The mandate of OK.Quoi?! is to showcase contemporary art by bringing it to the people outside of gallery walls. This raises an important question—are people willing to allow contemporary artwork to exist in public spaces? Community member and artist Elizabeth von Rosenbach thinks so. “Having the work outside,” she maintains, “gives it a certain amountContinue reading “OK.Quoi?! Contemporary Arts Festival. Sackville, New Brunswick. July 25–31 2011.”
Genre Archives
Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 27 Edition. Victoriaville, Quebec. May 19–22, 2011.
FIMAV has a distinctive character, from its unlikely location in rustic Victoriaville, an hour’s drive from Quebec City, to its insistence on celebrating so many musical frontiers: free jazz, rock, electroacoustic improvisation, DJs, and sound-art installations. Despite its rich history, “Victo” isn’t resting on its laurels. Following its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2008, there have beenContinue reading “Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 27 Edition. Victoriaville, Quebec. May 19–22, 2011.”
Electric Eclectics 5. The Funny Farm, Meaford, Ontario. July 30–August 1, 2010.
True to its moniker, Electric Eclectics is more than just a head-spinningly diverse festival of modern music. It’s also a truly eclectic experience. Equal parts experimental music festival, bush party, camping trip, participatory art happening, and gathering of lovable misfits, EE is a one-of-a-kind event. In five short years, it has become a must-see summerContinue reading “Electric Eclectics 5. The Funny Farm, Meaford, Ontario. July 30–August 1, 2010.”
Sound Symposium XV. St. John’s, Newfoundland. July 2–10, 2010.
Sound Symposium XV offered up in equal portions traditional concerts, sound installations, urban music, and everything in between. The festival itself became a nine-day art event, greater than the sum of its parts, and for that, the curatorial team deserves to be applauded. For the duration of the festival, the whole city became an auditorium,Continue reading “Sound Symposium XV. St. John’s, Newfoundland. July 2–10, 2010.”
Binatone Galaxy
Binatone Galaxy is an installation for used cassette players that looks on their obsolescence not as an ending, but as an opportunity to reconsider their functional potential. Superseded by digital audio players as recording and playback devices, cassette players become, in this work, instruments in their own right. The piece takes irreverent delight in disposingContinue reading “Binatone Galaxy”
Scott Thomson
Among bike bells, olives, and music maps, Scott Thomson lounges in his Montreal apartment, seeming to enjoy a relaxed summer evening. Later, the sight of his trombone—on a stand nearby—will remind him he has a lot of work to do. Scott is working on new piece to take place at the Art Gallery of OntarioContinue reading “Scott Thomson”
Paul Walde Subverts Nature as Culture
The column of light is beamed directly into the sky. As if intended to summon some celestial visitor, the beam of photons is emitted from a circle of glowing discs, placed in the most unassuming place imaginable—a farmer’s field (don’t ET’s always land there?). This, however, isn’t some outtake from Close Encounters of the ThirdContinue reading “Paul Walde Subverts Nature as Culture”
Matt Rogalsky
It’s supposed to be beautiful, but I can’t shake the feeling of there being something ominous about this. Imagine you’re approaching an installation by Matt Rogalsky, and down the hall you hear whispers of . . . what? something you recognize—or do you?—only to turn the corner and be greeted by the choir, like Children of theContinue reading “Matt Rogalsky”
The Swedish Sound-Art Scene
Nadine Byrne Monochrome images of two young women—evidently sisters—stare out impassively from oval apertures that resemble Victorian cameo brooches. A gauzy ectoplasmic fabric oozes from their mouths while, in an aperture between them, their faces merge in a dreamlike blur to evoke the face of their late mother. The soundtrack to this absorbing five-minute plungeContinue reading “The Swedish Sound-Art Scene”
Darsha Hewitt
Following the work of Darsha Hewitt is like feeling your way through the inside of an electronic circuit. It is tactile, visceral. Her trial-and-error approach comes from a truly experimental place, and during my conversation with her, I suggest that I have imagined her jotting down observations on a clipboard while wearing a white labContinue reading “Darsha Hewitt”