Art for humans

Playwright and critic Amiri Baraka once said that art is whatever makes you proud to be human. As far as definitions go it's a little broad, but it definitely applies to Vital Signs, the exhibit now showing at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery.

This group show consists of interactive installations centered around the questioning and the celebration of humanity. Each piece in the show deals with sensory experience and assumptions about perception. In other words, they challenge nothing less than the notion of physical existence.

Personal favourites among the many great pieces: Sandra Rechico's broken glass floor, upon which the public is invited to walk (only after having signed a waiver, of course) and Wendy Jacob's "Squeeze Chaise Longue," a mohair recliner whose inflatable pillows squeeze your shoulders and head. At 1400 de Maisonneuve W., until May 20. : -- Sholem Krishtalka

... more arts