Cadavre exquis gives viewers the chance to explore the messages of modern artists
The entrance of Centre Phi is open and minimalist as you make your way to the ticket booth. Simplicity, high ceilings and white walls don’t surprise an avid art gallery visitor however, one must not let the simplistic interior fool you. This creative space is known for its eclectic programming and original content; it’s not your traditional art space. The mission statement declares Centre Phi as a creative hub for a range of artistic practices, not limited to art, cinema, music, design and technology.
What lies at the top of the stairs is an adventure that one would not have imagined to experience while gallery hopping on a typical Sunday afternoon. Marina Abramović, Olafur Eliasson, Laurie Anderson, Antony Gormley and Paul McCarthy, among others, have used virtual reality as a medium for expression in Cadavre exquis. Being completely immersed in the vision of six artists’ virtual reality creations has one’s mind spinning with curiosity from the moment the VR headset is put on you.
Marina Abramović’s creation was the first world that I stepped into. The visuals had me awestruck, and I found myself entirely immersed in the storyline of Rising. Abramović standing before me, in all of her three-dimensional glory, begging for my help to change this planet’s climactic demise. Although a premise-based in a frightening reality, the graphics and sound effects were stunning.
The sound and movement involving waterfalls reflecting Eliasson’s Rainbow seemed out of a glorious dreamworld. Participants stayed moving amongst the dripping reflections longer than expected. The experience was meditative.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, McCarthy’s C.S.S.C. Coach Internship Stage Coach VR experiment Mary and Eve is a recipe for nightmares, although fascinating, bewildering ones. The shocking, confusing and profound message of this virtual reality experience is not for the faint of heart (or anyone under 16, for that matter). The piece is made up of 12 chapters, and you have the option to try all 12 – each nine-minute chapter becoming more confusing and difficult to withstand. I did not complete chapter 12.
Many of the other pieces were exciting and visually intriguing. Still, I struggled with the reality of the movements. Flying through space or making my (virtual) way through a dark chalk ridden abyss seemed to make my sensitive stomach turn. The reality of the experiences had me take the headset off early to avoid full-on motion sickness.
For anyone aching to try something new and extraordinary, experienced art-goers and less-inclined alike, this is an experience not to be missed. The aesthetics, concepts, technology and interactive nature of this show boast attractive draws for many.
Tickets can be purchased through the Centre Phi website until Jan. 19.
Old Montreal’s spookiest and most troubling ghost stories
On Thursday, Oct. 25, The Concordian went on a haunted walking tour through the Old Port with Montréal Ghosts, an organization that has been leading people from all walks of life on ghost tours since 1999. Hidden behind bustling tourism, held within the mortar and cobblestone bricks of Old Montreal, are some of the city’s dark secrets from throughout history. While you may not believe in ghosts or hauntings, the stories of people meeting their untimely deaths are very real. How one chooses to interpret the paranormal events that followed their ghastly deaths is entirely up to you.
IMG 1: Place Royale is now a concrete platform between Rue de la Capitale and D’Youville Place. Photo by Alex Hutchins.IMG 2: An alley on Rue de la Capitale, adjacent to Place Royale. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
Place Royale
While a somewhat unassuming concrete platform between de la Capitale St. and D’Youville Place, Place Royale (IMG 1) was once a vibrant market for Montrealers from 1667 to 1807. Before it was named “Place Royale” in 1892 for the 250th anniversary of the city, it was called “Place du Vieux Marché.” The gathering space was a market, as well as where public shaming, torture and executions took place. For example, swearing publicly five times was punished by being fixed to a pole by an iron collar so passersby could fling rubbish at you. If you were a male and above the age of seven, and swore publicly more than five times, your upper lip was branded so people knew you had a foul mouth.
In another instance, an unnamed woman was hanged outside the city; her body was caged and passed from parish to parish until she arrived in Montreal, where she deteriorated. By law, any paranormal happenstances that followed a public execution could be legitimately blamed on the spirits of those executed. This woman, and another woman to be mentioned in detail later on, are thought to be the two spirits seen wandering from east to west, mostly down an alley adjacent to Place Royale, near St-Paul St. (IMG 2).
IMG 3: A plaque dedicated to Marie-Josèphe Angélique rests on the outside of what are now retail office space buildings on Rue de Vaudreuil (IMG 4 below). Photo by Alex Hutchins.
The Great Fire of Montreal
On April 10, 1734, a fire was started in a house on St-Paul St., which soon spread along St-Joseph thanks to a strong westward wind. Within three hours, the fire burned down a nearby hospital, church and multiple houses. This fire raged for 19 hours, and by the time it was extinguished, most of Old Montreal was incinerated—with the town pointing its finger at Marie-Josèphe Angélique, a slave owned by the Franchevilles. Angélique was born in Madeira around 1700, which, at the time, was a colony in Portugal integral to the Atlantic slave trade. In 1734, under French law, people could be tried and found guilty based on public knowledge. Angélique was seen as a rebellious slave for engaging in a romantic relationship with a white servant, Claude Thibault, and for attempting to flee together. Angélique was found guilty after a six week-long trial in which no one claimed to see her light the fire, yet everyone spoke to her rebellious character, which somehow proved she was the culprit. Angélique was sentenced to be burned alive in Place Royale (IMG 1). Although this sentence was appealed by superior court, it was agreed that Angélique would be hanged, after which her body would be publicly burned. After being relocated to Quebec City for inspection, prior to the execution, Angélique was paraded about on a rubbish cart in an act of public shaming and torture, holding a sign that declared her an arsonist. Throughout the decades, while Angélique’s innocence has been a topic of much debate, in 2012, a public square facing City Hall was named after her. Angélique’s spirit has been seen walking from east to west in the alley adjacent to Place Royale, near St-Paul St. (IMG 2).
IMG 4: An alley behind what are now retail office space buildings on Rue de Vaudreuil houses the plaque dedicated to Marie-Josèphe Angélique. Photo by Alex Hutchins.IMG 5: The gathering space just outside of present-day City Hall where Adolphus Dewey was hanged. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
City Hall
Euphrosine Martineau was once thought to be the most beautiful woman in all of Old Montreal; desired by all, yet Adolphus Dewey was the man who stole her heart. Upon the announcement of their engagement in 1833, rumours circulated that Martineau was unfaithful and flirtatious with other men, which filled Dewey with rage and jealousy. Determined to be sure Martineau could never leave him, after a heated argument, Dewey tried to bludgeon her with an axe. He believed he succeeded in killing her, so he fled. However, Martineau was still alive, though her unborn child didn’t survive the attack. After regaining consciousness, Martineau dragged her mangled body across the cobblestones to a neighbour’s house, where she scratched at the door until dawn. She died 10 days later due to complications with her healing process. After Dewey was found guilty and sentenced to death, his final wish was to address the crowd during his execution, admit to his crime and acknowledge his need for punishment. Dewey was publicly hanged in the gathering space just outside present-day City Hall (IMG 5), and his ghost has been seen wandering the streets of Old Montreal, asking for forgiveness for his transgressions.
IMG 6: Chateau Ramezay was often a location for Mary Gallagher, a sex worker, to conduct her business transactions. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
Château Ramezay
In 1879, one of Montreal’s most gruesome murders at the time took place at 242 William St., then a working-class industrial apartment building in Griffintown. On June 26, the decapitated head of Mary Gallagher, a sex worker, was found in the wash tub of her apartment, with her dismembered body sprawled in a pool of blood on the living room floor. Gallagher’s alleged murderess was her friend and co-worker, Susan Kennedy, who was found by police at the scene of the crime, covered in Gallagher’s blood and rocking back and forth in the fetal position. Old Montreal was a place of income for Gallagher, and she would walk the streets at night in search of business opportunities. Years after her murder, starting in 1929, what appeared to be the ghost of Gallagher was seen walking the streets, and wandering through places like Chateau Ramezay (IMG 6), often a location for her business transactions. Every seven years, Gallagher’s headless ghost is seen in a purple satin dress, drenched in blood, wandering around Old Montreal in search of her head.
IMG 7: The left side window is that through which Joseph Frobisher watched his six-year old daughter burn alive. Photo by Alex Hutchins.
Auberge St-Gabriel
The Auberge St-Gabriel (IMG 7), built in 1688 and established as an inn by 1754, is the oldest inn in North America, and with over 300 years of history comes ghastly tales of tragedy and spooky occurrences. The most notable tale is that of Joseph Frobisher, an affluent fur-trading businessman, who acquired the establishment in 1809. Frobisher needed his business to survive the winter until, come springtime, European tourists would come and buy his fur. Frobisher nefariously ordered the neighbourhood arsonist to burn down his competitor’s establishment, and while he specified that the arsonist should be sure no one was in the building, 12 workers burned to death.
The arsonist begged Frobisher for money to flee town, and though he agreed, when Frobisher reached into his drawer to retrieve money, he instead took out a knife and stabbed the arsonist to death. During their altercation, the arsonist’s satchel carrying explosives fell into the fire, and soon the entire establishment went up in flames.
Standing on the streets, Frobisher wept in horror as his establishment was engulfed in flames, however it was not for fear of losing his business. His six-year-old daughter was still trapped on the second floor, in the middle of a piano lesson with her grandfather. A small shred of hope emerged when Frobisher saw his father trying to hoist his daughter up to a window (IMG 7 left) to get her out of the house. However, when the window was opened, the oxygen intake fueled the fire and Frobisher watched his daughter and father be incinerated alive. A year later, Frobisher died from nostalgia, a term then used to describe cases where people speculatively died from either grief, fear or suicide. On top of the countless inexplicable fires that have since occurred at the Auberge St-Gabriel, present-day staff have reported hearing a piano being played and the occasional laughter of a child.
As soon as I entered the door of Bar & Boeuf, I ran face first into a white curtain hung from the ceiling that is used to block the winter winds from sneaking in as diners enter. I thought for a moment that maybe I had entered the wrong building, but then the host untangled me from the long white monster and welcomed my boyfriend and I to Bar & Boeuf, leading us to our table.
This table was located next to the busy bar, which was a bit inconvenient because we were constantly being bumped by the 40-year-old cougars flirting with young men right next to us, sloshing their fruity drinks and getting rowdy. It was entertaining to watch, but annoying to deal with when you just want to have a romantic dinner.
The music was mostly made up of lounge music and it was a little loud, presumably to drown out the horrible cliché pickup lines being pronounced beside us. But overall, the music went well with the decor and I was able to speak and hear without having to read anyone’s lips.
The decor was modern and refreshing―a splash of pink lighting from the high ceilings shined down on the white furnishing and looked very classy. The crowd at Bar & Boeuf were in their 30s, and my boyfriend and I were evidently the youngest guests at the restaurant.
Once we got situated we received the menu. We were feeling fancy, probably from the illusion the restaurant gives you of being a trendy couple in a CSI: Miami episode, so we each ordered a martini. The lychee martini I ordered had the perfect sweet and exotic taste without the bite, and my boyfriend ordered the extra fruity festive martini, receiving an eyebrow lift from our waiter.
We ordered our dinner and unfortunately had to wait for a very long time to receive it. Since we were starving, we persuaded our waiter to scurry back and forth with warm bread and water refills, to keep us from running out and getting a Big Mac instead.
For dinner, I ordered the suckling pig with iced parsnips, sweet potatoes and turnip, and I was not disappointed with my choice. The tender smoked meat of the pig in a delicious rich gravy sauce was perfectly complimented by the sweet potatoes and the crunch of the parsnips and the turnip. The presentation was flawless and not only a feast to the mouth, but to the eye as well. My only complaint is that the portion was rather small and, though it did not leave me still famished afterwards, I felt like I would have asked for seconds if I could.
My boyfriend ordered the Arctic char, which of course I stuck a fork in and then immediately regretted my decision, wishing I had ordered it instead. The fish is served with späetzle (tiny little German noodles or dumplings made with flour, eggs and milk, which often replace potatoes or rice), beets and pork. I thought the fish and pork would be a bizarre combination, but I was mistaken since the taste of the späetzle and the beets created the perfect harmony between the two. The beets added a smooth sweet flavour and a romantic red colour to the dish, and the buttery taste of the späetzle melts in your mouth with every bite of the light Arctic char.
The bill for this meal was pretty pricey, but the genius engineering of the dishes proved it to be worth every penny. Bar & Boeuf even has a Valentine’s Day menu, so bring your special someone to experience the pink and white decor and mouth-watering dishes for themselves.
Bar & Boeuf is located at 500 McGill St. For more information, please visit www.baretboeuf.com.
