IMAX experience

ARTISTIC ALCHEMY:
Botkin’s “Remember Who You Are/Leprosy Mask”

Jason Botkin returns to the art circuit with his second solo show Last Minute. Part of Extreme Painting, a daring exhibition taking place in galleries around the city (see story, p. 43), Botkin’s installation makes use of all the available space at Galerie Pangée (40 St-Paul W.), treating the room like his own personal canvas. Drain pipes leak ominously from the ceiling; twisted bodies hang on the walls; urban mazes jump out at you. “When you walk into the gallery, you’re surrounded by this universe. I wanted to create an IMAX experience,” says Botkin. And he succeeds in sucking the viewer into his world, making his four weeks of construction seem almost effortless.

Carved out of plywood and painted in black and white acrylic, his large shapes are both fascinating and mysterious. My two favourite works are “Remember Who You Are/ Leprosy Mask” and “Don’t tread on me.” The first resembles a diseased smoking body while the second shows a murky figure being enveloped by a snake. When Botkin talks about how politics, symbols and alchemy inspire his art, these two pieces instantly come to mind. Every image, curve and line appears to be carefully crafted.

by ALEXANDRA MURPHYW

Duet with abandon

DANCING INTO THE WRECK:
How I lost my arm and found myself

An abandoned, graffiti-covered building near the St-Henri metro is the inspiration behind How I lost my arm and found myself, a contemporary dance evening that uses the former factory as a backdrop.

Last year, choreographer-dancer Catherine Larocque saw a dance video that was shot in this dilapidated building and was inspired to organize an entire evening of dance and video centred around the place. Larocque along with choreographers Nancy Rivest, Hanna Feldhaus, Véronique D’Abate, Nicole Sodeco and Loïc Stafford Richard teamed up with videographers to create a moving video decor for each of their dance shorts.

Larocque says her duet, whose video plays with the symmetry of the live dance and the filmed dance, “is really about compromise and the effort you have to put into maintaining a relationship. It’s also about how you get to know yourself through others.”

The soirée is part of Zone Homa, a summer arts event dedicated to promoting emerging artists at the Maison de la Culture Maisonneuve (4200 Ontario E.) in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The show runs this Saturday, July 24, 8 p.m., $10-$12, zonehoma.com.

by MARITES CARINO

Just pour pleurer

With so many festivals promising fun and enjoyment, it takes chutzpa to promise to make you cry. Or your money back.

This Sunday, July 25, starting at 8 p.m. at le Cagibi (5490 St-Laurent), Bawling League will do what few events promise.

“Bawling League was kind of a reaction to comedy festivals in general,” says graphic novelist Sherwin Tjia, who initially planned to call it Juste Pour Pleurer, but changed his mind when he realized he didn’t have the money to put up a legal defence fund.

“Comedy is like the pretty blonde of dramatic expression. Tragedy the ugly redheaded sister. I always find myself rooting for the underdog.”

While audience members are expected to pay $2 at the door, anyone who brings a CD or DVD containing a song or moment that makes them cry and are willing to share that moment will get in for free. The event will have designated huggers, as well as plenty of tissues.

“If you’re shy about crying in front of people, but want to share anyway, we’ll have a screen that you can talk behind,” says Tjia. “Crying isn’t always pretty.”

by CHRISTOPHER OLSON

Market recess

After travelling around Europe and the States and being charmed by the number of outdoor, open-air markets, Guerlain Guerrier and Dana Cernacek decided they wanted to recreate that same feeling of community and interaction here in Montreal.

Inaugurated this past weekend—“It was a Baptism by fire,” Guerrier laughs, citing the heavy rain and hurricane-like winds. “We’re looking forward to better weather.”—Marché La Récré brings together a number of different vendors selling everything from buckwheat hull pillows to vintage finds and photography. Sourcing local products and producers who aren’t necessarily part of the craft-fair circle took time and dedication. “We spent months trying to reach people on the Internet, looking through Etsy—which is like finding a needle in a haystack—and getting good references. We wanted to have a curated space but also to have a good mix of high and low.”

Having a selection of tasty food also helps create an interactive space. “Merguez sandwiches will be available and we’re going to have shaved ice and artisanal popsicles later in the summer.”

The Marché runs Saturdays from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at l’Ecole Lambert Closse (5849 St-Urbain) until (at least) Sept. 4. Details at marchelarecre.com.

by SACHA JACKSON

IS IT ART?

ART IN 60 SECONDS: Can art be created in 60 seconds? That’s the question posed by M60, the 60 Second Film Festival, whose registration party takes place tomorrow, Friday, July 23 at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent) at 8:30 p.m.

Now in its third year, the fest has screened superb minute-long works from such renowned auteurs as Mirror columnist Raf Katigbak and Mirror film editor (not to mention actual, bonafide filmmaker) Mark Slutsky.

Would-be directors/actors/producers/boom-guys should arrive early, as only the first 120 filmmaking teams to sign up will be accepted, and given a month (submissions due Aug. 23) to complete their masterpiece.

Along with the reveal of the top-secret theme, there will be talks by Adam Gollner and D’Arcy O’Connor, art giveaways, dancin’ and a secret headlining band.

M60.ca

Arts hole

PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUE: Red Bird Studios (135 Van Horne) asked three photographers, Alexis Gross, Ben Philippi and Mamoru Kobayakawa, to explore the scene of a murder and the questions that surround a murder mystery and death in general. Their findings are on view at Who Shot J. Doe?, which opens tonight, Thursday, July 22 at 6 p.m. and runs until Aug. 2. • FIBRE-IN-ACTION: Madeline Pippa Bartlett and Carolina Murillo Moarles present their collective works as part of transACTIONS and reACTIONS, an exhibit that explores fibre-based artwork through sculpture, installation, video and performance. The vernissage takes place this Tuesday, July 27 from 6–8 p.m. at the VAV Gallery (1395 René-Lévesque) and runs until Aug. 6

Artistat

The number of artists, including BGL, Cordy Ryman and Justin Stephens, whose work is on view at Parisian Laundry (3550 St-Antoine W.) as part of their latest exhibit, Summertime in Paris Extreme Painting, which runs until Aug. 28: 7