Roll the bones

by Mark Slutsky

An intriguing new exhibition graces the Norman McLaren Museum at the Cinémathèque québécoise. Red Dice is an installation by American artist Bill Seaman, an interactive piece based around 19th-century French writer Stéphane Mallarmé's poem "Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard" (or "Dice Thrown Will Never Annul Chance").

Visitors to the museum will find an electronic tablet and pen with which they can navigate their way through Mallarmé's poem, activating along their way the various images and music Seaman has created to accompany the work. The result is an unusual experience, with the participant interacting, to a degree, with both the long-dead poet and the living artist. Images, sound, and words combine to produce a sense of meaning unique to the participant. That theme, "recombinant poetics," runs through many of Seaman's works, which have often involved active participation. Red Dice will be on display until April 22 at 335 Maisonneuve E.

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