Not your average Joe

There's something striking and often mesmerizing about simple movements multiplied in dance. One choreography that notably exemplifies this is Joe, created in 1984 by visual artist/choreographer Jean-Pierre Perreault. Perreault made a distinct mark over the years with his impressive repertoire of over 50 works, but among these, Joe has been etched into the memory, both visually and aurally, of anyone who has ever seen the work. The touring piece is being revived this week in Montreal in an hommage to the choreographer and a celebration of the 20th anniversary of its creation, May 6–8 at Place des Arts.

In what has become Perreault's signature piece, an intimidating cast of over 30 dancers, dressed in loose-fitting black trench coats and clunky oversized boots, tackle themes of individuality and conformity in society. In the piece, the dancers' rhythmic footfalls of walking, running and charging up and down a ramp build to a crescendo while transporting the audience to another world. Call 842-2112 for tickets. » Marites Carino

Into the ether

The sea is an apt metaphor for Philip Bottenberg's paintings. Chaos and calm, the ocean's ripples, bubbles and waves move on a layered flood of currents, all the while a part of the giant, bobbing, balanced whole. Likewise in Bottenberg's Ocean of Intangibles series, currently showing at Zeke's Gallery (3955 St-Laurent).

"Balance is very important to me," Bottenberg says of his ethereal abstract oils, a similar blending of cloud and colour into ultimate equilibrium - paintings that come across like interdimensional portholes, storms of ghosts, held together under a thick glaze (and no doubt candy to glazed eyes). "Ghosts and glaze have a connection actually," Bottenberg says through a flurry of historical references. "The way I'm painting now has a connection with an Italian expression, pentimento, which means "ghost image." It's what you see underneath the transparent layer on top. The glaze is like a skin keeping you out." Ocean of Intangibles (way better seen in real life, by the way) runs until May 30. » Matthew Woodley

Climate change

It's called Costa Rica/Montreal, but the title of Vanessa Hershorn's show may as well be Warm/Waiting to Be Warm. The 50 acrylic paintings in her latest collection depict the two contrasting places she has lived in recent years, from the sun-stroked Caribbean coast to colder Canadian climes. "I like to paint on the spot to successfully capture a sense of light movement and time," she says of the whimsical lines and soft tones that emerge from her landscapes and portraits. "In Costa Rica, I was attracted to bright colours and the simple beauty of nature. Here, my environment is still my source of inspiration, but whatever the subject matter, it's a mood I try to capture." The show opens this Saturday, May 8, 7 p.m., at the Roy Street Collective (111 Roy E.). It runs until May 22. » Sarah Musgrave

Digital duke out

Rarely does the emotive energy of an artist go the way of fisticuffs, but things could get pretty rough on May 8 when Paul Litherland steps into the squared circle with Sally Scott. In ASCII Fighter, Litherland's latest exploration in communication, he and Scott will be gloved up and wired to a computer interface that lets them write messages in text and video, more or less by punching each other.

Litherland isn't so interested in beating up his opponent as much as more vulnerably trying to show the spectator what it's like laced up in his shoes in that moment - in trying to communicate under difficult circumstances. The performance falls on the heels of his equally quirky and visceral Force of Attraction, where a free-falling skydiver tries to communicate against the forces of gravity, the skin on his face flapping around like a plastic bag in a typhoon. Catch the match at the Design Exchange (7154 St-Urbain), Saturday, May 8, 7:30 p.m., $5–$6. » Matthew Woodley

Is it Art?

PREGNANCY PICKLE: Whether the rotting teeth and impotent smokes that grace cigarette packs are effective in convincing people to quit is up in the air, so in designing a campaign to inform pregnant women of the dangers of drinking, Trigone Animation took a different approach. Their postcards, which can be found floating around bars and stores in Montreal, depict a jar of pickles with a label that reads, "Pickles and Ice Cream? Anytime. Alcohol? Never." "Quebecers don't function so much with horror as with humour," explains Trigone's Amélie Leblanc of the craving cliché (which can't be that far-fetched in a culture that so deliciously blends fries, curds and gravy). The non-profit org is working with Emergo, an organization that runs a camp for autistic children, and Health Canada, www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/lifestyles/fas.html for more.

ArtsHole

OUT OF THE VOX: Adding to the many things one can peep at in the St-Laurent and Ste-Catherine 'hood, VOX Contemporary Image officially opens its new space (1211 St-Laurent) this Saturday, May 8. Formerly known as Espace VOX, the photo gallery presents Éveil/Awakening with a talk with participating artists Isabelle Hayeur, Mary Kunuk and Mark Lewis at 3 p.m., followed by the inauguration bash at 4. The show runs until July 10. • SEARCHING FOR SNAPPERS: Montreal's biggest photography event, the bi-annual Le Mois de la Photo is looking for submissions for its next edition, taking place in September, 2005. The deadline is June 4, 2004. Visit www.moisdelaphoto.com/en/appel_dossier.html for full details.

ARTISTAT: Exact number of days in the Alberto Européen SNAPSHOT! Fashion Challenge that participants have to come up with an original fashion shoot as part of a bigger showcase running May 10–15 at various locations (www.snapshot48hours.com for more info): 2

>> Arts Listings