Feast for the eyes

>> Conceptual conundrums, kooky installations and smoking animals abound

by EVE MACLAUREN

First up, the Biennale de Montréal cannot be missed. The visual arts component, Tout le temps/Every Time, features 35 artists from 11 countries working in film, video, sculpture, photography and installation. At Palais de commerce (1650 Berri), Sept. 2-Oct. 29.

And then there's Hitchcock and Art: Fatal Coincidences, a multimedia look at the artists who influenced Hitchcock and the influence he had on the arts. Along with the action stills, posters, storyboards and costumes, are 200 paintings, drawings, and sculptures. These include works by Hopper, Klee, Redon and Magritte. At the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherbrooke W.), Nov. 6-March 18.

Asphyxiation as art

Yves Gendreau has an upcoming performance on the 12-metre sculpture/tower he built as part of D'un millénaire à l'autre. Gendreau will apparently be climbing the tower and collecting sound waves which will be broadcast live by a technician. At Mdlc Cote-des-Neiges (5290 Cote-des-Neiges), Sept. 30, 2 p.m. or, in case of rain, Oct. 1. For a taste of the international performance-art scene go to Galerie Clark (1591 Clark, 2nd floor) for the Rencontre internationale d'art performance which happens Oct. 28. Germany's Ben Patterson, Findland's Roy Varra, Jittima Pholsawake and Vasan Sittiket, both from Thailand, will perform, for one night only!

The big mama of this season's performance scene is the Mois de la performance. San Fransisco performance pioneer, Nao Bustamante (who explores asphyxiation by filling a bag with water and sticking her head in it, tearing it off when she runs out of air), as well as New York's Jillian Mcdonald (who will be taking pieces of clothing from the public and transforming them with her sewing machine) will be on hand. Toronto's Germaine Koh, Joelle Ciona of Vancouver and seven local artists, push the boundaries of this art form. The experimental and improvisational works and performances will be shown at galerie La Centrale (460 Ste-Catherine W., #506), in a downtown store window and in a Plateau Mont-Royal shed, Nov. 20-Dec. 14.

From the "out of town, but worth the trip" department: Fairytales for Grown-ups: The Photographs of Diane Arbus, is in Ottawa. After starting as a fashion photographer, Arbus went to the other end of the visual spectrum with pictures of the not-so-beautiful. Coney Island circus performers, the mentally handicapped and ordinary people are captured in these 35 gelatin prints that span her short career. At the National Gallery of Canada, Sept. 29-Jan. 7. Info: (613) 990-1985.

Alexa Wright of Britain, an artistic offspring of Arbus, presents I. Using photography and digital imaging, the artist makes portraits of herself with congenitally disabled or different bodies. The project was initially started to confront prejudices, but eventually came to also reflect the otherness we all feel at times towards ourselves. At Articule (4001 Berri, #105), Sept. 9-Oct. 8.

Animals who smoke and connect-the-dots

Local artist César Saez, specialist in site-specific international interventions, presents Culture Jamming, on the viewer's dominion. If you missed the opening, you can still see this installation that "attempts a re-creation and a dramatization of the act of viewing art." Not recommended for those who prefer the passive art experience. At MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance, #103), until Oct. 14. For interactive projections involving close-ups of blemishes, scars and wrinkles, see The Obscenity of the Surface by Daniel Canogar from Madrid. At Oboro (4110 Berri, #301), until Oct. 22. Over at Galerie B-312 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #403), Jean-Pierre Gauthier presents an interactive installation entitled Remue-ménage. It consists of mechanical sculptures made of everyday objects that move and make noise, creating a humorous take on artistic creation, Oct. 14-Nov. 11. And the biggy: Muntadas on Translation: the Audience. New York artist Muntadas presents three installations highlighting the effect of institutions and media on the production, distribution and perception of art and culture. At the Musée d'Art Contemporain (185 Ste-Catherine W.), Oct. 13-Jan. 14.

Marcel Dzama, the Winnipeg wunderkind, continues his march towards world domination with More Famous Drawings. The exhibit features doodles of tree-headed men and animals smoking, playing music and shooting guns. How can you resist this first viewing in Quebec of Dzama's art? At the Liane and Danny Taran Gallery (5170 Cote-Ste-Catherine), Sept. 21-Oct. 29. In the same vein, the fabulous connect-the-dot paintings of Martin Bourdeau open the season at Roger Bellemare's new Gallery B (372 Ste-Catherine W., #502), until Oct. 28. Yoshihiro Suda of Tokyo is exhibiting his trompe-l'oeil painted wood sculptures of nature at the Biennale and also at René Blouin (372 Ste-Catherine W., #501), Sept. 28-Nov. 4. To wrap it up, Sheila Segal is showing her engaging multimedia works at Galerie Lilian Rodriguez (372 Ste-Catherine W., #405), Nov. 4-Dec. 2. :