Category: Arts

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For a unique brunch experience, head to Le Balcon!

HOWzik performing at Le Balcon as a part of their Gospel Brunch event at St-James United Church on February 26th 2022. SYDNEY GASTALDO/The Concordian

The Concordian was invited to attend a lively gospel brunch hosted by Le Balcon on February 26

Le Balcon is a cabaret located in the rustically beautiful St. James United Church in downtown Montreal. It offers dinner shows as well as gospel brunches.

The Concordian was invited to attend a gospel brunch on February 26th, featuring local band HOWzik. It was a dazzling experience that energized all the senses. 

When arriving, guests were escorted through the church to the Le Balcon area. As soon as one walks in, the amount of care and thought put into the space was evident. The interior design was splendid, with each piece of decor complementing the other nicely. Red lights illuminated beautiful stained glass windows, matching perfectly with red tablecloths and the stage’s red curtains. Eagle-eyed guests could spot “Le Balcon” faintly written in white letters on the thick curtains.The tables were decorated with black handkerchiefs and magnificent clear yellow rectangular candles. Several large black and white photos of the various artists that have performed at Le Balcon adorned the walls of the space. The interior design wasn’t the only thing that enhanced the experience, though: as guests dined, gospel music played in the background. 

Yogurt was served as an entrée. It contained blueberry jam, crispy granola, honey, and almonds. Afterwards, guests had a choice of crêpes or strata for their main meal. The strata contained egg and chorizo gratin, bread, aged cheddar, bell pepper, arugula, and herbed fingerling potatoes. In addition, there was a vegetarian version of this meal. The strata was described by another guest as savoury, fresh, light and refreshing but still filling. She added that the flavour combination was amazing and pesto added to the presentation. 

The other option, crêpes, were rolled with roasted apples, maple and salt flower caramel, and apple and spice jelly with crumble. They were delicious. The apple filling was smooth, tasty, fresh and juicy. The caramel added a kick. Overall, the flavour combination was mouthwatering. 

Along with the food, drinks such as mimosas and alcoholized coffee were available. 

After dinner came the main attraction: the band HOWzik. Before their set, the group introduced themselves and the history of gospel music. They told us we would be taken through the journey of gospel. They were right.

The group began with African songs such as, “Kumbaya” by Soweto Gospel Choir and “Nazo bondela yo” by Rosny Kayiba. The bands also presented on the history of the music they performed, stating they were ancestral songs from Africa that predated slavery. 

Afterwards, the group switched to a song dating from the period when enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas, called “Oh Freedom!”

The group then switched to a different era, in which the Christianization of enslaved people occurred and gospel music began to appear. The five songs performed in this phase were “Wade in the water we Dey,” “Très longtemps,” “Amazing grace,” “Let praises rise” and “Oh happy day.” The first two songs were performed before a break, which gave a chance for both the band and audience to relax and refresh. The last three songs were performed afterwards. 

Finally, the group performed three upbeat and uplifting original songs in French. These were “Cris de joie,” “Plus haut,” and “Apprends moi à t’aimer.” 

As the group sang, lights and visual effects enhanced the experience. Indeed, different coloured lights accompanied by dancing shapes projected on the walls around the stage served to further immerse the audience into the spectacle. Also, flashing  lights were used to add intensity. For example, during the “Nazo bondela yo” number, blue lights illuminated the stage and stained glass windows while white foliage-like shapes covered the walls. Given the slower pace of the song, the lights only flashed sparingly. In comparison, during the more upbeat “Yindule/Soki toko lingana” number, pink lights aggressively flashed while pink shapes, which occasionally turned white, covered the walls. Special effects perfectly matched the tones of the songs, as quieter more emotional tracks like “Wade in the Water we Dey” had fewer special effects while more upbeat songs like “Cris de joie” had more flashy effects. 

Another aspect that added to the immersive nature of the experience was the harmony between the band. The musicians and singers complemented each other perfectly. They even wore matching black outfits for the first part of the set. Then after the break, they wore matching white shirts and blue jeans. Harmony was not just found among their outfits, but also within their voices. Each singer also had a chance to shine. During different numbers, different singers took turns taking centre stage.

The band also energized the crowd by asking them to sing, clap, or dance along. For example, during the performance of “Wade in the Water we Dey,” the crowd was encouraged to sing along. This made the audience part of the performance which enhanced the experience. 

Overall, gospel brunches at Le Balcon are a perfect weekend morning activity for music lovers no matter their religious background. Every day, different artists perform at Le Balcon. Upcoming events include a Flamenco evening.

 

Visuals courtesy Sydney Gastaldo 

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FIFA returns with a focus on dance films for its 40-year anniversary

The closure of theatres encouraged dance companies to turn themselves towards digital creations

For its 40th edition, Montreal’s International Arts Film Festival (FIFA) presented a varied program inspired by the pandemic context of the last several years. In particular, they showcased a large number of dance films. So many, in fact, that they organized a seven-hour projection event titled La Nuit de la danse to show the majority of them. Following this event, the movies will all be available on their website.

Among the dance films, Hofesh Shechter’s Political Mother: The Final Cut kicked off the event. The 36-minute movie features nine dancers in different settings. They moved together in a group, with filming techniques making them look like a large, agitated crowd. Depending on the space, their identities seemed to change; in one scene they wore dresses and suits in an empty reception hall, while in another they were dressed in all-beige outfits in a dark room with walls made of brick and stones. The rhythmic music used drew viewers in from the start. Throughout the film, Shechter alternated between using sound effects like drums and the electric guitar, along with a low voice. 

Shechter created this film when the presentation of his show on stage was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Israeli choreographer is a major figure in the contemporary dance scene. Founded in 2008, his company tours internationally. Shechter’s recognizable style, including large arm movements, intricate sequences and synchronous choreographies, is present in Political Mother. Seeing the choreographer’s work on screen gives a different access to the movements’ details and the interpreters’ facial expressions. The smooth-moving camera also gives life to the work, almost assuming the position of another character in the story. 

According to Jacinthe Brisebois, 60 per cent of FIFA’s screendance programming comes from Quebec. The list includes two solo pieces choreographed by Margie Gillis and produced by Louis-Martin Charest. Titled When Dreaming Molly and Crow, they both take place in dark minimalist spaces, focusing on the interpreter’s movements with a precise use of lighting.   

Louise Bédard and Xavier Curnillon presented Démesure, created in Quebec City’s fine arts museum, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Architectural details and playful movements merge in this 11-minute film, where a black and white visual aesthetic complements the museum’s immaculate white environment. Using the museum’s large, curved stairs as one its main settings, the film explores depth and freedom through group sequences, duets, and solos. The closeness to the dancers created by the camera balances the immensity of the arts institution. 

Dance and the pandemic

22 dance films were presented at La Nuit de la danse, while two longer screen creations are part of the festival’s general programming as well. Brisebois explained that FIFA’s selection committee received a particularly large number of dance film submissions this year, therefore encouraging the programming team to organize an event dedicated to them. 

For Brisebois, those creations were a way of presenting dance differently, as more than simple footage of a show on a stage. “When we see those films, it is completely different from what we would see in a live art show and that, we think, is really creative.” 

Pandemic measures prevented dance shows from happening during different periods over the course of the past three years. To support the dance field, arts councils dedicated specific budgets to digital projects. The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec’s 2020-2021 budget report notes that they granted $3.5 million to digital projects in addition to their regular funding programs. Similarly, the Canada Council for the Arts states the support of “the ongoing digital transformation” as one of their priorities “for a strong rebuild of the arts sector.”

In the 2021 text Virtualised Dance? Digital shifts in artistic practices, researcher Marie Fol analyzed the needs of dance artists when adapting their work for the screen. The study was inspired by the growing number of digital live art productions in Europe amidst the pandemic. For the researcher, dance films are a rich creative avenue that deserve to be explored further. “The democratisation of screendance has the potential to welcome greater imagination and creativity in this art form,” wrote Fol. 

While the reason for this sudden boom of dance on screen was first linked to a need to feed connections between artists and their public, it has the potential to remain an important part of dance companies’ work. “By appropriating digital tools, by playing with or hacking them, artists create new codes, rituals, and rules,” noted Fol.

Even though dance films have always been part of the festival’s programming, Brisebois recognized that they never had so many films as they did this year. The programmer was particularly impressed by this year’s submissions. “It is an art form that is refining its mode of expression through movements, so it gets to say even more things. It’s fascinating,” she said, stressing the link of this type of creation with the viewer’s feelings.

While the creation of screendances might decrease now that venues are welcoming shows again, films like those presented at FIFA’s La Nuit de la danse testify to the inventiveness with which artists adapted to closures. 

FIFA will present around 200 art films this year. They are available online through the festival’s website. Access to the programming is included in festival pass purchases. There are also in-person screenings in different Montreal theatres. This event is happening until March 27. 

 

Visuals courtesy International Festival of Films on Art

 

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Artist of the week: Jordan Daniele

Courtesy Jordan Daniele

The Concordian spoke with the multi-talented artist and Concordia student about inspiration, overcoming creative block, and more

What makes an artist? Concordia’s very own Jordan Daniele, who is a painter, creative and artist, delves into this complex idea by peeling back the layers of his own work. Largely inspired by historical artists and influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat-style expressionism, Daniele emulates a deliberate childlike approach to painting, citing “childhood is something everyone can connect with.” He feels it is important to remain a kid at heart. 

TC: What inspired you to take up painting?

JD: I have been studying art history for four years now and I’m still studying it to this day. I’ve reached a point where I want to move on from learning about artists that already exist and become one myself. I’m still not certain I want to be an artist as a profession, but painting is something I enjoy, so I might as well explore that while I can. I think that because I’m a fairly reserved person that painting has given me an outlet to express myself in a way that comes most naturally to me. I’ve never been great at speaking up, but now, with my most recent work, it has allowed me to speak my mind on the canvas in a way that I never could with words.

TC: What would you like people to take away from your work?

JD: For me, it’s all about expression — what I’m going through, what I’m thinking. If even one person can connect and find solace in it, that’s what it’s all about. Even if my work can brighten someone’s day, add some positivity to their mood, that would be cool. When I was just starting out, I used to paint more abstract, random brush strokes, Jackson Pollock-type work. Then, my dad actually inspired me to branch out and venture into more figurative work. Before that, I had never really thought to have a message embedded in my work. My primary focus was more aesthetic-based, and finding the beauty in arbitrary brushstrokes. I wasn’t overly concerned with incorporating a definite message because it’s supposed to be subjective. I want people to connect with it the way they want. If they want it to have meaning then they can find one hidden in the brushstrokes — if they don’t, then that’s cool too. Everyone will have their own experience with it.

Facial Features by Jordan Daniele

 

TC: How often do you face creative blocks? How do you overcome them?

JD: Actually, a few months ago, when we were in lockdown, I was painting everyday. At one point I was making five paintings a week. This went on for about a month. I would often go back and paint over those paintings too, so I actually created more than what’s physically out there. So in terms of creative block, sometimes I get stuck on figuring out whatC exactly I’m trying to portray or I get stuck wondering if it should have a meaning at all. Sometimes I won’t paint for a month if I’m particularly frustrated. It can really get you questioning your abilities when you get stuck like that. I’ve caught myself thinking “Am I even good at this anymore?” But I learned that when you get in that headspace, it’s best to just take a break. Once you clear your head, you just have to paint — just go for it and trust that something special will come out of it.

TC: What themes do you find yourself drawn to?

JD: I listen to a lot of music. So, I like to incorporate lyrics into my work. Music plays a big role in my inspiration. I could do a whole painting filled with quotes from a song if it resonates with me. My work has a lot of jazz influence as well. I like to include the actual instruments in my paintings. Sometimes, something as simple as a sound or phrase that gets stuck in my head can spin off and evolve into its own theme and inspire me to explore something new. There isn’t really a single thing that I find myself drawn to, it definitely depends on my environment and what catches my attention, but music and sound are consistent themes.

TC: Can you tell me a bit about your favourite piece?

JD: It’s hard to say because I’m my toughest critic. I’m around my work so often that I’m constantly nitpicking the details of it, so it’s constantly in flux; I can love a painting while I’m creating it and a month later I’ll change my mind. Right now though, I’ve been working on this series of paintings with a bunch of flowers, and it’s my favourite because of the meaning behind it. I start off with quick brushstrokes in the shape of a flower, then I go over it with a more precise outline of it. The contrast of the neat precise outline to the quick and messy shape of the flower is representative of us: people in society. We’re just like flowers. Even when we’re feeling messy and when we’re missing petals, someone may still look at us and see beauty like we do with flowers.

 

The Dark Clouds of Reality by Jordan Daniele

TC: What does being an artist mean to you?

JD: Anyone can be an artist. Of course, it does take some degree of skill for certain types of artwork, but mostly it takes a specific mindset. You have to be ready to take the rawest emotions and thoughts you experience and translate [them] into something tangible. There are so many people who are artists and don’t even know it yet because they haven’t given it a shot. At the end of the day, you just have to be creative and express yourself to the fullest. 

For more information about Daniele or to explore his work, please visit his Instagram page @artistjordandaniele.

Visuals courtesy Jordan Daniele

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Licorice Pizza: Approaching womanhood in boyhood tales

A still from the film.

An otherwise endearing story misses the mark at depicting complex women

In director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, an ambitious teenage boy meets a young woman who is still figuring her life out. The teenager, Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) tries to ask Alana Kane (Alana Haim) out, but she rejects him for good reason: she claims to be 25, a good 10 years Gary’s senior, but she’s known to lie. What follows, however, is a rocky but heartfelt friendship as the two come of age in 1970s Los Angeles. There is no strong plot to speak of. The central conflict comes from the highs and lows of Gary and Alana’s friendship, one that is riddled with jealousy despite the agreement that their relationship is platonic and professional.  

Gary and Alana’s banter and the clash of their personalities propel the story forward. As they get to know each other and learn more about themselves in the process, the audience is on the journey with them, and comedic scenes keep viewers engaged. But at the end of the day, Licorice Pizza exists for the audience to spend time with the characters without the rules of a classic film narrative. Changes come and go, as they do in life, and so the crux of the film becomes determining the true nature of Gary and Alana’s feelings for one another. However, in my watching of the film, I ultimately became most concerned with determining the nature of its relationship with women. In several scenes, Alana loses her agency and autonomy to the whims of men, both willingly and unwillingly. 

In one scene, Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper) leans over her as she drives a truck, attempting to “help” her pass a car on a narrow lane, getting uncomfortably close to her face. In another, Gary is tempted to touch Alana while she sleeps, but he doesn’t give in. Other times, Alana willingly sexualizes or exposes herself for the attention or validation of her male peers. There is an odd trend of Alana seeking the validation of the boys and men around her. This isn’t to say that no female character can ever have this trait, especially considering it happens frequently in reality, but the difference in how she and Gary are represented leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Gary’s inner life is rich. He’s goal-oriented, confident, and always on the lookout for a new business venture. He feels strongly about Alana and enjoys her company, but he doesn’t rely on her validation and attention the way she relies on his. There are moments when he is jealous of the attention she receives from other men, but he never has to be as physically vulnerable as she does. 

Alana can be endearing because of her relatability as a young woman who is unsure of her future, spending her time with friends to pass the days. Gary can be endearing because of his strong ambition and his dedication for her. But the way Alana is written as needing male validation with no arc that allows her to seek validation inwards makes her character feel incomplete. In other words, Alana feels like a victim of the male gaze, in that she only exists to do something for the men on screen, behind the camera, and in the audience, rather than existing as a complex character in her own right.  

Ultimately, my feelings towards the film are mixed. Women can be insecure and flawed, and deserve to be represented as much as confident, strong women are. Alana is all these things, but her womanhood is tied so much to the men around her, it makes it hard to fully enjoy the film as a slice-of-life, character piece. That said, each character had a distinct essence to them, with their individualized quirks and personalities. The film deals with themes of growth, unrequited feelings, and friendship, all of which make for a lovely coming-of-age tale. But ultimately, the male gaze (as well as some racist jokes), get in the way.  

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Things dipped in gold never grow

How the depictions of women in classic literature perpetuate harmful stereotypes that persist today

John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald. You don’t have to be an English buff to recognize these prominent names in classic literature. These authors have written some of the most highly acclaimed novels, contributing tales heralded as timeless that still permeate the fabric of academia today. Their work has been coated in gold on account of their many accolades, rendering their words in certain circles as immortal, unchanging — which can be dangerous. This is especially true concerning outdated stereotypes of women in these books, which were written by men roughly eighty years ago. These stereotypes uphold archaic ideas of women like a massive golden statue that towers over modern women. These female figures stay the same while the world changes around them. Singer-songwriter, Jhené Aiko, said it best: “if everything is dipped in gold, then baby it will never grow.”

The inaccurate depictions of women in classic literature might not be so alarming if it wasn’t for the surviving stereotypes that actively challenge women to this day. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a world-famous novella taught in nearly every high school English class. The themes of racism and misogyny are not the main focal points of the tale but may very well rest in the subliminal consciousness of its readers. The way Steinbeck writes Curley’s wife is comparable to how individuals on social media, news platforms and podcasts have spoken about countless sexual assault victims. The wife is described as being dolled up to provoke male attention, and she is all-too inclined to give men “the eye.” The story ends with one of the male characters murdering her by snapping her neck, with the witnessing men instinctively attaching blame to the wife, the victim, despite her repeated protest. Looking over her frail, helpless body they shoot her a final sneer: “You God damn tramp […] you done it.” Of course, the circumstances are not a direct reflection of how we respond to sexual assault victims today, however it does feel eerily familiar to the accursed response of “Well, what was she wearing?” that is heard far too often in the media.

The Catcher in the Rye, the cult classic written by J.D. Salinger, is another example of how beautifully written classics can perpetuate misogynistic undertones on account of their notoriety. The main character, Holden Caulfield, has a view of women so sexist it rivals that of American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman — satire excluded. Every woman he encounters is subjected to his sexuality, and he quickly analyzes all the ways in which women are ridiculous, attractive (or not), and thus he concludes how much value she has. Even his ideal love interest Jane Gallagher is not exempt from his stringent criticism, despite Holden’s alleged respect for her. He overtly affirms his belief that “most girls are so dumb and all,” but it seems intelligence is not much of a substantial factor in his pursuit of women. His ultimate concern with women is as deep as a teaspoon; he is a self-proclaimed “sex maniac” who does not even need to like the women he “courts,” to put it politely.

Not all representations of women are as vulgar, name-calling or carnal in nature as Salinger and Steinbeck illustrate. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s opulent classic The Great Gatsby characterizes a more subtle but equally offensive stereotype. Tom Buchanan, the burly and violent elitist, has two love interests. His wife, the soft-spoken and romantic Daisy, and his mistress, the seductive and provocative Myrtle. These two women are emblematic of what we know today as the “madonna-whore complex.” Daisy and Myrtle serve as foil characters, complete opposites that promote a binary archetype that women fall into. While one represents the “ideal” female form to be virginal, innocent and docile, the other represents the fallen woman. She embodies loose morality, temptation and impurity. The greater implications of these stereotypes is that it revokes women’s personhood, confining them to negative or weak impressions.

I am in no way condemning classic literature for not passing the Bechdel Test. This feminist criteria for proper representation of women in fiction is about 10 social eons ahead of these early 20th century texts. It would be irrational to judge historical authors based on standards developed nearly a century after their making. I do, however, believe it is imperative to critique the ideas perpetuated in the literature that we read, especially when they are being assigned to impressionable minds in high school and college. With the right analysis of these outdated themes, we can remove the harm of these representations and turn them into a useful learning tool.

 

Visuals courtesy Madeline Schmidt 

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Words and projections at the Dazibao art gallery

The duo exhibition plays with the audience’s perceptions to reflect on the place of disability in the arts

Artists Amalle Dublon and Constantina Zavitsanos come together in Dazibao art gallery’s current exhibition, Flux Incapacitor. The show features collaborative works as well as individual creations from both artists. 

Emma-Kate Guimond, coordinator of exhibitions and special projects for Dazibao, described the show’s main theme as “the creation of abundance.” This idea relates to notions of dependency and debt explored in the exhibition, which the artists link with the reality of individuals living with disabilities.

Guimond explained that the gallery was first interested in Dublon and Zavitsanos’ collaborative work titled April 4, 1980. The audio-visual creation is presented on a screen at the entrance of the gallery. When putting headphones on, viewers hear a robotic voice. Because the voice is garbled and difficult to understand, the captions projected on the screen become essential in their understanding of the work.

The dependence on the words being displayed on the screen emulates the reality of individuals who struggle with hearing disabilities, allowing visitors to experience to a degree what these individuals go through. The artists also play with the idea and necessity of captions “Captions are broadly considered an obligatory add-on or even an aesthetic annoyance,” reads the description of the work.

All the time, created by Zavitsanos, also plays with words on screens. The work engages with the physical presence of users. On the bottom of a large screen, two texts are projected simultaneously. When seen together, they are hard to distinguish. But when visitors approach the screen, the system adapts the projection so that only one layer of text appears, making it readable. Guimond related this work about holograms to the larger theme of the exhibition, explaining that, “when you split a hologram, you’re not creating two halves, you’re actually doubling. So by taking away, you’re making more.”

“This relates to people with different abilities, whose lives depend on more care or different devices..[…]  So this is where the theory of debt comes in: it’s not by needing more care [that] you create a debt, by needing more care you’re generating care,” added Guimond.

Placed at the end of the gallery, Zavitsanos’ Girl there’s a better life is another screen projection. The video features two texts overlayed on top of each other. New symbols compose the resulting image, creating a hypnotizing experience. During the projection, the images evolve, becoming out of focus at times, with a blue background suddenly appearing behind the transformed words. Headphones made available to visitors play cheerful songs during the video. The marriage of a familiar music beat with intriguing visuals creates a new language that misleads the viewer’s senses and offers a unique experience.  

A piece created exclusively for the exhibition, Known Donor Agreement by Dublon and Jordan Lord, is a revisited version of a sperm donation contract. Visitors can read the contract on paper and listen to it through headphones. The work explores notions of mutual consent and care through reflections on friendship, connection, and parenthood. The sensitivity and openness transmitted through the work adds to the reflections enabled by the other artworks in the space. 

Guimond described Dazibao’s mission as “to disseminate and present contemporary image-based practices that deal with issues of social importance.” For her, Flux Incapacitor totally fits into this mission, as it delves into reflections about disabilities and their representation in the arts. 

Dublon and Zavitsanos’ innovative approach to the themes of abundance and debt shed light on the necessary theme of inclusion and accessibility. The gallery’s website features La Viewing Room, a page presenting the texts from the exhibition as well as background information about the artists’ past works and studies. This initiative allows the public to deepen their knowledge of the context behind the art pieces. 

Flux Incapacitor is presented at Dazibao art gallery, located at 5455 de Gaspé Ave., until April 2.

 

Visuals courtesy Marilou Crispin

 

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Art Event Roundup: March

By Ashley Fish-Robertson & Veronique Morin

Spend some time this month treating yourself to a variety of exhibitions, performances, and more  

There’s perhaps no better way to usher in spring than with some visits to Montreal’s cultural venues. This month offers events that will especially appeal to the Concordia community. 

Film: 

  • FASA’s Black Cinema Club will be presenting movie screenings for four weeks as part of their Black History Semester programming. The first screening will be of Ganja and Hess, and will take place on March 16 at 6 p.m. Location: 1515 Saint-Catherine St W, EV 1.615.

Exhibitions:

  • The MAI will be presenting Nayla Dabaji’s latest exhibition titled documentaire en dérive from March 16 until April 16. Dabaji’s work centres on themes of migration, temporality, and more. Location: 3680 Jeanne-Mance St., suite 103.  

 

  • A gallery tour and discussion of Manidoowegin with artist Maria Hupfield will take place from March 17 to 19 as part of Concordia’s Conversations in Contemporary Art. Location: 5455 De Gaspé Ave. in room 110. 

 

  • Nicolas Party’s latest exhibition Mauve Twilight is on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until Oct. 16. This exhibition highlights Party’s signature whimsical style, offering over 100 works painted in saturated colours. Tickets can be purchased through the MMFA’s website. 

Dance: 

  • Agora will be presenting NIGHTLIGHT, a virtual dance show by George Stamos from March 11 to 20. Tickets can be purchased through the venue’s website. 

Workshops: 

  • Concordia’s Wellness Ambassadors and the Department of Creative Art Therapies will be virtually presenting The “art” of self-care series. Students will be afforded the opportunity to hop on Zoom and create art in a welcoming virtual environment. This event takes place every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. until April 12. The link for this series can be found on Concordia’s webpage. 

Theatre: 

  • RAGE – ORESTEIA REVISITED, written by Aeschylus, is a collage performance with an ensemble of Concordia students that will explore rage and revenge. This event will take place from March 16 to 19 at the D.B. Clarke Theatre. Location: 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

 

Visuals courtesy James Fay

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Sam & Angèle: a comforting performance

The performers invite their audience to explore the harshness of daily life and the softness of boredom

In a cozy atmosphere, on a stage filled with fabric objects, Samantha Hinds and Angélique Willkie perform the comforting Sam & Angèle. Initiated by choreographer Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, the 50-minute creation confronts the ideas of work overload and self-care.

Warm light bulbs illuminate La Chapelle’s theatre. They enlighten Mestari’s fabric creations. These include a large pair of glasses composed of multiple patterns, a large microphone, and a phone. From the start, the performers’ complicity is palpable. The show marries text, the singing, and movement. The performers’ voices are the only sound filling the space. They sing together, creating harmonies. Hinds starts dancing, and Willkie observes her in a benevolent way. Roles are then switched. 

The duo establishes their dynamic through eye contact and smiles. They share the stage but also the energy of the space. As the performance evolves, different themes emerge. 

“Work overload is one of the themes of the show. It didn’t emerge because we wanted to do a show that talked about work overload, but because in the discussions we had as a team,” explained Rochon-Prom Tep.

This idea came about through songs written by the team. During the performance, Hinds and Willkie repeat “On travaille trop,” contrasting the monotony of the word repetition with their luminous voice tone and energy. They later sing an ode to boredom, inviting the audience to reflect on self-care. The caring energy between the performers culminates at the end when Willkie gradually fades the lights down to complement Hinds’ relaxation on stage. 

The creator explained that he hopes seeing the performers taking care of themselves will inspire audience members to dive into introspection in their own lives when it comes to self-care. The welcoming atmosphere created by the organization of colourful props and lights on stage enhances this calming journey for visitors.

The creation process first started with Rochon-Prom Tep’s interest in creating a project based on an encounter between artists. The choreographer organized meetings with Hinds and Willkie so they could start creating together. A singing session sparked the inspiration for the project. “I was really touched by this vocal improvisation and I thought there was something to do with that,” said Rochon-Prom Tep. From their discussions and improvisation sessions, the performers built a creative connection that led to the creation of Sam & Angèle. 

Laïla Mestari also collaborated on the project as the creator of the colourful stage set. Rochon-Prom Tep explained that when he first encountered her work, he was inspired by “the complexity of idea juxtapositions, of shapes, of images, of mediums.” Their collaboration led to the development of a unique visual identity for the show.

Rochon-Prom Tep described their creation process as an inspiring collective project. “We crafted together with words, voices, bodies, and materials to get to know each other. The creation built off this, through the time we spent together, the discussions that emerged. It created a collective imagination where our different identities and our different interests, our different lifestyles came together in certain places even though they are completely different in a lot of ways,” he said.

Hinds, Willkie, Rochon-Prom Tep and Mestari created the impression of a reset, a kind of self-care to get ready for new beginnings. “The show features a lot of softness and attention, a show that touches the poetry of the collective and individual creative worlds of the different team members,” said Rochon-Prom Tep.

La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines is located at 3700 Saint-Dominique St. They present Sam & Angèle until March 11. Tickets for the showare available on their website.

 

Visuals courtesy David Wong and Vanessa Fortin

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Arts

Artist of the week: Tong Zhou Annie Lafrance

Tong Zhou in their studio. Photo by Paulina Bereza
Tong Zhou in their friend’s studio. Photo by Paulina Bereza

The artist’s work engages with Chinese culture and aesthetic

I first met Tong Zhou Annie Lafrance in an art history class in 2019 where we were seated beside each other by chance. I remember being fascinated by the proportion of little drawings in their notebook compared to the small quantity of notes. We ended up working together for the whole semester on a project about artist Françoise Sullivan. The project gave us the chance to discover each other’s artistic styles. Now that we have both graduated, I was interested in learning more about where their artistic practice had taken them.

Living between Montreal and Quebec City, Tong Zhou is a multidisciplinary artist. They graduated from Concordia’s Studio Arts department in 2021. As a Chinese adoptee, they now nurture the dream of pursuing their studies in China. Our discussion revolved around their desire to explore the traces left by adoption through the different projects they are involved in.

The Concordian: How would you describe your artistic practice?

Tong Zhou Annie Lafrance: I am a multidisciplinary artist. That means I really enjoy doing more than one discipline, it is stimulating for me. I’ve been doing performance, installation, drawing, and fibre arts. Currently, since I’m learning Mandarin full-time, I’m trying to put this type of learning into my visual explorations, such as how I learn the language, and then put it into codes or symbols that I can refer to in my visual language. For example, now I’m doing mostly photo weaving [relating] to Chinese culture.

TC: Why did you choose to focus your work on Chinese culture?

TZAL: I think it’s a very personal choice for me because I was adopted from China. I’ve always been fascinated by Chinese culture and its visual aesthetic. However, I think there is a cultural and linguistic boundary that is really present in how I can understand the visual language. And since I’m visibly Chinese there’s also this pressure of performing “Chineseness.” For me, that is something that is quite fascinating to explore in fine arts, to explore my identity and how it expresses itself in the space with coherence and incoherence that makes it more diverse and truer to who I am.

UP CLOSE, a work by Tong Zhou and An Laurence

TC: Can you tell me about your experience with performance art?

TZAL: I got into performance when I started university. I felt like I needed to explore something that goes beyond the visual space, the two-dimensional space. Most of my classes were painting, drawing, fibres, and textiles, but I wanted to work with the gesture. Emphasizing the gesture would emphasize my search for identity. Through the body you can really do that, and it’s clearer, it’s rawer. I got into performance because I was not satisfied with the medium I was working with. Coming from a visual arts background, that’s not something we are necessarily pushed towards.

TC: You mentioned the gestures in your performances. Do you also think about those gestures when you create? For example, when you work on photo weaving? 

TZAL: Definitely. I think photo weaving is a simple gesture, but what makes it complex is the result at the end. Sometimes, I feel like through repetition, through simplicity, we can highlight more complex results at the end. Through repetition, there is also this sense of meditation that I’m really trying to think about creating. 

TC: Can you tell me more about your photo weaving series?

TZAL: What I love about photo weaving is this idea of deconstructing an image, and then trying to redo the same image, just like a puzzle. I always really enjoyed doing puzzles, so for me it is this simple task of redoing what has been undone.    

TC: How do you choose the photos you are using?

TZAL: A lot of the pictures were taken by my mother. She was always very interested in capturing the steps of our childhood, but also the process of adoption. So for me, it’s a mix between my pictures and her pictures. I think that if I want to tell my story in the right order, I need to start with the pictures of my mother first and include mine after. My pictures are more about my own subjectivity and how I see the world, which is different from my mother, but it very much replicates some angles that she used. She was doing this more as a hobby, but for me it’s transforming this hobby into an actual arts practice. 

TC: What about the zine you have worked on recently?

TZAL: It was a really nice collaboration I did with An Laurence. There are so few artists that are interested in exploring the theme of adoption. What An Laurence and I have in common is that we want to show a different aspect, an aspect that hasn’t been told yet. That’s what we were doing in our zine. We were trying to make our two art practices collide, and see what the similarities are, what are the differences between our practices. An Laurence is a performer, she has a music and multimedia background, where I am more into visual arts, so then it was really interesting to collaborate on this little piece.  

TC: Can you describe the zine a little bit more?

TZAL : The zine is really short. It is a small booklet of around 20 pages, with […] excerpts of interviews. We did a cross-interview, so we were asking questions to each other. I chose some pictures that could fit coherently with what we talked about. So, I was responsible for the design and An Laurence was responsible for the narrative that it would have.

TC: What place would you say collaborations occupy in your practice?

TZAL: The zine highlighted the fact that I needed to collaborate more in order to understand the precise visual language I want to use to talk about adoption. Since there are so few artists that are talking about this subject, it’s really important to collaborate with other people in my community. Now, I’m more interested in seeing how my own community can express themselves. I think that one of the good things that the pandemic has done is that we are more aware of the important aspect of sharing feelings with others, of understanding ourselves through others. Right now, I am collaborating with other Chinese adoptees, and we are working on a collective of researchers and artists that are based in Quebec. This collective called “Soft Gong” will be about creating a community between Quebec, Canada and China as well as seeing how it can bloom into other collaborations. We also hope to [help improve] the post-adoption services, including learning the language, learning the culture, learning the biological background. So, it’s a mix between community, arts, and research. 

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Ar(t)chives Arts

Habitat 67: Moshe Safdie and the influences behind his work

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

An architectural innovation with Marxist undertones

Approaches to architecture vary from one architect to another. Some approaches are based on design aesthetics personally favoured by the architect, while others arise out of deeply rooted ideologies based on specific movements, socioeconomic contexts, and or even childhood memories that affect the architect. This creates a structure with a defined purpose that will stand the test of time. 

Habitat 67 was designed by Moshe Safdie, a McGill University alumnus that had some radical ideas — for the 60s — about housing and architecture. Safdie self-identified as “kind of post-Corbusier”; he employed a human-centric perspective and design that reimagined living spaces. Safdie was deeply concerned with how to achieve a balance between privacy and community, as well as communal work and individual work. 

Additionally, we can observe how Safdie’s cultural heritage and upbringing brought Habitat 67 into being, and influenced all of his later designs. In a discussion regarding his influences, Safdie stated that his “own work has been dominated by five personal themes: gardens, steps, sites, building blocks, and ritual and procession.” Safdie’s architectural design has always been driven by a passionate belief in a better environment and by a kind of architectural socialism that saw him adopt Buckminster Fuller as his political mentor. But also, rub shoulders and exchange ideas with Louis Kahn, Nicholas Negropont, and many members of the Metabolist movement. However, one of the most important things Safdie mentioned were his philosophical influences around how architectural design of living quarters interacts with the experience of the resident of the particular living space. His views on living space were centered around community, self-sufficient building-cities, and a holistic consideration of the living experience. These views were the foundation for the final design of Habitat 67, and although not fully realized, they permeate the structure and its surrounding locale.

Safdie’s convictions on community and building-cities, along with Fuller’s architectural design ideologies, shaped the finished design of Habitat 67.  Safdie described his political mentor (Fuller)  as — an American theorist, architect, and inventor— as a kind of Marxist thinker in the realm of design. For Fuller, architects should always have to try and do more with less, not for aesthetic or stylistic reasons, but so as to provide people with more design usability and practicality. He argued that the welfare of humanity is about doing things efficiently with minimum means to maximum effects, further citing his upbringing. “[I was] brought up in the socialist nirvana of the collective movement and the kibbutz, which were extremely radical communities based on the idea that ‘we live as a community, we own everything and we share everything equally’. […] The kibbutz was really one of the most utopian constructs ever developed, […] especially now that I am living in ridiculously inegalitarian North America.”

 

The latter is reflected in his work, and is particularly apparent in Habitat 67. The staggered layering of houses/pods and the intention to have a variety of facilities and amenities — i.e. a garden for each apartment, open space, parking, and easy access to the city. The aforementioned were  available to Habitat 67 residents, and it created a city within a city as well as a suburban feel within an urban locale. This was akin to what Safdie’s life was like in the kibbutz. Safdie wanted to stray away from nationalism in the design by creating a shared pavilion for all the different countries’ athletes, but that proved impossible at the time as the countries wanted their own private spaces.

This information and some key identifying markers in his design, could link Safdie to the Marxist ideology of social architecture. Regardless of whether Safdie nurtured Marxist ideologies regarding the built environment, his connection and activism towards a type of social architecture is evident throughout his work on Habitat 67. His desire to create living spaces and residential architecture that relates to his life back in Haifa in the kibbutz, and to his fascination are prevalent throughout his architectural designs.

Visuals courtesy Taylor Reddam and Wikimedia Commons

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Arts

‘les liens’ explores relationships and queerness through entangled knitwork

Thierry Huard’s newest project is an expansive exposition on identity and the limitations of relationships 

Entering les liens feels like stumbling upon a labyrinth of knitted sweaters and yarn. The MAI’s transformed art gallery is draped in cotton strings from wall to ceiling. Warm lighting and ambient soundscapes make for a space of introspection and comfort. It’s as if the threads function as safety netting from the exterior world.

As described by the exhibit’s creator, Thierry Huard, the intention behind the exhibit is to portray “A queer and kaleidoscopic vision of friendship, of one’s relationship to the self and to others.”

The walkthrough is organized into 10 sections, each offering a new perspective of Huard’s artwork. Cushions are scattered on the floor, inviting visitors to sit and rest while contemplating concepts around relationships and identity.Multiple screens accompany the strings, showing footage of Huard and his colleague, Nate Yaffe, as they explore what is and isn’t possible while entangled in threads. They stretch together, wrestle, and suspend in time as they hold each other.

Yaffe fits into the themes of the exhibit as an experimental dancer who specializes in relational and queer-centred choreography.

While watching these individuals, I imagine they are attempting to break free from the tangled and restricting nature of heterosexual norms. Queer individuals are often tasked with unraveling these loose threads as they adjust to a world that feels new and undefined.

After recently entering my first queer relationship, I felt worried in the beginning I would have to adjust to new expectations. Eventually, I realized it was the total opposite, and found an openness and acceptance where I can be myself. I think that sentiment is what this exhibit is about.

Further to the back of the gallery hang two knitted silhouettes; their upper bodies are incomplete with loose, hanging threads. In fact, many of the handknit structures are unfinished, a testament to the continuous exploration of one’s queer identity.

The most magical part of the labyrinth is the hanging tent. Within the tent is a sleeping bag, drawings, and written prompts. While laying on the bedding with a friend, we asked each other questions like, “What would you want to be your superpower?” and “Do you believe everyone has a purpose in life? If so, what do you believe your purpose is?”

The tent has cutouts of strange symbols in it, and after further exploration, these symbols could be found everywhere – sewn into the tent, on the walls, and projected onto the floor. These hieroglyphic monograms speak a language which could only be deciphered by the two characters of the exhibit. 

Upon reading the gallery plan, it became clear that these symbols all represented themes of love, such as deep trust, self-forgiveness, and universal love.

The acrylic drawings at the gallery’s exit show two unfinished faces which seem to stare at each other through knitted bandages. Although these faces are incomplete, their gestures clearly show their affection for each other. 

Huard’s immersive experience brings forward a warm feeling. The same feeling as a loving embrace or a comfy armchair. The resulting ambience allows viewers to open their mind in peaceful reflection.

 

Visuals courtesy Curtis Savage

 

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Arts

Bridging the gap between English and French theatre at the Wildside Remix Festival

Étienne Lepage’s renowned work takes the stage of the Centaur in a new English version until March 5

Wildside Remix Festival is taking place at the Centaur Theatre until March 12, where they are currently presenting the English translation of Logic of the Worst, a theatre piece by Étienne Lepage and Frédérick Gravel. The duo first created this show in 2016. The performance, involving five interpreters, features a compilation of small stories and philosophical reflections. 

Absurdity is central to the show from the start. In a simply furnished environment consisting of only one bright green couch, a table, a chair, and microphones on stage, five characters recount events that happened to them. These stories are dramatic, bigger than nature, and surreal – sometimes even flirting with the limits of disgust. As the action evolves, they start sharing thoughts about life, about their relationships with others. They compare their experiences, competing to see who is the worst friend, the worst boyfriend, the worst son, and the worst human. Throughout the show, the absurdity remains, but anecdotes leave room for existential questions. 

Lepage was first inspired by the book Logique du pire by Clément Rosset. He describes his own creative work as a “really free and really personal reaction to this Nietzschean vision of the world, that we are all dancers, people who need to find absurd answers to an absurd world.” 

As explained by Lepage, humour always takes an important part in his works. “I always find that there is an enormous, profound sense to say ‘that is reality, it is a difficult reality, but it is a reality in which the comical [nature] of our existence is saving us a little bit.’ Also, it gives us an excuse to be bad or it gives us reasons not to worry. I think there is an important philosophy in humour,” he said.

As a way of acknowledging that reality, the performers on stage play their own roles and use their real names. Audience members witness them changing the music throughout the evening. Only one member of the cast, composed of actors Jon Lachlan Stewart, Yannick Chapdelaine, Marie Bernier, Marilyn Perreault and Philippe Boutin, is anglophone. All the others assume their French accent and incorporate it into the performance. This adds to the humour, confirming the fact that they are not taking themselves seriously. 

Lepage worked in collaboration with choreographer Frédérick Gravel. Gravel’s work adds physicality to the show. While the performers do not purely dance on stage, the way they interact with objects and with the music transmit rich physical states. 

Since its premiere at Festival TransAmériques in 2016, the French version of the piece has been presented for a long time, both in Quebec and internationally. Lepage and Gravel were then invited to translate it. For Rose Plotek, curator of the Wildside Remix Festival at the Centaur Theatre where the play has been showing, this new version has the potential to reach new audiences in the English community – a core mission of the festival.“We’re introducing really incredible artists to a community that’s going to be less familiar with them and hopefully some of the audience that is familiar with them will come to the Centaur and see that it is a place where they are welcome as well,” she said.

For its 25th edition, the Wildside Remix Festival presents three shows, including Logic of the Worst. The 10-day event aims to bring the French and English theatre communities together  through a collaboration between La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines and Centaur Theatre. 

Another goal of the event is to showcase experimental works. According to Plotek, “[the festival’s] ethos has always been to present and support work that one would not normally see on the main stage at the Centaur.” The curator added that this could include “work that is happening in different kinds of performance modes, like dance theatre or theatre that feels closer to performance art or just forms that are different.”

Therefore, the festival plays a part in the Centaur’s larger goal of expanding its reach to broader audiences and a larger diversity of artists. For Plotek, their scope can be expanded through language backgrounds, but also through artistic disciplines and approaches.

“My little personal mission has been to say, ‘Hey performance community, the Centaur can be a home for you.’ It doesn’t need to be just a home for a kind of more classical English theatre artists. It can be a home for many kinds of artists with both francophone or anglophone or like cultural diversity, or just performance background, people who make work that is more experimental wouldn’t think of the Centaur as a theatre that could be a home for them, but actually it can,” said Plotek.

The Wildside Remix Festival presents Logic of the Worst until March 5. .The following week, they will showcase 1,2, Maybe 3 by performance artists Jean + Syd. Tickets are available on the Centaur Theatre’s website.

 

Visuals courtesy Denis Farley & Gunther Gamper

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