Tag: art

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Arts

L’OFFRE illustrates the art of gift giving

To create his piece, artist Phil Collins asked people to donate their undeveloped film, which he then developed himself. Photo courtesy of Shady Lane Productions, Berlin and Tonya Bonakdar Gallery, NY.

Curator Cheryl Sim speaks about the rewarding process of putting a large exhibition together

Giving a gift to a loved one can bring extreme joy to oneself, but there are also mixed emotions of anxiety for the receiver who might not know what to give back.

As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, DHC/ART (The Foundation for Contemporary Art) is exploring the complex concept of gift exchange in its exhibition, L’OFFRE. The exhibition is a culmination of a variety of works by artists from around the world.

As a curator, Cheryl Sim wanted to create a show which would honour DHC/ART’s contribution to Montreal’s cultural landscape. She has been working at DHC/ART for 10 years and has had the privilege of seeing the foundation grow. When she was tasked with curating the exhibition, Sim knew exactly how to approach the job.

“Artists have forever been interested in gift exchange and the offer of their labour to the service of art-making, which is not necessarily going to give you a lot of financial return,” Sim said. “Many artists work in their spare time, they give their work away for free or they show it for free. DHC/ART as a foundation itself represents a gift to the city of Montreal.”

Sim spoke about Phil Collins, who created a collaborative project called Free FotoLab for L’OFFRE. He put out a public call in Eastern Europe, asking people to give him their undeveloped rolls of 35 mm film in exchange for the right to develop the photos of his choosing.

“He is interested in how you create compassion and how do you show empathy. In so much of his work, he is looking at a relationship between himself and the people he needs to rely on to show his work,” Sim said.

The photos Collins developed include both special and everyday moments, like people attending birthday parties, going to the beach and napping. There are a total of 80 slides in the piece.

Lee Mingwei, a Taiwanese artist, has two pieces in the exhibition: Money for Art (1994-2010) and Sonic Blossom (2013). Sonic Blossom was inspired by the time spent with his mother when she was recovering from surgery. This piece is focused on the transformative and healing power of song. On Saturdays and Sundays, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the foundation, two singers will perform for visitors who will sit in a chair and have one of five Franz Schubert’s artistic songs (known as lieders) sung to them. Sonic Blossom is presented in collaboration with faculty and performers from Concordia’s music department.

DHC/ART is a non-profit organization founded in 2007. According to Sim, the founder, Phoebe Greenberg, had a dream to make art accessible to the public by hosting large-scale art exhibitions with free general admission. DHC/ART’s exhibitions are unique because they present mostly international artists while the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has a mandate to present only Canadian and Quebec artists. People do not have to travel to Paris or Berlin, for example, to see their favourite renowned international artists.

Sim said one of the main challenges in curating such a large exhibition is choosing a nice mix of media and trying to consolidate large works of art which fit with the theme within the space. The curator explained that the most rewarding aspect is seeing the project materialize after a long process of working alongside the technical department and the coordinators.

The ultimate reward for her, however, will be seeing the public’s reaction to these beautiful works. Montreal-based artists Dean Baldwin and Karen Kraven have created a commission-based installation project specifically for the public reception on the evening of Oct. 4.

The opening reception for L’OFFRE will be held on Oct. 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m at DHC/ART, at 451 St-Jean St. The exhibition will officially be on display from Oct. 5 to March 11, 2018.

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Arts

Tackling social issues from bud to bloom

Evangelos Michelis’ first solo exhibition explores artistic liberation while engaging in community aesthetics. Photos by Alex Hutchins.

At the start of a journey, BLOOM engages artistic liberation within a social community

This summer, artist Evangelos Michelis began a new journey by steering away from his usual painting techniques. He described BLOOM, his first solo exhibition, as “fun, free and expressive.”

Michelis’ exhibition experiments with colour and form, using techniques that resonated with him the most from his time in art school. Having graduated from Concordia’s BFA studio arts program in 2016, Michelis said he is still adjusting to life as a working artist.

A vital aspect of Michelis’ creative process is interacting with other painters and being exposed to a variety of creative practices. Michelis said Concordia’s fine arts program had a strong sense of community. Therefore, going from large, shared studios to a private one was a big challenge for him.

The change in environment prompted the artist to experiment with different styles. He decided to branch out from his usual focus on contemporary social issues. BLOOM is a body of work that includes the personal, emotional and aesthetic experiences of its viewers, as opposed to being an illustration of social problems.

Rabbit Hole, shown here, was the first piece Michelis created for BLOOM. Photos by Alex Hutchins.

Many of the artist’s early works depict social issues surrounding capitalism, from the consumption of technology (Screen, 2016) to the labourer’s experience in the workplace (Love Thy Labour, 2015). Setting the contemporary narratives of his paintings in familiar scenes such as in supermarkets, bars and restaurants, Michelis’ previous work speaks truth to all who view it.

The pieces in BLOOM are a response to a long winter and are heavily influenced by a residency he did at a studio in Detroit last spring. “When I got there, I had such a clear idea of how I was going to work, what I was going to work on and why,” the artist said. After returning to Montreal a month later though, Michelis said he knew he needed a “pause.”

With summer around the corner, Michelis jumped at the opportunity to explore a new style. Free from the academic restrictions of university, each painting in BLOOM came naturally to Michelis, who was inspired by the background foliage in one of his older pieces, titled Invasion (2014).

In Rabbit Hole (2017), the first piece he completed for BLOOM, Michelis experimented deliberately with complementary colours. The contrast between the deep cadmium red and rich forest green provides a vibrant intensity, a visual technique which kicked off Michelis’ inspiration for this body of work.

BLOOM  is promoted by Feat Management, a three-month-old initiative dedicated to supporting emerging artists and showcasing unseen work. “Our aim is to help these artists flourish and attain boundless feats,” according to founders Rafaёl and Max Hart Barnwell.

The Hart Barnwells are both Concordia graduates—Rafaël from communications and Max from photography—and friends of Michelis’. The trio worked together to organize BLOOM, appropriately titled to represent a blossoming of both Feat Management’s initiative and Michelis’ new approach to his work.

BLOOM’s vernissage will take place on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. The exhibition will be open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. everyday until Oct. 2 at the MainLine Gallery. Find Feat Management online and on Instagram @feat.mgmt.

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Arts

Help save the environment and your wallet

CUCCR collects waste art materials on campus and offers them to students and the public for free. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

One of Concordia’s newest initiatives makes art production more affordable for students

Concordia’s newest, underground fine arts initiative (it is literally located in the basement) deserves some recognition. The CUCCR, nicknamed “sucker” by its creators and members, is both environmentally friendly and financially accessible to students.

It works by collecting excess supplies and used art materials from places around campus (studio classrooms, the Visual Arts building storage rooms, and the Grey Nuns residence) and making them readily available to the Concordia community and members of the public in one location. According to the initiative’s depot coordinator, Arrien Weeks, CUCCR’s members are people of all ages, spanning from ages “four to eighty.” Membership is required to utilize the centre, but both it and the use of the materials are completely free.

The centre is located in the Hall building and can be tricky to find. However, starting on the ground floor of the building, there are signs and stickers that help lead the way.

The CUCCR space was also built entirely from waste materials found on campus. The wooden signs, shelving, tables and organizers were repurposed to create a warm, welcoming and store-like room where materials are categorized and displayed in an organized way. The types of materials can vary depending on what is collected and donated, but what is currently available varies from wooden boards to rubber bands and even miniature sand buckets. Used canvases are also a “hot seller,” said Weeks.

Additionally, the centre also accepts material donations to be re-used by fellow Concordians. However, be sure to check CUCCR’s website before bringing something in, as the organization doesn’t accept certain materials such as used textbooks, oil paints and articles of clothing.

According to Weeks, since the centre’s opening in March, they have had an influx of memberships but hope to increase membership even more over the school year. Recently, they’ve gained more exposure through studio arts class presentations and trips to the centre. In the future, Weeks said, CUCCR hopes to expand their initiative to a larger and more accessible space on a ground floor, “to increase our visibility even more, but also to have more space to collect more materials.”

CUCCR’s main goal is to largely reduce Concordia’s waste. According to Weeks, “up to today, CUCCR has collected over four tonnes of Concordia’s waste, and members have checked out over two tonnes of that waste.” In the years to come, Weeks said, they hope to exponentially increase both of these numbers—which are recorded through the centre’s checkout system.

“We have pretty much everything, so just come by and take a look,” Weeks added.

CUCCR is open Tuesday to Thursday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and is located at H013-7 in the Hall building. For more information on materials available, becoming a member, donating and more, check out CUCCR’s website.

Photo by Kirubel Mehari

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Student Life

The art of formally asking for money

Photo by Danielle Gasher

FASA hosts a workshop on the art of grant proposal writing

Many students will have to write a grant proposal at some point during their careers. Since a grant proposal is essentially a money request, writing one must be done with care.

On Feb. 1, the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) held a grant writing workshop aimed at arts students, but it was relevant and open to students from all faculties.

The workshop focused on tips for writing the perfect grant application for various projects.

Guest speaker and regular grant writer Amber Berson said grant writing is basically an application process where you ask for money for your work. The PhD student said the first and most important thing to focus on is mastering writing skills.

“Grant writing is an important skill, and it is a wonderful way to fund your art practice. But being a successful grant writer does not make you a successful artist,” she said. Berson said the skill is also useful when writing an artist statement, or, a description of the project, in a cover letter for a job, residency or an open call for submissions to galleries.

Berson said it’s important not to feel discouraged when applying for grants. “Even if you keep applying and you do not get positive results, it should not and does not take away your value as an artist,” she said.

Berson advised students to be clear and precise in their proposals—introduce yourself, and explain what your project is, what you need the money for and why would you or an organization needs to fund this project—why the project is worthwhile.

“You should never try to apply for all of the grants just because you need the money. That is very transparent to the grant agent. In certain cases, it even hurts your eligibility for grants in the future,” said Berson. She said students should contact the FASA agent or another grant agent if they have doubts or questions about the process.

As with any application, deadlines are very important with grant writing. “If you absolutely cannot meet a deadline, contact your agent immediately,” Berson said.

She stressed it’s also crucial to follow the instructions and meet the word limit or minute count for video submissions. While it seems obvious, she said, it isn’t always executed.

Asking for money must be handled with delicacy. Being realistic in terms of budget is an important thing to keep in mind.

“When you apply for a grant, you are applying for a not-for-profit project, which means you should not be making money off the project. Asking and getting [money] are completely different, and you should always ask for what you or your project are worth, and it should be realistic.”

For any student interested in applying for a grant to fund a project, Berson highly recommends visiting the Canadian Artists Representation (CARFAC) website.  This website is a useful tool for helping students with grants and planning their budget. For students interested in finding out about arts funding, the Regroupement des Centre d’Artistes Autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ) and Artère are also great resources that have helped many artists get grants for their art.

For more information or to apply for grants, visit their website.

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Arts

When office supplies become an art exhibition

We Make Carpets uses everyday items in their artwork to produce intricate yet grandiose designs. Photo by Tiffany Lafleur

We Make Carpets use a variety of items to construct their pieces including elastics bands and paper clips

Who would have anticipated that the modest paper clip would have its big break as a carpet?

In Bend and Stretch, the three-person Dutch collective We Make Carpets uses everyday office supplies to construct intricate and enthralling pieces. Two of their installations, one assembled with paper clips and the other with elastic bands, are featured at Diagonale centre des arts et des fibres du Québec and were created in the gallery itself.

The piece made from elastic spans the length of the room, with the coloured bands stretched out between nails hammered into the wall. The bands connect and intersect, forming geometric patterns such as triangles, squares and lines.

The second piece, made from thousands of paper clips, spans over roughly six feet of the floor of the exhibit.  Hundreds of paper clips of different colours, which are placed in various directions,  create a pattern. The rows of paper clips mostly run parallel to each other but are broken up here and there by slanted pieces, adding texture.

The installations are interesting both in their complexity and simplicity.  The use of one material to create these works, such as elastic bands or tons of paper clips, makes them appear simplistic. However, from afar, the viewer can take in the colour and geometrically-inspired patterns, enjoying the overall cohesiveness of the piece. The distance at which you view the piece impacts its effect. It is fun to view them from few steps back, but it is equally interesting to get in close and take in the details. The closer you get to the piece, the more you appreciate the thousands of little parts that form the whole. If an elastic were to snap or a paperclip were to be nudged, the synchronicity would be thrown off and the installation would lose its significance.

The relationship these works have with space is intriguing. These installations are supposed to imitate carpets: the lowly rugs that children wipe their hands on and adults vacuum once in a blue moon—the item we’ve traditionally brought outside every spring, whacking with a broom to dislodge the dust. These pieces could very well be carpets – except that to step on them would destroy them. Typically, a carpet wouldn’t inspire such minute scrutiny. But in the space of the gallery, the carpets become a valuable object to be admired and interpreted.

The fragile nature of these art pieces makes us question how we use their parts. If paper clips can create something as elaborate as a carpet, maybe they are meant to do more than just secure a bunch of papers together.  The exhibition overall makes you wonder about our relationship with common, everyday stationary objects. If an elastic band can become a work of art, then practically anything can have artistic value. It just requires us to look differently at mundane objects and see their uniqueness.

Bend and Stretch is open until Oct. 15. Diagonale is open Thursday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m, and admission to the gallery is free.

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Arts

Neon lights and wonder: art in the city

Photo by Paige McNeely.

Montreal artist Five Eight’s mural makes us wonder what the character is wondering

The Montreal 2016 Mural Festival brought lots of new colours, textures and an artistic flair to the city’s streets this past summer. One of those pieces was a large, brightly-coloured painting of a woman gazing upwards. Her features are illuminated by the painted neon light. Found on the corner of St. Cuthbert and Clark Street, this larger-than-life mural is my new personal favourite.

Created by Montreal artist Five Eight, this mural contains all the things I love about Montreal: lots of colour, a brick background and bright neon lights. The asymmetrical architecture of the building gives the mural depth and breaks up what would have otherwise been a plain, rectangular painting. The ensuing negative space, somewhat filled by the neon elements, makes for interesting contrast to the subject’s features and hair, which take up a large portion of the mural.

Five Eight is a Montreal-based artist and mural painter who, according to his Facebook page, is currently experimenting with neon signage. Five Eight’s Instagram is full of his mysterious and elusive graffiti art found all over Montreal. He is known for his work with murals, as well as on canvas.

The detailing on the girl’s face is captivating to look at. The artist uses shadows and expertly-crafted shading to give the character life-like facial contours and a thoughtful expression. The mysterious blue light shining onto her face makes me wonder where she is and where she is going. Is she leaving the club that is beside her? Is she waiting to meet her friends before going out on St. Laurent? Or maybe she’s just admiring our city. Either way, this mural has a story to tell.

Like so many people this past week, maybe she just arrived in Montreal and is exploring the surrounding nightlife. By having her look up at the sky, the artist makes me wonder what is going through her mind, what she might be thinking, and what inspired the artist to give her such a thoughtful expression.

Five Eight is a member of the En Masse Collective, a Montreal-based, multi-artist collaborative project. His En Masse portfolio shows the work he has done work at the Under Pressure Graffiti Festival here in Montreal, as well as at Manifesto Toronto—one of the largest hip-hop festivals in the world.

To check out more of his work, you can find Five Eight on Facebook or Instagram @five8art.

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Arts

The Long Shadow of a small thing

Graphic by Florence Yee.

A poem describing the start of a new academic year, and the beauty to be found in it

A new school year often inspires students to be better, do better and become better. But personal growth doesn’t need a calendar event in order to happen, as it can always take place if we let it. Ally Turner’s poem reminds us of the revelations that can be found in even the most mundane of moments. Turner is in her third year of creative writing at Concordia.

The Long Shadow of a Small Thing

Ally Turner

Chewing bubblegum like there is some kind of answer at the core of it. Standing on the side of the big road and feeling the energy of each driver as they go by you. There is no point in asking, we are just suspended in it. The blue, the stretching pink, the colour that comes through you in a way that is non-physical.

You walk into your apartment and say to your roommate that you transcended gravity tonight – that the sky lived inside of you. You go into your room and cry because every time you try to tell what is happening to you it sounds empty.

In September there is a heat wave that lasts two weeks. It is hotter than the dead of August; the pool is busy, the bodies like crystal embroidery. There is only one way to feel safe in this world and it happens when you can forget what you are. At the belly of the pool, you sit for as long as you can until there are fizzy dots behind your eyes. You fall asleep poolside while your friends talk about some drummer.

  You eat the dinner that you made together in the kitchen and don’t look at each other. You eat three noodles with each bite. You pace your fork back and forth over the plate as if action will trigger result. It doesn’t matter what is happening around you because it is all in your head. One minute you are real, the next you are just staring at the wall with shiny eyes. I don’t know why it happens like this but it does and that is the important part.

When will it settle? I search the treetops for an overwhelming sense of beauty. I close my eyes and try to focus on the breeze on my face. Every moment feels like the build up to something terrible. I am awaiting the pinnacle that never arrives. My hair is falling out in chunks.

In my dream I am trapped in a cell that is shaped like my body except the skin is rubbery and pallid. I open my eyes and I am in the park and there is a great emptiness. I swallow nothing into the pit of nothing. I look up at the blue through the leaves and it is brimming.

This creative writing piece was brought to you with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom. 

Graphic by Florence Yee

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Arts

Sword-wielding insects run amok at the Redpath

In Pest, insects are the players in intricately designed tableaus. Photo by Tiffany Lafleur

In Amy Swartz’s art installation, bugs are the subjects of intricate tableaus

Monarch butterflies don’t typically have lion heads, right? In Pest, however, lion-headed monarchs are one of the many fanciful and creative characters brought to life by Toronto-based artist Amy Swartz. Moths, butterflies, wasps and bees are just a few of the insects featured in her intricately designed and elaborately illustrated tableaus. At first glance, the insects in her work appear to be displayed like any other museum exhibit, pinned under a glass casing. Upon closer inspection, the differences begin to emerge. Attached to the insects are pieces of figurines, such as doll and animal toy heads. Some hold swords or rifles while others have small limbs glued to their exoskeletons.

Through her work she wishes to encourage the viewer to question our controlling relationship to the planet and to each other, she said. Narratives of conflict and drama emerge as one observes the works more closely. Swartz said she drew inspiration from newspaper images, such as photos of protesters congregating during the Toronto’s Occupy Movement, and of crowds swarming Al Tahrir Square during the protests in Egypt.

Just as in these protests, the insects in the tableaus swarm and congregate, chasing each other in a frozen pursuit. “There are some compositions that are purely imaginary, however they all have basis in some conflict or chase,” said Swartz. “The idea that sometimes you don’t know who is chasing whom, or in some cases, kissing or attacking, is also interesting to me.” One of the most appealing parts of the tableaus is how, in many of the scenes, there is no clear emphasis on a single subject. Instead, the different players in the tableau come together to depict a scene of action and drama. In order to truly appreciate the work, the viewer must ensure they have noticed the diverse parts that compose the whole.

The way in which the overall chaos of the scene comes together to form a cohesive whole is reminiscent of the masterworks of French Romanticism art. Such masterpieces as The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault or Death of Sardanapalus by Eugène Delacroix come to mind, where visual harmony can be seen in a chaotic scene. Swartz’s work uses the same complexity of action and drama, but with insects and toys as subjects.  

Pest had humble beginnings, such as with the creation of Moth Man, which features the the head of an army man attached to a dead moth. “It felt so stupid and so right at the same time, and from there I was compelled to create more absurd characters,” said Swartz. This isolated incident was the precursor to the swarms of redesigned insects that make up the tableaus.

The strength of the pieces lie in the details. The strange disposition is what initially catches your attention, as the insects are not all cleanly laid out as in other typical entomology displays. Instead they are jumbled, placed one on top of the other, fighting for the viewers’ attention.

Swartz will be giving a talk about her work at 11:30 a.m. during the exhibit’s last day, on Sept. 18 at the Redpath Museum. The museum is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

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Arts

The black marker of Hingston Hall

Kevin Soltany’s quirky, psychedelic whiteboard art captured the attention of Hingston Hall’s residents. Photo by Rita Latif.

Concordia’s “artist in residence” uses whiteboard as a social, artistic experiment

To fine arts student Kevin Soltany, it all started as a simple school project But now, the 19-year-old’s drawings are an inspiration to many of Concordia’s students living in residence.

A few months ago students noticed an interesting drawing appear on a whiteboard in Concordia’s Hingston Hall (HB) building. The only thing used to bring the artwork to life was a black marker. People started to wonder who drew it, and that’s when students in residence found out that one of their own possessed this amazing talent. They continue to wait eagerly for his next masterpiece, wondering what it would be.

Kevin Soltany’s quirky, psychedelic whiteboard art captured the attention of Hingston Hall’s residents. Photo by Rita Latif.

“It was a project for school,” Soltany explained. “We had to make our art and get critiques by our professor and classmates. The art had to be somewhere the public can easily access, [so] that’s why I chose to draw it on the whiteboard in HB.”

Born to Iranian parents in France, Soltany lived there most of his life before moving to Georgia, United States, with his mother. When he was younger, he was inspired by the Japanese comic channel Manga, and tried to imitate this style of drawing. He stopped drawing when he was 12, however, when people told him that he wasn’t good enough to pursue that style of drawing. He felt that it was no longer his calling.

While living in the United States, Soltany’s mother enrolled him in art classes. He wasn’t really a fan of them because he felt that the art in Georgia was too conservative. Then one day he discovered something that he really liked, a specific style through which he could express himself: realistic art.

A few years later, when he was 16, Soltany came to Canada on vacation and fell in love with Montreal and its art. “Montreal is young, it’s alive and really cool,” he said. “Plus I really like the type of art they have. It’s free and open.”

With time, Soltany started to develop his passion for realistic art, and used “psychedelics” for inspiration. Psychedelic art is based on the way a person feels after using drugs such as LSD and psilocybin, letting the mind express itself freely. And according to Soltany, “psychedelic is a fantasy world! Mixing this style with the realistic is a good mix because you can express a lot of things through that style [that] people can imagine.”

Kevin Soltany. Photo by Rita Latif.

When asked about his drawing style, Soltany said he just wants to use his skills, experiment with them and try to draw in 3D on the whiteboard in the hallway. For him, this is a perfect spot because he likes getting critiqued by his fellow students. He believes this is what a true artist needs.

Soltany usually prefers to use a pencil, more than any other material, when he starts a new project. He starts by drawing a sketch and when he’s satisfied with the composition he starts adding detail to it. “You can do whatever you want with a pencil, you can draw whatever you want… it’s like magic,” he said.

When he draws on the whiteboard, Soltany uses the same technique, but he also uses shadows to help him get the result he wants. “The shadow is really important,” he stated. “And so is the light, so it’s all about the shadowing of the drawing.”

It’s harder to draw with a marker, but for Soltany it’s so much more interesting and makes the drawing pop a little bit.

“First you have to draw your idea briefly and really fast,” he said. “Start with a sketch, and when you have your composition go in with the details, you erase what isn’t good. Start with an idea and if it’s bad then adjust it. For example, in one of my drawings I started with a skeleton and on top of that I drew a man.”

Soltany draws because he likes to. He doesn’t like it when he is forced to draw, as there’s always something he wants to show through his pieces. Of course, he likes it when people appreciate and admire his work but he also prefers to be completely satisfied with it first. That’s when he feels like he is on the right track with what he is doing.

That’s why when he first started drawing, Soltany felt like he had a mission to use his art to make a difference, especially when it comes to the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Even though he is half Jewish, Soltany is pro-Palestine and believes that what happens in Palestine is unfair. “Israel receives a lot of ‘gifts’ from the United States every year while Palestine doesn’t get anything,” he said. “If we can’t show that by politics then maybe we can show it with art!” He believes that some people decide to ignore what they hear and see on the news; that’s why he wants to use his art to show what some try to escape from, or what they try to hide from the rest of the world.

“People say I’m not emotional,” said Soltany. “But I’ve seen so many things that made me strong that I either show through my art or I don’t show it at all.”

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Opinions

Into the Deepnet: can buying ecstasy be art?

Randomized computer art program that purchased drugs seized

When a robot buys drugs in the name of art, who’s to blame? Is there a point at which art stops being art? These are some of the questions that police in Switzerland are now trying to answer.

The machine in question, The Random Darknet Shopper, is a computer program designed to make one random purchase from the Deep Web a week with $100 in Bitcoin. The items are then shipped to the sight of the art exhibit, titled The Darknet: From Memes to Onionland, and added to its previous purchases.

The only problem: the marketplaces being bought from are comparable to the Silk Road. Items purchased thus far include: the complete Lord of the Rings book set, a pair of Diesel jeans, Nike shoes, a fake passport, stolen credit cards, and ecstasy pills.

The the artistic group responsible—!Mediengruppe Bitnik—said in an interview with The Guardian that the goal of the work was to get the public to think. “We really want to provide new spaces to think about the goods trades on these markets. Why are they traded?” The project also notes that they aim to explore the ways that trust is built between anonymous participants in online transactions for possibly illegal items.

Their exploration of the darker side of the web came to a close on Jan. 12, when police seized the bot and exhibit. According to a statement made to TechCrunch, “the confiscation [was] to impede an endangerment of third parties through the drugs exhibited by destroying them.”

It is unclear, at the time of writing, if any legal action will be taken against the group who created the work. Aside for the question of who is responsible, this situation comes down to one question: what is art?

In !Mediengruppe Bitnik’s conversation with The Guardian, the Swiss constitution is described as having articles which state that “art in the public interest is allowed to be free.” This would indicate that, if deemed artistic, there is no crime.

Remember, the police took no issue with displaying fake passports and credit cards, which could potentially be used—just the ecstasy.

Through the non-issue with all other forms of illegal items, there seems to be an understanding that The Darknet is art. The question then changes from whether its art, to how far should art be allowed to go.

Should there be a limit to what aspects of human reality should be broached by artists? Historically, artists of all types, have been the first voices silenced by authoritarian political regimes. The reason for this is precisely because the artist can speak about things which are taken for granted or ignored in society.

There are no numbers on exactly how much money is spent on black market websites each year, but it is reasonable to assume that there is a fair amount.  This is something that most people turn a blind eye to. Perhaps this should not be so.

Whether or not The Darknet: From Memes to Onionland is good art, it is something worth thinking about. At the very least it’s left us with a lot of questions.

 

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Opinions

Yet another Fantasia festival ruined by fans

Do the antics of the audience hold the festival back?

I will preface this by saying that Fantasia is an amazing festival. For many of us, pouring over the programming at the start of July has become somewhat of a tradition. Fantasia gives everyone the chance to see foreign and independent films for only ten dollars a seat –and in the heart of Downtown, no less. It is inexpensive and convenient, and you can actually get tickets, unlike a certain other film festival (I’m looking at you, TIFF). Frankly, Fantasia has everything going for it.

 So why can’t I recommend it?

 I’ve often heard people say that the problem with public transit was that the public was on it. Unfortunately, in this case, Fantasia seems to suffer the same affliction. The absolute worst thing about Fantasia — and the reason why I cannot recommend it and may not return next year — is wholeheartedly, 100 percent, the audience.

 I swear, everything is going fine until you sit down in the theatre. I would even venture that it’s going great up to the moment the lights go down. Then, it begins: first one person, then a chorus. The meowing.

 Who started this? And for what purpose? It is something I would expect from my 6-year-old niece at playtime, not a bunch of adults sitting down at an international film festival. It is the most juvenile thing I have ever seen. First of all, it is annoying — and no, it is not funny. Where is the humour in it? What is the punchline? Please, illuminate me. My feeble, comedically-challenged mind cannot find the genius in your incessant meowing.

 Oh, and I wish it ended when the movie started, but no. Dark screen? Meowing. Credits roll? Meowing. Lights are still off when the film is over? You guessed it: meowing.

 And how I wished it stopped there. Why do you many Fantasia fans feel the need to talk the whole time? I’m talking about you, person who laughs during an emotional death scene. Or you, the one who yells “OWNED” when a punch is landed in an action flick. Or the gaggle of teenagers who sit down to watch an anime film only to practice their Japanese out loud the entire time.

 I could forgive these things in a normal movie theatre. Sure, the ticket would have been more expensive, but at least I would have the chance to see the movie again. But at Fantasia, that’s it. That’s likely the one time I will ever get a chance to see this film, and it was ruined by you. So, thanks a lot for that.

 And if you won’t do it for me, then do it for the directors. So many of them come to Fantasia to give a talk before or after the screening. They are sitting there, right in the audience. What do you think they feel? For many of them, this is the premiere of their film. They poured their sweat and blood into making something great. And you just meowed at it.

 But my last message is for the Fantasia organizers. You guys are doing good work. But no one will ever, ever take your festival seriously with this kind of crowd. At a real festival — or even an ordinary cinema — there are consequences for acting like a child. Why aren’t there ushers to kick out rowdy movie-goers? Why aren’t there rules in place to discourage this kind of behaviour? You have the chance to make something great — but first, something needs to change.

And until it does, this is likely the last Fantasia Fest for me.

 

Categories
Arts

ARTiculate: On virginity and “vaginal knitting’”

Graphic by Jenny Kwan
Graphic by Jenny Kwan

Like it or not, there is no getting away from sexual and graphic images these days. They are present in films, television programs, and have been increasingly prominent lately in magazines and music videos.

But, why?

Yes, sex alone is sexy. But surely this is not enough reason for graphic portrayals of it to be found in the media. So, unless HBO gives me a good reason for its ubiquitous presence in all of its shows — like say, adding value or meaning to the scene or moving forward a story — I am not convinced of its need to be there.

Peppering an otherwise fantastic narrative with highly-stylized graphic shots of sex and merkin-adorned genitals is much like adding whipped cream atop a venti double caramel macchiato — it’s gratuitous.

Let’s look at infamous photographer and Hollywood sleaze-bag du jour, Terry Richardson. His “art” nowadays mainly consists of photographing underage models in risqué poses — even joining in the photograph, conducting various acrobatic sexual acts with models and actresses.

But what is the message here? That Richardson is an agile lover? It’s okay if you want to take pornographic pictures, but let’s not pretend they are art. These photographs are intended to cause more shock to the public than awe.

I’m not a prude, however, I can appreciate sex and explicit imagery if they, like any other element of the art production process (dialogue, colour choice, set design, etc.), contribute to the message being delivered.

Australian artist, Casey Jenkins, made headlines last year when her video performance entitled “Casting Off My Womb” made its way to YouTube. The 28-day performance is of Jenkins, as headlines called it, “vaginal knitting” — she inserted a skein of wool into her vagina everyday, knitting continuously until a menstrual cycle was complete.

While shocking, the message here is simple: it’s about being comfortable in your own skin, and dispelling negative assumptions about the vulva and needless fears about a woman’s period.

If you watch the video, be warned that it’s not-safe-for-work, as Jenkins is understandably naked from the waist down, and there is footage of the final product hung proudly and smeared with blood. Though explicit, this is the kind of graphic art I can get behind.

Another shocking and unique performance that was scheduled to take place earlier this year, is Clayton Pettet’s “Art School Stole My Virginity.” The 19-year-old was aware that he was among the last of his peers to have sex, and became preoccupied with the notion of virginity. The performance would take place in a studio gallery, with an audience of about 100, and would consist of Pettet having protected sex for the first time. Pettet’s goal is to address the pressures one feels about virginity head on, and demystify the experience for others.

Due to an arrest for using graffiti to advertise for his show, Pettet’s performance has been put on hold for now, but the artist remains undeterred about completing his work.

“I want them to take away the complete fucking destruction of virginity. Like all of my art, I want to change people’s perceptions,” said Pettet in an interview with The Daily Beast.

Though their unconventional performances have, and will continue to, outrage many people, Jenkins’ and Pettet’s messages are pretty clear — and thought-provoking at that. What are yours, HBO?

 

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