beyond attaching a flag to your balcony/car/bike, how will people know just who you’re supporting? Luckily, local company Montréalité have come up with a portable, slightly subtler way of supporting your country of choice—
t-shirts.

Teaming up with artist and illustrator Todd Stewart, Montréalité have produced the perfect World Cup signifier. Stewart’s transformed some of the game’s biggest stars—think Ronaldo, Rooney, Buffon—into illustrated versions of themselves, allowing you to put the face of your favourite player onto a shirt of your own choosing. You can pick both the colour of the player and your shirt to ensure the prefect country-coded colour scheme. Get yours at Jenx & Cie (51 Bernard W.) or online at montrealite.com, $22.

Arts hole

COLLECTOR’S EDITION: Battat Contemporary (7245 Alexandra) gives you a glimpse into the world of a serious art collector with their latest show Works From the Collection. On view until Aug. 14, the show features pieces from the gallery’s own collection, everything from work by old masters to modern and contemporary pieces. ● MUSICALLY INSPIRED: Maison Kasini (372 Ste-Catherine W., #408) gets into the Jazz Fest groove with their latest exhibit Visual Jazz by artist Lois Eby. The vernissage takes place this Saturday, June 26 from 3–5 p.m.

Artistat

The number of artists, including Max Wyse, Elmyna Bouchard and Luce Meunier, whose work is on view until Aug. 28 at the Maison de la culture Frontenac (2550 Ontario E.) as part of the group show Dessins: 12